Offered to the Lycan King by Misha K
Chapter 196
As Lia watched them all celebrating it, she couldn’t help grinning. She felt important and part of a huger family. All her life she was starved of love and was always on the sidelines, but now this new found love and mates and a beautiful family made her c*hest swell with warmth. And she wanted to swim in it. Her would-be parents-in-law were the most supporting people in the world.
Arthur and Hawk were smiling as they watched their father rushing to his office. “But father, what’s the rush?” Hawk held his h*and and tugged him back to the table to finish his breakfast. “Have your breakfast. There’s so much to talk about.”
Hunter cupped his son’s face. “I am so happy that I can’t stop myself.”
Hawk shook his head. “No, have your breakfast first.”
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Hunter laughed as he sat at the table. He looked at Lia with admiration in his eyes. “You’ve made me so happy, Lia. Ask me anything and I will give you today.”
A pale blush came on her cheeks as her l*ips curled up. “I have everything I didn’t know I would ever get. So I don’t want anything.”
“No. No. No.” Hunter countered. “If you won’t ask for it, then I will buy it for you!”
River giggled as she rubbed her husband’s arm. “You can be really pushy at times, Hunter!”
Hunter leaned over and k*issed her cheek. “You are the source of my happiness, love. You gave such beautiful sons and now I have Lia as their mate. My family is complete. What else can one d*esire now?” Hunter looked proudly at his wife when suddenly a crease between his eyes on his forehead. “What now?” River asked with a frown.
“I will be happier when I see my grand pup!”
“What?” As Lia choked, everyone else around the table laughed loudly.
Listening to them, Elijah and Mia came along with Tina and Gina.
“Oh my goddess!” Tina exclaimed. “Lia is marked! I can smell my brothers on her.” She went to Lia and hugged her t*ightly. “Yay! Welcome to the family.”
Gina joined them and they had a group hug. “We are going to have so much fun now! I can’t wait to go for a hike and do all the fun activities with you. Goddess, I already have a list in my mind.”
Mia came to Lia. Lia rose to her feet and Mia encased her in her warm embrace. When she pulled away, she said, “We are so happy, Lia. You don’t know what those marks mean to us. They are sacred and will bolster the confidence of the Dark Moon pack that they will have future heirs.” She turned to River. “I think we should hurry up the ceremony and tie these three in a knot as soon as possible.”
Lia stood there, frozen to her spot. “You mean a wedding?” she asked in a low, uncertain voice.
“That’s right!” Elijah added. “We must hurry up the ceremony and declare her officially. What’s the point in waiting? She has to undergo the Luna training.”
Arthur and Hawk looked at Lia going pale. Everything was happening so quickly that she wasn’t getting time to process it and they were sure that Lia would protest. This wasn’t coming up the way they thought it would. Their father declaring her as the future Luna officially was fine, but asking her to marry them at such a short notice, spooked her.
“Yes,” Mia supported her husband. “Lia has to undergo intense Luna training. Elijah has just messaged Shawn and Lena to come here and finalize the wedding date.”
“W-wedding?” Lia blinked, her mind going numb.
“Yes dear;’ Mia replied with a grin. “Why wait when you are already marked?”
Lia took a step back as her jaw dropped to the floor. She stared at Lia, feeling extremely uncomfortable. “I-” she glanced at Arthur and Hawk who wore a t*ight expression. “I don’t want a wedding now,” she said. “I can’t afford a wedding or a child. I can’t!”
Everyone became silent as their eyes fixed on her. Lia turned her gaze to them, blood draining from her face. Familiar thorns of anxiety dug in her c*hest and she felt like air had whooshed out of her. “I have my goals to pursue. I won’t be tied down in a marriage unless I achieve them.”
Silence shrouded the whole room like a cold sheet of ice.
“Baby.” Arthur walked to her and placed his h*ands on her shoulders. “Calm down. It’s nothing-”
She smacked his h*and away. “What do you mean, it’s nothing? Do you know why I have these marks on me?” she rasped, her eyes drifting to him. “They are here because I wanted them, because that’s how I felt with you. They are here by choice. Because I love you both so much that I wanted your marks on me.” She stepped away from him and looked at others. “I am not ready to take on the duties of a pack’s Luna. Please don’t force something on me that I won’t be able to handle or not ready for it.”
“Lia, please listen to what they are saying,” Hawk said. “No one is forcing you into it.”
