Chapter 5 #3
But mostly, I needed my wolf spirit to gain supernatural abilities for when I entered the fairy realm. I planned on escaping to the dangerous fairy realm to save Willa, and I needed the help of my wolf spirit to do so.
After a moment, I exited the boardroom. I should have returned to the long wooden table where drinks were passed back and forth, music blasted, and the delicious aroma of food carried in the air.
Instead, I hid under the tree, overlooking the rowdy crowd from a distance in the forest. I leaned against the rough bark. I might have won the war, but I had lost Torin. My chest tightened at the thought.
Suddenly, a rustling noise drew my attention to the shadows of the nearby trees. My breath hitched as my body became alert.
Torin walked out of the darkness, and my heartbeat skipped.
He’d obviously evaded security, giving Hayden the perfect opportunity to lay down the werewolf law. Torin lifted the low branches and stepped into the safety of my cocoon formed by the trees.
I didn’t even ask him how he’d found me. I remembered how Torin’s memories revealed his hidden pursuit of me and his covert observation. But now he approached me. He came to me.
“I left my brother at the vampire castle to help out,” he said.
I swallowed hard, looking around us. We were alone. For now.
“Um…okay,” I said.
Had he come here to talk about that? I needed to take control of my pounding heart.
I scanned the woods once more and then looked back at Torin. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I came to thank you for…”—he paused, and his gaze heated—“what you’ve done for me.”
But did he really know what it had cost me, or was he saying it out of politeness?
“Accepted,” I said. “There’s something I have to tell you, too. I wanted to tell you right after Cordelia opened the book, showing me your memories.”
Torin’s eyes darkened, but he remained still.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I owe you an apology for invading your memories when you asked me not to.” I swallowed hard. “I…I violated your trust, and it wasn’t right for me to do so. I’m sorry again.”
I cast my gaze to the ground, but when Torin’s body moved closer, I looked at him, putting my hands up.
His gaze was intense, and instead of the usual stoic mask, his face revealed the depths of his yearning—a longing so profound it made me breathless.
His eyes softened, and his eyelids drooped slightly.
“Now you can go, Torin.”
I worried about what would happen to him if he got caught by Hayden in my vicinity. If someone were watching us right now, they would think it was a secret meeting between lovers.
“I regained my memories from before I was turned and wanted to share some with you,” he said.
I could spend hours listening to his past. When The Book of Shadows and Memories allowed me a sneak peek into his past, I was only able to see his memories from the moment Victoria had turned him into a vampire.
But what came before that? Did he have another mate or kids? The thought made my body tremble.
“You don’t have to tell me anything,” I said, glancing around.
I couldn’t believe what I was saying. Before, I would have given anything for Torin to share his thoughts or memories with me.
He stepped toward me, making me step back, but my back pressed against the tree.
His brows crooked up. “No more secrets, Anna.”
I took a sharp breath, blinking. If he stood so close to me, my resolve to keep my hands to myself would crumble. The problem was that the invisible force pulling me toward him wasn’t the mate bond. It was all me—my feelings toward this impossible man.
“What game are you playing, Torin?” I asked. “Why can’t you be happy that you’re free now to do whatever you want?”
His crimson eyes flashed and narrowed at me. Wait…why was his vampire out again?
I took a deep breath.
“No more games,” he said. “I just wanted to share with you.”
“I don’t see why it’s important now, but okay. Go ahead.” I crossed my arms, hugging myself.
The tree's limbs curved over us like a shield, keeping us secluded from everything else.
His crimson eyes sparkled like rubies. I’d never seen them so beautiful.
“I remember being so happy with my family as a child, living in the Nighteye pack, where my father was the Alpha,” he said, his smile broadening. “Thanks to you, now I know how it felt to have a family who loved me.”
I couldn’t help but smile in return. That was the first step for Torin to heal.
“I was only twelve and Robert ten when our mother was involved in a vampire attack. Father went crazy from the loss of his mate and took his warriors to attack the vampires.” Torin paused. “But he failed and almost died.”
“The Alphas and the King were not thrilled by your father’s actions. No planning. No approval. Did they vote him down from his position?” I asked.
Torin nodded. “He lost his mate and his pack. But he was responsible because he led the warriors to a sure death.”
I sighed. “At least they let him live.”
“He drank his grief and sorrow, neglecting me and Robert, after we turned rogue. We moved to a small cottage at the edge of the forest, close to the human town, outside of pack territory.”
The cottage that was on fire in Torin’s dream realm…
He studied my face and then nodded in understanding. My heart ached at the thought of two young boys fending for themselves while hiding their true identity from the humans.
