All of us were here for Alina’s wedding. Her mate was bound to be mentioned in conversation.
I was curious about him and casually asked, “When did Alina’s mate appear? It’s so sudden. We had heard nothing about this before we receive the wedding invitation.”
Alina had just returned from the imperial city, so I figured that she couldn’t have known him for that long. Leonard chuckled and said, “We indeed made the decision in a hurry, but they actually had met long before. During one of the exchanges among different packs before, we discovered that the kid was Alina’s mate. It was love at first sight for him. Although his pack is not very large, it’s not substandard. Alina won’t have any trouble living a stable and peaceful life there. Besides, I’ve done some research myself. The young man is loyal, honest, and has potential. Marrying him will bring Alina happiness.”
“How does Alina feel about this?” Knowing her nature, I was certain it would be difficult for her to accept this marriage. They had only met each other a few times and hadn’t formed a deep relationship yet. Moreover, her mate was the son of the Alpha of a small pack. I guessed that she might find him deficient.
As expected, Leonard’s face was lined with worry. He sighed deeply and said in a helpless voice, “You are always so intuitive and smart. Alina wasn’t interested in marrying him. Before you arrived here, I got into a big argument with her. It was the first time she displayed her aversion to me. It was also the first time she expressed her wants firmly. The truth is I have always known what Alina desires. I am not a purist. I didn’t have any opposition to my daughter inheriting the position of Alpha, but she doesn’t have what it takes. I don’t want my pack to crumble because of my wrong decision.”
Rufus and I remained quiet. When we saw the sad expression on Leonard’s face, we also felt a little dejected. As an Alpha and a father, it was difficult for him to make a fair decision.
Leonard gazed into the distance with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes filled with sorrow. “It’s not like I didn’t have any plans to train Alina to be my successor in the past. She is so smart and promising. But she is short-sighted. She only cares about herself and her current interests, without thinking about others. I’m afraid the pack will descend into chaos if it’s handed over to her. So, I decided Warren was a good choice to take over my position in the future, but I was worried about his character.”
Sylvia’s POV
It would be great if Warren could inherit the position of an Alpha. He had been with Leonard ever since he was a child, and to a certain extent, Leonard had already regarded Warren as his own son.
As for what Leonard was worried about, I had a vague idea of what he meant.
He was worried that Warren would attach too much importance to his friends and family. I thought the same. Leonard sighed. “Warren is stubborn. Pedantic, even. He had adored me ever since he was a child, and he cherished Alina a lot. Owen had always thought that Warren liked Alina, but I don’t think he does. He would lose sight of who he is in front of her and unconditionally obey her orders. He wouldn’t behave like that if he really loved her.”
Deep down, I agreed. Warren was more like Alina’s guardian. Love wasn’t that simple.
If Warren was in love, he would be possessive and perhaps would sometimes want to control Alina as well. He wouldn’t be so obedient all the time.
“I think they’re more like siblings,” I said.
Warren and Alina grew up together, and in a traditional sense, they were childhood sweethearts. If they didn’t have romantic feelings for each other, then it could only be family affection that bonded them together.
Since Alina had gone to the imperial city and focus on marrying a prince, their relationship withered. What they had been through before had become the past. They had to live their own lives now.
I believed that Warren came back to Alina’s wedding simply because they were from the same pack. There was nothing going on between them anymore.
Leonard nodded in agreement with my comment. “You’re right. Warren’s feelings for Alina are more like brotherly affection than love. I’m glad he found his true love. I instantly noticed that he was possessive and overprotective towards that she-wolf. It’s obvious that he’s deeply in love. The way he treats that she-wolf is just like how Rufus treats you.”
Leonard burst into laughter after saying that. My cheeks flushed in embarrassment as I held Rufus’ hand. Indeed, Rufus could be overbearing sometimes, but I enjoyed his company. Perhaps this was the magic of love.
