Chapter 183

183
Third Person’s POV
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Finally, at the inn that night, after Lance helped Adelaide down from the carriage, Cedric mustered the courage to climb down.
He stood trembling between them, spreading his arms to shield Adelaide, glaring at Lance with hostility.
He was terrified, his thin legs shaking, lips quivering, and emitting low growls as if to ward off something.
Lance and Adelaide exchanged a puzzled glance.
Had their efforts backfired?
“Ah!” Adelaide slapped her forehead, realizing the issue.
Cedric didn’t know she’d dissolved her mating bond with Ulrik and was now to be Lance’s mate.
That night, Adelaide and Cedric sat close and talked at length.
Adelaide knew she couldn’t treat him like a child anymore.
After two years of wandering and begging, he was mature enough to understand complex matters.
Moreover, he’d learned of the Frostfang Pack’s massacre through rumors, but not the full details.
At seven, it was time he knew the truth.
“The perpetrators of the Frostfang Massacre were moles from the Western Tribe. I didn’t know you’d escaped, so I thought you perished in the disaster too,” Adelaide said.
“Now, you’re the last male of the Frostfang Alpha family. You carry the hopes and legacy of our grandfathers, uncles, and father. You must be brave, strong, and fearless, just like them,” she added.
“As for me…” She grasped Cedric’s shoulders, looking into his tearful eyes. “I’ve dissolved my mating bond with Ulrik. We’re no longer mates, just strangers.”
Cedric wiped his tears fiercely, eyes wide with shock.
“I’ll explain the details later. What you need to know is that Lance will be my future mate. Our mating ceremony is set for the end of the year,” Adelaide continued.
“You’re probably wondering why I chose him. It starts with the Southern Border conflict…”
She revealed a third of the truth: the Western Tribe wolves were behind the Frostfang Massacre–a fact Cedric would eventually learn.
She concealed another third: the Bloodscar Border’s secrets, which he wasn’t ready to know.
And she fabricated the final third: claiming she and Lance had fallen for each other on the battlefield,
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183
hence their decision to mate.
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Her eyes softened as she spoke of Lance, as if describing a hero, “He’s a hero like your grandfather and father–fighting enemies and defending our land. He’s incredible, achieving what our grandfather did. He truly reclaimed the Southern Border. He’s a hero. And he helped find you. I’m grateful to him, and I… like him.”
Adelaide’s cedar pheromones surged uncontrollably.
As the words “like him” left her lips, her wolf let out an excited, almost puppy–like howl in her mind.
Lance’s stern and noble face flashed before her eyes, her heart racing and breath quickening.
She’d meant to deceive Cedric, to reassure him that she’d find happiness with a true mate.
But as the words escaped, she realized she might harbor genuine, albeit undefined, feelings for Lance- something she’d never felt for anyone before.
Her heartbeat thudded painfully against her ribs, and her glands released a sudden sweetness.
Unbeknownst to her, this was the instinctive reaction of a werewolf encountering a potential mate—the same way Airella’s moonmark would glow softly when speaking of Bentley.
Adelaide’s wolf nuzzled her spine, conveying its emotions.
Cedric, watching her, pointed outside then at Adelaide, asking if Lance liked her too.
Adelaide’s cheeks flushed. Since she’d fabricated the story, she committed fully, whispering, “He likes me too.”
Cedric, though still teary–eyed, began to smile.
In the next room, Lance sat on his bed. Despite the muted voices, he heard every word.
His cedar pheromones flooded out like a tidal wave.
He listened intently, especially when Adelaide confessed her liking for him.
He knew it was a lie to comfort Cedric.
Yet, deep in his consciousness, his wolf howled with excitement, its ears trembling violently as if to capture every sound, even Adelaide’s faint whimpers.
This was a beautiful lie.
“The sweetness of moonstone in her pheromones,” his wolf’s silver fur sparked with fragmented light in his mind, its paws frantically scratching.
He slowly pulled the covers over his head.
His stern expression softened, and in the darkness, a brilliant smile bloomed repeatedly.
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The cedar scent under the covers grew thick, his wolf nuzzling his spine, tail sweeping over every battle.
scar.
She said she liked him.
Though it was a kind lie for Cedric, to Lance, it still meant a lot.