"No, don't!" Xylia suddenly shot up to a seated position on the bed, drawing the attention of the raven-haired maid who had just entered the room with a tray full of several bottles which most likely contained ointments or medicine.

Seeing that the young woman was now conscious the maid became excited and rushed towards the bed, quickly dropping the tray on the bedside cabinet.

"Princess, you're awake. Thank the goddess," she exclaimed, her face enveloped by sheer joy.

Xylia, who was still taking time to register her situation, was stunned to see this unknown maid acting so familiar towards her.

And why was the latter calling her a princess? She was no longer royalty after being deposed as Luna by her solipsistic former chosen Alpha mate, Frederick.

"Princess, do you feel any discomfort anywhere?" the maid asked, holding Xylia's hand.

"Em... I'm not. I feel fine. Thanks for asking," Xylia responded.

"Who are you?" she felt obliged to ask, and this room was extra spacious and tastefully furnished. Her room when she was Luna back then wasn't even like this.

Her clothing, even though it was a nightgown, was made of a special fabric that even her ex couldn't lay his hands on.

"I'm your personal maid, Jazzlyn," the maid disclosed with a sunny smile, her hers even forming crescent moons. It made her look adorable, almost like a doll.

"I see." Xylia nodded sagely before making an introduction, "I'm Xylia Wilther. Did your master save me?"

"Yes, he did," the maid nodded in response.

"Well... How long have I been unconscious for?" she felt inclined to ask.

"Why don't you guess, your highness?" Jazzlyn proposed smilingly.

"Just tell me. I'm bad at guessing, and also, why are you referring to me with royal titles? I'm not royalty. Although I was in the past, I'm now an ordinary werewolf, just like most people,"

"No, you're not," the maid however shook her head, "You are someone important. You are Princess Xylia,"

"Are you mistaking me with someone else?" Xylia felt muddled. What was wrong with this Jazzlyn? Did she have a screw loose?

"My mind is quite clear,"

"Huh? You can read my mind?" this puzzled the former Luna even more.

"No, I can't. Even if I do have that ability, for instance, I wouldn't dare use it on my master. That's an insult, a taboo even! You have that bewildered look on your face, it's not hard to know what you're thinking. So I simply thought of replying in order to clear your doubts. I am very sound in mind, your highness. And forgive my lack of manners, I was just too excited to be the first one to know of you being awake." With that, the maid retreated a few steps and then went down on one knee, placing her hands across her chest and bowing her head slightly, "Greetings, Princess Xylia,"

Her actions further befuddled Xylia even more. This girl's dress was different from what she'd seen all her life, even her hairstyle was in a complicated hairdo. If not for her maid uniform, it would be hard to associate this doll-like beauty with a maid of a big household.

She also kept calling her royal titles, does that mean she was in a sort of palace? Considering how this room was, the possibility was high.

The big question was, where exactly was she? And the person who saved her, was he an Alpha?

At that moment, a green-eyed man garbed in pricey regal attire entered the room. His shoulder-length silver hair was braided with several golden beads fastened at the tips. A kobicha-colored necklace hung around his neck with a red gemstone embedded in the middle.

Although his face looked stoic, his eyes were telling a different tale altogether. Just when Xylia was wondering what to say to him, he spoke first.

"Xylia my child, you're finally awake! Thank heavens!"

"Huh?" She was dumbfounded to hear him say that with a loving tone. Was there a mix-up somewhere?

Her parents, Roselle and Linden Wilther were already late. Why was this man calling her his daughter? Or could it be she bore some resemblance to his child, whether late or missing, so he decided to call her his child?

"Your Majesty," Xylia got out of bed and bowed with her right hand across her chest, "please pardon me if I offend you, but I'm not your daughter. My parents who raised me are no more,"

"They aren't your biological parents," said the king with certainty in his tone.

"Why do you say so, Your Majesty?" she was pushed to ask, her brows knitted.

"Come, let me show you something," he beckoned.

Xylia looked towards the maid who smilingly nodded.

