Miranda's point of view.

"Wow!" I exclaimed.

True to Vincenzo's words, the hallway led to his living room.

"How come Lorenzo doesn't know about this?" I wondered.

"Of course, he won't know about it because it's just a wall," Vincenzo replied.

I looked behind and realized he was right. We had just walked through a door, but the door was no longer there, and I could see only a wall—no cracks or anything whatsoever to give it away that it was actually a door.

"You're good," I appreciated his craftiness. "Why did you bring me here?"

"I brought you to meet my dad. He regained consciousness last night, and he requested to see you."

My brows knitted together. "Your dad requested to see me? How did he know about me?"

"Er... I don't know."

Why does his father want to see me? And what does he have to say to me?

"Come on, I'll take you to him," he said, heading toward a room underneath a flight of stairs.

"Hold up!" I stopped him. "Don't tell me your father is in this mansion."

"He is."

My mouth fell open in shock.

"How did you do it? How come they didn't find him last time they were here?"

He raised his brows and chuckled briefly. He nodded at the wall behind me, where we had just come out from.

"Isn't that enough proof?"

I smacked my head gently. "How could I forget? Just take me to your father before I make a fool of myself."

"Stop feeling embarrassed whenever you're with me. I would never judge you," he said in a soft tone, making the butterflies in my stomach somersault in excitement.

My hands quickly covered my face as I felt my cheeks heating up again. Can this man just stop flirting with me for five minutes?

"Bring me to your father," I said, trying to stay as calm as possible.

He chuckled lightly. "Come on."

We entered the room. That's when I realized it was a study. I was expecting to see his father right away, but no—we were the only people in the study.

"Please, don't tell me there's a hidden room here as well," I said, already feeling tired.

"Fine, I won't," he replied as he proceeded to place his palm on the wall near him. It flipped open, and another room was revealed—but it was an actual room this time.

He entered the room, and I followed immediately. There was an old man sitting on a sofa with his back facing us and a newspaper in his hand, even though there was a TV playing in front of him.

"Dad, she is here," Vincenzo announced our presence.

"I know," the old man replied. He dropped the newspaper on the table and faced us. My jaw dropped as I stared at him.

"Are you sure he's the same man in that cell?" I whispered in Vincenzo's ear.

He nodded in response. I couldn't help the gasp that escaped my lips as my eyes widened in pure shock. This man was totally different from the old man I saw before. Back in the cell, he looked like he was over eighty years old, but the man I was seeing right now looked forty—or a little over forty.

"Come here, dear. Come sit next to me," he invited me over, flashing me a smile which melted my heart.

I made myself comfortable on a sofa next to his. "How are you feeling, sir?" I asked.

"As you can see, I've never felt better, my dear," he replied.

"I can see that."

"I'm Jefferson, but you can call me Jeff."

Hmm, now I know where Vincenzo's flirtatious behavior came from.

"Hi, Jeff. I'm Mira..."

"Miranda. I know."

His personality was different from what I imagined. I thought our first meeting would be awkward. Since he was the previous Alpha, I thought he'd be uptight—but from what I'd seen so far, he was a warm man.

"I've been in a coma for quite a while. I don't know exactly what's going on with the pack during my coma, but I overheard some of your conversations." He paused and looked between Vincenzo and me. "I believe you already know about the prophecy, right?"

"Yes."

"Vincenzo told you about it?"

"No. I accidentally saw it."

"Hmm," he nodded. "I had a conversation with Vincenzo last night. He told me you're the girl in the prophecy."

"Yeah," I sighed.

"He also told me that Lorenzo went against the prophecy and made you his wife."

I nodded.

"Don't worry. I am back now, and like I told Vincenzo last night, I will fully assist you both as best as I can, and we'll take Lorenzo down." His eyes held so much anger and disappointment.

"Thank you, Jeff."

"You don't have to thank me. I'm only correcting a mistake my wife and I made years ago."

Talking about mistakes, a question suddenly crossed my mind, and I couldn't keep it to myself.

"I have a question," I said.

"Go on," he permitted me.

"Did the prophecy come before their birth or after?"

"It came after their birth."

"According to the prophecy, Lorenzo was to be eliminated. Why wasn't he eliminated? If he was eliminated when he was still young, we wouldn't be facing these problems today."

He stared at me for a moment, then sighed deeply.

"We should have obeyed the prophecy, and as leaders of the pack, we should have thought of the pack's safety first, but..." He trailed off.

He walked toward the bed in the room, picked up a photo on the bedside table—which I hadn't noticed earlier. He stared at the photo with his back facing us, and judging from how his body was shaking, I could tell he was silently sobbing.

"...we're parents too. How can we bring ourselves to kill our son? How can we kill the son whose arrival we long awaited?"

He's right. No parent in their right mind would kill their child, no matter the reason.

"My wife and I thought we could change him. We thought we could make him a better person and prove the prophecy wrong—but we overestimated ourselves."

"Don't blame yourself, Jeff. It's hard to defy fate," I comforted him. "You and your wife were just being loving parents."

"You're right, but sometimes being loving parents can be disastrous—our situation is a perfect example."

Releasing a sigh, he dropped the photo back on the table and turned back to us. I took a peek at the photo and realized it was a photo of him, a young Vincenzo and Lorenzo, and their mother—it was a happy family photo, as they were all smiling at the camera.

"I requested to see you because I wanted to see the woman my sons would most likely fight over in the nearest future."

I raised my brows as I let out a brief, unbelieving laugh. "Fight over me? That's not possible. Lorenzo would do anything and everything to get rid of me just to be with Mia."

Jeff shook his head.

"I don't think so."

"He—"

"Listen, my dear. He might have had that thought before, but since Vincenzo is going to fight him head-on—and he'll definitely lose the fight—he wouldn't want to lose you to Vincenzo too."

His explanation made sense, and I couldn't help but agree with him.

"I'm not fighting with Lorenzo over her. She's originally my mate, and I'm simply claiming her back," Vincenzo said, not even trying to hide his possessiveness.

His father gave me a knowing look, with a cocky smile on his face.

"I can't wait!"

Just then, my phone rang, and Vincenzo gave me a questioning look.

"It's Lorenzo," I whispered, even before checking the caller ID.

His expression turned sour immediately. He glared at my phone before turning away from me.

"Hello..."

"Where are you, darling?" Lorenzo asked, interrupting me.

"I'm at the seer's lair..."

"No, you're not." He interrupted me again.

"Huh?"

"I'm at the seer's lair right now, and you're not here!" he repeated his words, pronouncing each word clearly.

My heart stopped, and my eyes widened in fear as I exchanged looks with Jeff and Vincenzo.

"Where are you?" he asked again.