The Lycan King's Second Chance Mate: Rise of the Traitor's Daughter-Chapter 35: The Medallion

Zane~

I stared at the empty spot where the stuffed toy had just been.

One second, it had been sitting there like an innocent child’s plaything. The next? Gone. Just... vanished.

Sebastian and I stood frozen in place, completely dumbfounded with what we had just witnessed. My pulse thundered in my ears, the logical part of my brain scrambling for an explanation, but there was none.

"What the hell just happened? Could this be the work of witches?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

Beside me, Sebastian let out a slow, amused chuckle. It wasn’t the reaction I expected.

"Well, Your Highness," he said, his grin widening, "I think we just found our bodyguard. I believe no witches were involved."

I turned my head slowly to glare at him.

"No, Sebastian," I said, my voice dripping with irritation. "The correct words are: we just lost our bodyguard."

Sebastian snorted. "Details, details."

I clenched my jaw, my mind racing. What the hell was the celestial bodyguard doing in Alexander’s room? Why was it near my son? I didn’t have an answer. My chest tightened at the thought of anything supernatural being near my son. Whoever—whatever—it was, it was too close.

Sebastian tilted his head, a flicker of something unreadable in his expression. "You know... there’s another possibility."

I sighed, already regretting asking. "Go on."

"Well," he drawled, clearly enjoying himself, "maybe Alexander is the celestial heir."

I barked out a laugh. "That’s ridiculous."

"Is it?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes," I said firmly. "The celestial heir has always been a female. The Moon Goddess has never sent down a son. It has always been a daughter."

Sebastian shrugged, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "True, but there’s always a first for everything, isn’t there? If not Alexander," he tapped his chin, "then maybe someone else in your house is the celestial heir."

I gave him a flat look.

"Who?" I challenged.

He shrugged. "I don’t know. One of the females in your house?"

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Sebastian, the only females in my house are the maids, Nora, and Natalie. The maids don’t qualify. None of them come from a royal bloodline."

Sebastian nodded, following my logic.

"Nora doesn’t qualify either," I continued. "She’s an older werewolf. If she was the celestial heir, everyone would have known years ago."

Sebastian hummed in agreement.

"And then there’s Natalie," I scoffed. "She’s just a human. Legends say that the celestial princess has always been reincarnated as a werewolf."

Sebastian was quiet for a moment. He wasn’t often speechless, but right now, he seemed to be running out of arguments.

"Well, damn," he muttered. "Now I’m confused."

"Welcome to the club," I said dryly.

Sebastian sighed dramatically. "Fine. I’ll keep looking. You don’t have to stress about it—I’ll handle everything."

I shot him a skeptical look. "Forgive me if I don’t feel reassured."

He placed a hand on his chest, feigning offense. "You wound me, Your Highness."

I rolled my eyes. "Go home, Sebastian."

"Gladly." He smirked. "I have a date with a beautiful blonde who has veins filled with nothing but sweet nectar."

I shook my head as he strolled out with the Moonstone still in his hands, his usual arrogance in full display.

Once he was gone, I decided to let the matter rest for the moment. There was no point overthinking it—not tonight. Instead, I headed to the dining room.

The dining room was filled with the scent of roasted meat and warm bread. The atmosphere was light, almost normal—if you ignored the nagging questions in the back of my mind.

Charlie and I sat at opposite ends of the long table. Nora sat next to him, chatting happily. But my eyes went straight to Alexander and Natalie.

Alexander sat between me and Natalie, swinging his legs as he ate, looking the happiest he’d been in a long time.

I felt something in my chest loosen every time I saw this new version of him.

And I knew exactly who to thank for that.

Natalie.

She fit in with us so effortlessly, as if she had always been part of our lives. It was unsettling how natural it felt.

Even Nora and Charlie were more at ease now, though Alexander still kept his distance from them. Small steps.

I couldn’t stop staring at my son, my heart swelling with pride and affection. He was my everything, the one good thing left in my broken world. But as much as I wanted to shield him forever, I knew I couldn’t.

"Alex," I said gently, drawing his attention. "Now that you’re feeling better in your human form, I think it’s time for you to go back to school."

His face fell instantly, his small features contorting into a pout.

"No!" he declared, clutching at Natalie’s arm as if she were his life. "I don’t want to go. I want to stay with Mummy Natalie."

I exchanged a glance with Natalie, who gave me a small, reassuring smile. "Alex," I said, my tone firm but kind, "Natalie is going to school too. Do you really want to stay home and miss out while she becomes wiser every day?"

Alexander frowned, his little brows knitting together as he considered my words. It was clear he didn’t like the idea of being left behind.