Though uncertain and quite wary, she also realized that she was in her saviour's abode and couldn't really fight back. Besides, he wasn't going to kill her for not agreeing to what she didn't know about right?

So with no other option, she followed the king out of the room. They passed through several hallways and corridors, eventually stopping at a giant black door made of fine wood.

The engraved designs of a red phoenix breathing out fire seemed quite vivid as if it was alive. It sent chills down her body merely by looking at it.

"We're here," the king revealed.

She expected him to push the door open since there wasn't even a doorknob on it. To her surprise, he did something else that got her perplexed.

He made several fast gestures with his hands that her eyes couldn't keep up with while muttering inaudible words. In a matter of seconds, he stretched out his right hand and placed it on the door.

Immediately, the eyes of the vivid phoenix shone and Xylia felt the temperature of the surroundings become hot.

Whether it was her eyes playing tricks on her, she didn't know, but she could have sworn she saw the phoenix's wings flap once. Wasn't it a carving? Was she the one going crazy here?

"Maybe, I'm dreaming," she decided to pinch herself. She wouldn't feel pain in a dream.

However, the resulting pain after she acted on her thoughts made her wince and she gritted her teeth to avoid making a sound. She'd been quite ruthless to herself, pinching way too hard.

The king turned to look at her, "It's not a dream, my dear. Follow me," he said tenderly as the door opened on its own. The temperature had returned to normal after the king went inside.

"Did he read my mind?" after witnessing something this bizarre in front of her, she wouldn't doubt it if the king said he could read minds.

She looked around, hesitating for a few seconds before deciding to bite the bullet.

As she took a step into the room, her eyes widened.

She felt as if she was carrying a gigantic load. Taking another step forward or even backwards had immediately become an arduous task.

"Oh, I forgot. A non-wiz blood can't enter easily," the king was by her side in no time. Taking hold of her hand, the pressure she felt immediately disappeared.

Instead, a wave of relief washed over her, and she felt familiar with this man, as if she'd held his hand a lot in the past.

"That's weird," she couldn't help but say in her mind.

She allowed him to take her deeper into the room that was brightly lit with levitating pearls of different colours that were glowing.

Several designs of mythical creatures were on the wall, making her feel chills in her spine.

They both headed to the bed and the king made her lie on it.

"Close your eyes and I'll help you remember," he softly said to her.

Though confused, she did as he said and soon felt somnolent. Maybe she should just drift off into sleep...

Opening her eyes once more, she sat up on the bed almost immediately. She looked at the king who was seated on an exquisite golden chair beside the bed.

His eyes were closed, and his slightly glowing hands were in a strange gesture with his braided hair fluttering even though there was no strong wind in the room.. A second later though, he opened his eyes and stared back at her.

"Do you believe me now?" he asked Xylia softly.

She wanted to nod. She'd always felt that she lacked some memories before turning 10 years old but never bothered about it.

She had always thought that the Wilther family gave birth to her, and they told her that she hit her head when she was little, so it's understandable if she had selective amnesia.

Now her memories before she turned ten had been unlocked. She saw a young Xylia being taught how to fish by her parents. She caught only a small fish in the end, but her parents were happy for her. The parents she saw before she turned ten weren't the Wilther couple but two different people.

She also remembered lots of scenes where they played with her; she recalled her dad braiding her hair on many occasions- a job her mother did poorly at. She saw him dress up like a princess after losing a bet with her mother and how he had to parade around the palace in it while wearing a smug face.

The memories that she remembered at first felt foreign then as time went on it felt familiar and natural.

The last thing she saw of her mother was her placing her at the back of a tree while telling her never to come out. Then the last thing she heard was a heart-rending and blood-curdling scream from her.

She disobeyed her mother's order in the end and went to find her mum whose neck had been broken.

She didn't even have time to mourn for her precious mom before getting chased by an unknown masked man who seemed intent on getting her. He'd captured her once but the dagger her mother put in her hair finally came to use, and she stabbed the man's back several times, forcing him to throw her off while he grunted in pain.

