Chapter 75 - How to right a wrong ...

Samantha

“Sweetheart! I don’t understand!” My mother looked confused and then angry.

“The king is my mate, mother.” I was under the impression those words would make the entire problem clear. But clearly it didn’t! She frowned. “Mother, please. Not now.” I sighed, and my father intervened on my behalf, giving me the opportunity to escape. I had a lot to think about.

Adam

“Adam, I …” My mother started to twist her hands together like she always did when she had to tell me something she didn’t want to. “Those were different times. You have to understand that I did the best I could under very difficult circumstances.” She touched my shoulder, but it didn’t calm me the same way it always did. I sighed deeply.

“That was then, mom. Now things have got to change.” I wasn’t entirely sure how we could change them, but it was my turn to fix things. My parents were amazing back then, but now we have to fix what they broke. “Look, mom, I know you did the best you could. Now we have to do whatever it takes to get over all of that. My generation don’t even remember the war. It means you have to move on. Taking out your revenge on innocent generations is not going to help any of us.” I sighed with relief as soon as my mom nodded.

“We will support you, son. In whatever decision you make.” My father touched my shoulder. It meant that they would support me, but my mother was going to purse her lips for a while in disapproval. At least we were making some kind of progress. Now all I had to do was convince Samantha that we belonged together. The moon goddess wouldn’t have put us together if we didn’t belong together.

I wanted to take things really slow. I didn’t just have to change my parents’ minds, I had to change the minds of the pack. The kingdom. They all had to believe that things were changing. They had to believe that we weren’t going to punish innocent people. I just had to figure out how. I was so happy that I found her that I didn’t take into account how people would react around us. I hoped arranging our private meetings would make things easier. Easier on her, and on the pack. If people grew used to us being together, it might make things better. I went to bed after looking out over the city thinking that she was in her bed hopefully thinking about me.

When I woke up in the morning, I knew where to start. I would restore all the families who suffered because of my ancestors. I checked the finances, and it was possible to restore some of their fortunes. I will have to be careful. I couldn’t go around restoring everything for everybody, but it could be done. I was sure that as soon as Samantha’s family could be proud again, she would find our relationship easier to deal with. If she could see that my mother accepted it, she would accept it herself.

Samantha

Adam was waiting when I walked through the gates the next morning. He looked excited, and it made me feel even more nervous. He pulled me into a tight hug and I gasped slightly. He let go of me, and we walked through the garden in silence for a little while. The gardens were beautiful.

“Samantha, I have a sensitive matter I want to discuss with you.” He stopped walking in front of a bench and I sat down. Just being here was a sensitive matter for me!

“What is it?” I frowned. My mind went straight to the one thing I knew males wanted. Did he want to do it?

“I wanted to find out how your family would feel if I gave back everything you lost after the war.” He sighed deeply when he looked at me, and it took me a moment to register what he was saying.

“Huh? Why would you do that?!” Shock ran through me at the realization of what he was saying.

“Well, for starters, I don’t want your family to feel ashamed of your position. I want you to be proud of who you are and what you have.” He looked nervous as he said it, but I couldn’t think about that! I was furious!

“We aren’t! We work hard for everything we have! There is no shame in working!” I jumped up feeling offended. I knew what he wanted to do came from a good place. Adam was a good and kind king, but he could act a little spoiled sometimes!

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you. I just want to give back what was yours all this time. I don’t agree with what my mother did. I want to restore your family name to its rightful place in the kingdom.” He looked shocked at my reaction and I frowned.

“Everyone is going to think you did this for my family because we are mates. Nobody is going to believe that you did it for any other reason, Adam. We don’t want your money. My family lived without it. We can take care of ourselves.” I whipped around and walked away without thinking. I could feel it while it was happening. I was being unreasonable, and I didn’t give him a change to properly explain himself.

Sadly, I knew the moment he told my parents what he wanted to do. They would jump at the chance! My parents weren’t made to live the hard life we had been living. They spent most of their childhoods living in luxury. I grew up without all of that. I left the castle grounds in such a hurry that I didn’t even notice the group of people following me all the way until I got home.

I was furious as I walked in and slammed the door behind me. I looked at our home and suddenly realized what that money would mean for us. We could paint the peeling walls! We could fix the broken stair!