Acela POV

After the events of last night, meeting Lucius face to face has set many events in motion within the palace walls. Of course, the King was not over the moon happy about having him here because of who he is and the Black history with Lucius from the very beginning.

I do not know what else Lucius has done but it makes Kane uneasy having him as 'family' now. 

We are now connected and there is nothing we can all do about this, it's just how it is and we need to do our best with the information that we have.

Caelan has surprisingly not said a bad word about any of this, at first he was skeptical but he thinks the same as me, right now what can we do? I know Lucius is hiding something from me but until I know what it is, I can't simply ignore Lucius, not if it affects my life and Caelan's.

Currently, everyone within the palace is tense, most within The Vale have only heard of Lucius and his history, but to see the man up close is another thing entirely. 

I only got this fatherly vibe from him, apart from his eyes that have obviously seen cruel things, he looks like a normal handsome everyday man. Lucius looked relaxed and at peace with himself rather than this Lycan monster, people are whispering about.

Of course, the whispers are now passing my name. I am the only daughter of Lucius and the only known female Lycan female, what is worse is that I am half-Fae also.

I know a lot about Fae but only so little about Lycans.

Fae are beautiful, their beauty is ageless and they are very alluring, I have never met one but it is widely said that a Fae could entice you with a simple glance your way, that fact that they don't age and stay beautiful is something that is dangerous within this world. They do not tend to mix with other creatures and only stay with their kind.

Which makes me wonder, why did my mother choose Lucius? Why did she die if she was immortal? Fae folk are portrayed as angels in The Vale, beautiful but dangerous, there is only one powerful Fae family in The Vale and they are called Grinmorte.

Grinmorte. The same one family Caelan and his family know well.. I even know of Alec Grinmorte, he visited my shop three to four times a day just to ask me on a date, all the while Caelan was dating his sister for.. I don't know how long before I met Caelan.

If I wanted answers about my mother it would have to come from them, the more I try and learn about my mother Brianna, the more I realize I didn't even know her, not one bit. She was very private but to me, she was just quiet and introverted. Which is now very suspicious for Fae because of their nature.

I can only ask Lucius or a Grinmorte, my best option is Lucius. He told me he wanted to marry my mother.. were they mates? Do Lycans have mates? I think so because they are still wolf.

The more I think about this the more my head spins. Why did she hide me all these years, was she even sick? No.. I can't think about that again, I can't go back there to that moment.

I glance over at Caelan and he talks quietly to his father Kane, it's been quiet for a while now in the dining hall and no one has said a word, Sora smiles at me warmly but the air is thick around the table.

"Are you sick dear? You haven't touched your breakfast." Claire says from across the table, Caelans grandmother.

I force a smile and shake my head. "I'm fine, sorry." I say quietly as I pick up my spoon and eat.

"Are you ok?" Caelan asks worried beside me as he places his hand on my leg.

I look at him and nod my head. "Yep, just.. thinking." I say with a smile and he frowns.

Alfred, Caelans grandfather speaks before Caelan opens his mouth. "Try not to overthink Acela, Lucius is a good man, just misunderstood from history is all." He says and I relax slightly and smile at Alfred.

Kane snorts from across the table and he looks pissed off. "Even so, he wants Acela to rule, that is the only reason he is here in The Vale, to take her back to The Silver City without the risk of war."

Caelan snorts at what Kane said. "Never happening. What about all the sons he has? It doesn't make sense, Acela has never transformed before." 

I sigh. "Can we just wait and ask him? Going around in circles is not helping." I mutter out before I realize I said it out loud and the table grows tense again.

"I agree, he's coming for dinner, let's just all get along for Acela, we are all family now so let's keep an open mind before we start judging Lucius for his past." Sora says with a sigh as she drinks her tea.

We all finish our breakfast in silence. No one spoke after that, no doubt because if someone did there would be things said that could not be undone. I could feel Caelan's thoughts the whole time I ate, he is trying to come to terms with Lucius but he still doesn't trust him until proven otherwise.

I agree with him, he may be my father but until proven otherwise.. I won't let my guard down around him.

*****

Me, Caelan, Kane, and Sora stand waiting by the palace doors as they are open wide, waiting for Lucius to be escorted up the palace steps. We are all dressed in gowns and it is my first time wearing something so expensive, my hair is done and my makeup is perfect.

His car just got here and the driver has yet to open the door for him. When he does I notice instantly how Lucius has dressed for the occasion. He is wearing a three-piece suit and his hair is styled back to perfection, he looks like a bachelor apart from the pin on his suit jacket, it looks familiar but I can't remember where from. Overall he looks fresh and calm to be having dinner with us, I had texted him an hour ago that Caelan's family would like to join and I asked if I was alright, he replied with;

"The more the merrier."

As Lucius walks up the steps, Caelan hand slips into mine as we wait for Lucius to come closer. Lucius's eyes instant meet mine and I see him relax but then his eyes switch to Kane and they immediately go serious.

Lucius stands in front of us with pure confidence radiating off him as his eyes focus on me as he smiles down at me. "Good evening Acela." He says gently to me but then looks to Caelan. "Caelan, I'm Lucius, Acela's father." He greets himself politely and I can feel Caelan's emotions.

Caelan smiles politely and holds his hand out, which Lucius accepts. "Nice to finally meet you." He says politely but I felt uncomfortable somehow.

Lucius looks to Kane and Sora and smirks. "Evening Black, King suits you." He says to Kane which he just frowns. 

Kane snorts and holds his hand out. "As does it suit you." He says roughly as they both shake each others hand.

Sora clears her throat. "Sora, Kane's mate." Sora introduces herself politely and Lucius smiles politely and kisses her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Queen Sora."

