But the girl before him... she was nothing like that. She looked as if she had been battered by countless storms, each one leaving its mark. She seemed broken in a way he couldn’t comprehend. And there was something else—a void. He couldn’t feel her wolf, that primal force that had always been so strong within her.
He had never fathered an illegitimate child—he was certain of that. So if this girl shared his bloodline, there was no other explanation for it. She had to be his daughter, but why did everything feel so wrong?
After all, he and his mate had never been the type of werewolves to indulge in fleeting affairs or casual flings. They had one child, one daughter, and that was all. The idea of an illegitimate child was simply out of the question. If there were any girl out there sharing their blood, the only possibility was their missing daughter.
There was, however, another possibility—one that unsettled him deeply. His younger brother. The man was a disgrace, lost in a life of excess and debauchery. It wouldn’t be beyond him to have fathered a child outside of his marriage.
But even then, the thought was hard to bear. His brother’s only legitimate daughter was the only one who could be considered remotely decent in that family, and she had been the closest friend to his own daughter.
The Alpha King exhaled shakily, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to steady himself. A wave of unease and worry gnawed at him, but he couldn’t bring himself to voice his fears. His mate had already been through so much. She had waited for this day for years—the day they would finally find their missing daughter, the day she would return home. He couldn’t bear to shatter her fragile hope with doubts, not now, not when they were so close.
And so, all they could do was wait. Wait and see if this girl was truly their daughter, or if they were still lost in the dark.
After the Alpha King donated 600 milliliters of blood to Addison, he returned to his mate’s side, silently standing by as the royal healer and royal doctor began their work.
Some of the medical staff carefully wiped the blood from Addison’s face and gently began washing her matted hair, revealing more of the girl beneath the injuries.
The royal doctor focused on setting her fractured bones with steady precision. When he was done, he moved on to her inflamed knees, which were still embedded with shards of glass.
With no other option, he reopened the wounds to extract the fragments, working meticulously under the harsh light of the ward.
The Alpha King and Queen observed in tense silence. Ever since their daughter’s kidnapping, the Queen had become more fragile—easily brought to tears and emotional.
Witnessing Addison in this state—broken, battered, and barely holding on—brought her to silent sobs. Yet, despite her deep sorrow, she suppressed every sound, determined not to divert the doctor’s attention from their crucial efforts to save her daughter.
"Your Majesties, please... return to your quarters and wait for the results," Elric urged respectfully, stepping forward. "If you remain here, the doctors will only feel more pressured. And with your wolves so close to the surface, it’s making the entire ward tense. This isn’t helping the princess."
He had noticed the nervous glances and trembling hands of the medical staff, their work hampered by the overwhelming presence of the Alpha King. Elric, who had always been bold enough to speak the truth even in tense moments, was the only one willing to say it aloud.
He knew the Alpha King was barely holding himself together—the longer the examination continued, and the more injuries that were revealed on Addison’s body, the harder it became for the beast within him to stay caged.
Hearing Elric’s words, the Alpha King knew he was right. As much as it pained him, they needed to step back and let the doctors work without the oppressive weight of their presence. With a heavy heart, he gently took his mate’s hand and escorted her out of the medical ward, their footsteps echoing in the tense silence.
As they walked, the Queen whimpered softly, her voice trembling. "She’s our princess... I can feel it. Even if I can’t sense her wolf, I feel it in my soul—she’s our girl."
The Alpha King clenched his jaw, grief and fury churning within him. The Queen’s sorrow quickly morphed into seething rage. "What have they done to her all these years?" she hissed, her fangs flashing, eyes glowing with barely restrained fury. "I can’t accept this. I will annihilate those bastards!"
Her wolf surged to the surface, sharing her wrath. The bloodlust in her voice left no doubt—she was ready for vengeance.
Elric, following closely behind the royal couple, felt a growing sense of unease. Something wasn’t right—too many pieces didn’t fit together.
The moment the war between the werewolves and vampires ended, a report arrived from the Midnight River Pack claiming they had found the missing princess. To verify this, Elric had been tasked with traveling there immediately to escort her back to the Royal Capital.
At the same time, a Royal Convoy was dispatched to other territories as a diversion—to throw off any potential spies or enemies who might still be watching their movements. The royal family feared there were still infiltrators within their ranks, so they took every precaution to ensure the retrieval of the princess was done swiftly and, above all, quietly.
But who would have thought he’d find an injured, dying girl instead? It made no sense. The Midnight River Pack would never dare harm the princess—not even touch a single strand of her hair.
If anything, they would have treated her with the highest respect, following her every whim as though it were a royal decree. So why had he found her in such a dire state? And who were those two werewolves carrying her? Were they abductors?
Now, both the Alpha King and Elric shared the same suspicion. If those two men were responsible for Addison’s condition, then the only explanation was that they had kidnapped her.
But even that theory didn’t fully add up. Why would abductors willingly return to the Royal Palace with Elric? Were they trying to steal the credit for finding her? Nothing about the situation felt right.
Or perhaps something had happened in the Midnight River Pack that they weren’t aware of. And without the full picture, they couldn’t afford to make any reckless moves. Stepping forward, Elric spoke gently, trying to calm the Queen.
"Your Majesty, please, I urge you to stay calm. We need to approach this carefully. I don’t believe things are as simple as they seem. First, we must interrogate those two wolves and verify their story."
"If they’re telling the truth, then something must have gone wrong within the Midnight River Pack. We have to remain discreet. We still don’t know why the Vampires abducted the princess in the first place—and for them to have the audacity to take her from within the Royal Grounds, their motives must be significant."
Elric’s voice was steady, but his mind was spinning with questions. There were too many gaps in the story, too many things that didn’t make sense.
The only person who could answer all these was the princess.