Chapter <b>521 </b>


    E’s POV


    The two weeks that followed went by in a blur.


    Brian disappeared. Just vanished without a trace. There were rumors, of course–some said he’d fled overseas after Richard’s arrest, others imed he was hiding somewhere in the northern territories. I didn’t particrly care where he’d gone, as long as he stayed gone. One less problem to deal with.


    I had enough on my te as it was.


    Despite Richard being behind bars, Brian disappearing, and finally having the deed to the pack in my possession, taking back Stormhollow was no easy feat. The pack’s financial records were a mess. Many pack members were traumatized and distrustful. The territory itself had been neglected, with infrastructure crumbling and resources depleted.


    But I wasn’t doing it alone.


    My supporters helped me sort through decades of corruption and abuse, identifying which of Richard’s appointees could be trusted and which needed to be reced. We worked long hours, sometimeste into the night, rebuilding what Richard had destroyed.


    At the same time, I was trying to be a mother to Lucien. He was growing so fast, and had even begun to crawl. I didn’t want to miss any of it, but there were moments when I felt stretched so thin that I might snap.


    And then there was the pregnancy. The twins were growing steadily, ording to Dr. Evelyn’s weekly checkups. The morning sickness started up. My belly now had a slight swell. I couldn’t have been happier, despite the


    exhaustion.


    * Of course, Alexander helped wherever he could, but he had his own battles to fight. The smear campaign Brian


    had started before he disappeared had done real damage to Alexander’s reputation as Alpha King.


    There were still calls for him to step down, usations of ipetence. And, <b>of </b>course, many people still thought that I was an imposter and he was a disloyal fool for letting me get away with it. He spent most of his waking hours in meetings with pack leaders and council members, trying to restore their faith in his leadership. When he wasn’t busy with that, he was helping me with Lucien and working to rebuild the burnt portions of our


    home.


    The most difficult part of everything was the campaign to prove my identity to the world. I had to take multiple DNA tests<b>, </b>collect testimonies and documents, and even Liam made a public statement about the curse.


    Slowly<b>, </b>though<b>, </b><b>the </b>tide began to turn. People started to believe that I really was Lilith’s daughter. That I had been the victim of a rebirth curse. That I wasn’t a liar.


    There were still plenty <b>of </b>skeptics, <b>of </b>course. That was to be expected. Perhaps they would never believe me, and that was okay.


    Today, though, I hoped to prove many of them wrong.


    I stood in front of the full–length mirror in my dressing room, smoothing down the front of my gown. It was deep blue with silver embroidery along the hem and sleeves. The fabric draped over the faint swell of my belly just so. Anya had really outdone herself, and in such a short amount of time, too.


    She was behind me, fussing with my hair. She’d braided it into an intricate crown that wrapped around my head, leaving the rest to fall in loose waves down my back. She had marks on her hands from sewing herself rawtely,


    <b>+25 </b><b>Bonus </b>


    but she was grinning.


    “You look beautiful,” she said softly.


    I looked at myself in the mirror andughed. “I look terrified.”


    “That too.” She smiled. “But you’re going to do great. I know it.”


    There was a knock at the door then, and Alexander stepped in. He was wearing a ck suit with silver ents, and had the crest of the Alpha King pinned to his chest. His tie matched my dress, anotherst–minute creation by Anya.


    When he saw me, he stopped in his tracks and just stared.


    Anya giggled. “I’ll give you two a moment.” She slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her.


    Alexander crossed the room and took my hands in his. “You’re stunning.”


    “I’m way more nervous than I thought I would be,” I admitted.


    “I know.<i>” </i>He squeezed my hands. “But you’re ready for this. You’ve worked so hard, E. The pack is lucky to have you. You’re going to be an Alpha today.”


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    <strong>Sara Lili</strong> is a daring romance writer who turns icyndscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of d’s breathtaking cold.