So far so good, everyone is getting along and Kane and Caelan are keeping an open mind with Lucius. After we all greet each other we follow Kane and Sora into the main hall for drinks and dinner.

I walk beside Caelan and Lucius walks beside me on my right. "Thank you for inviting me, I was sure you'd not want to see me again." Lucius was with a sad smile and I shrug with a polite smile.

"I still have questions." Is all I say before we all walk into the room together. We all find out seats, I'm beside Caelan, and Kane and Sora sit together, Lucius chooses to sit beside me on my right, again. We all sit and wait for drinks as everyone makes small talk.

"So Lucius, how did you meet Acela's mother?" Queen Sora asks politely and I almost choke on the water I'm drinking.

Lucius chuckles beside me and hums. "I met her when she was 19, I actually bumped into her in an art gallery. We got talking about 'The creation of Adam' and religion, it got very heated I must admit, she was a very stubborn young woman when it came to art." He says with a smile.

My mother loved art...

Lucius clears his throat. "I asked her out for dinner by the end of the day, the rest is history, we were together for 10 years, traveling the world together and seeing some of the most exquisite art pieces around the world until we settled in the human world, she was refreshing to be around, she was pure-hearted and kind, I suppose she made me see things differently." 

I shift in my seat and look at Lucius to see him smiling at Sora as she stares in awe which made Kane roll his eyes. "Were you mates?" I blurt out and the room tenses.

Lucius shakes his head. "No, I- er, I can not have a mate, Brianna had never found hers, we both agreed if she found her mate I would let fate take its course, she never did find her mate and then we had you.." 

"Brianna has always wanted a girl." Lucius says tightly. "With my kind, female Lycans were viewed as weak and an abomination to our ranks, but when you were born.. I hid you and your mother and your scents from others to protect you." He says with a scowl.

"I apologize, this is not a suitable dinner conversation." He says stiffly as he takes a drink of his water in front of him.

I swallow hard Caelan shifts beside me. "What exactly did you do to Acela? Why can't she shift?" Caelan asks and I stare at Lucius to see him frown. 

Lucius stares at me and then my mark on my neck. "I do not know, she is by my knowledge, the first Fae Lycan I have heard of, she could be the most dangerous being in this room for all I know." He says and I stare at him with wide eyes.

What did he mean by that? "Acela I will not dance around this, the fact you haven't yet shifted is dangerous, I'm sure Kane and Caelan have already figured it out by now." He says to me while looking at Caelan and Kane.

They both avoid my gaze while Caelan sighs. "What does he mean? Caelan?" I ask, my voice growing small.

Caelan looks and me and I see him swallow hard, his eyes relax when he looks at me. "It's rare but it could mean you are dying." He says simply and my heart clenches.

What the hell?

I'm dying? 

"Quit joking." I laugh nervously and the room tenses.

Lucius clears his throat and the table looks at him. "Perhaps I can try something? When I hid your scent, I also halted your transformation, it should've worn off by now but it's quite possible it's still affecting you shifting due to the mate bond."

I look at Caelan confused and he growls lowly. "I would never harm Acela." He growls out at Lucius.

Lucius chuckles lightly and shakes his head. "Not intentional no, but the mark is stopping her from reaching her true potential if Acela were to bite you, she would be just fine." 

"My kind are very dominant, wolves are territorial and since you are Lycan, you must also bite your mate to balance your hormones, the spell and the bond are the only things stopping Acela from shifting, she cannot die that easily." Lucius says with furrowed brows as he winks at me.

I shift uncomfortably and think about it seriously for a minute. 

If I were to bite Caelan I could shift? Do I even want to? I thought I was human this whole time and if I did shift, wouldn't that put my life in even more danger once people know what I am and who I am related to?

It's like Lucius said, I could be the strongest being in this room if I reached my full potential.

I was about to open my mouth but then a crash could be heard from outside....

Then the lights off within the castle.

"CAELAN?" I call out worried until I feel him hold me.

He breathes out heavily. "I'm here, don't move from me!"

Kane growls deadly and there can be a commotion heard from outside, people are screaming and yelling. "If this is you Lucius I will kill you with my bare fucking hands!" Kane warns Lucius.

Lucius growls back deadly. "This is not me, they've found her, link your wolves for an emergency, we need to shift!" He snarls at Kane as I feel Lucius hold onto my arm.

I see everyone's eyes glow in the dark but mine, everyone wolf is on edge with the threat of an enemy coming for us and they are all ready to shift, I feel Lucius shake me out of my thoughts.

"Acela, take this, drink it, it will help speed up things.. you need to go with Caelan now ok?" Lucius says quietly as he hands me a small bottle  while the screaming and growls from outside are getting louder outside the palace. 

I feel tears stream down my face as I nod my head and whisper out a 'ok'.

"What's inside?" Caelan asks roughly as he holds onto me and I feel how much his wolf wants to come out.

"It's cap serum, it's what I used to slow her transformation, now go! Me and Kane will give you all time to escape! Stay strong Acela!" He says quietly as he shoves me into Caelan in the dark.

I feel Sora touch me "Stay low and quiet, it's going to be ok!" She says shakingly as Caelan leads us through the darkness out the back of the room. As we quietly make our way while we all hear the sounds of cracking and snapping of bones and deadly growls and snarls erupting from behind us as we crouch to the back of the room in complete darkness.

The sound is obvious.

Kane and Lucius have now shifted into their beast forms.

I hear voices outside the main door of the dining hall we are currently inside and within seconds it's being kicked in, it breaks in half and the sound echoes in the room at the number of snarls can be heard right now.

I can not see what or who they are because Caelan and Sora lead me into a secret passage at the back of the room, located in the walls. 

The last thing I hear before Caelan shuts the secret passage door is a vicious snarl from someone that wasn't Kane or Lucius.