She shook her head and put her h*ands up. “I am sorry, but I won’t! I have worked so h*ard for those scholarships. I have created a profile for myself to get into a college despite my adverse conditions.” Her t*hroat hurt with emotions swirling inside when she thought of all she was subjected to. “Natalie and Garry put me in the basement of their house when I was just four. After that they never once loved me. They subjected me to so much mental harassment that I was left to tend to myself. You can’t even imagine how I steeled myself against those adverse conditions. None of you has seen that life! So you won’t understand.” She blinked away her tears. She didn’t want to turn the celebration into sorrow, but she had to make herself clear. “I- I am sorry…” she murmured and then stormed out of the room.
“Lia!” Arthur growled. He started going after her when River stopped her.
“Wait Arthur, I will go and talk to her. She is too insecure. Her insecurity has festered in her heart for too long and that has pushed her to prove herself no matter what.”
“But mother-”
“Shhh…” Hunter supported River. “Your mom is right. Lia doesn’t understand that being marked by the Alphas is more than enough in our world. She is not your usual next-door pack, power-hungry girl like Gwen and Tabatha..”
“Yes, that’s my Lia,” Shawn’s voice made them snap their heads at him. “She has grown up to veil her emotions and hide them from all. She wants to have power, but on her terms. And for that she wants to be empowered by education. You don’t know but she studies too h*ard every night. She is intelligent. She possesses the lethal combination of intelligence and h*ard work. I am proud of her and will support her in every way.”
“I understand that Shawn,” Elijah argued. “But the pack is going to strengthen if we declare their wedding. It is very important and you should know it very well.”
River got up. “There is no point in arguing amongst ourselves. Let me go and talk to her.” She wiped her m*outh with a napkin and walked them to go to Lia’s room. She knocked the door softly before opening the door. “Lia?” she called her. “Can we talk?”
Lia wiped her cheeks and sniffled. “Please come in,” she said in a gravelly voice. She was sitting on the bed with her l*egs crossed in front of her. “I am so sorry but I didn’t mean to hamper the mood out there, but-” she couldn’t complete her sentence.
River took a deep breath in and went to sit on the edge of the bed. “It’s fine, Lia. But before you decide, I wanted to talk to you about your concerns. Before that, I will tell you about what I have gone through.”
Lia gave her a puzzled look.
River closed her eyes when she remembered how she was shunned in her house. She started, “My parents hated me and I didn’t even know why. I could understand the hatred of my stepmother and stepsister, but not of my father.” River recounted her experiences and how she rose despite numerous hurdles. Lia became too interested. She leaned forward as she listened to every detail River related. “Later I came to know that my parents were k*illed and that it was Alpha Maxim who had k*illed them”
“Jesus!” Lia caught River’s h*and and squeezed it h*ard. She hadn’t experienced half of the misery what River experienced. Her heart went for her. “I am so sorry.”
River placed her h*and over hers. “Look at me now. I am a proud mother of two sons and I got a new daughter. My c*hest swells with pride every time I see those marks on you. I know that it is very difficult for you to understand the dynamics of this world in such a short time, but I would love it if you can put yourself in our shoes and fathom it. Declaring a pack’s Luna is a big power show, but imagine declaring the pack’s Luna who is also Alpha’s mate. And in your case-” she cupped her cheeks. “You are the mate of both my sons. Do you realize how special you are?”
Lia’s l*ips parted as a cool breath left her l*ips. “But I can’t get tied down so fast,” she said in a low voice. “Who is tying you down, sweetheart?” River chuckled. “We are only asking you to marry my sons according to the law of the pack.” She k*issed her cheek. “Besides, Hunter and I are not so old that we won’t be able to look after the pack!”
Lia chuckled. “You both are very young! But I want to study further.”
“That can be arranged. You can go for an online college like I did, or you can go to the real one. However, if you choose to go to a college in the human world, then it is important that you are protected. There are many enemies and predators out there. Arthur and Hawk are going to hate it if you go alone.”
A blush crept on her cheeks. “They have to stay here for training?”
River smiled. “No, they are fully trained and are capable of taking the position of Alpha. It is you who needs the training. However, that can be arranged even at your college.”
“Really?” Lia almost squealed.
“Yes, sweetheart,” River winked. “But you have to give us an assurance that you will marry my sons.”
Lia was surprised that River threw a deal at her, but she giggled and shook her head. “Can I think over it? I would really like to talk to my daddy and mom”
“Of course! I wasn’t even thinking you wouldn’t talk. I will send them right away.” River got up, k*issed the crown of her head and walked out the door, leaving a very happy, amused and happy Lia who contemplated marriage with her mates.