MARIA'S POV

Alexander and I held in each other's arms after I told him that I was his daughter. Alexander finally pulled away from me and he smiled at me.

"I can't believe after all these years you're finally back home, but, where's Lyla? didn't she come with you?"

"No, I came to the Redwoods pack on my own, she had to stay behind and deal with my fa...well, James, the same man who you hated after he blackmailed her."

"So, she's finally told you the truth huh? when did she tell you?"

"A couple of days ago, in fact, I'm still a bit shocked myself when I discovered her little secret, I mean, I wasn't expecting my biological father to be a werewolf. Not that it's a bad thing."

Alexander chuckled and he ruffled my hair.

"You're definitely your mother's daughter all right."

"Um, excuse me, Alpha."

"What now Jacob?" Alexander spoke in an annoyed tone.

"I don't mean to burst your bubble but, how do we know for certain this woman is your daughter? I mean it's been 18 years since she and our Luna disappeared.

"The mark on her left arm that proves she's a part of this pack."

"And I've actually got this with me," I told Jacob as I showed him the birth certificate.

Jacob took the birth certificate and he was shocked when he read the names of my parents. 

"I'm not sure if that's enough to convince you but, if it makes you feel any better, I'd be more than happy to do a DNA test."

Jacob looked at the stamp on the birth certificate and he looked convinced.

"There's no need, this is definitely real all right. I'm so sorry for treating the way I did."

"It's fine, as I said, I completely understand why you would be on the defence."

"...I like her, she's got a kind spirit."

"Hahaha!! just like her mother."

The man called Jacob smiled at me and he said to me.

"Anyway, allow me to introduce myself, I'm Jacob, I'm Alexander's Beta, his second in command."

"Nice to meet you, Jacob and thanks for bringing me here."

"You're welcome, I'm gonna go back to patrol duty, please excuse me while I leave the two of you to get better acquainted."

"Thank you again, Jacob."

Alexander told him before he left the room. Once Jacob was gone, Alexander and I looked at each other and we were about to say something.

"Um-" We both said in unison and we both laughed afterwards.

"You first," Alexander said to me with a smile.

"So you really are my werewolf father, aren't you?"

"I am, tell me, have you shifted yet?"

"Shifted? what does that mean?"

"You mean...Lyla hasn't told you about us werewolves? our traditions and our customs etc?"

"No, as I said, I only found out the truth a few days ago."

Alexander looked shocked when I told him this and he mumbled.

"Lyla, you crazy Luna..."

"Alpha?" I asked him.

Alexander looked at me and he smiled at me.

"There's no need for you to be so formal, you can call me Alex or father if it's all right with you?"

"I'm not sure whether to call you father yet but, we'll see how these things go."

"You're right, I'm sorry, I should have known better, so, what was Lyla told you about me exactly?"

"My mother told me about how she met you and my step-father. I also know what happened between the three of you, James blackmailed you and my mother didn't he?"

"Yeah, that swine kidnapped my best friend and he tried to steal you and Lyla away from me. I tried to stop her from leaving me and taking you with her but, it was no good. She wouldn't listen to reason and neither would James. He would do anything to get Lyla back even if that meant using his skills against me."

"Why didn't you fight back?"

"I wanted to but, Lyla she said she would never forgive herself if she let Aiden die, so, she allowed herself to leave with James and she took you away from me."

Alexander gently stroked my cheek and he had a sad look in his eyes.

"When you were taken from me, my whole world came crashing down and I never stopped searching for you and now here you are."

I smiled at Alexander and then he smiled back at me.

"There's so much I want to show you around here, how about a tour of the packhouse? you could do with a place to stay anyway."

"That sounds great."

I spoke in a happy tone as Alexander showed me around the packhouse. 

"Over here, this is where the kitchen is but, the head chef tends to get a little snappy when there's someone else in the kitchen making food, my advice is to stay away from him except when you need to get a midnight snack when he's got the night off."

Alexander spoke before winking at me. I giggled a little and then we got to the living room.

"This is the living room where some of the pack members come and chill out, but, I don't really need to tell you that do I?"

"*Giggle* not really."

I spoke with a smile on my face until two of the pack members came over to me.

"Good afternoon, Alpha, who is this lovely lady?" The man with the red hair asked me as he stared at me up and down.

"This lovely lady is my long-lost daughter Maria."

"She is?! you are?!" 

The red-haired man asked me with a happy-shocked tone. I hid behind Alexander with a hint of blush on my cheeks and then he chuckled a little.

