Give My Quadruplets Back, My Luna!

CHAPTER 4

This wasn’t the dungeon. My eyes blinked to the unfamiliar surroundings, as a cold fear washed over me―where was I? My last memory was of Derrick’s men, and then…

Somehow, it seemed like I was somewhere...safe? ‘No, that couldn’t be right.’ 

I didn’t know where I was, but I couldn’t be safe. Not after everything that happened. My mind immediately jumped to the worst possibility—I’d been captured again. Derrick had found me and dragged me to some new kind of prison, waiting to deal the final blow.

Panic trapped my body for a split second, and I quickly threw the blanket off, looking around for any possible escape route. The window was too high up, and the door— 

Before I could make a move, it swung open. My heart nearly stopped as the two guards from before stepped in, their large frames blocking the doorway. I remembered their faces, the ones who had found me just before I blacked out. Lycans.

“Where am I?” I asked, my voice too firm for someone so frightened. 

They didn’t answer. The taller one simply gestured for me to follow. “You’re to come with us. Now.”

I hesitated, but what choice did I have? If I ran, they’d catch me in seconds, and I had no idea where I was or who else was in this place. Besides, they didn’t look like they were interested in killing me—at least not right away. So, forcing myself to appear calm, with my head held high, I followed them out of the room, cautiously keeping a close eye on their every movement.

My buried anxiety soon invaded my mind again as we passed through the long hallway. 

Where was I being taken? What did they want from me? And why had they kept me alive until now?

Finally, we stopped in front of a large set of doors. The guards pushed them open without a word, revealing a grand chamber inside. My breath caught in my throat.

In the middle of the room was a large bed; lying on it was an old man, frail and sickly. A healer stood at his side, checking his pulse, while beside him stood a tall man so divine.

He had this strange air of allure that Adonis himself would have envied those sharpened jawline and smouldering grey eyes―hypnotic enough to make the goddesses forsake the heavens for a glance from him. 

As any other woman would, my legs nearly gave way to weakness. 

But I quickly reminded myself why I was here. I wasn’t safe. I couldn’t get lost in my thoughts about him. Whoever he was, he wasn’t here to save me. I straightened my back and composed myself, trying to shake off the nerves crawling up my spine.

I took a few cautious steps forward and bowed slightly before the old man, who I now realized must be some sort of king. Despite his frail state, his eyes were kind when they met mine, and he gave me a weak smile.

"Welcome, child," the old king said, his voice raspy but gentle. "You must have many questions, and I owe you many answers."

Before he could say more, the man next to him, the handsome one who hadn’t looked away from me, cut in, his voice a deep voice that sent a tremor through my heart―there was something strange about him, something I couldn’t understand.

"Father, you shouldn’t be exerting yourself. Let your adviser handle the explanations." His tone wasn’t harsh, but it was firm, almost protective. He glanced at the healer for confirmation, and she nodded, signaling her agreement.

The king sighed and leaned back against his pillows, clearly too weak to argue. "Very well," he muttered, and the adviser, who had been standing quietly by the door, stepped forward.

The adviser, an older man with a serious expression, spoke to me with calmness. 

They seemed to have that a lot around here.

"You must be wondering why you are here, and why the king summoned you. This might be hard to believe, but our father was once the Beta of this kingdom and a loyal protector of the king. You’re his lost daughter he has been searching for a long time…"

I stared at him, confusion clouding my mind. "My father?" The words sounded so unbelievable that I wanted to laugh. "I don’t understand. I don’t remember my father. I... I was raised by someone else."

This had to be another prank. These people had no evidence to prove it. 

The adviser nodded patiently, as though he’d expected my reaction. "That’s because you were taken from your family as a child. The woman who raised you, your foster mother, gave you medication to suppress your memories. She didn’t want you to know the truth of your origins."

I shook my head, struggling to make sense of it all. It couldn’t be true. But then the guards approached, holding something in their hands. It was a set of old photographs, worn from age, and one of them showed a little girl—me—standing next to a tall man. His face was vaguely familiar, but what truly caught my attention was the mark on his back, the same mark I had on my own body. The mark that had always been there, yet I’d never understood.

As I forced myself to remember, tears betrayed my eyes when all came together. 

The memories- I hadn’t even known we were missing. My father’s voice, his laugh, the way he’d lift me onto his shoulders. It was all happening so fast that I backed away, my breath running short. 

The adviser spoke gently, his tone softer now. "You are safe here, Junia. Your father sacrificed his life to save the king many years ago, and the king has always wanted to repay that debt. Now that you’ve been found, you are under our king’s protection."

I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. I had spent my whole life feeling abandoned, unloved, as though I didn’t belong anywhere. And now, to hear that my father had loved me, that he had died for someone... It was too much.

The adviser stepped forward, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Do not cry. You are home now. And the king’s final wish is to make sure that you are cared for.”

“And to keep the promise we made a long time ago to your father on his deathbed, we want you to marry the prince, Xaphen, so that the bloodline of the kingdom may continue."

Wait…what?!

I blinked through my tears, my heart skipping a beat as I looked over at Xaphen—the man who had watched me with those deep eyes that made my heartbeats quicken. 

"Marry... him?" I whispered in disbelief. 

The adviser nodded. "Yes. The kingdom is at risk. There are too many alphas and Lycans vying for the throne, and our prince needs a strong partner by his side. There’s no better match than the Beta’s daughter to strengthen the Union.” 

I could barely process the words. 

Marriage. To a man, I didn’t know, in a place I barely understood. But I also knew that I had no other choice. I was too deep into this now, and if I refused, I wasn’t sure what would happen. Derrick’s betrayal had left me without a home, without a pack, and now, this strange new world was offering me a lifeline.

Still, I wasn’t ready to answer. Not yet.

I turned to Xaphen, hoping to find some sign of what he was thinking, but he remained rather silent. Was I willing to jump right into another marriage after a failed one?