“What I’m trying to say is, even if Warren didn’t love Alina, he admired and respected her. He would even be indecisive in front of her. Maybe that’s just because he was used to it. Ever since they were children, he had always been taking care of her anyway. Once, I thought about leaving Alina in the pack so she and Warren could support each other and manage the pack together as if they were real siblings. But when Alina went to the imperial city, I gave up on that idea. I’ve thought of countless ways, but there was only one decision that made me feel at ease.”
Leonard waved his hand. “If Alina stays in the pack, she’ll no doubt interfere with Warren’s power to rule. I don’t want that to happen. I will never allow any internal strife to happen in my pack. Both of them are my beloved children, and I love them with all my heart. Therefore, I figured the best way is to let them live their own lives, far away from each other.”
With that said, the best choice was to let Alina marry into another pack.
Even if Warren could be an Alpha in the near future, Alina was the daughter of the former Alpha, so interfering with political affairs was inevitable for her. Leonard was afraid of the possibility that there might be conflicts if they didn’t get along with each other.
“I’ll only feel relieved after Alina gets married.” Leonard heaved a long sigh of relief. Then, he took me and Rufus to the center of the city, telling us that he wanted us to taste the local food.
Although Leonard was an Alpha, he was quite close to the civilians. They weren’t fearful of him. They would always stop to greet him and show him the highest amount of respect. They even became a lot more enthusiastic when they heard that Prince Rufus had arrived.
It didn’t take long before me and Rufus’ hands were full of gifts, which also included food and flowers. Leonard gave up on continuing to show us around because more and more people were coming to greet us. He simply decided that we would go back to the welcome banquet.
Just as we were about to get inside the car, a person wearing a black cloak flashed through the crowd. I saw that black cloak before. That was exactly what Noreen wore in the stone chamber!
Immediately after that realization, my thoughts shifted to the letter that Noreen gave me. I didn’t hesitate even for a single moment and ran after that person.
Sylvia’s POV
I charged into the crowd and tried to get my hands on the familiar figure, but lost it in a flash.
There were too many people around right now. I couldn’t just turn into a wolf and chase after that person in cloak, for I might injured someone by accident during the process.
Leonard and Rufus joined me in a few minutes.
“What’s wrong?” Leonard seemed to have sensed from my reaction that something was wrong, so he instantly dispatched his men.
“I spotted a suspicious person. But she disappeared.” I scanned the crowd quickly as I said this, but there was no sign of a woman in a black cloak.
Rufus also swept his eyes over the crowd but didn’t see anyone suspicious.
“Were you mistaken?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No, I’m certain of what I saw. That person was acting dubiously. I think she is Noreen…”
“Noreen? Are you sure?” Rufus asked in a low voice.
Leonard was giving instructions to his men, so he wasn’t paying attention to us. I pulled Rufus a little farther away and whispered, “The figure is exactly the same one I’d seen in the stone chamber. I’m afraid it’s really Noreen.”
I was confident this wasn’t a hallucination. It must be another trick of Noreen’s. She’d said she would wait for me in the Silver Moon Pack.
Her appearance right now was definitely not a coincidence. She must be deliberately reminding me that she was really here.
My stomach flipped with uneasiness, and I was thrown into apathy again. I didn’t know what Noreen was up to, nor did I know what was waiting ahead of us.
I turned to Leonard and asked, “Have any questionable people entered the pack recently?”
Alina’s wedding was approaching. In order to prevent any untoward incident from occurring, all the people who entered and exited the pack needed to have their identities checked and had to have a pass.
Leonard was so positive that there was no hint of hesitation in his voice when he replied, “The entrances are heavily guarded. No suspicious person can enter. And if there was such a person, I would have known a long time ago.”
I didn’t respond. Before Noreen entered, the pack was absolutely safe.
But now that she had crept in, it was hard to be so sure. “We still need to be extra careful. The wedding is coming, and many guests will attend,” I said to Leonard seriously. I didn’t mention Noreen to him. I was afraid that he would do something and that would alert her.
Leonard replied, “Don’t worry. Nothing will go wrong.”
I was still fretful, so I looked back in the direction where the black-cloaked person had disappeared. At the end of that road stood a huge castle.
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