Chapter 81 - Oh Yes

Who knew?

Thankfully, news hadn't reached the other packs, although Xavier doubted it'd take long before the others knew. 

Was he worried? 

Oh yes, he was worried.

However, at the same time… Any pack that dared do something about it would technically be pledging war against Eudora.

Hmm, it wasn't as dramatic as it sounded, although it was a serious offence as well. 

Now, would Xavier allow anyone to so much as glare in Madeline's direction? 

The answer was a definite no. 

After what happened with Indiana, Xavier hoped the entirety of Eudora knew that doing anything that would hurt Madeline would only hurt them in turn. 

Just because she was Emilio's daughter didn't grant anyone permission to treat her poorly.

Xavier had truly hoped Indiana learnt her lesson and wasn't apologizing to make it seem like she had. 

One moment, she was accusing Madeline of doing horrible deeds. The next, she was asking Madeline for forgiveness and apologizing to her. And it wouldn't be unlikely of her to try to obtain Madeline's forgiveness to appease Xavier. Who knew what she was truly capable of? 

Most would argue that Xavier was being too harsh to those that were simply trying to look out for their alpha by punishing them and demoting them. 

It was to note that instead of trying to look out for him, they could've also trusted him. 

Xavier had led them for centuries. 

Never once had he allowed some stranger in the pack, much less a human that turned out to be the ex-alpha's daughter. 

And because of that, most of the members of the pack had their suspicions. But, at the same time, Xavier knew what he was doing.

He wouldn't have allowed Madeline to stay in Eudora if he didn't know what she was up to or thought she had ulterior motives and was hiding who she truly was. 

"If you had one day left to live, what would you do?" He asked her.

"That's a great question to ask," Madeline acknowledged, looking upwards. 

'If I had one day left to live… what would I do?'

'Obviously, I'd spend it with family and friends, but other than that.'

Now, if Madeline were in a romance film, she'd answer something along the lines of 'I'd spend the last day left with the man I love and give him one last kiss before I depart and tell him how I was blessed to have someone like him in my life.' 

Albeit, she wasn't in one. 

This was reality, and Xavier had asked her this deep question. 

"I suppose I'd want my last day here to be like every other and keep the fact that I'd die in 24 hours or less to myself. If I told anyone they'd just cry and pity me and I'd rather leave without having to cause anyone I care about pain. I'd wish them silent goodbyes and avoid them looking at me knowing that sooner or later I won't be here anymore. I know it's selfish, but… I don't know. I'd die soon so I'd be inclined to be selfish." 

"What would you do?" Madeline inquired in return, wondering what would be Xavier's answer.

Would he do the complete opposite? Did he agree with what she said? 

Madeline was curious as to what he was thinking right now. 

When really, Xavier was simply deliberating over how to tell her something. 

He had no one.

Hmm, actually, he had Adrian, but he'd definitely make a huge fuss about it. Now when it came to his family… he would rather not think about it. 

There was one, teensy detail he hadn't told Madeline yet. 

One he'd been hiding from her since he figured it wouldn't matter much to her… When eventually, it would. 

"I'd do what you did," Xavier agreed with her. 

Madeline smiled, happy that he shared the same sentiment as her when it came to this matter.

Time passed as Madeline and Xavier asked each other questions and slowly got to know each other more. 

Madeline stifled a laugh at Xavier's first impression of her. 

To think, it hadn't been so long since they first met and they were already joking about this.

Despite everything that had happened that of which included  finding out her biological father was a werewolf and that her mother was a supreme sorceress, dealing with Indiana, and discovering her dearest friend was also a werewolf... Madeline felt like staying. 

'They'd call me crazy if they knew I thought this,' Madeline thought. 

One would argue that she didn't belong here! She couldn't even transform into a werewolf. How could she be staying in Eudora? How could Eudora's alpha permit this? 

Then there was the red string. 

Everyone knew it was one of the major reasons Madeline was allowed to stay. 

They'd first thought the female alpha would match Xavier or have powers unmatched. 

And now, it looked like they had gotten what they had wanted in the first place. 

The daughter of the ex-alpha and his lover, Ms Supreme Sorceress as the alpha's mate. 

And they still weren't satisfied. Indiana being one of them in this example. 

All because of the reputation Emilio had, they'd think Madeline was similar to her father, thinking the apple couldn't possibly have fallen far from its tree because it bore many similarities. 

The funny thing was, Xavier was made out to be like he was the damsel-in-distress in this situation. Like he was helpless and was incapable of looking out for himself and sensing who was innocent and who had other secret motives. 

What, he wasn't some weak prince being heavily guarded by a fire-breathing dragon in a castle, waiting to be saved from some knight in shining armour who was destined to save him. Xavier wondered how he came up with something like that too. That seemed too farfetched to be true. 

Dragons? Pfuit!

Everything was being blown out of proportion for no good reason, all because they wanted another person to blame everything on. 

Someone other than their lovable alpha. 

So they chose Emilio and any of his brethren. Anyone with any relation to him would be their target. 

Xavier knew fully well that the pack knew of Madeline's identity now. There was no point hiding anything in the first place, they'd find out eventually, it was only a matter of time. 

"What happened to Indiana?" Madeline decided to ask him. 

Xavier froze. 

Madeline initialy told herself not to panic - maybe Xavier was hesitating to tell her because he wasn't allowed to -  not because he thought she'd react harshly. 

"What happened to her?"

Xavier answered, knowing it was better to tell the truth instead of beating around the bush and or lying, "She received a demotion and won't be able to attend tomorrow's hunt." 

Madeline's ears perked up. 

"Hunt?" 

"There's a hunt taking place tomorrow?" 

"There is," Xavier confirmed. 

"I'd ask if I could join but I'm not cut out for that sort of thing," Madeline said, laughing it off. 

She thought about it for a moment, before she realized. 

"So is everyone but her joining the hunt?" 

"Yes. Everyone but her." 

"And Briar," Xavier added, much to Madeline's relief. 

Well, she wouldn't have been relieved if she didn't know her friend. Briar was the type of person who hated violence. 

Of course, although she hated violence she'd do anything to those who harmed her friends and those she found close to her but… otherwise… she despised it. 

"Ah, alright then."

Knowing Briar, she'd freak if she had to kill something. Sure, she'd like the hunting aspect of the hunt, but not the killing part. 

Thinking of Briar, she thought of what Briar had told her about Adrian. 

Heh, it was cute. She'd never seen Briar upset like that. Briar wasn't truly upset at Adrian, or at least she seemed she wasn't to Madeline.

And then, there was Indiana. 

What could she say about Indiana? 

She appeared sincere when she was apologizing to her. But whether she actually was, Madeline didn't know. 

Was not being able to join her peers in the hunt and a demotion too severe for a punishment? 

Madeline didn't know better, she was still new here after all. 

Briar would probably agree, saying Indiana deserved whatever was coming to her for what she did. 

She'd also say something about 'giving Indiana hell', Madeline presumed. 

Speaking of which, she had Briar to tell everything that happened to. Or had she already been notified? 

"Between the two of us, do you think that was a severe punishment for Indiana?" Madeline asked him, wanting him to be completely honest with her.

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Author's Note: Progress update for the Christmas mass release, you'll be pleased to know that there will be one more chapter posted thanks to one generous reader. So four chapters will be posted! Alright, that's all for now, returning to the story…

P..S. For those wondering how this mass release works, check chapter 75 to find out more about it!