Outcast: The Alpha King's Beloved

Chapter 162: Family Gathering 

Daniel's POV:

Helen and I had been in the Black Stone Pack for several days now.

Ever since we got here, we had been searching high and low for Skylar, but it was as though she had disappeared into thin air.

No matter where we looked, we couldn't find a trace of her.

At some point, we even started to suspect that Skylar hadn't even come back to Black Stone Pack.

I texted Jerome that there was no sign of Skylar yet, hoping that they would turn their eyes towards other packs.

Despite things looking bleak, I sent a large number of werewolves to continue the search for Skylar in Black Stone Pack.

Amidst everything, I received a message from my brother, Devin.

"Let's have dinner at my place at eight o'clock tonight, Daniel.Bring Helen with you."

That was strange.

Devin and I had always had a complicated relationship.

Why was he inviting us to dinner? Was he just trying to act friendly in front of our parents? Or perhaps he actually wanted to improve our relationship.

After some slight hesitation, I replied, "Okay."

Then, I turned off the phone.

I needed to focus.

What was Devin up to? Even though I racked my brains, I still couldn't figure him out.

There was nothing I could do but wait and see.

Later that day, Helen and I went to Devin's house at eight o'clock sharp.

But to my surprise, my parents were nowhere to be found.

Did Devin not invite our parents? How awkward if it was just the four of us! After all, my relationship with Devin was, to put it lightly, strained.

"Helen, be careful.I don't think tonight is as simple as it seems," I told Helen.

She nodded and slipped her hand into mine.

We headed to the dining table together.

There was an unexpected guest waiting there.

It was my childhood friend, Mandy.

As soon as we sat down, Mandy approached us.

My expression darkened.

What was she doing here? Why did Devin invite her? "I'm sorry, but this is my seat."

Mandy stood beside Helen, smiling at her.

She gestured for Helen to switch seats.

Helen eventually relented and sat in the other seat next to me.

"So, you're the famous Helen.I've heard so much about you.Now that you're at the Black Stone Pack, please feel at home here," Mandy said with a smile.

"Who is she?" Helen whispered in my ear.

"She's the daughter of the Black Stone Pack's Beta, and we were playmates growing up.I didn't expect her to be here."

As I explained to Helen, I put some food on her plate.

"Eat up!"

"How sweet! At this rate, you two will have a child in no time!" Mandy teased.

At the mention of a child, Devin's face turned livid, while Grace's expression darkened.

I knew the reason why.

Ever since my parents declared that whoever produced an heir would become the next Alpha, my brother and I had been at odds.

Devin and Grace hadn't had a child ever since they got married, so obviously, they took my incoming marriage as a threat.

They were afraid that we would produce a child, and that my parents would make me the next Alpha.

"There's no rush.Helen and I have no plans of having a baby anytime soon." I tried to smooth things over.

"Daniel and I aren't even married yet.It's too early to talk about having kids.And even when we do get married, we still want some time to ourselves for a few years," Helen echoed.

I hoped that Devin would cool down after we said that.I really didn't want our relationship to be so tense.

"True.You two shouldn't be in a hurry.After all, Devin and Grace don't have kids yet," Mandy said.

It sounded like she was on my side, but wasn't she stirring up even more trouble by saying that? I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering what she was up to.

As expected, Devin snorted in response.

Grace didn't say anything either.

An awkward atmosphere hung over the dining table, with tension so thick, one could cut it with a knife.

I knew this topic brought great displeasure to my brother and sister-in-law.

When we were done eating, Grace stood up suddenly and went to Helen's side.

"Helen, come with me.Our first meeting was too rushed, so I wasn't able to prepare a gift for you last time.Let me make it up to you now.My gift for you is waiting upstairs.I hope you will like it."

"I'll go with you." I also stood up hurriedly.

"This is between girls.There's something I need to discuss with Helen, too.You'd better wait here," Grace said.

I had no choice but to sit back down dejectedly.

As soon as the two women were gone, Mandy leaned towards me.

She was scantily clad tonight, and as she leaned, her cleavage popped out.

Ignoring her, I turned my head the opposite direction.

I was worried about Helen.

She didn't know anyone here."Daniel, you've been gone for months.I was beginning to think you would never come back,"

Mandy pouted.

"What made you think that? Black Stone Pack is my home," I replied absentmindedly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Mandy was inching closer and closer to me, so I moved in the opposite direction subconsciously.

"If I had known earlier, I would've worked harder so that I could've gone to Marge Island with you.Unfortunately, I was not selected back then.If I had also become a trainee, do you think our relationship would have been different?" Mandy sighed.

What on earth was she trying to say to me? Just then, Helen came back with a gift box in her hand.