Falling to the ground, she found to her dismay that the place was a slope, and she couldn't help rolling until her head hit a big boulder. Then she embraced the world of darkness.

After that scene, Xylia had woken up.

"I... Can I see Mum's face?" she asked.

"Yeah," the king nodded.

Out of the index ring that Xylia had been thinking was just for adornment, he took out a beautiful frame and handed it to her.

Xylia, upon seeing the face that she'd seen in her newly unlocked memories, felt melancholic.

She stroked the picture, and a tear slid down her face. "Mom... Why were we chased that day? Who was that man?"

She couldn't help but ask while staring intently at the smiling beautiful silver-haired beauty dressed in royal attire and a golden crown on her head.

The king let out a sigh before replying, "I had a twin brother, Rufus. Before your grandfather passed away, he'd willed the throne to me, even though I was the younger one. The will was read out before his death and my father wanted my older brother to support me. But he'd stormed off, leaving the kingdom. I tried searching for him but when I found him, he told me he couldn't support a weakling like me. He even stabbed me before escaping. Since then, I didn't bother to look for him. Father passed away a few days later, and I became king."

He paused for a few seconds before resuming his explanation, "Your mother... I fell in love with her during a chance encounter. I had paid a visit to her pack back then; She was the daughter of the late Beta Louis Hamilton. We were not destined mates, but a marriage between two races wasn't frowned upon. A few days after the wedding though, my brother showed up, and we realized that he and your mom were fated mates."

This made Xylia gasp in shock as her eyes widened. She couldn't help but think back to what happened days ago. Frederick had found his mate and he changed for the worse.

"Are you okay?" the king asked in concern. She nodded in response.

"I'm alright,"

"Well... Your mum didn't like him and outright rejected him on the spot. This caused him to go crazy and go on a killing spree in the palace. I restrained him after making sure your mom was alright because the pain from rejection was crushing, especially if you were the one who initiated it. I put him in solitary confinement in the dungeon for years. Our marriage was five years old but your mother and I hadn't even witnessed a miscarriage much less heard the cry of our own child. It turned out that your mother's personal maid had connections with my elder brother and had slipped a barrenness potion into her food. We found the bottle in her room and had the best potion makers at the time try to find the antidote, but they said that one of the ingredients used in making it was blood and only the maker's blood could solve the case. I had no choice but to meet my brother. He said he would give out some blood for the antidote only if I let him out and never bother to look for him."

"And you agreed?" Xylia let curiosity get the best of her.

He nodded, "I agreed back then since he swore never to return to the kingdom. A year later, you came into our life. You were the cutest baby we'd ever seen and our love for you increased each day. Despite our busy schedules we tried our best to make you feel wanted and happy,"

Xylia nodded. Her unlocked memories confirmed that.

The king continued his speech, "When you turned 9, your mother said she wanted to take you to visit the place we first met. The kingdom was peaceful then; there were no battles or death threats. I followed her there, but we got attacked by rogues from several paranormal clans. There were vampires, there were orcs, there were werewolves, there were even some traitor wizards. They wanted our entire family dead. My brother was the leader of that group and was masked. I told your mother to run with you to safety, accompanied by some guards while I and the other guards fought to survive. We won in the end, but there was a heavy price to pay. Most of the guards with me died and the ones alive, were missing a limb or two, only one could stand and was even bleeding.

I was severely injured too, but my only thought was finding you two. I also realized that my brother wasn't among the defeated people. So I ran in the direction your mother and those guards went, but I only found the guards' dead bodies. It took me some hours to find your mom's body. I put her over my shoulder and looked for you. But I had no luck. That was until a few days ago. There was a special gemstone that your mother found. She made it into two necklaces. She gave one to you, the other was hers." he took out a necklace from his pocket and handed it to her.

It was similar to the one she had been wearing on her neck since childhood. Her adoptive mother said it was a gift from her grandma and she believed easily back then. Now, she had found out the source; her real mother gave it to her.

"It's a unique stone, a sort of life lamp. The gemstone on the necklace in my possession glowed only because your life was in great danger. Thankfully I got to you on time." the king sighed in relief.

