My Alpha's Wolfless Daughter
My Alpha’s Wolfless Daughter – Chapter 33

Future Beta Nate

After meeting Prince Dante, he was leading us into the palace. He stopped in front of dark oak doors and was about to open the door when I heard Ayla yelling.

“How the hell could you do that to me?”

I was about to rush in there but Prince Dante moved in front of me.

“Ayla, I’m sorry, I left but I had no choice.” I heard a male voice pleading with my mate.

“You just left. You didn’t even say goodbye or explain anything to me. Did I really mean that little to you?” She cried and my heart twisted painfully.

“Baby, of course not. We were planning a life together. But I couldn’t stay. My father killed my mom and I had to protect my brother.”

“And you couldn’t have told me that? I thought we told each other everything! I’m sorry about your mother, I really am. But you could have told me.” I could hear the despair in her voice.

When I couldn’t stand to hear anymore, I pushed the prince standing in my way and threw open the doors to replace my mate on the verge of breaking down. Her cheeks were tear-stained as she jumped from the doors, coming in contact with the walls.

“Ayla,” I breathed out. New tears started to fall and I could see the guilt in her eyes. She slammed her eyes shut before turning away from me.

“Baby,” the guy pleaded. Duke growled and Ayla held up her hand, stopping him from getting any closer to her.

“Who the f**k are you?” He yelled, turning his attention to me.

“Kaden, what is going on?” Prince Chase asked the guy, and now I knew this guy was King Kaden, but how did he know Ayla? And why was he calling her baby?

“Ayla, are you okay?” Xander called out beside me. I quickly closed the distance between us. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her back into my chest.

“Baby, are you hurt?” I whispered against her neck. She shook her head and covered her face as she started to sob.

I turned her around and she buried her face in my chest while I held her tight. I was whispering to her before my attention was pulled back to the others in the room.

“Kaden, how do you know Ayla?” Prince Chase asked him.

“It’s good to see you again, Chase. I met Ayla a few years ago. I didn’t know she was the heir to the western kingdom.” King Kaden said.

“It was when you left the kingdom before your mother died?” Prince Chase questioned, and I saw King Kaden nod.

“I knew him as Kyle, not Kaden.” Ayla sniffed, moving away from me.

“I lied when I told you I was living in the city after my mother’s death. After I ran away from foster care, I sold everything, except my mother’s necklace. I found someone to sell me a fake ID and I boarded a bus to a little town a few hours north of the city.” Ayla explained.

“Why would you lie?” I asked her and she looked up at me.

“Because I wanted to forget. Kyle, I mean Kaden, broke me. And I did what I always do, and locked my emotions away. I didn’t want to answer questions about those almost two years. I thought it was better to lie.” She admitted.

“Ayla, I didn’t mean for things to end the way they did,” King Kaden said.

“Kaden, it doesn’t change anything. You left without saying goodbye. I came home and you were gone. You made me believe we were going to have this beautiful life together. We were making plans and you left. And you lied to me about who you were and your name.” Ayla’s voice cracked and I knew this was hard for her to say. Hell, it was hard for me to hear.

She was planning on having a life with this guy who left her. And she had already lost her mother and didn’t know where her father was. How could someone be so heartless?

“Ayla, I was in hiding. Kyle is my middle name. And I didn’t know you were a mermaid until after replaceing your mother,” King Kaden said, and Ayla gasped.

“Kaden, you know my mother is dead.”

“I know you told me that, but I found her alive. My kingdom raided a hideout of the hunters looking for my mother when we found yours.” He answered.

“You have to be lying. There’s no way my mother wouldn’t have come to replace me if she was really alive.” Ayla yelled, her body shaking in rage. I took her hands and placed them on my chest before forcing her to look at me.

“Baby, breathe. I know this is overwhelming.” I whispered to her, holding onto her cheeks.

“Ayla, who the hell is this?” King Kaden growled out.

“He’s her mate.” I heard Prince Chase answer.

“We don’t have mates,” he questioned.

“Ayla’s father is a werewolf,” Xander clarified.

“What the f**k, Ayla?” He yelled and Duke growled.

“I didn’t know! I didn’t know any of this until my grandmother kidnapped me!” Ayla screamed. And I pulled her against my chest.

“Nate, I want to go home.” She cried.

“And we will go home,” I told her.

“Not back to the palace. I want to go home. I want to go get Bluey and I want us to go home. Xander, you can report back about Kaden not wanting to claim me and I can go home.” She pulled away and told us.