I abruptly ended the conversation with Mandy and hurried to receive Helen.

"Let's go home." I took the gift box from Helen and said goodbye to everyone.

"We're going back.Let's do this again some other time."

Helen waved goodbye to everyone and together, we headed home.

Helen's POV:

Tonight's dinner party was definitely strange.

I knew that Daniel's relationship with his brother was on the rocks, so I had been on edge all night.

But Mandy's presence was also strange.

She spoke sarcastically at the dinner table, as though she was deliberately trying to stir up a fight.

Grace, on the other hand, was somewhat kind to me.

On the way back to Daniel's house, I thought about what had happened just now.

Grace brought me to her room and took out a gift box from her closet.

"Helen, this is my gift for you," she said, handing me the box.

"Please accept it." Text © owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

"Thank you!" I accepted it gratefully.

"You're welcome.We're going to be family soon, so don't be too formal with me," Grace said with a smile.

We chatted in her room for a while.Just as I was about to excuse myself, Grace pulled me aside.

"Wait.There's something I need to tell you," she said seriously.

"Helen, I like you ever since we first met.I really hate to see you hurt, so I want to warn you about Mandy.She and Daniel were very close they almost became a couple.After all, they grew up together.We always thought they would become mates until Daniel came home with you."

"Okay, thank you for telling me this."

I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable afterwards.

I loved Daniel so much, so naturally, I felt jealous knowing that he and Mandy could've been something.

When Daniel and I got home, I set the gift box down and sat on the bed, thinking about what Grace had told me.

At this time, Daniel had finished washing up and sat down next to me.

"What's wrong? You look like something's on your mind." Daniel held me in his arms.

"I have something to ask."

"Honey, what is it? You can ask me anything." Daniel pinched my cheek dotingly.

"Who is Mandy to you?"

"We were playmates when we were kids," Daniel replied simply.

"But Grace told me that you almost became a couple and you used to be very close to her." I looked at Daniel with a sad face.

"Daniel, you're mine, right?"

"Of course, both my body and my heart belong to you and you alone.Silly girl, you shouldn't trust whatever Grace says.Maybe she just wants us to fight so that we won't get married and have kids.I promise that there is nothing special between me and Mandy," Daniel explained hurriedly.

"Okay, I believe you." I heaved a sigh of relief and nestled contentedly in his arms.

"As for Grace and Devin, I'll be careful with them from now on."

"Helen, please believe me when I say that; now that I have you, I will love you and only you."

"I love you, too." Daniel's words touched me.

I leaned over and pecked him on the lips, but he looked dissatisfied.

"Not enough."

"What? Then what do you want?" I blushed and asked shyly.

"This,"

Daniel whispered before leaning over to kiss me deeply.

He slipped his arms around my waist and held me tightly.

With our lips and tongues intertwined, I could feel his hands reaching up my blouse to rub my breasts.

"Honey, I can't kiss you enough."

When we finally pulled away, we were both out of breath.

"By the way, a werewolf sent me a message just now.He said that he found evidence of Skylar being here," Daniel said suddenly.

"Really? Where is she now? How is she? Let's hurry up and find her!" I was so excited.

This was the first time we had heard anything about Skylar ever since she left.

"Unfortunately, my men found out too late.While she did show up at Black Stone Pack, she was last seen at the airport.We don't know where she went." Daniel sighed.

"Skylar left the Black Stone Pack? Now it'll be even harder to find her.Let me call Jennifer.She texted me yesterday, asking about Skylar."

"Okay.Tell them the news.We can also take this as an opportunity to follow up on this clue at the airport.Maybe we can find out where she went."

"Okay." I reached for my phone called Jennifer in front of Daniel.

"Helen, how are you doing over there?" Jennifer asked when the call connected.

"We're fine.Thanks for asking.Jennifer, we found out that Skylar was here, but she has already flown out.We're still trying to figure out where she has gone."

"Thanks for telling me, Helen.I'll tell Jerome." Jennifer sounded a little disappointed.

"Okay.I won't take up any more of your time.I'll keep you posted if we find out anything more."

After bidding each other goodbye, we hung up.

"How do you think Skylar's doing now? Do you think she's in trouble?" I leaned against Daniel's chest.

"I don't know.We'll find out more tomorrow." Daniel rubbed my hair affectionately.

"Don't worry, babe.Skylar will be fine.You must be tired.Get some sleep."

"Okay.Let's sleep together."

Daniel tucked me in and got in bed next to me.

But we didn't sleep well that night.

We were both worried sick about Skylar.

‘‘Skylar, where could you be? Please come back.We're all worried about you.’’