CHAPTER 122: NEVER A DAUGHTER AND NEVER A SON

Drevon smiled, angling his head to another position to take me in a much different way, but nibbling his teeth on my lip, before freeing them and pulling away just so we locked gaze.

"Tell me more, little wife, for I’m curious about your thoughts the entire time when you were told you’d marry the monster from your horror stories."

"Trust me, you don’t want to know."

"Try me."

"You’re not going to let this go, are you?"

Drevon grinned, and I sighed in defeat.

"I was more burdened by lessons than thinking about my soon-to-be husband."

"Hmm... lessons?"

"To be the perfect wife of the Lycan monarch, to serve you in bed and be obedient."

He frowned, and that look made him cute.

"It’s a good thing you’re not obedient."

"Who told you I wasn’t?"

He raised an eyebrow. "That’s coming from someone who chooses to avoid it. Oh...and take a brew just to survive the night with me."

"You can’t blame me for that! I was scared I wouldn’t survive the night. Fucking my newly wedded husband in Lycan form will make any girl sprint for the hills."

"But you didn’t sprint, did you?" he chuckled.

"Hmm...only because there was no way to run to," I said in a much sadder tone than I expected, and Drevon caught this.

"Eloise..." he murmured, hooking an arm under my knee and picking me up effortlessly.

Thankfully, I still had my arms wrapped around his neck.

"You have a safe place now."

"And where is that?"

"Me."

My heart skipped a beat.

"I could be your home too."

"A home..." I murmured. "I read that in books, but it never mentioned a home as a person; it’s more a place, isn’t it?"

His eyes saddened, and his eyebrow furrowed. "Now I’m tempted to ask what your life has been in Beloria."

I swallowed hard and shifted my eyes away from his. I didn’t want to say anything, but I found myself doing so.

"Being a bastard is like being an outcast. Every day was like waking up in hell." I smiled. "But despite the hellfire, I was always cold. One day, I asked myself why I was even born or why I deserved to live such a life. To be shunned and slurred for things I did not have control over. There were moments when I snuck into Father’s library to read and escape my reality. There was one thing that kept me going, too..."

"What was that?"

"I was already in hell. There was nowhere else that could be worse." I met his eyes, and the number of emotions building in them made me not want to continue. "Until the day my marriage was announced. But do you know the funniest thing?"

"What?"

"I was more than relieved to go towards a nightmare than to remain in hell. I may not have known it then, but I do now...because my nightmare became the open door I needed, maybe for a quick death that was long overdue or a way out." My lips quivered.

I flinched when I felt Drevon’s thumb on my cheek, swiping something wet.

"I told myself I wouldn’t let anyone see me cry," I murmured. It was one promise I made to myself a long time ago.

Drevon placed his forehead on mine and said. "It’s okay, you can cry as long as you’re home."

Now I want to break down. But I sobbed only and buried whatever tears that wanted to fall.

Drevon smiled softly, but his eyes were sad.

I cleared my throat. "Now you know, it’s your turn."

"My turn?"

"Your time in war. I told you my hardest part, it’s only fair you do too."

He exhaled heavily. "Well then... I do not know if bloodshed and gore are your type of stuff, but I do suggest you be specific."

"Hmm..." I made a thoughtful expression. "You grew up in war, how did it feel?"

A wistful look took over his eyes. "To be honest, time went by and I didn’t follow."

His words were simple, but it was the saddest thing I have ever heard.

"My father...it all happened so fast, he suffered a fatal wound, and his regeneration didn’t do justice. To watch such a great man suffer from such a wound was...terrifying."

"I-I thought Alphas could heal through anything," I mumbled, recalling how Damon healed his open throat.

I just couldn’t fathom this, and it hurts seeing Drevon like this. I instantly regretted asking and wanted to change the topic.

But Drevon began walking and continued. "I thought so too... until now, I don’t understand it. My Father’s suffering put the entire army on edge. We had gained the upper hand for so many years, and just when we thought victory was ours, our monarch was meeting a pitiful end."

I stroked his neck, where the outgrown roots of his hair slipped, hoping to somehow ease him.

I didn’t know how to give comfort, but I tried. But for Drevon? I was willing to try harder.

"That was when you stepped up, wasn’t it?" I said.

"Yes..." He looked at me. "As my Father died slowly from his wounds, I strategized the war and fought it. I’m glad I had Garrick, Lucan, and Ravyn by my side."

"Even Lucan?" I joked, hoping he’d smile because he hadn’t for the past few minutes now.

My heart flipped when he did, along with his reply. "Even Lucan."

Drevon walked up the stairs leading to his marble table and sat me there, resting his hands on my sides, and leaned down to me.

"The goddess was merciful, and my Father found peace. After that, I had to send a raven to Mother about his demise."

I couldn’t imagine how the Dowager felt with that news; she may be a cold-hearted person, but I wanted to believe she at least cared for her husband.

"I think my father was ready for that moment, for that pain to go away."

"Do you miss hin?"

"I do not love my father, nor did I feel anything for him."

"Why?"

"He was never a father to me; he was only my Alpha-General, and I served him as a knight until his last breath."