Lillian’s POV

I had a rare dream. It was the first time I had such a dream. Whether it was a memory of my past or just a dream, I couldn’t decipher.

It was a dream of my younger self and a couple. I was standing behind them while they put a necklace around my neck. I spun around, grinning widely, but there wasn’t any smile on their faces, and the bright smile I had dropped.

I began to plead with them not to leave me and questioned why they didn’t want me anymore or if they still loved me. I couldn’t make out their faces because they were blurred.

I vaguely felt someone gently holding me, his hands soft on my body. I couldn’t tell if it was part of the dream or not.

I woke up feeling as if I had slept for a century. How come nobody had woken me up, and I hadn’t felt a splash of water on my body for waking up so late? The rays of the sun were already peeking into the room through the curtains.

I looked around me, and at the comfortable bed I was lying on. It was a cozy little room.

I let out a gasp and pinched myself. I wasn’t dreaming, was I?

If it was all a dream, I didn’t want to wake up.

A voice cleared his throat beside me, and I tilted my head to the side. He was seated on the only couch in the room, and another guy who looked just like him was leaning beside the couch.

“Who are you?” I asked, becoming alarmed by my surroundings.

Was I kidnapped last night? “I’m sorry, please let me go.”

“We’ve done nothing to you,” the one who was standing answered and took two long strides toward the bed.

“Don’t come any closer,” I threatened and sat up. “I’m sorry,” I murmured with my head lowered.

“We are not gonna hurt you.” His voice was calm and assuring.

I didn’t want to fall for it again. Nick had deceived me with a voice like that.

“Who are you then?” I asked and lifted my head.

“Why do you keep apologizing? You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I’m sorry, I…” The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.

He sighed, looked over his shoulder, and stared at the other guy seated. “I’m Aldrich, and that’s my brother Arsenio,” he answered.

When he came closer, I saw emerald green eyes that seemed to sparkle. His dark hair had overgrown a little, and he would probably need a cut.

His nose was straight and perfect, and his red lips were thin and small. There was a few stubble under his chiseled jawline.

He was Aldrich.

I had to snap out of it and not get distracted by his looks. I had never seen anyone as handsome as they were.

Arsenio was just like his brother, but his eyes were sea blue—you could get lost staring at them. I noticed that those blue eyes had a glint of red in them, just behind them, and Aldrich had it too.

“…we saw you last night and rescued you.”

“Last night?” I broke eye contact with Arsenio and focused on Aldrich.

“Yes, you collapsed, and we had to take you away from there and bring you here.”

I looked around the room as if it was the first time I had seen it.

I felt a little at ease when he mentioned it, but I couldn’t let my guard down. Anything could happen.

He must have been the guy I saw last night. That wasn’t a dream?

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be scared,” Arsenio spoke. His voice was fluid, and he talked as if something amused him.

“We are not gonna hurt you. We just want to get to know you.” He pushed himself off the couch and came to the bed, sitting at the edge.

“Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry,” I quickly apologized.

“Where did you get that necklace?” Aldrich asked. I stared at the necklace resting between my breasts.

I touched it with a finger. “I have always had it. I don’t remember, but I’ve had it ever since I was a kid.”

“What about your parents?”

“I don’t have any memories of them or what happened to me before I was seven.”

“Seven? That was the exact age she went missing,” Arsenio muttered. I stared at them, unable to understand what they were talking about.

“You’re the Alpha King’s daughter.”

I scoffed. “Is this a joke?” I spoke quietly.

Aldrich shook his head. “We have already confirmed that you’re his daughter.”

“No, I can’t be. You must have mistaken me for someone else,” I disagreed. What made him think I was the Alpha King’s daughter? It was hard to believe—I was just an omega.

“I should leave,” I muttered. There was no need for me to sit here and listen to them talk.

“The Alpha has been searching for you for the past eleven years, ever since you went missing.”

“Enough, it’s not true. I am nobody. I’m just a slave to Alpha Jenkins, so please just let me go!” My voice cracked, and I was on the edge of breaking down. I had lost all thoughts about my parents. I thought they were dead or had abandoned me. That was why they never searched for me.

“We have…”

I rushed to the door. I didn’t want to hear what they had to say, but my body was too weak to move, and my fever hadn’t gone down yet.

I slipped to the ground at the doorstep. Aldrich hurried toward me and lifted me into his arms.

Those touches…

I had felt them before.

He carried me to his chest with his arms protectively around me and placed me back on the bed.

“Get some rest,” he whispered and tucked loose hair away from my face.

The moment he said that, my eyes grew heavy, and I drifted back into the dream I had earlier.

“Why didn’t you look for me all these years? Why did you leave me alone? And now you’re looking for me all of a sudden—why?” I was screaming at the blurred faces.

My wolf, Lily, tried to comfort me, but I wasn’t calm.

“Do you know how long I have suffered? I waited and prayed every night, asking who I am and why I was abandoned!” But I didn’t get a response, only their whimpering.

“Why did you leave me all alone, Mom, Dad? Just tell me why?” A tear rolled down my cheek.

“It’s okay, Lillian. At least they are here now…” my wolf said, when I began to hear voices outside my consciousness, and my lashes were wet.

I heard footsteps moving around the room, and Aldrich and his brother Arsenio’s voices became loud enough for me to hear.

“…what are you saying, Arsenio? That we should tell her that someone in the palace knows about her existence and wants to kill her?” Aldrich asked. He didn’t sound pleased with his brother.

Someone in the palace knows about my whereabouts and wants me killed.

But why?

What have I done to them that they want to kill me?

“We can’t. We need to protect her. She’s the King’s daughter.”