Xylia felt her neck and saw that there was no necklace on her neck. Maybe it got ruined and that's why the other necklace's gem lit up. Anyway, this led her father to her.

"Dad,"

"Y-yes, Xylia," her father answered with an emotional tone.

"I'm glad to be back home," she got off the bed and hugged him.

"We have a lot to catch up on. Your mum would have been proud to see you," he said with a melancholic tone, his eyes misty.

"She is happy for us wherever she is, Dad."

"So, who did that to you? Who hurt you to that extent?" the monarch asked.

"My former chosen mate. Dad, forgive me but I can't tell you now. And no, I'm not protecting him. I want to take my revenge on him when I'm stronger,"

Her father agreed after a long while. "Okay. You're an adult now. I'll let you do your thing. You'll also rest more for 30 more days. After that, your training will begin. You've already manifested your wolf side. Now it's time to manifest your witch side,"

"You mean to say that I'm a hybrid?" Xylia was shocked.

"Yes. I wasn't that sure at first but while I was helping you remember lost memories, I felt something that only a witch can possess. If you had started early, you'd have become a certified witch. But it's okay. You can train and progress at your own rate."

"Okay Dad," Xylia felt excited at the thought of becoming a witch in the future. Even if her aptitude and talent weren't high, as long as she could become a low-ranked witch, she would be satisfied.

"I'm curious though. Those carvings on the door earlier..."

"It's a seal. A magic seal that only I can undo. I don't want any of your mother's things to go missing. Her room has been the same ever since she left this world. I come here occasionally and do some cleaning or just to reflect. I won't lie to you, sometimes when I feel overwhelmed, I... cry in this room."

"It's okay." she hugged her dad once again.

***

A year later, it was Xylia's birthday. She had turned 25, and she had shown her face to the people for the first time.

Most citizens only knew that the king's daughter was back, but they had never seen her. As a princess, she was required to wear a veil whenever she came out until she had become a certified witch.

That was because after passing the final test, some wiz bloods were known to experience a transformation in either height or beauty. In her case, it was the latter.

She was pretty in the first place, her flaw was that she lacked ample assets. After passing the last test, she had experienced improvements to her face, her shape, her butt and her boobs. Even her hair had become longer. If she was only called an average beauty in the past, right now she looked like a goddess.

The people were very accepting of her. Her father had invited royalties and nobles from other paranormal races to the grand birthday banquet.

Xylia wore a veil on this night dressed in a modest silver gown that failed to hide her curves. Her ankle-length hair had been made into seven braids and studded with several accessories. A golden nose ring chain amplified her beauty along with the other jewellery adorning her supple body.

She and the ten dancers performed for the guests after which she removed her veil and knelt before her dad for a gift.

When the people saw her looks, they cheered. Many royalties from other races had eyes on her, probably they'd propose marriage after the party was over.

While the party was still in full swing, Xylia suddenly perceived an inebriating scent that she couldn't ignore no matter how hard she tried.

Eventually, she excused herself and followed the scent to the royal garden wondering who it was that the moon Goddess had paired with her.

She soon stopped at where the smell was the strongest and looked to her left. There he was- her mate.

Her mate was standing not too far from her and the moment he turned around, she knew that he'd noticed her presence.

While others would be very excited at the thought of being personally paired by the goddess, she was not. It was this mate bond stuff that ruined her years of marriage to Frederick.

It's because of it that she suffered undue humiliation in her former pack and almost lost her life. While it was something desired by others, she felt revulsed by it, even though the smell of her mate was inebriating.

As he made his way unhurriedly to her, she already made a decision. To hell with the damn mate bond. She would survive without it. Even though initiating a rejection would cause pain, she was still up for it.

The moment her mate was close enough, she saw his eyes glowing slightly with an intent to possess. He was tall, ripped, and even though his face was masked and also covered by a hood, she had a gut feeling that he wasn't ugly.

However, she was resolved not to let his voice sway her.

