Chapter 6

Lavinia's POV

I followed the maid to my father's room and though I was slightly upset, I didn't show it.

As I knocked on the door of his room, the maid retreated. I heard his voice from the other side of the door and when I informed him of my identity, he told me to come in.

When I entered the room, he was standing by the window gazing outside, he didn't turn around to acknowledge and this worried me a bit. Had I done something wrong?

I cleared my throat before speaking. 

"Father, you called?"

"Yes." He replied before finally turning to face me and it was then that I saw that he was holding something, a golden box.

He clutched it protectively and I wondered what it could possibly contain.

"Please take a seat." He requested and I obeyed.

"Lavinia, you'll be getting married tomorrow and once this marriage happens, there's no going back so I'm giving you a final chance to decide if you want to go through with it or not. I realize that the first time I asked this of you, I was indirectly putting pressure on you and I must have seemed like a terrible father but I only have your best interest at heart.

Before I'm your father, I'm the Alpha of this pack and it's required of me to only do what's best for the pack." He began and I could see the sadness in his eyes.

I reached out and took his hand in mine.

"It's OK father, I understand and I promise that I'm not upset with you. It came as a shock the first time but I've accepted it. I have no regrets, in fact, I feel proud to be finally able to do something for this pack." I answered and my father smiled at me.

"You've met Prince Rylan, do you have any complaints about him?" My father went on to ask.

"No, not at all. In these past few days, I've tried my best to imagine what he might be like but he's totally beat my expectations. He's handsome, nice and really sweet. To be honest, it doesn't feel like an arranged marriage at all. I'm happy with your choice father and I'm not just saying this, I mean it." I responded sincerely.

"I'm so happy to hear that, the goddess has been so kind to us lately and I only wish for you to have a happy married life." He said and took me in a hug, I melted into his arms.

After we broke apart, he quickly assumed a serious expression. 

"But that's not the reason why I called you here. I called you because I have something I would like to give to you." He said and grabbed the golden box, opening it to display a red Ruby pendant that glowed in the light, it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

"Wow. It's so pretty." I commented as I glazed my hand over the medium sized Ruby on the pendant.

"This is not just any pendant, I value it with my life. This is the only thing I have of your mother, it was her favourite necklace and before she left us, she gave it to me as a keepsake. She wanted me to give it to you when the right time came and though it's difficult for me to part with it, I can't think of a better time to give it to you than now. It's very precious to me so I hope that you'll take care of it." My father said and I didn't realize when my eyes brimmed with tears.

I know how hard it must be for him to give up the last thing he has of her and this is a really precious moment for me because this is the first thing I've ever gotten that belonged to my mother.

"Thank you so much Dad, I'll always treasure this. I'll wear it for my mating ceremony and I'll never take it off after that. In this way, I'll be able to keep her close to my heart." I promised him and he kissed my forehead.

"I'm happy to hear that, I'm sure that she must be so proud of you right now." He said and the tears finally fell down my cheeks.

He wiped them away and propped my chin up so I could look into his eyes.

"It's such a happy occasion so you shouldn't shed tears or you might jinx it, tomorrow you're going to begin a new phase of your life. I wish for you all the happiness in the world because you deserve it." He advised and I nodded. I took one last look at the beautiful pendant and I was tempted to try it on but I resisted the urge and rather placed it back in the box.

"Thank you Dad. I'll pray that your reign lasts and Selene will guide you." I remarked as I held the box close to me.

"Tomorrow's your mating ceremony so I'll let you leave now because you need all the time you can get to prepare. It's your big day after all." He asserted.

I nodded and turned to leave but as I got to the door, I turned back to take one last look at my father, he gave me a reassuring smile and I returned it before finally.

Beginning from tomorrow, my life is going to change completely and I can only hope it's for the better.

*****

The maids dressed me in a very beautiful dress and adorned me with ornaments but I refused to wear any necklaces because I had a special one saved. I only wanted to wear my mother's pendant today.

As soon as they finished getting me ready, my father arrived at my room and they all left.

