Page 173 of An Omega for the Lycan Prince

“I’m sorry,” I say after a while.

He is surprised. “What for?”

“Because Liam was supposed to become Alpha of Silverlake. This wasn’t planned…” I mutter.

Elden sighs. “Yes, the plan was to make him Alpha of Silverlake next year. Ever since he was born, this path was laid out for him. Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Flora and I had this perfect plan for Liam, and look at it now? That’s a lesson for me to learn. The goddess had her plans, and it just so happens that you and Liam are fated to Red Claw.” He smiles warmly.

"Is this going to be a problem later on?" I ask carefully. "With the Council, I mean?"

"You're talking about the throne?" Elden clarifies. When I nod, he shakes his head. "Don't worry, Annie. The Council is separated from the packs. Technically Liam wouldn't even need to be Alpha of a pack to become King eventually."

I tilt my head a bit. "I'm not sure if I understand," I admit.

Elden nods tentatively. "All right, you know I'm a Crown Prince?"

"Yes."

"I'm not King yet," Elden explains. "Currently, no one sits on the throne. There are five royal families, and every family has a Crown Prince or Princess, but for various reasons, the Council wants me as the new king. However, the Council is all about the separation of powers. I can't be Alpha of a pack and King at the same time. The Council wouldn't allow that. The original plan was to have Liam take over Silverlake so that I can become King." He smiles. "That's all. There is no more to it. Once I find a successor for Silverlake and have one of my other children take over, I'll be forced to accept the crown. Once I do that, it'll turn Liam into the next Crown Prince in line."

"So, I didn't ruin Liam's future?" I ask, sighing in relief.

"No," Elden chuckles. "No need to worry." He pauses. “Listen, Annie, had I wanted to, I could have prevented Liam from killing Marcus and becoming Alpha of Red Claw. You know that, don’t you?”

I nod my head. He could have even decided to kill Marcus himself or choose one of Red Claw’s pack members to do it.

But he didn’t.

“You and my son brought justice to a pack after years of suffering. You saved this pack from extinction. It easily has between 1000 and 1500 members. They might have all died tonight. It wasn’t me who saved them. You and Liam did it. I’m incredibly proud of the man my son has become and of what he did tonight. I’m also very proud of you, of your strength and thankful for your loyalty and trust. Liam was great before he met you. Now he is even better. My biggest dream was to make Liam the Alpha of Silverlake, but I strongly believe in the goddess and faith, and it seems that Red Claw just needed you more. And eventually, all parents have to allow their children to walk their own path, even if it's hard to let go.” He pats my back softly. “You are allowed to feel proud of him and yourself and happy about what happened today. We’ll discuss all the details later when everything calms down a bit.”

“I am proud,” I say honestly, smiling behind my tears. “I’m so proud of him. But I'm also happy that Red Claw is finally free. Liam will be a fantastic Alpha.”

“I know,” he teases. “He learned from the best.”

I smile. “You taught him so much.”

He sighs. “Sometimes I feel like I overdid it, that I was too strict. At times, I should have been more of a father and less of a teacher.”

I frown. “I’m not so sure if he sees it that way.”

“We clashed against each other a lot when he was younger,” he says. “It wasn’t always like it is today.”

“But you said it yourself once: he was a full-fledged Lycan in the body of a young boy who couldn’t control him.”

“Yes, that’s true. But there is another truth too.”

“And what’s that?”

“Liam was my first child,” he explains. “You will experience it yourself one day, but with your first kid… it’s different. You still have firmly set ideals. You are tense. You want to raise them a certain way, you want to make sure everything goes as planned, be perfect. With the next child, you are way more relaxed.”

“What happened?” I ask softly.

“There was a moment when he was a teen. He was thirteen at that time, maybe a bit younger, and we argued again. It wasn’t even about anything important, but I’m ashamed to admit that I raised my hand against him.” He sighs. “Teenage Alphas… sure, you need to discipline them sometimes, but I acted out of anger at that time. I normally never do that. It was a low blow, not a proud moment for me. He ran away.”

I’m thankful to him for being so open. I know he doesn’t have to, but it’s… nice, for lack of a better word. He is a Lycan King. Hardly anyone would ever question anything he does, so to admit to such a weak moment shows his inner strength and how he tries to reflect on his own mistakes.

It makes me think about my childhood. My father never hit me, but he also never disciplined me in any other way. The maximum punishment was that I was grounded for a week. I was a very obedient kid, though. Even as a teen, I didn’t slam doors or yell at anyone. Now I think I should have rebelled a bit more… maybe voiced my opinion more. I felt like I needed to be extra good to make up for my lack of any special abilities back then. For being only an Omega.

I notice that he goes silent, and can’t help my curiosity. “Was that the treehouse incident?”