Alpha Nathan Pov.

Despite the veil partially obscuring her features, her elegant dress and overall appearance were clearly not what he expected to see on a pack member in a subservient position.

"And who exactly might you be?" he asked directly, his head tilting slightly to one side as he tried to get a better look at her face through the veil. "I don't believe we've been introduced before."

I saw Isabella physically tremble at being addressed so directly by an unfamiliar Alpha. She immediately stepped further away from me and lowered herself in a formal bow that made my heart ache to witness.

"I'm nothing important, sir," she replied in a barely audible whisper. "I'm just a maid in Alpha Nathan's household. Please don't concern yourself with me."

The submission in her voice was painful to hear, especially after the joyful, confident woman I had just spent the afternoon with.

I felt stress tightening every muscle in my body as I quickly intervened, not wanting Isabella to debase herself any further.

"She's my personal assistant, Kwan," I clarified firmly, moving slightly closer to her in a subtle protective gesture. "She's been helping me prepare for tonight's event."

I gave him a look that clearly conveyed I didn't appreciate his interrogation of someone under my protection, Alpha to Alpha.

The moment I said Kwan's name out loud, I realized my mistake. Isabella's reaction was immediate and extreme--she practically sprinted toward the castle entrance, disappearing inside as if she were being chased by demons.

The name "Kwan Bernard" had triggered her deepest fears; she had heard terrible stories about him her entire life--tales of his ruthlessness, his treatment of enemies, the rogues he supposedly commanded.

To her, he was a monster straight out of nightmare, not the loyal friend and occasional pain in my ass that I knew him to be.

Thankfully, she had run inside the castle rather than fleeing into the surrounding forest, which meant I could find her easily once I dealt with Kwan.

I watched her retreating form with concern, already planning how I would explain things to her later and reassure her that despite his intimidating reputation, Kwan was actually one of the few people I trusted completely in this world of werewolf politics and power struggles.

"What's her problem?" Kwan asked, looking genuinely confused by Isabella's dramatic exit. "Did I say something wrong, or does she just hate parties as much as you do?"

He clapped me on the shoulder with enough force to stagger a normal human. "Come on, birthday boy. Everyone's waiting inside, and I heard there's a special announcement planned. Something about your Luna wanting to share some big news?"

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Baby Alpha on the way, perhaps?"

I groaned internally at the mention of Lily and whatever scheme she was undoubtedly planning for tonight.

But I forced a smile and guided my friend toward the entrance, already trying to figure out how I would find Isabella, calm her fears, and deal with whatever surprise Lily had in store--all while maintaining the appearance of the confident, unflappable Alpha everyone expected me to be.

Tonight was going to be even more complicated than I had anticipated.

..................

Isabella's POV

I just couldn't even bring myself to look at Alpha Kwan's face directly, maybe because every time his name echoed in my mind, it brought back my mother's harsh words about being nothing more than a slave and all that horrible stuff she used to say.

"You're worthless, Isabella," she'd always tell me, "nothing but a burden that should have never been born." Those memories haunted me constantly.

But when Alpha Kwan walked closer to where I was standing, his footsteps heavy and deliberate, and when he asked me directly about my name and what my job was around here, I just felt these sharp, stabbing aches deep in my chest that made it hard to breathe.

He absolutely terrified me, but there was something about his tone of voice that unsettled me even more.

"What's your name, girl?" he had demanded, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. "And what exactly do you do in this pack house?"

The way he spoke, the way he carried himself - he didn't look like the gentle, understanding Alpha that Nathan had described to me at all.

"Alpha Kwan is reasonable," Nathan had told me just days before. "He's fair and kind to those who serve him well."

But standing there in front of him, I felt something weird and ominous about him, as if our paths were destined to cross again in the future, or as if we had met a long time ago during some unfortunate, traumatic incident that I couldn't quite remember.

I had absolutely no idea what it could be, but the feeling was overwhelming and terrifying.

All I was able to do in that moment was run away as fast as my legs could carry me. "I need to get out of here," I thought frantically. "I need to hide somewhere safe."

I desperately wanted to reach my small room upstairs where I could lock the door and try to calm my racing heart.

But because I was running so fast, panic clouding my judgment and making me clumsy, I slipped and tumbled down hard to the cold floor, and suddenly a steady, strong hand reached out and held me, preventing me from falling completely.

I heard a deep, familiar voice that immediately tackled my heart and warmed every fiber of my being, as if I had finally found my savior after years of searching, and I wasn't wrong about that feeling.

"Are you alright, miss?" he asked me in a sharp, concerned tone that somehow managed to be both authoritative and caring at the same time. "Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"

His voice was like a lifeline thrown to someone drowning in an ocean of fear and uncertainty.

And once I slowly raised my head to look at him properly, I knew immediately who he was without any doubt. My heart, my deepest instincts, and every single inch of my being wanted to scream out loud 'father!'

The recognition hit me like a lightning bolt. Definitely, without question, he was my father - the man I had been searching for my entire life.

Even he seemed to tremble slightly when he looked at me, as if he was experiencing the same shocking recognition.

He was clearly able to see what was hidden beneath my veil, able to see my distinctive, odd eye colors that marked me as his daughter.

It was as if he was somehow able to read what was buried deep in my mind and heart too, seeing all the pain and longing I had carried for so many years.

He immediately softened his tone and gently placed his large, warm hands on my veil, obviously intending to lift it and expose my face completely, like a loving father examining his baby girl's face before her wedding day, wanting to make sure she was truly ready for such an important moment.

But suddenly, just as I was about to reach out and embrace him, Nathan quickly interrupted our moment, and maybe he actually saved me from hugging that man right there in front of everyone and completely losing what little sanity remained in my brain and exposing the whole dangerous truth about who I really was.

"Isabella!" Nathan called out sharply, his voice cutting through the emotional tension. "What are you doing down here? I specifically told you to go back to my room immediately and check those important documents that are scattered on my desk. I need them organized and ready to sign right away, and I mean right now."

Of course, Nathan was lying through his teeth to cover for me, but his quick thinking made me snap back to my senses and remember the dangerous reality of my situation.

I was standing in the middle of what could easily become a war zone. I was literally the reason for the potential war myself, the missing piece that everyone was searching for.

I had absolutely no idea what catastrophic events would unfold if I told my father right then and there that I was his long-lost daughter, the one he had been searching for desperately his entire adult life! I would lose my mate and any chance at happiness without any discussion or negotiation.

I nodded obediently and quickly lowered my gaze to the floor, walking past my father with my heart breaking into a million pieces, leaving what felt like my entire soul with him as I forced myself to walk away.

"Thank you for your help, sir," I muttered in the lowest voice possible, barely above a whisper, hoping that my voice wouldn't give away the emotional turmoil raging inside me.

But my father suddenly reached out and pulled my arm with a firm grip, stopping me in my tracks.

"Wait just a minute," he said urgently. "Who are you exactly? Why do I feel like I've known you for years, like we've met before somewhere important?"