Mated to A Rival Alpha-Chapter 63: Come Back, But Only With Truths

[RANIA]

"I know I should be excited to see you here, but what are you doing here, Jungwoo?" Rania asked, her directness making Dalrae facepalm. It may have come off as weird and a tad bit rude but Rania was back home, and had a lot of alpha duties to attend to.

She needed to catch up with the affairs of her pack. Sure, she had just been gone for two weeks, but that was more than enough for their enemies to plan an invasion into Incayon and she just didn’t have the time for that.

There was so much that she had to do and the prince being here, with all the attention that he came with wasn’t just what she needed right now.

"I came to personally invite you to the party at the palace," Jungwoo said and before Rania could interrupt him, Dalrae spoke.

"Keep talking, and Rani, listen this time," Dalrae said, making Jungwoo smile even though the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

He knew maybe he was hoping for too much, coming here to invite her when she had been away from home for too long. He was basically asking her to leave for another day and she was still worn out.

Now that Jungwoo thought about it, maybe he needed to have planned the party a week after they had coming home. But his excitement couldn’t just wait.

Could he be blamed though?

The man had been away for thirteen years and had lived in the worst of conditions. It had haunted him the whole of last night and he wanted to create new memories. He wanted to think of something else other than the beating that he had received while in the land of the undead.

He wanted to forget the torture and the names he had been called. He wanted to forget about the threats they had made to his family ad the hopelessness when he realized that he was so helpless against protecting his family.

Whenever he heard the high guards talk about their latest attack on the batch of royal warriors the king had sent, Jungwoo wished his father didn’t send any more people to their deaths.

None of the warriors who were set to rescue him had made it back home, and fuck they had families too.

The reality of all that had weighed on Jungwoo when he was in his parents’ arms, holding the people he never thought he would ever see.

Jungwoo had imagined the horrors that the warriors’ families had to live through, especially when the king sent packages to their homes in the name of respecting the warriors who had fallen.

He had literally murdered those people and no amount of apology would ever be able to fix that.

Jungwoo wanted to forget.

Maybe it was a cowardly move, but what else could he do when each time he was scared the past would repeat itself? He had pretended to be strong for so many years, and when Rania had shown up, that was the first time he had let his guard down.

His best friend had shown up for him, and from what Jungwoo had seen out there, in Incayon, his best friend was suffering too.

She was in pain, a different kind of pain and he hoped he would be able to help her out here.

"I know you were just from the mission yesterday, but I was hoping you’d accept my invitation if I came, please Rani," Jungwoo said, and Rania looked at the man before her.

He looked okay for someone who had suffered so much, but with one look deeper into those eyes, she could see a reflection of herself. Only this time, it was Jungwoo.

She understood him, and his pains.

She understood what he wanted, but the palace wasn’t her forte right now.

She knew she would have to turn him down, but why did that feel like something he was expecting anyway?

"Oh yeah. Anyway, can I think about it? Meanwhile, you can go invite Jihoon, he should be expecting you by now," Rania said, adding the last bit so quietly that the sound of Dalrae’s heart clenching could almost be heard.

Rania was once again running away from one thing that could make her happy.

"But Rani—"

"No, Dalrae. If I must go to the party, he needs to go meet with Jihoon. We both know there’s something they need to talk about. As for the rest of Incayon, I will tell them of the ceremony and those who can, will come.

"Let me know if you think the same after meeting with Jihoon. Dalrae will walk you out," Rania said to Jungwoo as she went back to focusing on the papers that she had been studying before the prince had come.

She hadn’t said another word to her best friend today, but Jungwoo was smart enough to know there was something about Jihoon that made Rania tick. Maybe he needed to head to Calindra.

On their way out, Dalrae tried to find ways to make it up to Jungwoo, but even she couldn’t manage it this time the damage had already been done and the prince was curious.

Rania may have been cruel in her way of dealing with the prince, but there was no point in letting Jungwoo warm up to her when there was a chance that he would be coming for her head in the near future. Not that she would have any regrets about it.

Rania had never told Dalreae the real reason why she had murdered Yanna, when the woman was at her lowest, or even why she had used a sword that was forged with magic to make sure that the wolf never got to see daylight again.

It was a death sentence, and without a doubt, the greatest mystery in Incayon, if not the whole of Obren. But what if they knew what had truly pushed Rania to her limits with Yanna, would they understand her, or would they keep judging her blindly?

Would they try to take back everything they had done to her, or would they once again blame her for the way she had chosen to handle the issue?

Would they hate her for trying to defend herself and that which she owned?

Would they come at her for doing what anyone in her position could have done?

There were so many questions, but Rania wasn’t willing to come clean to anyone, a least not yet. However, even she wasn’t sure what she was waiting for, but there was a chance she was waiting for the best opportunity to get banished. Oh, Rania.

"Goodbye, my prince. As for my alpha, please understand her. If she may have sounded rude, it could be because she has been having nightmares about her experience on her way to Drarun. I know she will kill me for this, but please understand her.

"She is too broken, too hurt. I have never seen Rani that weak, Jungwoo. She had never been in that state, and maybe this is me excusing her lack of grace, but just for this time, please understand her and not take to heart what she said to you.

"She’s just worn out from dealing with everything," Dalrae said to Jungwoo once they were out of the pack house and the royal warriors were waiting with their horses.

There was a clear question on everyone’s face as they wondered why Rania had to have been involved with the future king, maybe she had pissed him off, or maybe the prince had come to banish her from Obren for good. Probably but damn.

"It’s okay, Lim Lim. I’ll head to Calindra now and see the alpha. Maybe he will help me understand what Rania said. I can see you are worried for her, so it has to be serious. I just hope that she isn’t in danger.

"I would hate to lose her," Jungwoo said and dalrae forced a smile on her face.

Oh, if only this price was aware of what was waiting for him in calindra. It was the kind of truth that would get him asking the whole of Obren for Rania’s head, and funnily enough, they would all be willing to give it to him.

"I’ll see you at the ceremony Jungwoo. Take care," Drake said and with that, the young prince saddled off to Calindra, in the hope of getting answers. He was even more curious to know what it was that had Rania that cold and detached.

Maybe she was just having a fever, besides, Dalrae had said something about her being sick, right?