Eero's Perspective
"But, you'll be back soon, right? When Perseus wakes up I'm sure he'll look for you and you know that I'm not good at lying, Eero." I nodded at Diana and strode my way to the door to leave.
"And I thought you only agreed to be adopted by Codrus because of the power and connections that you'll get to have," My wolf commented after it felt how deeply affected I was by the possibility that Codrus' days are short and it's only a matter of short time before he took his last breath.
"He adopted me for his selfish reason, but you know too that Codrus had learned to love me like his own pup. He did his best to protect me and Perseus. When Alice had a miscarriage everyone was pointing at me as the mastermind of that tragedy." I closed my eyes, not wanting to dig deep at the memories of the painful memories.
"The Alpha King believed me. He was the reason why Beta Octavio couldn't do anything to me, and my son."
"Don't be scared, Eero. I'm sure the Alpha King will recover from this and he'll be able to smoothly pass his ruling right to you," my wolf assured me before she went silent again and I zoned out in front of the tall gates of the realm after the taxi pulled over in front of it.
"Excuse me, but aren't you going to get off? We're already here," The taxi driver asked. I snapped back to reality and nodded at him. I quickly handed him my fare and left his taxi.
The pounding of my heart doubled as I got to see the tall and ancient architecture of the realm as well as its details that I had forgotten.
I took a deep breath and went straight inside the realm, but the mansion looked so different compared to when I saw it last time.
I was about to ask the omega walking towards me when I felt the familiar presence of a man by my side.
I slowly turned and looked over to my shoulder only to be caught off guard. Two steps away from me stood my second chance mate. Claudius is towering over me and I suddenly get the reminder of how petite I look when I'm standing beside him.
His dangerous and indecipherable aura with him made me feel small.
"Follow me and hurry. The visiting hours are about to end," he said using his baritone voice I hadn't even recovered from what happened and my brain had barely processed what he said when he started walking towards the elevator.
"Since when did you have the freedom to roam around the realm? Did the Alpha King accept you back to the pack?" I asked him.
Claudius remained silent.
I was hesitant if I should step inside the elevator too after I saw that it would be just him and I riding inside of it."Eero!" His warning voice snapped me up from my thoughts. My wolf took control and before I even knew it, I was already standing next to him in that elevator.
Claudius pressed the third floor button and the fleeting seconds we spent inside the elevator together felt like forever to me, I couldn't stand the looks of him as I saw his reflection against the elevator's metal material which is why I looked down.
We stopped in front of the last door on the corner of the hallway. Claudius opened the door for me and I walked into the room without even trying to look at Claudius or thank him for bringing me here.
"Go on, the Alpha is waiting for you. I know your head is full of questions, and I'll tend to that later," he said to me before closing the door.
It felt like I was being strangled as I got closer and closer to the Alpha King who was lying in his bed. When Codrus felt my presence, he immediately opened his eyes.
I couldn't control myself anymore and tears started pouring down my eyes. I gently hug him as tears continue to stream down my eyes. Because of his condition. The only thing he could do was hug my arm and smile happily despite the pain he was feeling.
"Claudius did manage to bring you here to the realm hmm? I thought I'd die without seeing you again, my heir." I wiped his tears and kissed the back of his hand.
"I miss you too, Papa. I'm sorry that it took me this long to see you I-I don't know." My voice cracked and I choked on my sobs. He shook his head trying to convey to me that it was okay.
"Alice and Octavio, they are after my throne and my position. It's too late, I think they already have the support of everyone in the council. They are planning to usurp you. I'm sorry, Eero. There is nothing I can do now for you, I should have let you be with Claudius before, if only I allowed the two of you to be together then you wouldn't have to deal with the betrayal of Octavio and Aelice for they would never dare to steal your right as my heir." Codrus murmured.The Alpha King held my hand and squeezed it gently.
"Forgive me, Eero." I sniffed and smiled at him.
"For what?" I asked confusedly. Another tear fell from his eyes."I-I was the one who put the abortifacient in Aelice's drink that caused his miscarriage before."
My jaw dropped to the floor.
"You did? But why? The pup that Aelice was carrying at that time was yours. Why would you kill your pup?" I asked him.
"No, it's not mine. I had a vasectomy before I married him to make sure that I'd have no pup with her, so when she got married I was sure that it wasn't mine and I know that she'll use that pup she had with someone else to rattle the peace in this realm. Vance isn't my son, don't let Aelice and Octavio put him on the throne and make him the next Alpha, Eero."