Chapter 49

Sabrina POV

I stared at the scene in front of me, unable to believe my eyes. Or my ears.

There stood my father, with his arm around that filthy little Omega’s shoulders, smiling like he was the happiest person in the world.

And proudly declaring her to be his daughter??

It was an outrage!

“That’s a lie!” I shouted, rushing forward down the steps.

The idea that I was somehow related to Claire had been unacceptable when I first heard my father talking about it. I had done everything I could to make sure those silly little tests of his would tell him nothing.

But this?

The thought of her actually being the daughter of the Royal Alpha - my sister - was absolutely outrageous.

And he wasn’t just thinking about it. Oh no. He was standing there declaring it to the entire realm. Like - like it was the truth!

“You’ve gone too far with this, Claire,” I said, once I was face to face with my father and the deceitful little Omega. She was pretending to be shocked, I could tell. My hand itched to slap the expression off of her face.

“I know you’ve been taking advantage of my father during his illness,” I hissed instead. “Putting on this sweet, innocent little helper act. You think you’ve fooled everyone, don’t you? Well, you haven’t fooled me.”

“She’s been manipulating the Royal Alpha!” I cried, speaking loud enough for people around us to hear. “Making him think she’s some long lost daughter he can’t possibly have. How could he? I’m his real daughter.

“My poor father,” I buried my face in my hands for a moment, forcing tears into my eyes.

Let them think I’m heartbroken, I thought. When really, these were tears of rage.

“He’s sick,” I said, raising my head, letting people see the tears on my face. “And she’s been using him for her own disgusting gain.”

I turned to look up at Nathan where he stood on the stairs still staring down at the scene, clearly in shock.

Had he been in on this? I wondered. Was this some plan he actually had with Claire, to somehow steal the Royal throne away from me?

It was a passing suspicion, but one I tucked away to think about later. If he truly had betrayed me, he would pay dearly for it.

“Alpha Nathan, please!” I begged, my voice thick with emotion. “Do something to end this terrible abuse of my father!”

But before Nathan could react in any way, my father’s voice once again rang out. He was older and struggling with his long and difficult illness, but his voice still had a commanding ring of power.

All around us, the whispered conversations that had started murmuring through the crowd once again fell into silence.

“That’s enough, Sabrina,” he declared. “Claire has done nothing but be the kind and talented healer everyone here knows her to be. She doesn’t deserve those accusations.

“What I said is true: She is my daughter. And I have the tests to prove it!”

I stared at my father. I knew for a fact the tests he ordered showed nothing of the sort. I’d switched Claire’s hair sample with hair from my father’s Beta.

There was no way the test proved anything.

And yet - my father truly seemed to believe that Claire was his daughter.

My eyes narrowed as I realized what that meant. Not just what it meant in this moment, with this stupid little scene he was causing.

But what it meant for the future. For my future.

As Royal Alpha, my father’s word was law.

Fact or not, people were now going to believe that Claire really was a long lost royal princess.

My sister.

My…older sister.

All at once I remembered that Claire was a year older than me. Making her the oldest “sibling.”

Which meant my father could easily declare her the rightful heir to the throne!

And I knew just how stubborn my father could be once he put his foot down. If he decided to make Claire the royal heir instead of me, I didn’t have much of a chance to convince him to change things back.

I needed to fix this. Fast.

Holding the skirts of my gown, I dipped low into a curtsy, bowing my head.

“I apologize, Father,” I said, speaking formally. “This is all such a shock. And with your illness…I just worry about you so much.”

Watching his face carefully, I saw his expression soften. I sighed quietly with relief.

He believed me. Good.

“Apology accepted, Sabrina. I know this is a very big surprise for you. For all of us.”

He chuckled. “It’s not every day we discover a long lost princess!”

As the shock wore off, people gathered around my father, full of questions. Within moments both he and Claire were lost in a sea of well-wishers looking to gain favor with the new princess.

Leaving me on the outside of the circle, unacknowledged. Ignored.

And fuming.

Nathan POV

The scene unfolded on the floor below me. I watched from above, frozen in shock.

My mind was struggling to process not only what had just happened, but the entire evening.

The fact that Claire had been here at all had been a shock. Omegas weren’t ever invited to parties, especially grand events such as this. The only way she realistically could have been here would have been as part of the wait staff.

At least, that would have been the case before. Before she left me, and became “Dr. Green.” Before she became close enough with the Royal Alpha to attend the event in his stead.

Where was the shy and submissive woman I’d fallen in love with? Where was the orphaned wolfless Omega with no station in the pack?

So much about her had changed, and I kept feeling like instead of keeping up I was falling further and further behind.

I had still struggling to accept the fact that Claire left me, and Andy, when suddenly she developed those incredible healing abilities.

And no sooner had I come to terms with that fact, suddenly it turned out she had a wolf after all. At least, if the rumors his Beat brought to him were to be believed.

So now instead of a shy and subservient orphan, a wolfless Omega pretending to be my nanny, my mate was a powerful healer with a rare wolf.

And now she was also actually a royal princess??

None of it made any sense, and I was caught completely off guard. Standing there, looking down at the Royal Alpha as he introduced Claire to the people gathered around them, I felt so torn.

The pull to be with my mate was there - always. But now I also felt like she was a complete stranger to me.

Even if I went down there and waded through the crowd. Even if I somehow managed to get her somewhere private to speak.

Would I even know what to say?

I had no idea who she was anymore.

Still staring down at her, I couldn’t help but wonder:

Had I ever really known her at all?