Fated is overrated

Lola POV

Nick and I arrive at the royal gates in a taxi. The guards glance inside the windows and immediately allow us passage through, I guess they were well aware of my arrival. After a while we arrive at the palace, and the driver is directed towards the training grounds immediately. When we reach the training grounds the place is buzzing like crazy, I can't imagine all these people have gathered to watch a random rogue fight the Beta's daughter.

There must be something else going on, right? By the way she responded to me, I doubt word had gotten out about Liberty and Justice. I do recognize some of the warriors as those I had seen during warrior training, but there have to be at least hundreds of people here. Nick is looking out of the window intently with a frown on his face, occasionally gulping, no doubt very worried for what is about to happen.

I gently squeeze his hand and give him my best smile, hoping it will calm his nerves. But it seems to be fruitless. I look ahead and upon a platform I can see the King, Queen, the 2 douchebags, and to my great surprise - my father and brother.

It's now my time to gulp as it is the first time in ages that I have seen the King and Queen, and I haven't seen my father and brother since they came to the office that day.Visit J o bnib.com to read the complete sentences for free.If you are not reading this novel on Jo b nib.com, some paragraphs are incomplete. Although I have been in contact with my father, I wasn't expecting them to be here. And quite frankly, I don't know how to act around them.

The driver stops in front of the arena to let us out. The training grounds have been converted into an arena, with enough bleachers around the field to house the hundreds of people that are here today.

I grab Nick's hand and pull him forward with me. I can tell he is nervous, his hands are sweaty. It probably doesn't serve his nerves well that my royal mates as well as my royal family are waiting for us to approach them. I bring his hand to my mouth and kiss the back of it gently, while smiling at him reassuringly.

We can hear 2 roaring growls coming from the front of us, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out it is Zeke and Zane. I turn my head forward and bare my fangs at them, growling back equally vicious in return. Who the hell do they think they are?! They don't seem startled by my growl, but they should be.

Quite foolish, as they know what I am capable of by now (well, partially, I still have some tricks up my sleeve). Actually, upon closer inspection, they both look absolutely horrible.

They both have big bags under their eyes, and their eyes are all red and puffy. Have they been crying? They seem to have lost some weight since last weekend as well. 'Perhaps it is because of the betrayal pains' Liberty answers with a sad hint in her tone, but I scoff at the thought.

'They should have thought about that sooner' I snap back. 'I know.. But their Lycans had nothing to do with it Lola, and they feel the pain too. And you have to give it to them, in 2 full years we have never even felt an inkling of betrayal pains ourselves'.

I decide to shut the link with Liberty, as I have no time to discuss this with her right now. I drag Nick towards the platform and start to bow before the King and Queen, when the Queen stops me with a smile "Lola, dear, you don't have to bow for any of us". "Uhh.. Thank you, your highness" I say with a kind smile of my own.

"After the fight I would like some 1:1 time to catch up with you, if that's alright" she asks, and I nod at her with a small smile.

Although I am unsure whether or not that would be a good idea, as I don't want to leave Nick alone in the lion's den. But we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Perhaps my new family would want to stay by Nick's side, I'm sure nobody would want to mess with 2 royal dragons.

I turn my attention to my father and brother. Drake is looking at me with pure adoration, whilst Damon is looking at me curiously.

I clear my throat, worrying I might sound too emotional upon seeing them, and say a feeble "hi" to both of them. I am struggling with how to behave, how does one act around the family they haven't known for 20 years?

My father sees to struggle less with that, as he gets up from his chair and gives me a tight hug. It's a bit awkward at first, but after some time I lean into the embrace.

And I for one can't help but love the feeling of embracing your family. I didn't realize how much I missed that until just now. He pulls away slightly, still with his arms wrapped around me and says "it's so good to see you honey".

For a King, who is supposed to refrain from public displays of emotion, he is quite emotional and a few tears even threaten to spill over. I cup his cheeks with my hands and say "it's good to see you too" while giving him my brightest smile. Meanwhile, Damon has walked up behind our father and clears his throat.

Drake pulls away from me, and Damon immediately places himself into my embrace instead. I wasn't expecting that at all, especially with the rocky start we have had. But the fact that they are both so eager to see me soothes my soul. I guess..

I finally have a family again? The thought brings a smile to my lips. Although we still don't know each other really well, I already couldn't picture my life without them and I would die protecting them already.