"Maria, this is Shay and his mate, Serana."

"N-Nice to meet you two."

"You as well," Serana spoke with a smile.

"I was just showing Maria around the packhouse so she can get used to this place."

"Is that so? well, Serana and I would love to stay and chat but, we've got a mating ceremony to plan."

Shay said as he Serana left us. I looked at Alexander and I asked him.

"Mating ceremony? is that another word for marriage or something?"

"You could say that after our wolves find our mates we sometimes hold a mating ceremony to make them an official couple. Your mother and I were gonna have our mating ceremony after you were born but..."

Alexander looked away from me sadly and I placed my hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Alexander looked at me and he smiled at me.

"None of that doesn't matter now, you're back home with me now and I'm gonna make sure no one takes you away from me again."

We continued with the tour of the packhouse and eventually, we got to one of the rooms that was prepared for me. Alexander opened the door for me and he said to me.

"This is your room now."

"It's mine?" I asked as I looked around.

"Yeah, I didn't know what you liked or how you wanted it to look so, this was the best I could do."

Alexander told me while I looked around my new room. It was bigger than the one back home. The room had that old antique smell to it, the furniture looked expensive and beautiful and I had the view of the town and the forest from here.

"It's perfect and there's enough space for me to hang my artwork in here."

"You're an artist?"

"Yeah," I got my sketchbook and I showed it to Alexander.

He opens the sketchbook and he was impressed when he saw some of my drawings.

"These are amazing, you've got your grandmother's talent that's for sure."

"Which one? the werewolf or the human?"

"Werewolf, you know, your grandparents and your uncle and auntie will be coming over for dinner later, if you'd like you can join us and get to know your family unless of course want to have it up here."

"Alex, stop looking so worried, of course, I want to join you guys for dinner. You have no idea how determined I was to get here to meet you why waste this opportunity?"

"That's my girl, all right, I'll get Serana to help you with clothes, in the meantime, I've got some work to do, feel free to take a look around the packhouse a bit longer so you can use to your surroundings."

"Thanks a lot, dad."

ALEX'S POV

I was surprised when she finally called me her father. Maria blushed a little and she told me.

"Wow, that was unexpected. I wasn't expecting to say that so soon."

"I'll say," I spoke with a smile.

"You mean you don't mind?" Maria asked me in a worried tone.

"Mind? Maria, you're my daughter, you call me dad if it makes you feel comfortable."

Maria smiled at me after I gave her sketchbook back.

"Anyway, I've got pack duties to deal with, I'll see you at dinner."

"See ya."

I left Maria's room and when I got back to my office, my wolf howled in happiness.

"Yes! finally! our pup called us dad! this is the happiest thing that has happened to us in a long, long time!"

"Calm down Hades, it's only one word. Besides, Maria is still getting used to us, it's not a clever idea to rush these things especially since she doesn't know us yet and we don't know anything about her, well, except for the fact that she's into art like my mother."

"That's true but, this is still great right?"

"It would be if only Lyla were here."

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," I called out and then Maria came into the office.

"Hello Maria, is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, it's just that I forgot to give you this," Maria gives me an envelope that was addressed to me. "It's from my mother, she likes to call it a late reply to the letter you sent to her, you know, the one that was urging her to tell me the truth?"

I was shocked by this and then Maria said to me.

"I'm gonna take another look around the place, I'll see you at dinner."

Maria said before leaving the office. I looked at the envelope and I opened it.

Dear Alex,

I don't know how to write this letter, it has been so long since I've written to you. Maria now knows everything about who she is and who you are. The moment she found out the truth, she was slightly angry at me for not saying anything over the last ten years but, when you sent me that letter to me, I couldn't bring myself to tell who she was during her 8th birthday. Now that she knows it's for the best that she lives with you from now on.

I'd do anything to see you and to hold you once more but, I can't. I had to stay behind and deal with James. I knew when Maria told me that she wanted to find you, I couldn't let James control her and turn her into one of the wolf hunters. James planned everything the moment we went into hiding from you, once Maria got to a certain age he was going to train to her kill werewolves and I can't let that happen. Alex, I miss you and I love you so much.

Please, take care of our daughter and let the Moon Goddess watch over us. I love you with all my heart.

From Lyla.

I sat down on my office chair and I smiled sadly after reading the letter. I placed a kiss on the letter before carefully putting it away in my drawers. I looked out of the window and I thought to myself.

'I hope you're all right, Lyla. I promise I will take great care of our daughter.'