Goddess’s Design His Fated Mate by Pooja
Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Willow

“For our future?” I gasped in confusion at his unexpected statement. “What do you mean?”

He locked eyes with me for a couple of seconds, the silence growing heavy with unspoken memories. Then, as if peeling back layers of the past I had been unaware of, he began to reveal a story hidden in the depths of its shadows.

“Inheriting royal blood and being born with the title of Prince, I was supposed to spend my life in the palace, destined to fight for the crown when the appropriate time came. I had no objection to the path that had been chosen for my fate until you came into my

life. Having you in my life made me greedy. I wanted to be with you, but it was impossible because royal law would never allow me to be with a she–wolf that was not an Alpha.

“My father and the current King were identical twins, but in the realm of royalty, only one could wear the crown. My father, the younger of the two, harbored no desire for the throne. He willingly relinquished his claim, granting him the freedom to establish and lead the Emerald Bright Pack without interference from the royal family. However, my circumstances were not so easily navigated. Even though our pack operated independently, our ties to the royal family remained unshakable, and my identity as a prince was inescapable.

When I approached my uncle, the king, about assuming my father’s position as Alpha of the Emerald Bright Pack and abstaining from the crown’s contention with my cousins, I was presented with only one path to freedom. I had to prove myself worthy by serving the kingdom for five years. During this time, I dealt with countless treaties, faced deadly wars, and occasionally found myself embroiled in the less savory tasks demanded by the royal family.”

At 18 years old, I was willing to do anything to ensure a future with you, so I accepted the obligation of serving the royals for five years. This commitment meant leaving the pack frequently, not for leisure or to interact with other she–wolves, but to fulfill the tasks assigned by the king and return to you as swiftly as possible. I kept my ties with the royal family and the reasons for my absences from the pack hidden from you, knowing that revealing them would likely cause you to panic and distance yourself from me even further. You were already fervently attempting to conceal our mate bond because of my status as the alpha’s son, so I never dared to confide in you about these matters. Additionally, you never expressed any curiosity about the reasons for my departures. For five years, everything proceeded smoothly, until I entered the final year of my obligation and somehow, my father discovered our relationship.

+5

In those two months following my departure from your house, after spending that rut night with you, I encountered Elder Frank. I settled accounts with him, but a month later, my father unexpectedly visited me with evidence of our relationship that I could no longer deny. Someone had sent him explicit photos of us, including our intimate moments, and it was clear that Elder Frank wasn’t responsible. It was the work of someone else entirely.

I confessed to my father that I was deeply in love with you and that I intended to spend the rest of my life with you. It was my final decision, but he couldn’t accept the idea of an Omega as my mate and future Luna of our pack.

Dad and I found ourselves in a heated argument right then and there. He demanded that I expel you from the pack and forget about you entirely, but I stood firm in my decision not to break things off with you. He was equally resolute in his determination to either force me to end our relationship or remove you from my life altogether, and I understood all too well what he meant by that. Having witnessed since childhood how he dealt with Omegas he deemed unworthy, I knew the extent of his threats.

In a moment of desperation, I issued a deadly warning of my own father, declaring that I would kill him if he laid a hand on you. Knowing I wouldn’t return for another two months, I was prepared to do whatever it took, including issuing threats, to protect you in my absence.

My father understood that my warnings were not empty threats. He envisioned himself meeting a violent end, perhaps even with the entire Emerald Bright Pack going up in flames. At that point, he realized that he couldn’t even think about harming you without risking losing a lot more, including his own son. He knew that my interests had never been tied to position or pack, but that I had become obsessed with protecting both since you entered

my life.

His entire b*dy trembled with anger, but he knew he was powerless to act. In the end, he agreed not to lay a hand on you until I returned to take over the pack. However, he issued a chilling warning that if you became pregnant, he would eradicate both you and our child. I understood the gravity of his threat, but in the moment, I brushed it off, believing that once I assumed leadership of the pack after those two months, he would no longer be able to meddle in our relationship. That’s how I interpreted the situation.

Little did I know that during our rut, I had engaged in unprotected s*x with you, and our children were already growing within your belly.

That’s why when you told me you were pregnant, I was shocked and filled with anger. I lost control and lashed out, saying whatever came to mind. I vehemently opposed your pregnancy at that moment because, as per my father’s warning, if you were impregnated by me, royal law dictated that the she–wolf would be executed immediately. The royal law was

heavily biased in favor of men, placing all blame on women for pregnancies, regardless of the circumstances. It conveniently ignored the man’s role in the situation.

I was fully aware of the dire consequences, and in that moment, I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you. The reality of your unexpected pregnancy weighed heavily on me, and I reacted with anger and frustration because there was no way to turn back time and prevent

1. it.

