Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
Irealized I had the bad habit of running away as my coping mechanism. But I needed time to cry, calm down, and be alone, though my butt was getting numb on the cold stones of my secret cave.
Dad had lied to me for so many years, and he knew I was desperately trying to find out why I was a human. With a witch mother, I was half witch. But without any training in the craft, I was just a human with no abilities since I couldn’t cast spells.
At least now I had a witch bracelet as a replacement for my lack of knowledge.
Perhaps my witch genes were stronger than my werewolf ones, and I somehow ended up wolfless. But I should have a wolf spirit I inherited from my dad’s side.
Learning about my biological mother only opened up more questions. I wasn’t close to discovering who I was meant to become. I felt helpless and weak.
Dad was wrong in so many ways that my heart ached. How could he do this to Mom? Even if she wanted a child so badly, how could she agree to be with him at the same time he slept with another woman? To me, it was a betrayal of the worst kind.
But Mom, not even once, had shown any resentment or dissatisfaction with Dad. She wasn’t involved in the kingdom’s politics, and she wasn’t a power-hungry she-wolf who only wanted the position of the Queen. Then why would she stay with Dad?
And did it mean that since my parents’ bond was from the chosen kind, not the fated one blessed by the Fates, their relationship wasn’t strong enough?
One of my mates was also the chosen one, but neither man admitted to it, because if they did, they would admit to bonding with me against my will, without my consent. One of them was lying.
What if I chose wrong? What if I chose to fully mate with the man who happened to be my chosen mate?
If I stayed with my chosen mate, did it mean that he could later abandon me after finding his fated mate? Dad stayed with Mom because Willa disappeared after dropping me off to him.
I shook my head.
If Willa was around, Dad would have abandoned Mom, wouldn’t he? The fated bond seemed to be stronger than the chosen one. The fated bond was a blessing. It just happened to those who were blessed to experience it.
But the chosen bond was forced. The mates could truly love each other and build a family together based on love, but could a mate withstand the pull if their fated mate appeared out of the blue?
Not according to Dad’s situation. Dad wasn’t strong enough. He should have pushed Willa away. He could have divorced Mom or found other options if he wanted an heir so much.
My breathing turned to small pants.
I had to make sure I found out who my fated mate was.
I promised myself I wouldn’t live my life with regrets or resentment toward the man next to me. I wouldn’t question every day whether the mate next to me was the right person or whether he would be pulled away from me by his destined mate.
The rustle of the bushes outside the cave alerted me of someone’s presence. But I had no energy to defend myself at this point, so I watched the cave opening and waited.
Hayden and Torin strolled inside. Hayden’s expression softened when he saw me. He was the only one who knew of my cave. Torin’s crimson eyes flashed and didn’t go away. But there wasn’t the usual hunger there.
He seemed jumpy. His breaths were quick, and he rubbed his hands together.
“Sweetheart,” Hayden said and stood in front of me.
He reached for me and pulled me up on my feet. Torin didn’t protest. Did the men come to peace of some sorts? I expected Torin to swat Hayden’s hand at a minimum or punch him in the face. But Torin remained calm.
Except for the change in his eyes, which alerted me to the presence of his vampire, Torin was in control.
“Torin came to me, looking for you,” Hayden said. “He asked for my help in finding you.”
My eyes widened as I shifted my gaze to Torin. The vampire must have been desperate to talk to me to enlist my other mate’s help, or as he called him, the pest.
“Thank you, Hayden,” I said and smiled.
Hayden used his thumb to wipe the wetness off my cheeks. Torin squeezed his eyes shut briefly and reopened them but did nothing to stop the other man from touching me.
I had cried so many times, burying my face in Hayden’s chest, that it was not strange or unwanted to me. Tingly sensations traveled from my cheeks to my neck and shoulders, and I sighed.
Hayden’s mate touch soothed me, but I knew Torin’s was equally calming.
“You can’t scare us by disappearing, sweetheart. Your Dad was worried too,” Hayden said.
“Did the King tell you his daughter is a witch?”
Hayden’s smile grew, and I furrowed my eyebrows.
“He told us, and he was very distraught.” He stepped close to me, and his fingers twitched, but he didn’t touch me, as if he was waiting for me to go to him first. “So you’re a witch, and your dad lied about it. Probably for a good reason. Most likely, it was out of fear not to lose you.”
“It was wrong, Hayden,” I deadpanned and quickly took a deep breath.
My bodyguard didn’t need my wrath. I had no right to take my anger and disappointment out on him.
“Embrace it, sweetheart. You are still your old self. You’re Breanna.” Hayden glanced at Torin. “Do you want me to stay outside the cave and wait for you, or do you want me to leave you alone with Torin?”
I blinked. When did Hayden become so trusting of Torin?
“You can go back to the manor. I’ll be fine.”
Hayden nodded. “I’ll talk to you when you’re back.”
He turned and passed by Torin, bumping his shoulder as he walked. There it was—Hayden’s warning for Torin to behave himself.
I sighed. But still, Hayden’s behavior felt off.
I’d avoided Torin after his secret meeting with Layla in his bedroom. But it was time to face him.
Torin moved so fast that I didn’t see it coming. He embraced me in a tight hug, his head low, inhaling my scent. He kissed the top of my head.
“I missed you so much,” he said, kissing my forehead.
There was always something desperate in Torin’s touch, the way he would grasp me as if he were afraid I’d run away or disappear.
He released me but only stepped back an inch.
“It was unusual that Hayden left me here alone with you, don’t you think?”
“Probably because he’s plotting something else,” Torin said, and I frowned.
“His behavior has been confusing me lately. He’ll warn you to behave, but then he defended you in front of the Alphas and the King.” I shook my head slightly.
“Huh…umm…” Torin mumbled. “I don’t want to talk about your other mate now, Anna. I want you to hear me out. You misunderstood. Layla was in my room for privacy. You have to trust me. I wanted to persuade her to let go of her plans and not announce to the entire kingdom that we’re mates.”
“I know you didn’t do anything with her, but it doesn’t mean I liked it when you carried her in your arms,” I said.
Torin’s lips twitched. Did he find this amusing?
“The only thing you shouldn’t question is my feelings for you, Princess. They are as real as you and me.”
I pushed down my insecurities. I didn’t want to fight with Torin any longer. I nodded.
“What did you think when Dad told you my biological mother was a witch?” I asked and rubbed my eyes to clear my vision of the remaining moisture.
Torin shrugged and stepped back. “Nothing.”
Was he telling me he wasn’t surprised? I could see Hayden winking at me, shrugging, or acting cool—it was his easy-going personality.
But Torin was anything but that. Torin was intense with a hot temper where I was concerned.
But then my surprise morphed into suspicion as I remembered Torin’s reaction to my birthmark. I’d told him about it for the first time back in London and again, he’d acted calm and cool, without asking questions or saying anything.
“Wait a second…did you know before today that I’m half witch, Torin?”
I tried to keep my voice steady, but something inside me rose and threatened to lash out. My blood rushed to my head, and my ears rang.
Please tell me you didn’t know.