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He studied me for a long moment, then changed the subject. Tell me something about you–something about you I don’t know.”
I thought for a moment. “I don’t know who my father is. Mother never talks about him.
“That’ll possibly be because she doesn’t know who he is,”
“Possibly… but strangely, I have this feeling that she does; she just over talks about it, and I would never push her.”
Suddenly, a thought occurred to me–a worry that had been nagging at the back of my mind since last night
Frost didn’t use protection.
Kaius tilted his head. “What’s wrong?
“Nothing,” I said quickly, embarrassed to have voiced the concern aloud.
He
e smiled slightly. “Frost was protected; you don’t have to worry.”
“I don’t believe in magic and stuff, but if I was told you were a mind reader, I wouldn’t doubt it.”
He chuckled at that. I’m a very good observer, and the topic seems to have triggered it, so it only makes sense that’ll be where your mind went.”
“Is the thought of having his child that appalling?” he asked after a moment, watching me closely.
I have not thought about a child yet,” I admitted
“If you would like that and he would, then it would be fine with me
I stared at him, trying to decipher if he was serious. “I underrating you.”
I know vn
you are sicko and you are crazy too, but I wonder if that is still
A genuine laugh escaped him. “Elowen, I was only humouring you.”
We fell into a companionable silence, the tension between us casing lightly.
“How did it feel like growing up without a father?” Kalus asked finally
The question caught me off guard, but I found myself answering honestly, “I sometimes watch others with their fathers, but I could never miss something I never had. I did wonder what it would be like, but I knew I was never going to be like the other children; 1 would never be privileged to get what they had, and with that mentality in there, I had to move on.“.
“Keep going,” he encouraged, his eyes intense and focused.
Chapter 64: Broken Pieces
“I hate the fact that I can transform into my wolf form like the rest in some ways, it makes me feel incomplete, like I am missing something. I feel like a mere human, I admitted, voicing a vulnerability I rarely shared.
Most wolves in our world could shift forms by will–especially when emotions ran high. But not me. My wolf remained dormant, unreachable. Another fallure to add to my growing list.
1/3
Kaius’s expression shifted, something like interest flickering in his eyes. “Maybe something could be done to retrieve your wolf?”
I looked up, startled by the suggestion. “There is a potion for that?”
“Yes, it is getting popular now, but very costly, and of course, it had de effects; it leaves the user weak. Your little ex–mate had either not seen you worth the price of getting one or didn’t care to be explained, leaning back against the headboard,
Realizing Dorian hid a potential solution for my condition from me was surprisingly painful. This felt like yet another betrayal.
“Now I want to know something about you,” I said, eager to shift the focus away from my inadequacies.
“What do you want to know?” Kaius asked, wariness edging into his voice.
“Anything,”
He raised an eyebrow. “That’s pretty wide.”
1 hesitated, not wanting to push too far after we’d just begun to establish this fragile truce. But one question had been burning in me since my mother shared her story.
“You’ve always wanted to know why I had never gone to my mother said, why I left her to Alaric.”
The accuracy of his observation startled me. How did he always seem to know what I was thinking?
“My mother wasn’t fateful, not in the least. She had gone as far as acquiring a potion that prevents my father from feeling any pain when she is with another man.”
1 blinked, taken aback by this unexpected beginning. I’d imagined many explanations for his relationship with Ophelia, but infidelity hadn’t been among them.
*My mother was always weak as an effect, but she had been very lucky; my father was barely ever around; he loved her, but he loved the pack too, if not more, and that angered her. One day, I walked in on her with another man; she had begged me not to tell. anyone, and of course I didn’t. I held her secret even if I wished she could stop it.”
The pain in his voice was raw, a child’s hurt layered beneath the man’s control.
“She never did stop; she became less careful, and time and again I walked in on her. She had wanted to explore more, so she widened her scope, bringing in more than one man and… women tou
I tried to imagine what that must have been like for a young boy–having to keep such a terrible secret, protecting a mother who showed no concern for his position or the burden she placed on him
“One day a woman had come in search for my mother, but Ophelia was nowhere to be found, and so the woman decided to wait in my room.” His voice hardened. “I was too young to understand what he wanted to do. She called me over and asked that I strip of my clots; when I didn’t, she hit me. I could have hit her back, but didn’t feel right to hit a woman, more so, one older than me, She did try forcing me, and that’s when I had to speak to Ophelia.“
Horror swept through me. “She had hurt you?”
2/37
He shrugged, as if it were nothing. I had taken worse, so not really, but what I hated was the fact my mother never seemed to care One night Alaric called for me, and then he questioned me; he suspected my mother’s betrayal, but I denied; he had threatened me, but I didn’t give her secret up. I returned back to Ophelia and informed her, in hopes that she would end it all now that he had the clue, but she didn’t. Again, she brushed it off.”
