My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 38: A Word

Violet

A summit?

"I don’t understand."

I had never heard of anything like that before.

And I would be seeing Damon again?

"It is clear you did not entirely receive any formal education, due to no fault of yours, but... "

The rest of Tow’s words faded as a buzzing numbness in my ears.

No one had bothered to teach me anything except for my grandmother. Omegas in Shadowpine were barely acknowledged, let alone educated. And everything I knew, I had learned by listening to conversations and piecing together fragments of information like scraps thrown to a dog!

"Please, what is this summit?" I asked weakly.

Kael sat on the edge of his table. "Once every year, Supreme Alphas from every nation would converge in one nation to hold a summit and address any issues between territories. They usually go with a handful of wolves from their nation. An alpha or two, their betas, and other entourage.

"This year’s summit will take place here in Fresna, but within the outer district of my Capital. From what I know, he is building a case against you."

My head was beginning to go numb. Why would he want me dead so badly?

I didn’t understand.

"But why would he bring this to a summit? Is this regularly done?" I breathed, panicking.

"No. Things like this are settled within the nation, but it no longer became that the moment my wolves met him at the border. He will likely do this because he thinks I will bring it up," Kael rubbed his stubble. "He basically labelled you as a violent rogue, and that gives them legal grounds to demand your return. Or execution."

"But you know they lied," I said quickly. "They told—"

"Stop."

Kael tilted back his head, eyes closed. His hands rested between his laps.

Then he lowered his head, hung and faced me with his piercing eyes. Something cold and determined settled in his expression.

My pulse sped up and the hairs at the back of my neck rose.

"Don’t panic. Nothing is going to happen to you." He glanced at Tow. "They lied to my beta, untimately lying to me in return about a supposed violent rogue, which you are not. Neither do you fully match the description they provided. That deceit is a serious offense. Both the Alpha and the wolves who created that lie are liable for it."

"That gives us some leverage at least," Tow added. "He would have to explain the lie and why he ordered your execution after rejecting you. That is a serious offence too."

"Please, when is it?" I asked.

"In four months," Tow answered, then she said carefully, "Ideally, by having you formally join this pack, as a full member, you would be easily under Kael’s direct protection. It will nullify what Shadowpine’s Alpha intends to do."

I looked at Kael.

He met my gaze steadily.

"I am not going to force you," he said quietly. "You being a Lycan is part of that. It has to be a willing decision."

In essence... I only had four months to make my decision.

Joining his pack. Formally binding myself to this territory, to these wolves, to him.

My heart jumped.

"What if... I don’t join?" I whispered.

A slight frown creased Kael’s forehead and Tow’s lips pressed thin.

None of them said anything.

"I understand your reservations..." Kael spoke up to my surprise, and he seemed to struggle with something internally. "But if you don’t join by then, anyone at the summit could potentially challenge your presence here. I won’t let anything happen, but it would be... complicated. Messy. A formal pack bond makes things cleaner than a status as a rogue or even a lone wolf, which you are not."

I fought the urge to wrap my arms around myself in comfort.

"Can I think about it?"

"Take the time you need," he responded. A pause. Then, "In the meantime, you have a week."

I flinched, my eyes going wide. "What?"

Tow walked towards the bookshelf behind her and climbed the ladder to pull down a thin dark bound book. She brought it to me, placing it in my lap.

Kael’s voice trailed behind her.

"You have a week to finish that. It briefly contains a bit about Lycan history. You’ll learn a bit about your distant heritage at least."

I stared at it in awe before picking it up. It was surprisingly heavy. The thick cover was worn smooth with age. I flipped through the pages to see strange symbols and constellations I didn’t understand or recognize.

"Tha... thank you." I looked up at him.

He then added, "You can only read it here in this study. That book can never leave this room."

I nodded. "I understand." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"After that, you need to work on your physical strength and stamina. For a wolf, Omega or not, you barely know how to interact with the woods. I won’t just teach you how to properly regulate and use your powers."

I looked up at him.

"Sir?" Tow whipped her neck as she turned to face Kael. "You said you would have Ila train her in that regard?"

"I want to personally monitor her progress." He said in a deadpan tone that left Tow no other room to protest.

Turning his attention to me, he continued. "Now, tell me everything you can do at the moment. I can sense some improvements since I last saw you."

I opened my mouth to talk when he frowned. "Before that, Tow." He didn’t take his eyes off me as he addressed her. "How many Omegas are currently within the capital?"

I blinked, startled by the sudden shift in topic.

Tow looked equally surprised. "What?"

"The capital," Kael repeated, his tone patient but firm. "Both inner and outer districts. I want to know the numbers."

"I..." Tow frowned, clearly trying to calculate. "I’m not certain off the top of my head. We don’t have much—"

"I want an exact count, or an approximation at the very least."

The room went very still and he directed a hardened gaze towards Tow, whose shoulders dropped slightly. "I’ll look into it."

I sat frozen in my chair, my mind racing.

’Why would he want that information?’