Chapter 15
Maya
What had he just said? Brothers?
I blinked in confusion, before realizing that the man in front of us was calling the twins his brothers… How was that possible? Wait, hadn’t the twins said that on their sixth birthday, their brother had disappeared? Was this him? Holy crap!
“Burton?” Anani’s voice was choked as Ledger’s hand tightened on my waist.
Burton? Was that this man’s name? I had to admit he looked very similar to the twins, favoring Ledger’s eye color more than Anani’s but having the same dark curly hair as both of them, which instead of being trimmed, fell far past his shoulders.
His clothing was a bit worn-looking and suited more towards a brisk atmosphere, making me realize he was most likely from the mountain community.
Next to him stood who I assumed to be his mate…
and holy crap, she was absolutely gorgeous.
Her red hair was pulled back in intricate braids, and she wore a simple blue dress that matched her daughter’s.
She offered me a nervous smile as her little one, who couldn’t be more than one, offered me a big grin and tried to reach for me.
I happily offered my arms, the woman not hesitating to hand over the baby, trust shining in her gaze.
I wasn’t positive what I’d done to deserve that trust, but I made sure to hold her daughter securely as she squealed in delight at being passed to me.
“Yes,” Burton responded, though everyone was still focused on me and the little girl in my arms. I tried to not blush, realizing that my action probably wasn’t very queenly.
She tugged on my hair lightly as she snuggled against my chest, causing me to rock slightly as I let out a happy hum. Oh well.
Burton continued. “Queen Maya, we are honored to have you as our new leader—my mate and I?—”
“Katherine,” she spoke up, her voice soft, sweet, but holding a note of confidence. “My name is Katherine, and that’s our daughter Laura.”
“Laura,” I smiled down at the girl. “Beautiful name.”
Ledger finally spoke up, his voice rough. “I don’t understand. You’ve been here the entire time?”
Both twins were still nearly frozen in shock at Burton’s appearance.
“Yes.” Burton’s gaze was filled with sadness and so many unspoken things. “I’ll explain more later if you want, but I was putting both of you in danger—Father had started to threaten you when I disobeyed, so I left to come to Earth and found this community.”
It didn’t surprise me that this had to do with their father, to be honest.
“It didn’t help.” Ledger muttered and looked down to Laura. “This is so crazy, so this is our niece?”
“Yes.” Katherine beamed.
“This is so cool,” I whispered to myself.
I looked to see Anani’s reaction. He still hadn’t fully spoken, his entire body tense.
“You guys should catch up after this,” I suggested.
Unless they didn’t want to. I sort of hoped they did, though, especially if it would give them more of an answer on why he left—especially since I knew they blamed themselves for it. Not that they should have.
“For sure.” Anani nodded stiffly. “Sorry, Burton, this is kind of overwhelming. I don’t really know what to say.”
“I understand. We saw you at the meeting the other day,” Burton explained, looking sympathetic. “We wanted to wait to say anything until after the excitement slowed down, but then I saw that he was here.”
“He’s a bastard,” Anani spit in annoyance. I covered little Laura’s ears.
“What happened when I left?” Burton asked, looking between the two of them, fury filling his gaze in realization that whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
“I think it may be better to talk about this later—” Atlas’ words were cut off.
“No. Let’s talk, boys.”
The voice had my skin breaking out in chills, a defensive noise leaving my throat as the twins’ father approached, his gaze narrowed on Burton in distaste. Then he looked at the twins, his eyes sparkling with malice.
Despite Laura happily playing with the jewels on my dress as I tried to bounce her in a comforting manner, I decided it was probably best to have my hands free.
I turned to Katherine and gently handed her daughter off before turning my serious gaze back on the man who was tinting this entire day with so much darkness.
“What are you doing here, Jacob?” Ledger asked, looking furious. Was that his name? I’m glad he didn’t call him ‘father’ or his ‘dad’ because he didn’t deserve that title. He didn’t deserve the right to be connected to them.
“I had to see this bullshit myself,” he sneered. “I knew you had found your mate, but for the crown to have dishonored itself, starting a new kingdom on this piece of shit excuse of a realm?—”
“Stop.” My voice was harsher than ever before. Jacob jolted and stared at me as if he hadn’t expected me to speak.
