[Arthur's POV]
Eric walked up to me with a serious expression and said, "Thank you, Arthur, I owe you again."
The serious expression did not look like he was thanking me, but rather that he wanted to tear me to pieces with his gaze. If I hadn't saved Patrick's life with the antidote serum, he probably would have shifted and thrown me out for kissing Steph.
"No problem, Eric. It just happened that I had the emergency case in the car. But if you insist on appreciating me, I'd prefer it if you gave Steph and me some blessings or something." I smiled at Eric, pretending not to guess the reason for his suddenly cold attitude toward me.
"Have you told Steph you're her mate?" Eric asked me.
"Yes. She'd already known. Perhaps your daughter is stronger than you thought, as you'd seen in school this morning." I nodded.
"You're right. I've been worried that she wouldn't be able to handle it, but she seems to have figured out that Carl betrayed her a long time ago." Eric sighed and went on to say to me, "Maybe, I've been wrong all along. I shouldn't have been overprotective of her."
"I don't think so. There's nothing wrong with a father protecting his children. She is very strong, give her some time. I'm sure she'll get better. I will be there to help her." I said to Eric. While Eric did seem a bit overprotective of Steph, it was apparent now that I should say something nice if I wanted his permission.
"You've found out she's special, haven't you?" Eric seemed intent on telling me the secret about Steph. I noticed some of the ice on the grass had melted.
"If you mean she almost collapsed this morning..." I folded my arms and waited for Eric to explain it to me.
"Can you swear to the Moon God that you will never do anything to hurt Steph?" He walked around the ice on the ground to me and grabbed my arm. "An oath to the Moon God, for the Alpha King, is the promise you must keep with your life, never to be broken. Can you?"
It was astonishing that the secret carried by Steph could make Eric ask me to swear to the Moon God. If he knew I had already saved Steph in the last world with the help of Witch Lassie using Phoenix blood and part of my lifespan, he might have trusted me more.
"I, Arthur. K. Williams, swear to the Moon God that I will never hurt Stephanie.Amber.Woodville. and I will protect her as long as I live. " I would not attempt any explanation in front of a father who was worried about his daughter. Because in his mind, I, the asshole who was about to steal his daughter, would be redundant to say anything unless I did what he asked me to do.
"I'm sorry for forcing you to give an oath. I know you always keep your promises." Eric lowered his head and sighed as he patted my shoulder and continued.
"But I need to make sure my daughter is safe, no matter who's around her. I promised Clara, my wife, that I would guarantee both of my children, especially Steph, be safe and happy."
"Eric, no offense. Mrs. Woodville is not a werewolf, is she? Or, in other words, Steph and Patrick weren't 100% werewolves. That's when Steph's scent became distinctive...it was something not belonging to a werewolf." I said.
I remembered that the scent emanating from Steph at that time was neither werewolf nor human. It was another scent with a blend of dozens of spices that I was not familiar with.
Eric's expression was very heavy. After he nodded, he sighed, "Clara and I always wished Steph to be a normal wolf. Whether she would be the pack's alpha in the future or be arranged to have an ordinary mate by the Moon God.
"Then I found out that Steph was in love with Triton's son. I even consoled myself that if Steph were the Luna of Triton's pack, she would never be discovered by Clara's clan for her special power as long as she lived in the Leyte Mountain all her life. "
"But the Moon God doesn't seem to think so." Eric shook his head, but he still didn't reveal to me exactly what special power Steph had.
Eric stared directly into my eyes, " Sorry, you must be very confused by what I said. However, Clara has not returned yet, and I cannot take the liberty of telling you the secrets belonging to her family."
"Arthur, all I can tell you is that I will not allow Steph to leave the pack and the Leyte Mountain until she has shifted and is capable of protecting herself."
"Where's Mrs. Woodville now? I haven't even heard Steph or any other pack member mention her." I raised my eyebrow.
It didn't feel good, seriously, as if you were about to open a secret box when someone suddenly attached a time lock to that box.
"Honestly, I don't know where she is. But she said she would definitely be back before our two puppies shift." Eric smiled at me. The look on his face told me he was looking forward to the day he would be reunited with his wife.
"So you can come back in a year and ask for a blessing if you still want Steph to be your Luna after you know she's not 100% werewolf, and she is special."
Obviously, I wouldn't get an easy nod from my mate's father.
"Fine. Take your time. But I have to say, to me, she's just Stephanie Amber Woodville, my future Luna. I'm not going to change my mind, no matter what you say. " I laughed, shaking my head and wondering what Eric's reaction would be when he found out Steph had shifted.
"All right, you're qualified. I accept you to be my daughter's mate. " He shrugged and said reluctantly.
"Now, I'd rather hear from Steph that she accepts me to be her mate." I sighed and received a sniff from Eric.
[Stephanie's POV]
"Although the toxin in his body was completely disappeared because of the serum. However, it appears that before receiving the serum injection, his central nervous system had been attacked by the toxin and then went into a torpor state. Or we can say that he fell into a dormant period."
Doctor Dave stared at the report in his hand before telling me why Patrick didn't wake up after an hour of our arrival at the pack hospital.
"When will he wake up?" I asked, holding Patrick's hand. His hand felt cold to the touch, like a drink fresh out of the cooler. The heart monitor by the bed faithfully and accurately recorded the weak electrical signals that his heart produced.
"Sorry, Steph, I can't give an exact time. Our equipment cannot detect the extent of damage to his central nervous system to speculate on when his system will recover. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week..." Doctor Dave shook his head and apologized to me.
"But he's going to wake up, right?" I turned to Doctor Dave.
"In theory, yes. If he stays dormant, then we can only pray that his wolf's power will help him awaken in a year when he shifts," Doctor Dave replied. He wrote down the data on the heart monitor.
"Don't worry, Steph. His vital signs are stable. He just fell into torpor, similar to the animal's hibernation. This is a self-repair process for him. Maybe he can still hear our conversation." Doctor Dave said, trying to comfort me.
I thanked him and touched Patrick's forehead. He was lying quietly in his hospital bed, no longer as energetic as before. At least for quite a while, he wouldn't ask me to sneak out with him to ride his Lucy.
I bent over and whispered in his ear, "Patrick, take a good rest. I will definitely get revenge for us!"
Since they still wanted to kill my family in this life, I no longer needed to have mercy on those demons.