Lily kept looking at Nicholas, while she continued walking, waiting for his reply. She was so focused on him that she didn't notice there were steps in front of her.
"Agh!" She fell just as her foot slipped on the edge of the stairs. Luckily, Nicholas who was nearby moved spontaneously to hold her so she didn't fall to the floor.
When she saw Nicholas' face so close to hers, Lily was mesmerized again and her heart suddenly beat faster.
"Are you okay?" Nicholas asked after helping the girl to her feet.
"Ah, y-yes. Thank you." Lily's face turned red. "Sorry about that."
Nicholas smiled, "No worries."
He made sure she was fine before he let her go. Secretly, he was happy she was distracted and no longer asked about the reason why he changed. He was not into sharing his personal life and choices in detail with other people.
He didn't mind admitting to being a lycan and how he was turned, but more than that, he didn't think other people needed to know it.
Nicholas and Lily continued walking toward the manor gate. Finally, he had seen his horse and now it was time to say goodbye.
"I am sorry, my father is still recuperating. He asked me to send you off. I hope you don't mind," Lily said. Nicholas nodded in understanding,
"Of course. I don't mind." Nicholas reached out his hand to shake Lily's hand. "Miss Moonchester, thank you so much for your welcoming reception. You are welcome to come to the capital at any time. I will be happy to host you and your pack."
"We will let you know," said Lily. "Say that once we have persuaded the other packs to meet you, I hope Your Majesty will prepare the best possible answer to any of their questions if we succeed in getting them to speak to you, Your Majesty."
"That's great!"
Lily nodded. "Soon there will be an annual meeting held by the Alphas in the Gazi Desert. We can meet them and discuss peace with them there."
Nicholas winced at this statement. He shook his head.
"No offense, Miss Moonchester, but I don't think it's a good idea. It's like a prey deliberately dropping itself into the midst of a predator eager to eat it. You already know that they hate Riga a lot and there might be some of them who will attack me right away before I even have time to say anything."
Lily nodded, she agreed with what Nicholas said. "That's true, but I thought you would act as boldly as you did tonight."
"Acting brave and acting stupid are two different things." Nicholas shrugged. He didn't want to court death if he could help it. He had children and he wanted to grow old to raise them.
"Then do you have any other plans, Your Majesty?"
"I will see my chance after I meet the other Alphas in Riga. If I can convince them to agree on peace, I might come to the meeting in Gazi Desert. So, I will look forward to hearing from you about those meetings with other packs. I hope you can really help me."
"Very well. We'll see what we can do." Lily finally agreed to the request.
***
Three days later, after making various preparations, they met again to start their plan. Lily and David – the Beta from Red Moon Pack, representing the Alpha and all pack members, accompanied Nicholas to visit from one pack to another to offer a peace agreement.
The reactions received by Nicholas from all packs were various. Some chose to agree, some chose to be neutral and some refused firmly.
To the pack who chose neutral and emphatically rejected his offer, Nicholas said that if one day they changed their minds, Nicholas would gladly accept them.
Time passed by so quickly. Suddenly it was weeks later. Nicholas really kept himself very busy in dealing with peace matters. He did it on purpose so he could take his mind off Sophie. He had promised himself that he would not disturb Sophie and Leland while they were waiting for the birth of their child.
***
Meanwhile, in Hastings, Sophie, who was about to give birth, got a surprise that made her very happy.
"Luna, someone is here, looking for you," said their maid, a female lycan in her forties who had been helping Sophie after the family moved to Hastings.
"Huh? Who?" Sophie was surprised to hear her maid. She didn't have family or friends she could think of that would come and visit her. After she married Leland, he became her world, along with the Blood River Pack.
"She said her name is Katherine Summers," said the maid much to Sophie's surprise.
"What???" Sophie was startled and immediately sat up. "Are you sure??"
She still remembered Katherine. She was her cousins' private teacher who taught Sophie many things and helped her get an education. Sophie owed a lot to Katherine. Katherine had helped her through many difficult times.
Sophie didn't know where did Katherine go five years ago after she married Leland. However, she was very happy that Katherine came back. This was perfect timing too, she thought.
Sophie had been feeling a bit lonely after they moved to Hastings. She had built some connections with the female members of the pack and now that they moved, she could no longer spend time with them.
So, it felt good to have another woman, especially someone she was close with in the past.
She almost ran, with how much her heavy belly allowed her and when she reached the door, she immediately saw the teacher.
"Oh, Katherine, I missed you so much," Sophie gushed, hugging her former teacher. "Where have you been?"
'Katherine' hugged Sophie back. She sounded moved and almost shed tears when she spoke, "I went to another country. I got something important to do."
"Ahh.." Sophie let go of her hug and looked at Katherine deeply. "How are you? Are you okay?"
Katherine nodded. "Yes, Sophie. I am very well."
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