His Cherished Child

Aurelia looked at all kinds of tonics, spirit cleansing pills, and antidote herbs that her grandpa had gathered for her during his expedition and her lips twitched. Why these medicines? I want a real gift.

She stared at her grandfather sulkily who laughed at her expressions. "What's with this sulking face? These all are rare medicines that I accumulated with lots of hard work."

It was after the duchess was sent to the capital and everyone else went back to their courtyards. Her sneaky grandpa snuck into her quarter instead of heading for his own courtyard.

They were now sitting in the lounge illuminated by countless lanterns and candles. The fireplace was burning brightly while Aunt Feng got Roma and Rose to serve them tea before dismissing them. She then proceeded to stand in a corner.

Asher Einar watched his granddaughter with doting eyes who sat with a straight posture in obedience but had her lips pursed. "Who brings medicines as a gift? I thought you'd bring me beautiful paintings and jewels." Her complaints made the elderly alpha laugh. "Ho ho ho, this child, you're speaking as if I don't know how much you dislike things that normal girls would love to die for."

"But still Grandpa, why these tonics and herbs?" She looked at him with eyes full of grief. The whole city of Wover was scared of her and here her grandpa thought she was a weakling who needed these tonics to improve her strength. She felt attacked upon watching her grandpa who looked amused.

"That's because I want you to grow stronger. I traveled to far away places to find these rare herbs. They're known to have purifying abilities. I'll ask our healer to prepare some medicines using these herbs. They may be able to help purify your aura, not that I find it impure, I just want people to treat you normally." Saying so, he patted her head gently.

The mischievous girl snickered, she said "Really grandpa? You do know how powerful your granddaughter is, why would I need these tonics? I don't need to clean my aura, I'm more powerful with a toxic aura." Her words caused him to look at her longingly.

She was his beloved granddaughter. His cherished son's cherished child. Alpha Asher's eldest son Ayan Einar was a highly capable alpha. He was a sensible child who loved his father dearly and would do anything for him. He met Aurelia's mother during one of the tours he made on his father's behalf.

She didn't belong to a well known clan or family like they did, but she was definitely a strong woman. Despite knowing that mates are predestined, there were some people who mocked his eldest son for taking in a weak mate with no substantial background but the thing never affected him to force him to take in a human or vampire concubine from a strong family background.

Alpha Asher took pride in his son for choosing to stay loyal to his mate. He didn't try to find excuses to be with more women even if it was a common practice around them. He loved her a lot. She was a beautiful woman and held a mystery in herself.

Asher Einar knew that the beautiful woman held some secrets and some unique abilities as well. He never probed to know it in detail in fear that she might feel uncomfortable, but she was a capable woman for sure.

When they got married, the couple chose this same courtyard to be their nuptial quarter since this was his son Ayan's living quarters from the start. They spent months there. Those were beautiful days, full of joy and peace. Asher Einar still remembered how excited his son was to hold his child in his arms when he had discovered he was going to be a father.

The man had spent every day anxiously by his wife's side. He pampered her, took care of her, and sometimes even got impatient about why the time had to tick so slowly. Alpha Asher would laugh at his son's antics. He reminded him of his own condition when Ayan was to be born. Both, father and son, were proud lover boys despite being deemed as the most powerful alphas.

The memory brought a smile on his lips. Then, as if reminded of a horrible day, his smile vanished. How could he forget the day? His son disappeared without a trace the night Aurelia was born. He didn't even get to hold the child he had been waiting for months. No one knew where he went.

All they knew was, he was supposed to be in his courtyard that night but his servants reported that he left in a hurry after receiving a message around midnight. It looked like some friend of his needed help but they could never trace who that friend was. All searches led them to a dead end. Even now, the elderly alpha kept trying to find him after so many years.

All his expeditions were a part of his search. This was also the reason that the patriarch was often away and Aurelia's aunt got to play some dirty tricks like refusing her servants but most of the time, the girl was able to defend herself. And on occasions like today, he was always there to protect his granddaughter.

The man was shook out of his stupor by his granddaughter who held his hand that was patting her head a few moments ago. "What's wrong grandpa?" He shook his head gently, "Nothing. Here, I brought you another gift." He then proceeded to bring a wrapped gift from the inner pocket of his coat. Amused, he watched how her eyes lit up at the mention of another gift as she snatched it from his hand and hurried to unwrap it.