“You may be Queen, but?—”
“I wouldn’t finish that,” Marco snarled. I placed my hand on his chest in comfort, Jacob’s gaze narrowed on the sigil ring. I wasn’t positive if he was supposed to see it or if the twins wanted him to know, but I guess it was too late for that now.
“Where the fuck did you get that ring, girl?”
“Mom gave it to her,” Anani said bravely, and I felt a tiny relieved breath escape me. I knew he was furious and upset, but it was good to hear him keep talking. His father didn’t deserve that much power over Anani—no one did.
I also understood it, though. When you’d gone through that type of pain, no rational thought could fully erase the fear.
“Your mother is dead,” his father spit out, looking alarmed but also furious. “She’s dead because of you.”
Burton let out a deep growl, and Katherine tensed.
“No, she died because of you. Because you wouldn’t take her to the medical center because you’re a greedy fuck and it was expensive.
She died because she gave birth at home when she had a high-risk pregnancy.
You’re the reason she died, and because of your fucking guilt, you punished us all. ”
Oh wow.
“Are you serious?” Ledger barked out a slightly crazed laugh. Apparently this was new information for him. “You piece of shit.”
I noticed briefly that my fathers were keeping people back from the line, and I knew we couldn’t keep this up forever without it breaking into violence.
Suddenly, I stepped forward into Jacob’s space and examined his face, seeing how angry he was and how much Burton’s words hit home.
He knew Burton was right, and the twins had suffered because of it.
It had been an odd experience meeting the other parents, but this wasn’t odd—this was just wrong, and I didn’t want my mates to have to deal with this anymore.
“I want you to leave,” I said softly but firmly.
“What?” he growled.
“I want you out of our home, now,” I demanded. “You can leave on your own or I can have you removed, but I don’t want you around my family.”
His face turned red, and I saw him consider moving towards me, his anger very blatant, but when Henry released a violent, vicious sound, he reconsidered. After another furious look at his sons, he stalked away.
This wasn’t done—not fully. Jacob would come back.
I deflated slightly as Anani wrapped his arms around me, Ledger intertwining our fingers. I could feel the intensity of their emotions, and I suddenly wanted to be alone with them, to make sure they were okay.
“We should’ve asked him to leave from the start. I’m so sorry he’s here,” I whispered.
“Not on you, firefly,” Ledger breathed out, brushing his lips against my temple. “Burton, do you have a moment to talk?”
“Absolutely.” His brother nodded, and the two of them stepped to the side. Anani turned me into him and tucked me under his chin as my mom approached, looking over us with concern.
“Anani, I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation with your father. We would’ve never informed him of what was going on if we’d known,” my mom expressed, looking heartbroken.
“Thank you,” Anani said, “but this falls on him. He knows he shouldn’t be here.”
“And he won’t be. Not in the Dreki realm either,” my mom murmured, the threat not veiled in the least. I nodded, glad that she was set on handling it. I didn’t want the twins to have to live with the threat of their father constantly showing up.
“I need a moment alone with my mate. We’ll be back,” I explained clearly, not feeling bad in the least as I took Anani’s hand and walked towards the house.
Despite the tension of the moment, I felt a connection and strength from those we passed, especially from those who lived here in the Earth realm.
I had no idea how large our kingdom would grow, especially since my mom said she would offer the new option to those in Dreki once we were fully established, but I was starting to understand why leading a group of people became fundamental to who you were.
These people were now my responsibility. It was both terrifying and wonderful.
Once we were in the house, Anani lifted me into his arms and sped upstairs, his breathing a bit uneven from emotional strain. I whimpered as I was suddenly pinned to the large comfortable surface of his bed, the sheets smelling like his electric scent.
“I’m so sorry he was there?—”
“I’m glad he was. I’m fucking glad I heard the truth from Burton,” Anani hissed.
“We always blamed ourselves for her loss, but no more. If Burton was able to forget our father and move on, have a beautiful family, find happiness in the face of being raised by him, then I’m not going to let this damn shit haunt me anymore. ”
“Anani,” I whispered, hearing not pain but strength in his words. Removing my crown, I pressed my forehead to his. He let out a low rumble, brushing his lips against mine.