Chapter 10 #2
I don’t know what to say. My mouth opens and shuts a few times as I stare at Onyx.
And I mean, really stare at him. He doesn’t look anything like me.
I don’t look like him. I think about how polar opposite we are as I lean back in my seat.
All I can think is that he wouldn’t lie about it.
Onyx is many things, but I know he wouldn’t lie about this.
Onyx Nieminen is my half-brother, and Paavo Nieminen is my biological father.
It makes so much sense now, how much he was around, how he interfered in my life and made time to see me when I was older.
He even protested about me joining the academy…
which I thought was because he was a family friend and he saw me grow up.
It was because he was my father that entire time.
The alpha of Starlight City, who ran away and let it be destroyed.
The alpha who arranged the murder of my mother and the man who I grew up thinking was my father.
He took everything from me, let Kosma kidnap me and take me to the Vian.
He locked up and hurt Gwenieve. The man was horrid, and I am his daughter. Oh Gods.
“But that—that man—he was my father?” I sputter. “He killed my mother! He let Vian drain her!” I shake my head in disbelief. Not that I don’t believe it is true, but I can’t believe anyone can be that evil and cruel. “Your father and mother were mated!”
Onyx rubs the back of his neck. “Maybe Gwen should be here. I can call her—“
“No.” I stop him. “No, just tell me.”
“Well, being mated doesn’t stop cheating, for some people at least. You knew my father well enough to understand what he was like, and I’m glad that he introduced us as kids.
It’s probably the only half-decent thing he did in his life.
” He exhales slowly. “I don’t know what happened between him and your mother.
I can’t tell you any of that. I don’t know why your father decided not to say anything and to bring you up as his own.
What I can tell you is that the relationship between my mother and father was strained.
She never trusted him, never was truly invested in him.
She just loved me. I wonder if it was because she found out, maybe.
She could feel when a mate cheats.” His voice quiets.
“I hate thinking of her upset like that. It hurts to think of her like that when she was a sweet and kind woman who wouldn’t hurt anyone.
I do not understand how fate could make a man like my father mated to an angel like my mother.
She died in Starlight, in front of me, and I wish I got to say goodbye.
My father ran away…and he left her to die. ”
My heart clenches. I vaguely remember seeing Onyx’s mother staring at me at some posh events I attended. We never spoke, she never came up to me, but I remember my mother saying she was a kind woman who deserved the world. It’s all so twisted.
Onyx continues, “But it is, unfortunately, the reality of what happened in the past to create us.” He looks at me steadily.
“And I want to say it was all a bad thing, but I can’t, because I’m your brother, and I would really like to be in your life, Annie.
I would like us to put the past behind us—whatever messed-up decisions our parents decided to make—and just be siblings.
My mate loves you, and she knew from the very beginning that you were a great person and you are a sister to her.
Gwen hasn’t known long about this, and I don’t want you to think she kept it from you on purpose.
I only found out when our father died. It was the last thing he told me before I ended his life.
I guess he wanted me to have someone when he was gone, or for you to have someone.
I got the impression he always really did care about you. He just wasn’t a good man.”
We stare at each other for a long time until our eggs have gone cold, and I don’t know what to say to him.
“I still don’t know how to feel about this.
” I hold my hand up and stand. “That’s not to say it’s a bad thing—just shocking.
Gwen, I understand why she hasn’t said anything.
Thank you for telling me, but I just need some time to process all of this.
Paavo Nieminen was not a good man, and it’s a legacy I didn’t want.
A brother? I think that could be a good thing. I just need time.”
“Of course,” Onyx quickly replies, his brow creasing. “Would—“
I walk away from him before he can finish his sentence.
I just need—need someone else. Someone different who I can trust and who I can talk to about this who is neutral.
There is only one person I want to run to, and it surprises me that it is him.
I go and stand outside his door and knock twice before I overthink it.
Issan is my mate, and I can trust him. He isn’t Kosma, and he won’t betray me.
My Nexus pushes gently across my mind, almost hugging me, and I feel her agreement that Issan is the person we need right now.
Issan pulls the door open, and my breath catches at how stunning he is.
His shirt half on as he pulls it over his head, the grey fabric looking soft against his thick chest, shorts hanging around his tight waist. His braids hang down his back, and his worried eyes flicker over me.
I glance behind him at the weights on the floor in front of the massive window.
“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting your training. I can go—”
“What’s wrong?” Issan asks softly, reaching for me, his hand curling around my upper arm. “You are never interrupting me. You are always wanted.”
I sink into his arms and he pulls me into the room, shutting the door as I break into tears.
The flood banks open and I can’t stop crying as I take it all in, as I remember my father and the last time I saw him.
He would always hug me, tell me he loved me and tell me how proud he was that his daughter was attending the academy to be a ranger.
He loved me so much, and he must have known I wasn’t his daughter in blood.
My mother, Gods, she kept the secret from me.
They both did. I trusted them, mourn them every day, and now I’m not sure of anything.
Onyx is my brother, and it’s so fucked up.
Issan just holds me and he doesn’t ask questions.
He knows I don’t need that right now. I just need him there.
He holds me tight for a long time before I break away shakily, wiping my tears from my wet face.
I must look a mess, and he still stares at me like I’m his world.
Issan has always looked at me like that, and I’ve never once accepted it as the truth.
Issan is my mate. Onyx is my brother. Paavo Nieminen is my father. This is the truth.
