Chapter 75 I Love Reika

Chapter 75 I Love Reika
REIKA'S POV

The silence after my father’s words pressed down on me. He wanted to take me to Aurelia, to the kingdom I had only just learned was mine by birthright. My heart yearned to know that place, to walk in the land where my mother once lived, to stand beside my father and learn the ways of the throne. But the thought of leaving Apollo, leaving my mate, ripped me apart.

I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Father,” I said, my voice shaking, “I am pregnant with Apollo’s pup. We can’t be apart from each other. I need him with me.” My throat tightened, but I forced the words through. “I long to be with you, Father, but not this way. I know that I should be with you, but my pup and I need Apollo, too.”

The moment the words left me, I reached for Apollo’s hand. His fingers closed around mine, warm and firm despite his weakness, as though he could anchor me in place with his touch alone. I clung to him, and when he squeezed tighter, I felt his answer without needing words: Never let go.

My father’s golden eyes fixed on me, unreadable yet piercing. He spoke with a calm that carried the weight of centuries. “My daughter, you are not an ordinary wolf. You are a Lycan heir of the Kingdom of Aurelia. You have a duty to serve our people, the entire continent. And Apollo has the same duty for his pack.”

The words cut deep, because I knew they were true. My destiny had always been greater than I imagined, greater than the small, broken life I had lived in Shadow Claw. I was meant to stand as heir to Aurelia, to rule beside my father one day. But how could I fulfill that destiny if it meant abandoning the man the moon goddess had chosen for me?

Inside me, my wolf stirred, restless and fierce. Tiana, I whispered inwardly, and she answered with a growl that seemed to echo through my very bones.

“We can’t leave Ragnar here,” she growled. “Especially in Apollo’s condition. He needs you by his side.”

Her voice was sharp, resolute, and it steadied me. I pressed my hand against my belly, where life stirred faintly, fragile but strong enough to make my heart swell. I could already feel the bond with my pup forming, unbreakable, between the three of us.

“I can’t leave him,” I whispered, lifting my eyes to my father. This time, my voice was stronger, carrying the weight of both my wolf and my heart.
“Apollo is my mate. My pup needs his father. And I need him, too.”

Apollo’s grip on my hand tightened again, and when I looked at him, I saw the fire in his eyes. Weak as he was, he still had the strength to stand with me, even if only with words.

“With respect, my King,” Apollo said firmly, his voice rough, “Reika and I are bound by the Moon Goddess. She carries my pup. If duty demands her presence in Aurelia, then mine does as well. I will not allow my mate and my child to walk away without me.  I love Reika. She is the only woman for me.”

My heart skipped a beat. That was the first time Apollo said those words. I turned back to my father, heart racing, waiting for his answer. He had already lost my mother once; would he risk losing me now, too?

“We shouldn’t make this difficult for everyone. Apollo, I'm aware of the curse that has plagued your family, and I don’t want my daughter to be entangled with it. If you love my daughter, you should let her go. I will take care of Reika and your pup, and they will rule the entire continent.” My father’s words weighed heavily in the room, his tone final, like a decree that could not be overturned.

The air left my lungs as though he had struck me. The curse. He spoke as if it were still alive, still waiting to take everything from me. My heart hammered, and before he could finish his thought, the words flew from my lips, sharp and desperate.

“What curse? It was already broken, because Apollo already had me as his heartbound.”

My father’s golden eyes turned on me, softened only by sorrow. “That’s not enough, Reika,” he said. “The curse will go on, and your pup will inherit it. I can help your pup if you come with me.”

I shook my head, my hand tightening around Apollo’s, unwilling to let go. I had lived enough of my life being controlled, first by Shadow Claw’s cruelty, and now, though it was born of love, my father sought to control me too. But my life was not mine alone anymore. It was Apollo’s, and it was Ragnar’s.

Before I could answer, Apollo’s voice cut through the tension, rough but unwavering. “My child will break the curse, too, just like I did,” he said confidently.

I turned to him, pride and fear battling in my chest. He believed it with such conviction, his piercing-green eyes holding steady against the weight of my father’s authority.

But my father only narrowed his gaze. His voice dropped lower, each word striking with precision. “There is no guarantee, Apollo. You know that.
Look at you. You had so many surrogates before you found my daughter, a Lycan. There is no guarantee your child will have the same fate. I cannot let our kingdom end. We need an heir to lead the next generation.”

His words pierced me deeper than I wanted to admit. I had heard whispers before, fragments of Apollo’s past. I knew he had struggled, searching for his heartbound, desperate to break the curse that chained his bloodline. But to hear it laid bare in front of me, from my father of all people, made my stomach twist.

I looked at Apollo, searching his face for any flicker of shame, but there was none. He met my father’s accusations head-on, shoulders squared despite the weakness that still clung to his body. His hand in mine trembled faintly, but his grip was iron.

Tiana stirred within me, her growl echoing through my mind. “Do not let them decide your path, Reika. You are not a pawn, and neither is your child. You are a Lycan heir, yes, but you are also a mate, a mother, and soon a Luna. No curse will take that from you.”

Her words steadied me. My wolf’s fury bled into my own, and I raised my chin, meeting my father’s gaze with fire. “I will not leave Apollo. I will not abandon the pup I carry, no matter what curse you believe lingers over his bloodline. If our child is fated to fight it, then he will. Just as Apollo did. And if he is destined to lead this world, then he will lead it not in chains, but in freedom.”

My father’s expression hardened, his jaw clenching. He seemed like a man not easily swayed, not even by blood. He has every right to be called King.

However, I saw the flicker of something else in his eyes, conflict, perhaps, or the faintest shred of respect. He wasn't expecting I'd be stubborn.

It wasn't easy for me to disobey my father, but Tiana was right. I had been a slave all my life. It's time for me to make my own decision.