Chapter 233 The Heirs They Threw Away

Emma leaned forward, her eyes fixed on Maelis.

“Did he kill himself, or did he run away?”

“No,” Maelis whispered, staring at the floor. “He died in a car accident. He’d been drinking before he got behind the wheel.”

She drew in a slow breath before continuing.

“After the funeral,I found out I was pregnant again. When I got checked, I learned I was already two months pregnant. I was devastated. Even though the baby was Lincoln’s, they still rejected us.

Lincoln’s family threw Joel and me out of the house. They called us bastards and told us we didn’t belong there. I wanted to fight back, but they were too powerful. I didn’t stand a chance.”

She rubbed her palms together.

“I found a job and raised them on my own through my mother’s help. Joel’d been headstrong ever since he learned to walk, but he was brilliant too. He got that from me. It runs in our blood.” A faint smile touched her lips before it faded. “Almost every day, some wolf had a new complaint. He was always getting into fights or some kind of trouble. I’d come home exhausted, and he’d be the last straw.” She stared at her hands. “I never hit him, but… I said things no mother should ever say to her pup.”

She swallowed and looked away.

“My mother never liked Joel either. Every time he got into trouble, she would say, ’They gave you the wrong pup.’ She kept asking me to do a DNA test, but I refused. I didn’t need a piece of paper to tell me he was mine. I carried him, gave birth to him, and raised him. Even if a DNA test said otherwise, he would still be my pup.”

When I finally gave birth to Bernard, my heart skipped a beat. He looked exactly like Lincoln, as if his father had been born all over again.

“When Bernard was seven, I left him and his sibling in my mother’s care while I went to look for a better job.”

Bernard wasn’t giving her any trouble, but he got himself into trouble and ended up locked up. When I heard what had happened, I wanted to go get him. But he’d already told the king he was homeless, so I figured he didn’t want to see me.

She fell silent for a moment before speaking again.

“Ten winters later, Lincoln’s family came back.”

Her fingers tightened around each other.

“At first, I refused to see them, but my family kept urging me to hear them out. So I did.”

She looked at Emma.

“Lincoln’s father told me that my late mate’s sibling had worked with a healer to fake the DNA results. Winters later, they went back to the healing den and obtained the original records, along with proof that Joel was their real blood grandpup.”

A faint, painful smile crossed her face before fading.

“When Joel came of age, he left the country. He blamed me for everything he’d been through as a pup, and no matter what I did, he couldn’t forgive me.”

She blinked away fresh tears.

“After he left, I couldn’t stop thinking about my other pup. I just wanted to see him. It took seven winters before I saw him again. By then, he had already finished school abroad and returned home.”

Her lips trembled.

“When I finally saw Bernard…” She blinked back tears. “I couldn’t believe my eyes. He looked exactly like Lincoln. If it weren’t for the age difference, I would’ve thought he was Lincoln.”

She slowly shook her head.

“I never planned to tell him I was his blood mother. He already has a family that loves him. He has a good life, and I won’t take that away from him. Bernard doesn’t need me.”

“So I stayed close to him,” Maelis said, her fingers tightening around each other. “I made up my mind that if his father’s family ever found him, I wouldn’t let them fill his head with lies. I’d tell him the truth first.”

She looked from Emma to Elara.

“They’re still searching for him. They’ve looked everywhere, but they’ll never find him.” Her voice turned urgent. “Princess… Bernard looks just like his father. Please don’t post your mating pictures on social media. If they see them, they’ll recognize him.”

Emma and Elara exchanged another glance. Neither of them spoke for a moment.

“They have a right to look for Bernard,” Emma said quietly. “He’s their pup.”

Maelis shook her head before Emma could finish. “I don’t want them anywhere near my pups. They’re heartless.”

“Maelis, this is bigger than us. Bernard needs to know…”

Elara stopped mid-sentence as she looked toward the entrance.

Bernard and Brandon had just walked into the lounge.

“Maelis,” Brandon said as he walked over, “I heard everything.”

He faced her. “I’m sorry your late mate’s family treated you that way.” Then he turned to Bernard. “But your pups deserve the truth. After that, they can decide for themselves.”

Bernard frowned. “Her pups?”

Brandon didn’t hesitate.

“Bernard, she’s your blood mother. You’re one of her pups.” He held Bernard’s gaze. “You’re not a pup anymore, so I’m not going to keep dancing around it. Your DNA test was faked at birth. Maelis is your real mother.”

