Chapter 185

[ 1,116 words ]

Third-Person POV:

When Angela returned from her honeymoon, she was too happy. The past few weeks had been a bliss, and she couldn’t wait to tell her father about the places she’d visited with Chris.

After leaving their luggage with the servants, she headed straight for his study. She’d expected to find him behind his desk, buried in paperwork as usual, but he was not there.

Instead, there was an Omega who was busy dusting the shelves. “Where’s my father?” Angela asked, looking around.

The girl immediately stopped working. “Alpha Cedric is in his bedroom, Miss Angela. He’s resting.”

Resting? Angela glanced at the clock. It was barely afternoon. Her father never rested at this hour, no matter how exhausting his day had been. “Is he alright?”

The Omega hesitated. “I think you should go and see him, Miss Angela.” Angela hurried upstairs. She knocked once before opening her father’s bedroom door.

“Papa? I’m back!” But the smile on her face disappeared the moment she saw him.

Cedric was lying in bed, looking nothing like the healthy man who’d hugged her goodbye before her honeymoon. His cheeks had become hollow, he’d visibly lost weight, and his skin was so pale that Angela hardly recognized him.

The pack doctor stood beside the bed, checking his pulse.

“Papa!”

She rushed to him, dropping her handbag onto a chair. “What happened to you?” she cried, taking his free hand. “You were perfectly fine when I left!”

Cedric tried to sit up, but she quickly stopped him. “No, don’t move. Please.” She turned toward the doctor. “How long has he been like this? What’s wrong with him?”

The doctor opened his mouth, but Angela didn’t give him a chance. “And why wasn’t I informed? I’m his daughter! Someone should have called me!”

The poor man glanced toward Cedric for help. “Angel,” her father interrupted weakly, raising a finger. “Don’t scold him. I was the one who told everyone not to contact you.”

Angela turned back to him. “Papa, why would you do that?”

“Because you were on your honeymoon, sweetheart.” He managed a small smile. “You’ve just started a new life with your husband. I didn’t want you spending those precious days worrying about an old man.”

“An old man?” Angela was already crying. “You’re my father! How could you hide something like this from me?” Cedric reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Come now. Now tell me, did you enjoy your honeymoon?”

Angela wiped her cheeks. “Yes, Papa,” she answered through her tears. “Very much. Chris took me to so many beautiful places, and he’s a wonderful husband.”

“That’s good.” Cedric nodded with satisfaction. “That’s all I wanted for you, Angel.” He lifted her hand and kissed it. Angela bent over him, carefully wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

“You should have told me,” she whispered. “I would have come home immediately.”

“And ruin your honeymoon?” Cedric chuckled weakly.

“Papa, this isn’t funny!” Just then, Chris appeared at the bedroom door.

“Angela? I was looking for you.” He stopped when he noticed the doctor, then looked toward the bed.

His expression changed immediately. “Goddess! What happened to him?” He instinctively bowed his head in respect, a habit from his years of serving under the Alpha.

***

Alpha Cedric fought his illness for another two weeks before his condition became too serious for the doctors to do anything.

Angela barely left his bedside during those final days. She’d stopped attending social gatherings, ignored calls from her friends, and spent most of her time helping the servants care for him. Every responsibility fell automatically on Chris shoulders.

On the night of his death, Cedric asked Chris to come closer. “Chris,” he whispered, struggling to speak. “I need you to promise me something.” Cedric reached for his hand. “Angela is all I have left. Her brother is gone, and now I’m leaving her too.” His eyes moved toward his daughter, who was crying beside him. “Promise me you’ll always take care of her.”

Chris immediately nodded. “I swear, Alpha. I’ll protect Angela and take care of her for the rest of my life.”

Cedric seemed relieved. “That’s good.” He asked Angela to come closer, kissed her forehead, and told her how proud he was of her. Those were the last words he spoke.

By morning, Alpha Cedric Westwood was dead.

His passing left the entire Blackthorn Pack mourning. Angela was devastated, and Chris remained beside her throughout the funeral, receiving the visitors and handling matters she was too upset to deal with.

There was another problem, however. Cedric had planned to formally pass the Alpha title to Chris, but after his sudden death, the ceremony could no longer take place.

The responsibility now fell to the council elders.

After several meetings, they agreed that Blackthorn couldn’t remain without an Alpha, and there was no reason to delay Chris appointment as an Alpha.

It was expected to take place in a few days.

One night Angela sat beside Chris in their bedroom, looking through an old family album.

“I wish Papa could have been there,” she murmured.

Chris took the album from her hands and placed it on the bedside table. “He would have been proud of you.”

Angela shook her head. “He would have been proud of you , Chris. He always said you were going to make a wonderful Alpha.”

Chris pulled her into his arms. “And I intend to prove him right.”

He kissed her gently, then drew back to look at her. “Angela, I meant every word of the promise I made to your father. Becoming Alpha won’t change how I feel about you. You’re my mate, my wife, and the woman I love. I’ll always be loyal to you.”

Angela smiled through her tears. “I love you too.”

That night, they made love, and for the first time since her father’s death, Angela fell asleep feeling a little less alone.

The following day, Chris stood before the council elders in Cedric’s office and quietly took the Alpha oath. There was no ceremony, only the signing of official documents.

With Angela still mourning her father, the elders had agreed to postpone the formal ceremony for forty days. For now, Chris officially became the Alpha of the Blackthorn Pack, with Angela by his side.

The signing was kept secret from everyone, including Rick, as the elders believed it would be disrespectful to the deceased Alpha to publicly celebrate his successor before his soul had completed its forty-day journey to the afterlife.

Chris was willing to wait forty days. What no one knew, however, was the game he was already planning to play.

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