Natalie leaned closer to him, her voice soothing."Sweetheart, if you go to school, I promise to pick you up every single day. Myself. Just you and me."

His eyes lit up with hope. "You promise, Mommy?"

"I pinky promise," she said, holding out her finger.

He hesitated for a moment before locking his tiny pinky with hers.

"Okay," he said with a shy smile. "I’ll go back to school."

I couldn’t hide my relief. Pulling him into my arms, I kissed the top of his head.

"That’s my boy."

After dinner, Natalie and Alexander excused themselves from the room, and I called Nora and Charlie into the living room.

The flickering light from the fireplace danced across Nora’s cheek, illuminating her features as she settled next to Charlie on the couch. My heart felt a little lighter tonight, the problem of earlier momentarily forgotten.

"Hey, guys," I called, my voice interrupting the comfortable silence. "I need to ask you something." They both turned their attention to me, curiosity sparking in their eyes. "It’s about that Medallion I found at the exhibition. You know, the one my dad asked me to keep safe."

Nora tilted her head slightly, her brow furrowing in thought. "What’s up with it dear? You seemed a bit distracted at dinner."

I nodded, my fingers idly tracing the edges of the Medallion that rested in my pocket, a small piece of gold that felt heavier than it looked. "Yeah, it’s just... I don’t get why it’s so important to my dad and uncle. I mean, it’s just a piece of jewelry, right? Worn by some ancient Lycan king?"

Charlie leaned forward, his brown eyes shining with excitement. "Oh, son, it’s way more than that. There’s a whole love story wrapped around that small Medallion."

I raised an eyebrow, skepticism creeping in. "A love story? Seriously? This isn’t some fairy tale, Charlie."

He chuckled, unfazed. "No, listen. It’s not what you think. The first celestial princess descended to earth, disguised herself as a humble farm girl named Mara. She met a human man named Frederick Moor, and it was love at first sight."

"Frederick Moor? Isn’t that the first Lycan king" I repeated, intrigued despite myself. "What’s so special about him?"

Charlie leaned back, letting the story unfold like a well-loved book. "As at that time, he was just a poor man leading a rebellion against a tyrannical king. He and his followers faced defeat time and again, but they refused to back down. One day, Moor spoke against the king once more, and the king, in his fury, sentenced them all to a slow, painful death.

They were locked in a cage with savage wolves, left to be devoured." My heart jumped a bit at the image, but tried not to let the story affect me as Charlie continued. "The whole kingdom gathered to watch, expecting Moor and his men to meet their bitter end at the hands of the wolves. But the celestial princess, who loved Moor with all her heart and had always admired his kindness and bravery, couldn’t just stand by so in an attempt to save him, she turned to her mother, the Moon Goddess, and pleaded for help."

I leaned forward, captivated. "What did the goddess do?"

Charlie’s voice dropped to a whisper, as if sharing a secret. "In a flash of moonlight, she merged Moor and his followers with the wolves, turning them into something magnificent. They became one—the first werewolves; a united force that could fight back against the tyranny of the king."

"That’s insane," I breathed, the story pulling me deeper into its magic. "And then what happened?"

"Moor and his newly transformed followers took back the kingdom, and Moor became king. He later married the celestial princess, unaware of her true identity. But as the years passed, and he grew old—over two hundred thousand years—his time came. The princess finally revealed herself to him, sharing with him her true nature and the sacrifices she made for him. She crafted a simple Medallion infused with her love and power, promising to return for him in another life, no matter how many times he reincarnated, the Medallion will lead her to him."

"That’s bullshit." I said without thinking.

" Language!" Nora scolded and I sighed.

"Sorry about that, so what happened to the Medallion?" I asked, wanting to see this made up tale to the end.

Charlie smiled, finishing the story. "Legend says that the true King Frederick Moor always reincarnated every four thousand years, and the Medallion always finds its way back to him, and the celestial princess? She recognizes Fredrick and follows him like peas in a pod."

I couldn’t help but laugh, shaking my head. "That’s a sweet story for kids, Charlie. Adults shouldn’t waste their time believing in fantasies like that. If my uncle really believes that story, then I feel for him."

I stood up, brushing off the remnants of the day as if they were mere dust. I leaned down to kiss Nora on the forehead, then did the same with Charlie. "Goodnight, you two. I need to check on my son."

Then, without another word, I left the room and headed straight for my son’s.

Fantasy stories or not, the only thing that mattered to me was Alexander. Whatever mysteries surrounded the medallion and celestial princess could wait.

Tonight, I had a mission to make sure that mysterious toy didn’t return to him.