Issan gets me a box of tissues and sits on the end of the bed next to me and just waits while I clean myself up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“No, don’t be sorry. You can come to me anytime. I’m your mate. Anytime, Annie,” he firmly reminds me. “You don’t even have to tell me why you’re upset. But if someone’s hurt you—”
“No one’s hurt me.” I clear my throat. I don’t want him to be all protective and possessive.
Mates can be like that. I realise with a shock, I’d be the same if anyone tried to hurt him.
“Onyx is my half-brother. He’s just told me.
I don’t think he intended to tell me today.
It’s just that our conversation went a certain way, and it probably felt like the right moment. ”
He looks shocked, his eyebrows raising. “How do you feel about that?”
“My first instinct was—good. I don’t have any family left.
No one. But I have him. I have a brother.
He’s actually a good person, a good man.
I’ve known him my entire life in one way or another, seen him nearly die for his mate and never judge her.
He’s a good person and I should be happy to learn I have family now.
I know that I can actually see that. It’s not a bad thing to have him as a brother.
” I pause. “I guess that’s not really my problem.
It’s who my father was. You didn’t know Paavo Nieminen, but he was the alpha of Starlight City and he did terrible things, including sending Vian to kill my parents.
He killed my mother, the woman who had his child.
I saw him afterwards in Starlight, and there was no guilt on his face.
He acted like my father then, just stepped into the space of the parents he killed as if it was owed to him.
I wish I knew so I could tell him to fuck off. ”
“I’m sure he can hear you now if you want to shout it,” Issan softly suggests.
My lips twitch. “I’ll give it a go later.”
“If it helps—I relate to that problem a lot. My father is…well…”
I almost forgot for a minute that Issan understands completely. “Okay, you definitely win the terrible father competition between us.” I almost smile.
“Annie, it’s easy to sit there and think that because one of your parents turned out a certain way, you’re definitely going to be like them.
It’s easy to think the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
But the apple definitely can fall far from the tree.
A gust of wind can blow it miles. It could be on top of a hill, and when the apple falls, it rolls and rolls and rolls until the tree is long forgotten.
I definitely think that happened for both of us.
” He looks at me softly. “I don’t remember too much about my mother.
But what I do remember—she was good. What about yours? ”
“She loved me. My mother loved me. So did the man I thought was my father. He loved me too. They were good parents. There was nothing abnormal about them, except for the fact that they had money.” I sigh.
“It feels like a lot of my life, people just kept secrets from me to protect me. First, Kosma, and that didn’t end well, did it?
He made decisions that were bad and ended up dead. ”
The look we share says everything. I’m scared of losing him too.
I never want to feel the death of a mate again.
It felt like I died that day, like my heart was cut to shreds, and I don’t know how I kept moving.
I suspect I kept going because my Nexus and my soul knew Issan was out there and waiting for me.
I was never alone, never meant to have just one mate, and I could have a future.
“Yes, you may never understand Kosma—none of us could understand those actions and lies told to you—but I do think he did it to protect you in the end. He saved you in the end. For that, I’ll always be thankful to him.
” He takes my hand gently. “Annie, perhaps you don’t need to think about all of that.
You haven’t lost a father you were biologically related to.
Perhaps you can just accept that you have a brother, be happy about that, and leave everything else behind.
” He looks at me steadily. “This war is going to come to an end, one way or the other. I’m going to protect you.
I promise you that. I’ll protect you because I love you.
I am in love with you. I want you happy, and I think having family is a very important part of that happiness. ”
He leans in, brushing his lips against mine gently, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Onyx is a good brother to have. I imagine he feels alone too.”
I guess he does. He lost his family, too.
“How about we make a deal? Me and you—no secrets, no protecting each other from things. We tell each other. We come to each other when there are problems. We fight for each other and for the world we want,” I ask Issan.
“I will work on my relationship with Onyx, and we will continue to fight for a future.”
“I will work on my relationship with my half-brother too. Severi…we need to do better,” Issan offers. “And the deal? It already stands for me. No secrets and no hiding.”
My heart pats hard in my chest. “We can do this and compare bonding with family notes. I think Severi is probably going to be a little harder to bond with than Onyx.”
“Probably. You’re definitely going to win.” Issan smiles at me. By the twin Gods, he is handsome when he smiles.
I think about all these months. I’ve been worried out of my mind for Gwen.
I’ve been trying to pick up the pieces here, looking after Franklin, helping find any of her mates with any clues for her.
Issan has been at my side through all of it, helping, doing everything he can.
He’s never wavered from my side, and he is my mate.
Maybe he is exactly what I’ve always been looking for.
I search his eyes and then lean forward and kiss him.
Not a brief kiss—a deep one, sinking my hands into his hair.
He groans, pulling me tight against him, but then he pulls back, and it’s his turn to search my eyes.
What he finds there has him rolling us back onto the bed, covering my body with his.
He smiles down at me, making little tingles shoot through my body.
“I love you too, Issan. I think you were everything I was looking for. I was just far too scared to ask for us.”
“Forever, Annie. I want it all with you. Every difficult conversation, every fight and make up. I want us, the messy and the good. All of us, because we never give up,” he murmurs against my lips.
“We never give up,” I agree with my whole heart. My Nexus bursts with joy as he kisses me again, and I gasp—just as an explosion rings out. A bang echoes from outside the room, and I slam my hands over my ears as the city rocks.