I sucked in a sharp breath, not wanting Torin to get to the part where their only home had caught on fire.
“Robert and I walked miles to the human school, where we struggled to hide our supernatural powers. After school, we went shopping for townspeople, mowed grass, and did farming for money. Humans were nice. They gave us cooked meals and bread, and Robert and I finished high school eventually.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and attempted to breathe normally. Even before he was turned, Torin had a difficult life.
I reopened my eyes as soon as he started speaking again.
“We knew it was time for a change, but our father couldn’t go anywhere in his deteriorated condition. One day, Robert and I chopped wood outside the cottage when Victoria showed up with her guards. Robert and I were around twenty.”
This couldn’t be the moment when she turned Torin. He’d been older. I remembered his memory.
“It was a coincidence of the worst kind. Victoria recognized Robert as her fated mate. He rejected her on the spot, but Victoria wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“Oh no. What did she do?”
Torin smiled. “She was going to take Robert with her by force, so we fought them, but Father came out of the cottage holding a crossbow and started shooting around, of course missing the targets since he was already tipsy.”
Torin stepped in front of me, watching me intently.
“A vampire injured my father, and I brought him inside the cottage. Then Victoria’s men set the cottage on fire to make us abandon it and come out. The smoke drew the townspeople’s attention, so they arrived on the scene horrified to meet with supernaturals fighting.”
I ran my hand over my face and sighed.
“I told Robert to run away, and the vampire Queen chased after him but left several of her men behind. The cottage was about to collapse, but my father didn’t want to leave,” Torin said. “No Alpha wants to live without his Luna.”
Torin's intense look made me think his words had some significant meaning, but I shook my head slightly.
“My father begged me to leave him in the cottage, and at the last moment, I ran out of it before it completely collapsed.”
“I’m sorry, Torin.” My fingers trembled, and I instinctively wanted to reach out to touch his face. “I can’t imagine what you went through.”
What I wanted was to tell Torin that I wished I could take away his pain, but I pressed my lips together instead.
“It was his wish, but when I caught up with Robert, he was so angry with me for leaving our father behind that he just left me. For the next seven years, I searched for Robert. When I turned twenty-seven, Victoria captured me and turned me.”
“But by then, what had happened to Robert?”
“Victoria caught him a year earlier and turned him, but he escaped her. I didn’t know it at that time. Then she came after me,” he said. “The rest you know.”
It made me happy that Torin had found his whole self again, remembering everything from his past.
“Thank you for sharing with me,” I said, my cheeks warming. “At least now you know who you truly are.”
He wasn’t a monster. He was just dealt bad cards by the Fates and made the best of it—what every human did.
His hand shot toward my chest, but Torin froze. “Can I touch your mate marks, Anna?”
My body jolted, startled. “Why?”
“They are so unusual.”
“It won’t be wise to touch me, Torin.”
“Agreed,” he said, dropping his hand to his side.
“There’s another man in the kingdom. His name is Greyson, and he has marks similar to mine. But…”
Torin’s eyes widened. “But?”
“He is not like us. He’s a fairy,” I said and bit my tongue. By the Gods, what was I doing talking to Torin? I should have been walking away. “And he was born with his marks.”
I told Torin about the crystal, Greyson’s story, and his illusion power. For a moment, I thought Torin wasn’t breathing. He exhaled deeply, and the scent of pine filled my nose, overwhelming my mind.
It’d be a good time to leave before Hayden caught us or I did something stupid. Although Torin and I hadn’t done anything, given our history, this secret meeting wasn’t exactly appropriate.
“So Hayden could be a fairy?” Torin asked. “But he killed that fairy assassin in the vampire castle. The assassin was after you, but Hayden didn’t let him hurt you.”
“I’ll have to confront Hayden about it…” But I didn’t want to be alone with him in a room.
“No, what if it sets him off?” Torin said, shaking his head.
Small black strands of hair flew around his face in a way I didn’t want to notice.
A low rumble escaped from Torin's throat as something seemed to stir his thoughts.
“I’m also suspicious of him,” I said.
How far would Hayden go to get what he wanted from his mate?
Pain flashed behind Torin’s eyes, but he remained silent. I worried that Torin might do something rash if I told him how Hayden had been acting more impatient and pushier lately.
Suddenly, Torin moved fast, turning his back on me as if shielding me. “Someone is watching us, Anna.”
A rustling sound echoed from the brush not too far away from our tree, and my heart dropped.
Please, don’t let it be Hayden.