I got up to address him but he stopped me.

"No, please sit down. You look so beautiful my dear but your pure heart is your most unique and endearing quality. I feel so lucky to be your father." He said as he approached and stood behind me, both of us staring at our reflections in the mirror.

"I feel like I'm the lucky one, even if most of your actions have never really made any sense to me, I feel lucky to have a father who cares for me." I replied with a smile.

"I know that you missed out on a lot of things because of me and I deeply apologise, I only hope that one day, when you're more mature, you'll be able to understand the reason for my actions." He admitted.

"Maybe I will but I don't want to talk about that today. It's my mating ceremony, remember?  Only happiness should be present." I quipped.

"You're right my dear, you look absolutely breathtaking, I doubt that the prince will be able to take his eyes off of you but I can't help but feel like there's something missing." My father stated.

I opened the drawer of my dressing table and brought out the box that contained my mother's pendant.

I opened the box and handed it to him.

He took the pendant and easily put it around my neck, lingering just a tad bit.

"Perfect, now no one will be able to take their eyes off you." He said and I giggled.

"You look just like your mother, I really wish she was here."  He spoke sadly.

"Me too." I seconded, holding myself back. The maids had worked really hard to perfect this look and I don't want to ruin it.

Dad quickly wiped his tears and sniffed. "It's finally the moment of truth, kiddo. Are you ready for this?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'll go check on the preparations and ensure that everything is in order. A maid will come to get you soon. Just relax and take a deep breath, it's normal to feel nervous. I also felt the same way when I met your mother." Dad encouraged me and I beamed.

I only hope that Rylan can love me as much as dad loves my mum.

"Stay calm, Lavinia. I'll see you soon." He said and finally left.

I took a deep breath and exhaled. Dad was right, I'm fidgeting so much and my stomach feels like a thousand knots.

"Remember what your dad said, Lavy. Stay calm or you might just pass out." Isis teased me. 

"I'm trying Isis but I can't help feeling jittery, almost like something's about to happen." I defended myself.

"Your dad said it was normal to feel this way. You are getting married and that's a big change, it's not just gonna be the both of us anymore. After tonight, our body and soul will be connected to Rylan, I'm really excited about this since it's basically every wolf's dream to be with her mate but I feel nervous as well. Maybe after the wedding we could go for a run to shake off this edgy feeling." She suggested.

"You're kidding, right? I'm supposed to leave with Rylan for the Shadow Stone pack after our mating ceremony so there won't be time for running." I reminded her.

"I know that, I'm just a bit anxious. We should probably try to get our mind off the topic until the actual ceremony starts, don't you think?" She offered.

"Yes, you're right and I have just the solution." A brilliant idea had just come to my mind.

"And what could that be? Isis inquired.

"Let's go see Rylan." I proffered.

"But we're going to marry him in less than an hour so why do that? What if he's still getting ready? She objected.

"So what? We're officially going to be mates soon, are we not? As his mate, I'll have to step up my game. We're going to mate tonight and I can't afford to be shy anymore. I'd just like to see and talk to him before the ceremony even if it's just for a little while, I wanna know if he also feels the way I do. Talking to him will certainly take my mind off things." I tried to convince her.

"I guess you're right. So what are we waiting for? Let's go to our mate right now." Isis urged and I rolled my eyes at her. How could she have changed her mind so quickly?

I got up from my seat and secretly left my room. I walked through the pack house gingerly because if anyone saw me, they'd stop me from going to see Rylan.

Thankfully, no one was around the living quarters, everyone was in the Grand Hall busy with the wedding activities so it was easier to sneak to Prince Rylan's room.

I was a bit surprised when I arrived there and saw that his door was ajar.

I hesitated a bit but still came closer, attempting to alert him of my presence by knocking but then I heard hushed voices and lots of whispering coming from the room. I took a peek and saw that Rylan was speaking with his father, Alpha Argo.

I listened closely, wondering what they could be talking about so secretly and what I heard made my blood run cold.