The Lycan King’s Second Chance Mate (Ashanti)
Chapter 0219

"But what if it does?"

"I've chosen you already."

"Does that mean you're going to reject your true mate and take me instead?"

"Men have been known to do that."

"You aren't just any man! You are the Lycan King."

"And so fucking what? I'm allowed to be with the woman my heart beats for? You are the woman my heart beats for. The woman I love. The woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. No mate bond is going to change that. If you want me to swear that, I will! I will swear it on my life!" He stares deep into my eyes and something passes between us.

He means everything he just said.

He wants to be with me and he'll be with me no matter what. He loves me.

I smile.

"I'm sorry for bringing that up. Can we please talk about something else."

"There's no reason for you to be sorry. I completely understand your worries, but yes, I would very much love for us to discuss something else. Something Like..."

"Rhea's upcoming trial." I walk past him and head to the sitting area. I'm tired of standing.

"Yet another serious topic of conversation." He sounds frustrated.

"At least it's not about us." He joins me and I sit to face him. "When will it be?"

"In a week's time. Your father and stepmother will be there. I already sent word to them." His words make my heart beat fast.

"Will I be granted permission to see my father?"

"You don't need permission to see your father, Ash. If that day comes and you want to have a private chat with him, you are free to do so. Okay?"

"Okay." I nod. Purse my lips. Play with my fingers. There's something else I want to request, but I'm too scared to bring it up.

"I know that look. I know when you start playing with your fingers, it means you have a request to make but are too scared to do so."

My heart falls in my stomach.

No, he doesn't.

He shouldn't know me so much. I won't be able to hide anything from in the future if he keeps cracking my codes like this. "Say it."

"It's about my mother."

I say, staring right at his face. His brows arch.

"What about her?"

"I don't know if she's alive or..." My voice catches. Pain sears through my heart strings, spreading through every pore in my body when the word crosses my mind. Tears burn at the back of my eyelids. I clear my voice and swallow the snakes in my throat. "... or dead. But I want to find her. If she's alive, I want to meet her again. I just want to see my mother again."

A long moment of silence stretches throughout the room. My eyes are glued to his face that's void of any emotion. My teeth are deep in my bottom lip, almost making it bleed with their firm bite and a part of me is regretting why I brought up the issue of my mother in the first place.

It's true that I'm now his girlfriend, but that doesn't mean I should ask so much from him.

"Do you have anything that could help you find her?" He finally breaks the silence and I stare at him hopefully.

I think about my mother's name and the note she wrote at the back of that picture. Tessa and her crew were still not able to figure out what was written behind it, so I gave up. Right now, the only hope I have is my father.

He knows from which pack my mother hails.

"No. But my father knows. All I have to do is ask him when we meet."

"Alright then, when the day comes, speak with him, gather as much information as you can about her and we'll conduct a search." He says calmly, seriously and my eyes widen in surprise.

I didn't think it was going to be this easy. I had imagined having to spend days begging him on my knees before he agreed to let me find my mother, but I was wrong. He's even willing to help me.

"Really? You'd do that for me?" I ask, aghast. Without saying a word, he holds my right hand to his mouth and plants a soft kiss at the back of it. When he looks back at me, his eyes are a sea of every loving and sweet emotion out there that's going to drown me.

"There's very little I won't do for you, Ashanti. You should know that." His voice is serious and raspy.

My face breaks into a wide smile.

I can't wait to find my mother and introduce him to her.