“Ayla, I know you are hurt but it’s not safe. Hunters are crawling all over that city,” Kaden told her.

“Then, I’ll replace somewhere else. But I’m not staying here. I can’t do this anymore. My mother left, and my father was never in my life. Then you left and my mother is alive but never found me. And Nate, the moon goddess told me, she gave me you. You aren’t here because you love me or because you would have even chosen me without the bond.” She ranted and my heart twisted painfully at her words.

“Baby, I know you must be confused and hurt. And we will circle back to your chat with the moon goddess. But I’m here because I’m choosing you. Yes, the bond is there, but I could have rejected you. I could have walked away from all of this but I didn’t. Just because we are given a mate bond doesn’t mean we have to accept it. And I’m accepting you.” I rushed out, trying to reassure her.

“Nate, that’s not what I mean. I never would have been your chosen mate.” She whispered, closing her eyes.

“Ayla, you don’t have to be my chosen mate, because you are my soulmate. The moon goddess gave me to you for a reason. And just because I didn’t get a chance to choose you, doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have.” I told her. Duke was right. I should have claimed her already. I didn’t care who heard me pouring my heart out to this beautiful woman. I just wanted to see a smile on her face.

“You say that now. But you’ll grow to resent me when you finally realize I wasn’t worth giving up your position or life for.” She yelled, breaking out of my hold. And now it was Xander’s turn to help calm her down.

“Ayla, breathe,” he said, moving towards her.

“Xander, this is all too much. I can’t do this anymore.” She cried. And he wrapped his arms around her.

“You are tired and hungry. Don’t make any decisions until you can think clearly. I know Nate loves you and he could have walked away but he didn’t. He was even trying to train in the water with us. He wants to be able to protect you.” I heard Xander whispering to her. I don’t know if the others were able to hear him, but I was thankful he wasn’t throwing me under the bus.

“Ayla, it’s late. I have rooms made up for all of you. And I know your mother would like to see you.” King Kaden told her. It took a few minutes but I saw her nod her head against Xander’s chest as he held her.

“Nate, go with Ayla to your room. The princes and I are going to have a chat with King Kaden,” Xander said. I closed the distance between Ayla and me. She pulled away from Xander and I pulled her into my side, wrapping my arm around her waist.

“Dante, can you show Ayla and her mate to their room?” King Kaden asked his brother, gritting his teeth. He glared at me while I followed his brother out of the room with Ayla pressed into my side.

He may have been stupid enough to leave Ayla, but I wasn’t going to be making that same mistake.

Ayla

My emotions were overwhelming and I can’t believe I haven’t shifted yet. Finding out that my first love was actually King Kaden was about to break me and I wished I could run. I lied about my past because explaining I was homeless was better than explaining my broken heart. I loved Kyle, aka King Kaden. We were planning a life together. He was the light in my life after my mother died. And then when he left without a word, I boxed up all those emotions and shoved them to the back of my mind. I never in a million years thought he would show up, let alone be the king everyone told me would want to kidnap me. And now my emotions are all over the place. I once wanted to build a life with him, but now I have Nate. And then I learned my mother was still alive but never bothered to replace me.

I know I need to speak with her but I was feeling so much resentment towards her because of what she put my father through. And how did she end up breaking the bond with my father?

My mind was in overdrive and my body was on autopilot as I walked beside Nate. I just wanted to go home and be away from everyone so I could think. But now I will have to relive more of my past. Nate deserved an explanation. And as much as I wish I could hide away alone, I was glad Nate was here with me.

I said I wanted him to leave, but deep down I didn’t. I wanted him to choose me. I wanted to be his world, but the fear of his resentment and leaving me later is holding me back from truly loving him. And then there’s this mess with the hunters. I should be thankful Kaden isn’t the monster everyone thought he was, but I think I would rather be dealing with a stranger than someone I knew.

I guess Kaden is a stranger to me now. I never thought he’d leave me. I truly believed he loved me as much as I loved him. Even though I was young, I had him. I was pulled from my thoughts when Nate grabbed my cheeks.

Blinking a few times, I looked around to replace us standing in a bedroom together. Nate rested his forehead against mine and I let out a sigh.

“I’m so sorry, Nate,” I whispered, not trusting my voice. I felt tears building in my eyes again. You would think by now, I would no longer have any more tears to cry.

