Casaio poured a generous measure of alcohol into his glass, the amber liquid catching the light. He swirled it once before raising it to his lips.
"Gabriel is getting married before you," Dominick remarked, eyes fixed on the document in his hand as he casually flipped through its pages. "Shouldn’t you and Zilia have set a wedding date by now? Mom and Dad were really looking forward to hearing some news."
Casaio raised an eyebrow and took a seat across from him, the glass resting lightly in his hand. "And what about you?" he shot back. "You and Juniper haven’t made any announcement either."
Dominick closed the file. "We’re making the announcement tomorrow," he said. "The wedding’s in three months. Juniper is particular about auspicious dates and traditions. She wanted to make sure everything aligns properly."
A faint smile touched Casaio’s lips. "Good to know. Congratulations to both of you," he said sincerely, before downing the contents of his glass in one long swallow.
Dominick leaned forward slightly, his tone shifting. "Talk to Zilia again, Casaio. Mom and Dad are growing impatient. If she keeps refusing to commit, they might suggest you end things altogether. Then, Mom may choose a mate for you."
Casaio set the glass down on the table with a soft clink, offering only a hum in response at first.
"I did try talking to her," he said after a moment, his gaze fixed on the table rather than Dominick. "She told me that marriage doesn’t define what we are. That we’re already mates, and no ceremony can change that."
He leaned back slightly, exhaling through his nose. "And like I mentioned before... she wants to focus on her business right now. That’s where her priorities lie."
"It’s not like you’d be restricting her after marriage," Dominick said with concern. "I know I probably shouldn’t be the one saying this, Casaio... but maybe you should take a closer look. There might be something else going on, something you’re not seeing yet."
With that, he stood up, gathering the file in his hands. "I’ll handle this project from here. See you later."
Casaio gave a quiet hum.
Once Dominick left, Casaio ran a hand through his hair, fingers threading through the soft strands as if trying to untangle his thoughts along with them. After a moment’s hesitation, he picked up his phone and dialed Zilia’s number.
But it was unreachable.
He stared at it for a second, then sighed and left a brief message before setting the phone down on the table.
~~~~
At Conley Villa—
"Alex got Amelie pregnant," David revealed the truth to his wife. "I spoke to him after a huge commotion broke out in the palace. He said... it was a mistake."
Samyra froze. "What?" she breathed out, disbelief flickering in her eyes. "But Amelie never even mentioned she was seeing him."
Her expression darkened as the pieces began to fall into place. "He tried to punish our daughter—accused her of lying, said she falsely blamed him. And you... did you not confront him about that?"
David let out a weary sigh, shaking his head as he rubbed his temples. "What can I possibly say to the Alpha of our pack?" he muttered in helplessness.
"But I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to speak with his parents," David said firmly. "What Alex did was outrageous. Our family name was dragged through the mud because of him."
Samyra nodded slowly, her expression still troubled. "That’s good... but why did you come alone? Where’s Amelie?"
David’s shoulders slumped slightly, the weight of the truth settling over him. "She refused to come," he admitted quietly. "She’s... severed ties with us."
Samyra blinked in shock. "What? She—"
"I didn’t believe her at first," David interrupted gently, his voice heavy with regret. "But when her anger finally exploded, I saw it, how deeply we failed her. I was wrong, Samyra."
He paused, his gaze softening with something that bordered on awe. "She’s with Prince Gabriel now. She found her second-chance mate in him... and he accepted her. He’s the one who saved her the night she vanished."
Samyra stared at him, overwhelmed by the revelations, but David wasn’t finished.
"And darling," he added in a low voice, "there’s something even bigger I haven’t told you yet."
"What is it?" Samyra asked, bracing herself.
"Flora betrayed her own sister," David said grimly. "Amelie told me that Alex and Flora had been involved behind her back. Alex rejected her... and even tried to kill her unborn pup."
Samyra’s breath caught in her throat. "What?" she exclaimed. "How could Flora do something so vile?"
She took a shaky step back, pressing a hand to her chest as the weight of the truth sank in. "We need to confront Flora immediately, but what good will that do now? Amelie won’t come back. She’s cut ties with us."
Her voice faltered, filled with anguish. "We turned our backs on her... all because the ceremony marked her as an omega. And then, to make it worse, a wolf-less one. We treated her like she was nothing."
She looked away, eyes glistening with unshed tears. "We didn’t just fail her as parents, we destroyed her spirit. And the worst part? If she had died that night, we never would’ve known the truth. We would’ve gone on blaming her, mourning a version of her we never truly saw."
David placed his hand over her shoulder, "You are right. Only I know how much rage I’ve swallowed since learning what really happened. I don’t know how to live with this guilt and this failed parenthood."
"Can we not meet Amelie?" Samyra asked.
"I don’t think so. But I’ll try to find a way to get in her contact," David assured her. "We need to confront Flora for what she did," he stated.
"Of course!" Samyra wiped the tears from the edges of her eyes and stood up. "She must have returned by now. I’ll ask the housemaid to send Flora upstairs once she be home."
"Hmm." David watched his wife leaving. He recalled how Amelie cursed their family and frowned, feeling something bad might happen with them.