The Alpha's Fated Mate (Book 4 of the Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 20

Astrid took a deep breath. "There are some things I need to tell you, Liam. Things that may make you change your mind about being mated to me. It's the reason why I haven't been ready to complete the mating bond with you. I wanted you to go into this with eyes wide open, and know what you are getting yourself into."

She felt him tense again, and a look of concern crossed his handsome face.

'He'll be fine with it. Ask him if Kai is his wolf.' Stella said.

"Kai is your wolf?"

He looked at her with a frown then nodded. "And yours?" He couldn't believe he hadn't told her that already.

"Stella."

"I like it. But what do I need to know?" He thought back to the man he'd seen her with yesterday. Was he her boyfriend? "Does it have something to do with the guy you were talking to in the hallway before class yesterday?"

Astrid blinked. What guy? Oh yes. "No. That was Nick. He's part of the pack leadership with Regal Eclipse though he doesn't have an official title. He's the liaison for half the packs out there including the one in Ohio. He just stopped to chat with me about something. I've never dated him."

Liam nodded and flashed her a smile. "Okay."

She could see that he was still tense. She bit her lip. Just because she knew he'd be okay with it didn't make it any easier. She took a deep breath. "I've been a member of Regal Eclipse since I was sixteen."

"What pack were you in before that?" Liam asked curiously. Regal Eclipse didn't take in new members unless you were mated or related to a member of the pack as far as he knew.

"I wasn't."

"You were a rogue?" He frowned trying to piece it together. They'd taken in a rogue sixteen year old? And was she always a rogue? He wasn't even quite sure how old she was. He knew it was close to his own age, though she looked to be about eighteen or so. He started to open his mouth again, but Astrid stopped him.

"No. I was human."

Liam closed his mouth and just stared at her. What she was telling him was impossible. Humans couldn't become werewolves. He searched her face, but couldn't figure out why she would lie to him.

"The Alpha King has the power to change humans to werewolves. And that's something you can never tell anyone. It's a closely guarded secret." She looked down for a moment, letting him process that.

Liam's mind was reeling at what she'd just told him. Astrid had started life as a human? And humans could become werewolves? He had about a million questions. "What about your father? And your mother?" He knew Ragnar was a werewolf but he also knew that when a werewolf was mated to a human, their offspring would be werewolf. Was she really the Royal Beta's biological daughter?

"My father was also human when I was born. He went to war when I was six and almost died. He was saved by the Alpha King who changed him and my father was sworn to him. My mother died as a human. She thought my father passed and she married another man who wasn't kind to her. She lived for ten more years after my father was gone before her husband killed her." Astrid stared straight ahead as she thought back to that time of her life.

"Oh Astrid." Liam scooped her up and placed her in his lap, his mind in overdrive with what she had just revealed to him. Ragnar had started out as a human too? That one really blew his mind. He didn't fully understand the story she was telling but his heart broke for her.

"My stepfather went after me next. He told me that if I wanted his protection and to stay in his household, I would sleep with him." Astrid laid his head on his shoulder. She hadn't thought about all of this in a long time and was amazed she remembered it so vividly.