<h4>Chapter 377: Kael And Alpha Gerald</h4>


    <strong>Kael’s POV</strong>


    After the meal and a courteous exchange of conversation, I apanied Alpha Gerald to his private study. I left Eira in the care of Luna Iris.


    The other four remained with Evan, and Raven stayed with them, though I knew my brothers would still keep a quiet watch over Eira.


    The study wasvish yet dignified. Dark polished wood lined the walls, and tall shelves filled with ancient volumes rose toward the ceiling. Arge desk stood near the far wall, while a finely carved wooden couch was ced opposite his high backrest chair.


    "Please, have a seat," Alpha Gerald gestured.


    I did.


    He settled across from me,posed and observant.


    "I believe your family is having a pleasant time here," he began.


    I inclined my head. "It appears so. My mate is already intrigued by the ce. I fear she may wish to extend her stay."


    A faint smile touched his lips. "If she chooses to remain, she will be weed. We would ensure she is treated and cared for like royalty."


    "That is precisely what she deserves," I said evenly, meeting his gaze. "To be treated as royalty."


    A measured silence passed between us.


    "Alpha Kael," he continued after a moment, "do you remember yourst visit here?"


    "I do," I replied. "My reaction was likely simr to my son’s. The ce leaves asting impression."


    He nodded slowly. "That is also thest clear memory I have of your childhood. Even then, I knew the kind of Alpha you would be. I told your father that I envied him for having a son like you."


    "After having a son like Evan," I said calmly, "I believe there is no longer any reason for envy."


    "Certainly," he agreed. "He will be a better leader than I am. He has inheritedpassion from his mother."


    I offered a light nod.


    Then his tone shifted. "But before Evan, we had another child."


    I held his gaze, saying nothing.


    "I do not know if you remember," he continued, "but when you visited us that year, my mate was expecting. She was only a day away from giving birth. That evening, when both our families dined together, you were allowed to touch her belly when the baby was troubling my mate due to strong movements."


    "I remember," I said quietly. "It was the first time I felt life move beneath my palm."


    "My mate told me the child responded most actively to your touch."


    "Perhaps the child felt a connection with me," I replied carefully.


    "It did," he said without hesitation. "And had we not lost that child, you would have been connected to our family long back."


    There was regret in his eyes. Not weakness. But a father’s grief that had never truly faded.


    I allowed silence to linger, giving him space.


    Then I spoke.


    "For some time now, I have been investigating the disappearance of children born to Alpha families over the past two decades. Among those records, there was mention of your first child."


    He gave a quiet hum, neither confirming nor denying.


    "A report states that the HollowCrest heir, Alpha Gerald’s first child, went missing." I emphasised the final word. "A son."


    He hummed again.


    "Was it truly a son?" I asked directly.


    His eyes sharpened slightly.


    "Will it help you in some way if I tell you it was a daughter?" he countered.


    "Certainly," I said with confidence, "That’s the most important point of this whole conversation."


    The corner of his lips lifted, a faint trace of amusement in his eyes.


    "Since when have you been suspicious?" he asked.


    "For a while," I replied evenly. "There were several reasons. But I am more interested in yours. What made you question it?"


    He exhaled slowly, the weight of memory behind that breath.


    "That day at the council," he began, "when she used her power... other than your family, I was not affected. Time did not stop for me."


    I had already drawn that conclusion myself. Hearing him confirm it only solidified what I knew.


    "That is no coincidence," I said calmly. "When she unleashes her power, it spares only two kinds of people. Those bound to her by blood or bonds. Or those she instinctively perceives as protection rather than harm."


    His gaze sharpened slightly.


    "She does not know you well enough to see you as her protector or share a bond," I continued. "Which leaves only one possibility."


    "That she is rted to me by blood," he finished quietly. "That she is my daughter."


    "That is correct."


    A silence passed between us. This one felt different. Heavy, yet no longer uncertain.


    "What were your reasons?" he asked after a moment. "You seemed certain. Certain enough to bring your entire family here earlier than nned."


    "She is a rare pureblood," I said.


    Alpha Gerald gave a small nod. "And that was the reason I concealed her true gender at birth."


    "It is understandable," I replied. "A pureblood like her, born into a royal lineage, would have be a target before she even learned to walk."


    He leaned back slightly, listening.


    "Such pureblood like her is born only in the pure and strong ancient bloodlines as yours," I said and looked at therge crest carved into a wood and hung on the wall behind Alpha Gerald, "A young girl keeps scribbling certain unique crest without knowing what it is and meaning of it. She even keeps it safe in her secret box unknowingly as if it’s something precious. It certainly came out of the imprint of her past memory.


    That day I saw a paper in her secret box. I recognised the crest, but said nothing to her at that moment.


    "She once told us she keeps having nightmares of a huge ck wolf chasing after her. But that chase didn’t feel terrifying."


    "If one observes closely," I went on, "the resemnce between your mate and mine is undeniable."


    He smiled then. Not the controlled expression of a powerful Alpha. But the quiet, overwhelmed smile of a father who had finally found something long lost.


    "She has inherited her mother’s beauty," he murmured softly. "Especially the hair."


    I inclined my head in agreement. "She has."


    "Before the council, you deliberately kept her face hidden from everyone. I never had a proper look at her. And it would have been disrespectful of me to insist," hemented.


    That’s indeed true, and I wouldn’t have forgiven such a rudeness towards my mate.


    We both talked about the incident from the past six years, that how Eira came into my life, and what happened after that, until she returned in my life.


    He was clearly angry about what happened with her because of me, but then he said, "When her own father failed to protect her, there’s a little can you me you for. Given what you are doing for now, I can only be grateful that you are her fated mate."


    "Whatever reason wee up tofort ourselves or to each other, the fact that we failed her will never change. That regret and pain of it will never leave us," I said.


    "We have to live with it."


    I offered a light.


    "I knew my daughter is your fated mate even before she was born," he said, "my mate and I were happy as we knew you, and your family. That our daughter would be in safe hands and she will have a deserving mate who will protect her. Or the life of no rare pureblood was ever safe and easy due to some greedy bastards."


    "That’s another thing I want to know," I said, "Now you know the entire story of us, I want to know how did you know I was her fated mate. Because the enemies knew it already even before I knew it."


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