“Baby, you don’t have to explain everything if you don’t want to. You have a past, even though I am surprised it involved King Kaden.” Nate told me.

“I didn’t know him as Kaden. I met him after I turned sixteen. I was working for the local motel. I did almost everything there for a small paycheck and a room. Most of the time, the older couple who owned it would feed me as well.” I told him as he led me over to the bed and we both took a seat.

“And that’s where you met him?” He asked me and I nodded.

“He told me he was starting over as well. He started working and when he got his own place, he asked me to move it with him. That was about six months after I met him.” I explained.

“And then what happened?” I could see this was hard for him. It would be hard for me if the situation was reversed.

“Just before my eighteenth birthday, I drove into the city for a job interview at the law firm. He couldn’t come with me because he said he had work. We were planning on moving to the city so I could attend night classes. Anyways, when I got home, he was gone. And I never heard from him again.” I shrugged.

“Until today?” He asked and I nodded.

“And how did you end up here?”

“When I was in the library, a book fell off a shelf. It was glowing blue. And I know that sounds crazy. But when I looked up again, there was an entranceway into a dark tunnel.” I started.

“And you went in?” He raised an eyebrow at me and I nodded, pushing my lips into a line.

“Yes, and when I turned back around, the entranceway had closed. I walked down a stairwell for what felt like hours until I reached the bottom. And when I got there, a mermaid and a woman were waiting.”

“The moon goddess?” Nate breathed out.

“And the sea goddess Amphitrite,” I told him.

“The wife of the sea god Poseidon?” He asked and I nodded.

“And what did the moon goddess tell you to make you think I wouldn’t have chosen you?”

“The moon goddess told me that Amphitrite prayed to her for help protecting her mermaids. So Selene went to my mother with a plan so she would give birth to me. She also told me I was given a wolf because her wolves don’t take chosen mates.” I answered him. He pulled me into his lap so I was now straddling him.

“She gave you me and I you. I know you weren’t raised with the notion of a mate bond. And yes, we usually wait for ours. But it’s because our mate is our soulmate. And you, Ayla, are my soulmate. I’m sorry your heart was broken. But I would never leave you or resent you. Duke and I are choosing to leave our pack and position. It’s not just me making those decisions, Duke feels the same way I do.” He told me.

“I’m sorry, Nate. This is all just so much.” I cried and he wrapped his arms around me.

“I know, baby. And I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. And in the morning, we can go wherever you want to go until you are ready for whatever comes next. I’m never letting you go.” He mumbled against my neck.

There was a knock on the door, so Nate moved me off of his lap to answer it. I moved under the blanket on the bed and snuggled back into the pillows. I was exhausted from the events of the day and tomorrow I would be coming face to face with my mother again. And I had no idea how I was going to explain all of this to my father. He has moved on with his life but he still shared me with her.

Nate walked back over holding a tray as I was lost in my thoughts. I wished my life was easy. Have I not been through enough?

“Please, eat something, Ayla. Then we can get some sleep.” Nate pleaded with me as he sat the tray down on the bed beside me. I nodded because I knew he was worried about me. I felt like a child as I picked at the food.

I know I overreacted to all of this, but it’s hard when I hide so many emotions for so long. I never had the time to break down and deal with anything. I always had to keep going, since I only had myself to rely on. I had Kaden for a while but I just wanted to be happy. It was great until it wasn’t and then I had to take care of myself all over again.

“Baby, how did you end up here after your talk with the goddess’?” Nate asked. He was sitting in front of me, also picking at his food.

“After the goddesses disappeared, I swam out of the cave we were in. I was by this weird island and as I swam towards the island there were people. Anyways, they were hunting whales and I tried to help and then Kaden was there. He and his men were there hunting down the men that were hunting the whales.” I explained.

“And you came back here with them?”

“I was scared. Being out in the open ocean alone was terrifying. And then witnessing a whale being killed. I’m sorry, Nate. I shouldn’t have come here with Kaden but I didn’t know what to do,” I told him.

“I’m glad you’re safe, baby. I was so worried about you.” He said and I yawned, unable to hold it in. Nate moved the tray to the nightstand and crawled in beside me. He pulled me close and I rested my head on his chest. His scent calmed me in a way I couldn’t describe. It was like a wave of peace washed over me as I snuggled close to him.

Maybe I had to experience so much bad to truly be thankful for having Nate and Duke.

“I got you baby, and I’m not going anywhere.”