“She is a horrible mom,” I said, anger building in my chest on behalf of the child he had been.
Soon father discovered all she did and the fact that I also know the truth. He was furious, and he came for me.”
I held my breath, dreading what came next,
“He had stabbed me, and I would have died if not for Frost, who alerted the healers.”
“But she wasn’t there for you, I whispered, thinking of how a mother should protect her child. My own mother would have died for me had endured slavery for me.
Kaius’s face turned bitter. “No, she wasn’t. When she discovered that father know, she ran away, leaving me there with him, and day after day 1 went through hell. Father got worse, and she was the cause; I blamed her. She didn’t return for a whole year, and maybe she thought she was safe.”
The picture forming in my mind made my stomach churn. No wonder he was the way he was. How could anyone emerge unscathed from such betrayal?
“Father found her, and I hadn’t even pitied her. He had changed; he could hit his mate and feel no regrets about it. But it became too much, I feared he was going to kill her, I had to help, so I made plans on how to help her escape from the pack again.”
I stared at him, surprised by this turn. After everything she’d done, he’d still tried to save her.
“I had planned to cover up the trails when we were done, and this time she wouldn’t be found by my father. I was ready to die protecting her even if she didn’t deserve it. We agreed to meet by midnight; Alaric would be gone by then. I had a few soldiers loval to me and not to my father by then.”
There was something noble in that the willingness to help someone who had hurt him so deeply. It showed a capacity for mercy 1 hadn’t expected from Kaius.
But v when I got there, I met Alaric waiting in her stead. She had betrayed me again; she had told him about the plan just to get on his good side. She never once stepped in, never once helped; she was grateful to have him furious at someone else rather than her.”
The cruelty of it stole my breath. To betray her own child not once bot twice–I couldn’t fathom it.
“If only she knew that Alaric will never forgive her infidelity and she still pays for it. I had sworn that day to never step in or try to save her; she did make it clear that she did not want to be saved. My father couldn’t control me anymore; I rebelled against every single thing he did, and he hated me for that. That’s the reason the pack had to be split into two; he wouldn’t let go of power on when his reign was over, and I wouldn’t let him have what rightfully belongs to me.”
I reached for his hand without thinking, a gesture of support that surprised us both. “I’m sorry.”
He stared at our joined hands. “For what? None of this is your fault, so you don’t have to be sorry.”
*1 judged you; even though I knew nothing, I still judged you.”
His fingers tightened around mine. “I am not a good person; I should still feel some kind of sympathy for her, but I can’t help it; 1 Just don’t feel it.”
“No one would feel sympathy for a traitor,” I said softly.
His eyes met mine, searching. “You sure?”
“If you had grown up in a loving home with parents that are not at each other’s throats or at yours, then maybe you would have been different,” I offered, trying to understand the boy who had become this complex, damaged man beside me.
“That was never meant to be, and I’m not sure If I deserve that.”
My s
heart clenched at the resignation in his voice. “Everyone deserves to be loved, Kalus
“You pity me. I do not like it,” he said, withdrawing his hand.
pity you, and I’m sorry.” I admitted, refusing to back down. “But don’t you want to be loved?
He looked away, his profile sharp against the morning light. “Love without trust is nothing, and trust is hard to come by.
“But you could trust me, Kaius. The words slipped out before I could stop them, raw and honest.
Something shifted in the atmosphere between us. I felt it like a physical change—a current of electricity charging the air. Without conscious decision, I leaned forward, closing the space between us
“I love you, Kaius.” The confession emerged as barely more than a whisper, but I saw the impact of the words strike him like a physical blow.
He went completely still. Several heartbeats passed in silence,
“Say something, Kalus… please.”
When he finally spoke, his voice was gentle but cautious. I don’t want to hurt you anymore than I already have.”
“You won L.” I tried to sound certain, though doubt gnawed at me.
“You don’t know that.” His amber eyes searched my face, looking for something I couldn’t name.
The vulnerability I felt was terrifying. Td placed my heart in his hands–hands I’d seen tear a man apart, hands that had both hurt and healed me.
“Please don’t reject me, Kaius.” The plea came from somewhere deep and wounded inside me.
“I would never,” he said, his voice dropping lower,
Relief flooded through me, though I noticed he hadn’t said he loved me in return. Perhaps that was too much to ask, given everything he’d shared about his past.
A thought occurred to me suddenly. “What of the contract?”
“That could be arranged, he replied, watching me carefully.
“Maybe you could end all those restrictions. I won’t be going anywhere, not that I have anywhere to go.”
Something like tenderness crossed his face–an expression I’d rarely seen there. “Elawen. You are very special to me. I’ll try to make this work.”