Bernard stared at him. “You knew… and you didn’t tell me?”

His eyes met Elara’s. She held his gaze without saying a word.

He let out a slow breath and swallowed.

“What happened?”

Brandon told him everything Maelis had shared.

When he finished, Bernard’s jaw tightened.

“I don’t want to see them.”

Maelis covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes.

Bernard shook his head.

“They can donate everything they own to charity for all I care.” He turned away. “I don’t want anything from them. They abandoned me when I needed them the most. If I had rotted away in that dungeon, would they still have been interested in me?”

Everybody fell silent.

“What was the family’s name?” Brandon asked.

“Crowe,” Maelis replied.

The chamber went still again.

None of them knew the family Maelis had spent winters hiding from had already gotten closer than she ever imagined.

The Crowe family, owners of the Crowe Groups of Companies, was one of the wealthiest families in the kingdom. Their businesses stretched across the world, and their name carried influence wherever it was spoken.

Elara remembered the day the news spread.

She had been about twelve winters old when the Crowes lost their only pup—the sole heir to the Crowe business empire. For weeks, wolves whispered the same question.

Who will inherit everything now?

She looked at Maelis, then lowered her eyes.

With all that wealth… they had still turned away their own.

“Ms. Marchant,” Elara said, her voice shaking, “I understand why you’re angry now.” She reached for Maelis’s hands. “They had more than enough to take care of you and your pups, but they chose not to. They don’t deserve you or your pups.”

Maelis’s eyes grew wet. Elara pulled her into a warm hug.

“Thank you, Princess.”

Brandon and Emma remained quiet.

“I’m postponing the mating ceremony,” Bernard said.

Elara nodded at once.

Maelis quickly shook her head.

“No. Don’t postpone it.” She looked from Bernard to Elara. “Just don’t post your pictures on social media. If they don’t see your faces, they’ll never find you.”

“They’ve already found him,” Elara said softly.

“What?” Her voice cracked. She grabbed Elara’s arm. “How? When? My princess… Tell me!”

Elara held her gaze.

“They found him. That’s why we wanted to postpone the mating ceremony.” She paused. “They offered to sponsor it, and the king accepted. Everything has already been arranged by the Crowe family.”

Maelis’s face was drained of color. “I don’t care whether they’ve found him or not. He’s no longer theirs. They denied him and rejected us. I still have the evidence to prove it,” she said, her voice trembling with anger.

“Please calm down, Ms. Marchant,” Elara said gently. “I’m on your side.”

Maelis squeezed her eyes shut and drew a shaky breath, but when she looked up again, tears were already spilling down her cheeks.

“I’m trying,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “But every time I think about what they did to us…” She pressed a trembling hand against her chest and shook her head. “We spent weeks sleeping on the streets. We had nothing. Even beggars were better off than we were.”

She drew a shaky breath before continuing. “The worst day was when his sibling found us out there. I thought maybe he’d finally realized what he’d done and had come to help us.” A bitter laugh escaped her as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. “I was wrong. He sent thugs to beat us instead. He accused me of working for him and stealing money from his company.”

She covered her face as another sob escaped her. “And now they suddenly want him back?”

Elara stepped closer and rested a gentle hand on Maelis’s shoulder. “I know you’re hurting, and you have every right to be angry. But if we’re going to protect them, we have to keep our heads clear. The royal mating can wait. Right now, your pups come first, and we’ll make them answer for what they did when the time is right.”

“Elara,” Brandon said, “don’t postpone the mating until I’ve spoken to the king. There are only a few days left, and we finally have a lead on the conspiracy unfolding in the kingdom. We intend to use that time to stop their plan before they realize we’re onto them.”

“No.” Elara shook her head. “We’re postponing it.”

Bernard glanced at Brandon, then back at Elara. After a brief silence, he held out his hand.

“You’ve made your decision, Silverheart,” he said gently. “Come on. Let’s give everyone some time to cool off.”

Elara slipped her hand into his, and they started toward the door.

Just before they stepped out, she caught Bernard glancing back at Maelis. His jaw tightened for a brief moment, then he gave her a small, almost imperceptible nod.

Maelis answered with the slightest dip of her head.

Elara frowned but kept walking. Whatever had just passed between them, she couldn’t make sense of it.