I felt utterly trapped, experiencing a sense of weakness for the first time in my life, which was entirely unacceptable and infuriating for me. I could have chosen a more selfish route, perhaps saving you by ending the life of the baby growing inside you. But the mere thought of voicing such a notion was abhorrent to me, especially when I could already feel the connection with our pup. That innocent life, our blood and flesh, stirred something deep within me, and I longed to welcome our first child into the world. Despite this, I felt like a pathetic excuse for a man because I couldn’t save both you, my soulmate, and our child.

I was torn between you and our baby, unable to make a choice, and that internal conflict tormented me the most. My emotions overwhelmed me, leading me to speak hateful words to you, words that I never wanted to utter and still regret to this day. Even in the midst of our argument, as you cried and spoke about our baby, my mind raced with thoughts of how to navigate the situation. Suddenly, I received a mind link from my father. He demanded my presence in his office. I didn’t know how, but he had somehow learned about your pregnancy, and even the royal family was aware of it.

The royal orders had been issued, and the unthinkable was about to happen. You, along with our baby, were scheduled to be beheaded in a matter of hours, and the thought was something I simply couldn’t accept. When you followed me out of the house, crying, and I shouted at you not to follow, it wasn’t because I wanted you to stay away; it was my way of trying to protect you by keeping you confined in the house where no one could replace you.

I knew you would retreat into the safety of the house, and that’s what I needed before I could resolve the situation and come back to you. I was willing to make you cry for a while if it meant I could save you.

Upon leaving your house, I immediately headed to my father’s office, where another ugly argument ensued. It escalated dangerously close to turning into a deadly fight between father and son because neither of us was willing to back down from our desires. I couldn’t

tell

you how long our argument lasted, maybe an hour, but throughout it all, my mind was consumed with thoughts of you. Through our mate bond, I could sense your cries, your fear, and the anguish in your broken heart. The pain you were enduring became unbearable for me, and I found myself losing my grip on reality.

At that pivotal moment, when my father remained resolute in his decision and refused to

intervene against the royal decree, I made a life–altering choice. I declared that I would leave the Emerald Bright Pack with you and renounce my surname, severing ties with my father and everything I had ever known. In a fit of rage, my father ordered his warriors to stop me from reaching you. I can’t recall how long I battled them that night or how many lives were lost in the chaos, but when I returned to your home, ready to depart the pack with you and start our life together with our child in love and peace, you were gone. had fled from the pack, leaving me behind, and you never returned,” Reuben recounted, his voice trembling with the weight of painful memories as he shared his past with me.

You

Tears streamed down my cheeks uncontrollably as I listened to Reuben’s heartbreaking past I did not have any idea. It was almost unfathomable to believe. Reuben had sacrificed his position, his surname, and everything he held dear for me, for someone like me? Then if that night if I had not run…

I bit my l*p, struggling to comprehend his words. “But what about your fiancée? The Alpha’s daughter you brought to the pack?”

Reuben’s frown deepened. “I never brought an Alpha’s daughter or any woman with me,” he clarified firmly. “I arrived alone and immediately came to meet you at your home. That day marked the end of my bond with the royal family, and I had earned my freedom to lead the Emerald Bright Pack after my father. I officially abandoned my claim to the crown. When I had our future together secured in my hands, after five years of relentless effort, why on earth would I bring a fiancée to the pack with me?”

His words sent my heart reeling with confusion. How could this be true? If Reuben never brought his fiancée with him, then why did Ella claim otherwise when I was leaving the house to meet him?

Blinking back tears of confusion, I gazed up at him and asked, “Then why did you sign a marriage contract with Ella? If it wasn’t to secure the Alpha position, why did you sign that contract in the first?”

Reuben’s expression transformed instantly into emotionless one when I broached the topic of the marriage contract.

“It’s true, I signed the marriage contract first, but I was coerced into it. I had to make that choice in order to secure my freedom because without signing that contract, I couldn’t claim the Alpha position of the Emerald Pride pack. As an Alpha, I would have had the power to act freely and it also meant I could look for you without anyone’s interference. Every decision I made was with the sole purpose of replaceing you. When Ella was presented with the contract to sign, I made it explicitly clear to her that we were only engaged on paper and that there would be no romantic feelings or relationship between us. I told her that my heart belonged to my soulmate. I gave her the opportunity to back out of signing

the contract before she did so, but she accepted everything. She signed the contract fully aware of her place in our fabricated relationship. After drawing that line between us, I intensified my search for you. There wasn’t a corner or spot in this country where I didn’t look for you, whether it was for six days, six months, or six years. But I could never replace because you left me with no intention of returning. You despised me. I’ve been consumed by guilt and regret every moment since then. I’ve been living in torment without you,” he confessed softly, his heart broken just like me, his hand gently caressing my cheeks.

you

“You are my past, my present, and my only future, Willow” he continued, tears welling up in my eyes once more at his heartfelt confession. “I’ve never betrayed you, Willow. I’ve only ever loved you.”