Her Second Chance✔ (Completed under edit)

5 (Edited)

Deciding to trust the woman who had the gift of knowing, Cari clicked on the message and then opened it. She read it, frowned then read it again. It still didn't make sense. Why would anyone write her this?

"Why would anyone wait for me at the castle?" She asked out loud then blinked as she hadn't meant to do that.

Her grandmother gave her a confused look for a moment then her eyes cleared. "Werewolves who've lost their mates for one reason or another go to the castle. The king and queen allow them to stay there and find a second chance mate among those like them."

Cari didn't want to believe, couldn't allow herself to believe. "How would he know about me then?" She queried.

"Your father called the King last night and I assume Claire's true mate would've been at the castle this whole time. It wouldn't take long to piece two and two together."

Cari looked down at the message in sorrow. "She told me her mate had died, that she'd felt him die." She turned her eyes to the Beta. "Why would she lie to me, Nana?"

Her grandmother once again squeezed the hand she still held. "I think for so long everyone in your pack, and some in mine assumed she'd be the second luna. To find out that wasn't the case would've been humiliating to your sister and I think that got the best of her. It's no excuse by any means but your sister has always lived her life for other people."

Cari nodded her agreement then looked down at the message. Claire had a mate out there, she'd lied. And yet how could she believe this was true? What if Xander, the Alpha or even her own grandparents had set someone to write her? She could think she had her freedom and they would set her up to have her heart broken and come running back to the pack.

She read it again:

Hello Cari,

I'm sorry to intrude upon you but I couldn't help myself knowing you were out there. The years that I've awaited you here at the castle have seemed like a lifetime yet looking at your picture makes it all worthwhile. I hope you will write to me so we can know each other before we meet.

Andre.

Then there was a picture of him. Cari bit her lip as she once again glanced at it and felt her heart thud inside her. She looked back at the message wondering how old he was to write as if it was a letter. He didn't look that old, but their race lived to be a thousand and looked young way into their sixth century. But if he were Claire's true mate then he'd have to be close to their age.

How do I know you're not lying to me?

She quickly sent the message before she could change her mind. The message had been sent about six hours ago while she was still sleeping. Maybe to give the impression that the sender was at the castle. Faking an international number would be really easy for an Alpha or Beta with their resources. And the fact that he looked a bit like Xander gave her even more pause. It'd be so easy to Photoshop him.

I will petition the king to send you some confirmation.

His quick reply surprised her. Was he waiting on his phone for her? Or maybe whoever they'd hired had instructions to reply promptly. After all the trouble they'd gone through to stop her mating Xander she knew they wouldn't let her go that easily. Not if her absence weakened him.

They must have known about her needing to go to the castle. Yet they'd chosen to let her suffer. Maybe they hadn't wanted Claire's lie to come to light but what did they expect? That she could lie for a thousand years?

The idea of the king sending his confirmation caused a thrill of hope down her spine. Not even her Alpha would dare impersonate the king, right? That'd be treason of the highest order and punishable by death. Yet the last thing she wanted was to burden the king with her problems.