Leah's POV
A few weeks passed and everything went surprisingly smoothly.
With Gean and Laura's support, supervised by Jalin, of course, the preparation of bidding for Mediland Project took place without any obstacles.
Lucas went out for a business trip and he took Darren away from me. Darren was away for inspection in Mediland, so finally I was able to enjoy some quiet moments in my life.
Everything went well until one day, after the morning briefing, Gean deliberately slowed down the process of tidying up the folders on my table.
Laura noticed that he wanted to talk to me, so she winked at Gean and said, "I'll be waiting for you at my office. We've got some figures to check."
Gean nodded and said, "Sure, Miss Parish. I'll be with you in a few minutes."
After Laura left, Gean closed the door and said to me in a low voice, "Miss Lewyn, about the thing you asked me to do a few weeks ago..."
"Did you have the result?" I asked eagerly. I asked him to do a background check on Darren.
Gean nodded and said, "Yes, Miss Lewyn. But I'm not sure how I should put it..."
My heart sank.
The look on Gean's face suggested that I was not going to like what I was about to hear.
According to Murphy's law, what can happen will happen.
"Tell me the truth, Gean." I took my seat on the chair and was ready to embrace the bad news for today.
"Please don't be nervous, Miss Lewyn. Mr. Swanson is a good and honest man who has a spotless record in the army. He didn't lie to you about his past," Gean said.
"So what did he lie about?" I asked. The veins in my temples were popping up.
"He didn't lie to you. He was just concealing some vital information about the relationship between you and him," Gean said.
"Which is...?" I frowned and asked.
Am I going to get another half-brother thanks to my Father's debauchery in the past?
"He's your Batair, Miss Lewyn." Gean said in a calm, steady voice.
"Ba... Batair?" I was confused. "What does it mean in English?"
"The word is Gaelic and it means strong warrior," Gean revealed while looking straight at me.
"Strong warrior?" I asked dubiously because I didn't expect it to be this simple.
"Yes. Miss Lewyn, Your Father His Majesty the King is the righteous heir of the throne, so your pack is empowered by the Moon Goddess to be the only Lycan Pack in this Kingdom. But a Lycan Pack can't survive on its own. It needs support from other packs. So in ancient times, a selected pack will become the Keepers of the Lycan Pack. The strongest warrior of the Keepers will be chosen and assigned as the protector or bodyguard of the righteous heir of the Lycan Family."
"Righteous heir... What are you talking about? The only righteous heir of my Father's throne is my brother Lucian. Is Darren his Batair?"
"No, Miss Lewyn. Let me rephrase it. Darren is assigned by the Moon Goddess as your Batair, which means that..."
"I am the heir of my Father's throne?!" I exclaimed and then covered my mouth.
"You're the next Queen of the Kingdom," Gean said.
"No... That's not possible! I don't have the capability of being a Queen of the Kingdom! I can't even handle one man in my life, let alone a thousand men! This isn't possible!" I shook my head violently.
Gean didn't say anything but stood there, looking at me.
"Well, say something, Gean!" I stood up and walked toward him.
Gean looked into my eyes and said, "Miss Lewyn, my job is about looking for the truth and informing you, not about persuading you to believe it is true."
"But... Where did you get this kind of information? This kind of connection between me and Darren is supposed to be exclusive..." My voice started getting dry.
Darren is my Batair. That explained why there was a special connection between us. And it also explained how he could always find me when I was in trouble.
Gean nodded and said, "This connection is only disclosed to the Alpha of the Keeper Pack by Moon Goddess. It was his responsibility to choose the candidate for your Batair. So, only Darren and his father know about this."
Well, that makes sense. I thought to myself. Darren's father is Alpha Derek Swanson of the Eagle Tail Pack. He chose Darren to be my Batair, because he needed his eldest son, Darren's brother, to be the next Alpha of his pack.
But at the same time, a jolt of shock coursed through my body, freezing me in place.
My eyes widened in disbelief as my mind struggled to process the information that had just been delivered to me.
I will be the next Queen of the Kingdom?!
It was as if the ground beneath my feet had suddenly given way, and I was left tumbling into a deep, dark chasm of uncertainty.
Still couldn't believe what I had heard, I mumbled, "But... But my father doesn't have a Batair..."
"His Majesty's Batair was Alpha Dire, Miss Lewyn. That was why His Majesty entrusted him with a lot of power in the North," Gean said.
"But... I have never heard of it, neither have I read about it in any recorded text about werewolf history..." I said.
"Miss Lewyn, Batair only appears when the heir of the Kingdom is in great danger. Your Father, His Majesty the King had a Batair because he was fighting for his throne. He was in danger, so Alpha Dire was chosen to protect him."
"So... You mean that now I'm in great danger?!" My hands trembled as I clutched at her chest, desperately trying to steady myself.
"Yes, Miss Lewyn. I'm afraid it is correct." Gean said.
I tapped my forehead.
Ah, that explains the strange voice I heard while I was floating in the ocean the other day. I thought it was some delusion in my head.
That voice appeared in my mind again.
"Go back to your ex-mate, Leah. He's your second chance. Save him. Save your Father. Save the people in your Kingdom."
The air around me seemed to thicken, making it difficult to breathe. My heart raced like a runaway train, pounding against my ribcage with a ferocity that threatened to burst it open.
Damn. I thought to myself. My Father is in danger. Our Kingdom is in danger. Lucas is in danger.
And I'm also in danger, but I have to save them by going back to my ex-mate, who has rejected me and whom I hate the most.
Does anyone want to trade life with me?