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Acela POV

After the events of last night, meeting Lucius face to face has set many events in motion within the palace walls. Of course, the King was not over the moon happy about having him here because of who he is and the Black history with Lucius from the very beginning.

I do not know what else Lucius has done but it makes Kane uneasy having him as 'family' now.

We are now connected and there is nothing we can all do about this, it's just how it is and we need to do our best with the information that we have.

Caelan has surprisingly not said a bad word about any of this, at first he was skeptical but he thinks the same as me, right now what can we do? I know Lucius is hiding something from me but until I know what it is, I can't simply ignore Lucius, not if it affects my life and Caelan's.

Currently, everyone within the palace is tense, most within The Vale have only heard of Lucius and his history, but to see the man up close is another thing entirely.

I only got this fatherly vibe from him, apart from his eyes that have obviously seen cruel things, he looks like a normal handsome everyday man. Lucius looked relaxed and at peace with himself rather than this Lycan monster, people are whispering about.

Of course, the whispers are now passing my name. I am the only daughter of Lucius and the only known female Lycan female, what is worse is that I am half-Fae also.

I know a lot about Fae but only so little about Lycans.

Fae are beautiful, their beauty is ageless and they are very alluring, I have never met one but it is widely said that a Fae could entice you with a simple glance your way, that fact that they don't age and stay beautiful is something that is dangerous within this world. They do not tend to mix with other creatures and only stay with their kind.

Which makes me wonder, why did my mother choose Lucius? Why did she die if she was immortal? Fae folk are portrayed as angels in The Vale, beautiful but dangerous, there is only one powerful Fae family in The Vale and they are called Grinmorte.

Grinmorte. The same one family Caelan and his family know well.. I even know of Alec Grinmorte, he visited my shop three to four times a day just to ask me on a date, all the while Caelan was dating his sister for.. I don't know how long before I met Caelan.

If I wanted answers about my mother it would have to come from them, the more I try and learn about my mother Brianna, the more I realize I didn't even know her, not one bit. She was very private but to me, she was just quiet and introverted. Which is now very suspicious for Fae because of their nature.

I can only ask Lucius or a Grinmorte, my best option is Lucius. He told me he wanted to marry my mother.. were they mates? Do Lycans have mates? I think so because they are still wolf.

The more I think about this the more my head spins. Why did she hide me all these years, was she even sick? No.. I can't think about that again, I can't go back there to that moment.

I glance over at Caelan and he talks quietly to his father Kane, it's been quiet for a while now in the dining hall and no one has said a word, Sora smiles at me warmly but the air is thick around the table.

"Are you sick dear? You haven't touched your breakfast." Claire says from across the table, Caelans grandmother.

I force a smile and shake my head. "I'm fine, sorry." I say quietly as I pick up my spoon and eat.

"Are you ok?" Caelan asks worried beside me as he places his hand on my leg.

I look at him and nod my head. "Yep, just.. thinking." I say with a smile and he frowns.

Alfred, Caelans grandfather speaks before Caelan opens his mouth. "Try not to overthink Acela, Lucius is a good man, just misunderstood from history is all." He says and I relax slightly and smile at Alfred.

Kane snorts from across the table and he looks pissed off. "Even so, he wants Acela to rule, that is the only reason he is here in The Vale, to take her back to The Silver City without the risk of war."

Caelan snorts at what Kane said. "Never happening. What about all the sons he has? It doesn't make sense, Acela has never transformed before."

I sigh. "Can we just wait and ask him? Going around in circles is not helping." I mutter out before I realize I said it out loud and the table grows tense again.

"I agree, he's coming for dinner, let's just all get along for Acela, we are all family now so let's keep an open mind before we start judging Lucius for his past." Sora says with a sigh as she drinks her tea.

We all finish our breakfast in silence. No one spoke after that, no doubt because if someone did there would be things said that could not be undone. I could feel Caelan's thoughts the whole time I ate, he is trying to come to terms with Lucius but he still doesn't trust him until proven otherwise.

I agree with him, he may be my father but until proven otherwise.. I won't let my guard down around him.

*****

Me, Caelan, Kane, and Sora stand waiting by the palace doors as they are open wide, waiting for Lucius to be escorted up the palace steps. We are all dressed in gowns and it is my first time wearing something so expensive, my hair is done and my makeup is perfect.

His car just got here and the driver has yet to open the door for him. When he does I notice instantly how Lucius has dressed for the occasion. He is wearing a three-piece suit and his hair is styled back to perfection, he looks like a bachelor apart from the pin on his suit jacket, it looks familiar but I can't remember where from. Overall he looks fresh and calm to be having dinner with us, I had texted him an hour ago that Caelan's family would like to join and I asked if I was alright, he replied with;

"The more the merrier."

As Lucius walks up the steps, Caelan hand slips into mine as we wait for Lucius to come closer. Lucius's eyes instant meet mine and I see him relax but then his eyes switch to Kane and they immediately go serious.

Lucius stands in front of us with pure confidence radiating off him as his eyes focus on me as he smiles down at me. "Good evening Acela." He says gently to me but then looks to Caelan. "Caelan, I'm Lucius, Acela's father." He greets himself politely and I can feel Caelan's emotions.

Caelan smiles politely and holds his hand out, which Lucius accepts. "Nice to finally meet you." He says politely but I felt uncomfortable somehow.

Lucius looks to Kane and Sora and smirks. "Evening Black, King suits you." He says to Kane which he just frowns.

Kane snorts and holds his hand out. "As does it suit you." He says roughly as they both shake each others hand.

Sora clears her throat. "Sora, Kane's mate." Sora introduces herself politely and Lucius smiles politely and kisses her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Queen Sora."

So far so good, everyone is getting along and Kane and Caelan are keeping an open mind with Lucius. After we all greet each other we follow Kane and Sora into the main hall for drinks and dinner.