Chapter 18 #2
“When I returned from the last war with the vampire Queen, your mom helped me with my wounds, and I liked her immediately. I had just taken over the throne, and as a new King, I was pressured to have a Queen, so I chose your mom as my mate. My chosen mate. We tried to have an heir for four years but couldn’t.
” Dad’s eyes moistened, and I held my breath.
“Your mother has a health issue, and she was unable to carry the pregnancy. She went through so many miscarriages that my heart hurt whenever we tried for a baby. So when my fated mate showed up, your mom was okay with…” Dad swallowed.
He ran his hand through his graying hair. He looked so defeated that I wanted to tell him I understood his reasons and wasn’t mad at him, but I didn’t say anything.
But I couldn’t understand how Mom was okay with this arrangement.
“So you and Mom were okay with you sleeping with your fated mate. Then I came along, and my mom raised me. Is that it?”
“Yes, honey,” he said, placing his head in his hands, elbows on his knees. “Willa wanted to have a child with her fated mate, so she sought me out in my dream realm. I thought her idea was absurd, but then I spoke with your mom, and we decided…”
I drew in a sharp breath. “How was Mom okay with sending you to another woman? I just can’t…”
How could she still love Dad? Did she forgive him?
“I don’t deserve your mom. She wanted to have a child. That’s why she raised you as her own. She wanted you to grow up cherished and loved like any biological child. Without doubts and questions.”
“Well, that didn’t happen.”
Awkward silence stretched between us, making the distance between a father and daughter wider.
“I love your mom, Anna. I was pulled to my fated mate by the mate bond. The physical attraction was strong, but my heart belonged to your mom. Don’t you believe me, honey?” Dad’s voice shook at the end, and he looked up at me, pain passing behind his moist eyes.
“I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
At least Dad was my biological father, so I was half werewolf but wolfless. It could be because of my other half.
“So who was my biological mother? Was she a witch?”
His bottom lip trembled, and Dad cleared his throat. “Yes, she was a witch. I only met her once and then a second time when she left you with me and your mom. Her name was Willa.”
Willa…my witch mother who I’d never met. Who’d potentially abandoned me with my father. Didn’t she want me?
“Did she abandon me?” I asked. “Why did she agree to this arrangement?”
“I don’t know of her reasons to agree to leave you with us. She said she couldn’t raise you because it was too dangerous. But I don’t know where she is, what she does, or even if she’s alive, Anna.”
There had to be more than Willa’s cooperation to act as a surrogate mother of sorts.
“So you don’t know how to find her? How about her dream realm?”
“I can’t find the access point. She found me first and never showed up in my dream realm again.”
And then Dad’s words came rushing back in my mind.
“So when you said you had a friend who met their chosen and fated mates in their dream realm, you were talking about yourself?”
He nodded. “Once you partially link up through being intimate or exchanging blood or marking with both mates, they can show up in your dream realm.”
I let out a heavy sigh.
“She’s a witch,” I mumbled, dropping my hands. “She can access your dream realm anyway.”
“And you look just like her.” Dad attempted a smile but came up short.
His face twisted in pain. He knew he betrayed me and now had to face his decisions.
“So the witch books, my bracelet… They could be planted here by my biological mother? For some reason that we’re unaware of?” I asked.
“I think so, honey. But Willa wasn’t supposed to intervene after the agreement,” he said. “That’s why I don’t want you opening the other witch book. She left you here with me. Maybe you shouldn’t get involved with witch stuff.”
My blood rushed to my head. My Dad had the audacity.
“You really think so, Dad? And what would you have done if she didn’t leave me with you? What if Willa wanted to stay here?” I shouted, not able to rein in my temper any longer. “Would you have discarded Mom so you can be with your fated mate? Make her your new Queen?”
“Of course not, honey,” Dad said in a low voice.
He would never allow me to shout at or talk to him in such a tone.
“Willa may have left me with you because she didn’t want to intervene anymore and mess up your perfect royal life.
She may have been thinking about you. You were already mated to another woman.
To me, it’s still cheating, Dad.” I groaned and screamed so loud I was sure the guards at the staircase heard me. “Why did Mom even take you back?”
“I don’t deserve her,” Dad said.
I was panting, and I couldn’t slow down my pulse. “Do you have anything to help me find my biological mother?”
“No.”
But I had the bracelet and the books. Perhaps Willa left them behind as a way to find her like breadcrumbs on the path to her. She could now want me to find her for some reason.
“I will find out what happened to her. Because I deserve to know so I can live on in peace.”
Dad remained quiet, but his disapproval was evident with his frown. I didn’t care what he thought about it.
“Anna?”
I looked at Dad. He stood on wobbly feet and took one hesitant step toward me. My eyebrows furrowed.
“I’m disappointed, Dad. And I’ll find out more about Willa one way or another.”
Dad took another step. “I was afraid if you ran into trouble in the supernatural world, honey. As a witch, without knowing spells or how to control your power, you are a human with no protection. I’m so sorry, honey. I was scared.”
My insides twisted, and sharp pain cut through my stomach.
“So you thought I was weak. I thought you wanted me to be the next Queen.” My next thought that popped into my mind made me nauseous. “You only wanted me to be a placeholder for the Queen while Hayden rules as King. Because he’s strong.”
Dad moved in front of me, but I was so hurt that I couldn’t meet his gaze any longer.
“Anna, that’s not what it is about. I love you, honey.”
“I hardly believe it.” I turned around and stormed out of his room. I couldn’t stay in the same space as my father.
I did what I did best—run. I ran out of the manor and into the kingdom forest, jumping over rocks and fallen branches.
The route to my secret cave was engraved in my mind.
After a moment, breathless, I arrived at a small cave opening.
Two large boulders leaned against each other to create a large opening for one person to walk in.
I didn’t wander inside. I only had enough energy to slump against one cold wall, hug my knees, and bury my head in my hands.
I had suspected I was a witch, and the new revelation didn’t shock me hard. But what knocked me out of my equilibrium was Dad’s betrayal.
He was no longer the strong King I looked up to.
I couldn’t hold my tears back any longer.
I wasn’t human. I was hybrid—half witch, half werewolf.
But I felt human, vulnerable and exposed.