"Mate... Mine!" she heard him say. If anything, she could tell he was trying hard not to jump at her and just mark her right away.

"No," she said, forcing herself not to inhale any more of his scent.

"What?" the latter was confused. "What do you mean, young lady?"

"I'm not yours. I don't like you,"

"Ah, that's no issue. You can begin to like me with time. The goddess never makes a mistake, Princess Xylia," he chuckled, closing in on her.

As she retreated, she thought of ways to escape.

"Little witch, even if you escape now, I'll come for you. You're my mate after all. The moon goddess had decided, you're now overdue to leave your father's home, dear,"

Xylia shook her head, "I don't agree with this. I Xylia Gemm hereby reject you as mate forever,"

Saying this, she got hit by a crushing pain in her chest that quickly spread all over her body. Though she had expected discomfort, she hadn't been prepared for this sort of pain.

The mate bond would be gone fully only if her mate rejected her too. That would mean double pain for her since she was the initiator of the rejection but she didn't care.

As she doubled over in pain and blood trickled out of her mouth, she encouraged him to do the same.

The latter had a hand clutching his chest, obviously feeling some discomfort there but she knew the pain he was feeling was only half of hers.

"Reject... me," she managed to say. He had to otherwise her efforts would be nothing. She would suffer this pain for nothing because if the other fated mate refuses to accept the rejection and also reject the initiator, then the mate bond will return to how it was, like there was never any strain or prick on it.

"Hurry!" she managed to say while retreating.

In response, the man simply took off his mask and hood and she could finally see the looks of her mate. He had coffee-brown hair, blue eyes, chestnut-coloured lips and a chiselled face. One look at him would make many females wish to carry his children. Although there was a scar that ran from his right eyebrow down his lower eyelid, it only seemed to serve the purpose of beautification.

His aura had also changed to a murderous one, "You want to reject someone as good-looking as me?" at this point, his eyes were glowing red. Xylia who was retreating still nodded. Even though the pressure he was putting on her was too much, she wouldn't raise the white flag just yet.

"Hurry up and reject me you bastard," she said through clenched teeth.

The latter only sneered, "Kyle Norman. Remember that name, witch princess. You can never escape my clutches and also I hate to disappoint you. After seeing your fine features, my cock rose to attention. You are one special woman and I'm not going to let you go. Whatever the Lycan king wants, he gets. I do not accept your fucking rejection, Xylia. Deal with it,"

After saying those words he turned around and left.

Xylia felt her neck as she coughed. His aura just now was suffocating. Although she had become a certified witch, she was only a low-ranked one and couldn't even fly like her father.

And her dad had encouraged her by saying she was a genius for being able to achieve this feat even though she was already past the required age.

Xylia had been training day and night under her father and many other honourable teachers that he'd invited to the palace.

Those teachers wouldn't have bothered to teach her anything if she wasn't the princess and sometimes it made her feel down. Then there was this personal guard assigned to her recently called Blade. He often encouraged her, he was like the brother she never had.

Over the couple of past months, he was always nearby, watching her train with other teachers whose job was to help her unlock her witch side.

It was his encouragement that helped her greatly not to give up. Now after what she experienced under Kyle Norman, a fire lit up in her eyes. Gone was the satisfaction of being a low-ranked witch.

She had to get stronger, enough to force that conceited bastard to submit and fucking accept the rejection.

He just made her efforts go to waste tonight; she won't forget this.

With this new goal in mind, she slowly rose to her feet and made her way back to her room. Upon entering the hallways, she encountered a palace maid and she asked the latter to convey to her father that she wasn't feeling well and needed some rest.

Xylia pretended to keep an elegant and dignified look even though the pain coursing through her veins made her want to faint right now.

"Noted, my princess. Do you need my help?" the maid asked, noticing that the princess didn't feel like usual.

However, Xylia shook her head and managed a small smile. "No need, I can make it on my own. If you see my personal maid at the venue, tell her to come tend to me," with this order, she and the maid parted ways.

Upon getting into her room, Xylia collapsed on the floor, spitting out blood.