Chapter 58 Maddy #2
Seeing my birth father’s thoughts and feelings written out on the pages should have been heartwarming because I had a chance to get a feel for how he thought.
Instead, it was like getting kicked in the gut.
He’d experienced the exact same type of dreams I had.
Visions of the past were given to him by his wolf while he was asleep.
The very fact that he knew he was the reincarnated soul of Edemas must have been terrifying.
As scary as me knowing I was the reincarnated daughter of the old king.
It made me feel like my head was going to explode, and my father had probably felt the same.
With a sigh, I picked up my mother’s letter to finish reading it.
Maddy, I believe that your father really was the reborn Edemas.
You’ll find some of his journal entries in this envelope.
The visions he had were so vivid, and they caused him so much fear and pain.
Before the royals came, he would often put his hand on my belly and tell me that he thought our baby was going to be the reincarnation of Edemas’s daughter.
If that’s true, then I’m afraid of what you may become.
Please don’t ever lose yourself to the power of your wolf—ever.
You can’t let the royals get their hands on the vial of blood.
Your father told me, in the days before the royals came for him, that he didn’t think they wanted to destroy the blood.
He thought they wanted it for something worse, something more sinister.
I believe him. After all my research and everything I’ve seen them do, I have no doubt that they want nothing more than to use it for something terrible.
Don’t let them get their hands on that, Maddy.
There’s a hidden treasure they are free to have.
Let them have the hundreds of millions in gold and jewels as long as they never open that vial of blood.
Be careful, Maddy. Stay safe and protect yourself.
Do whatever you have to in order to stop the royals from completing their plans.
All I can tell you is how much I loved you.
Your father too. He loved you so much. Giving you up is the biggest regret I have in life.
Second is the fact that you never got to know him.
That, even for a day, he didn’t get to hold you. I love you, Maddy.
Love, Momma and Daddy
I felt emotionally exhausted. My mind was so overwhelmed that I was a little worried I was going to pass out or get dizzy. Nico must have seen the look on my face because he hugged me close.
His breath tickled my ear as he whispered, “It’s all going to be okay.”
All I could do was laugh hysterically. My chuckle turned into maniacal laughter.
Once I got myself under control, I pulled away to look into his eyes.
“How is that even possible? There’s nothing okay about any of this.
I have to somehow get that vial before the royals do, we have to save my parents and Abi, and now I have to figure out how to live with the soul of a reincarnated wolf inside me.
How much more can be on my plate?” I didn’t like the whiny sound in my voice, but I couldn't really help it.
“Maddy, you aren’t obligated to do anything. Getting revenge for some murders hundreds of years ago and getting that vial are not your concerns. Getting your family back—that’s what we are worried about. Don’t worry about those things.”
My wolf didn’t like hearing that. I could feel her irritation welling up inside me.
“Nico, if these people are capable of killing children and kidnapping Mom, Dad, and Abi, then there’s no telling what they might do.
We have to destroy that vial before they get it open.
But that brings us back to the same place we were before. Finding the vault.”
Nico bobbed his eyebrows up and sighed. “Well, when Luis was in Europe, he was pretty sure they had guards stationed at a graveyard near the old castle. He was fairly certain that was where it probably was. No other reason to have guards there.”
“Well, how big was the cemetery?”
“It was old. Probably a few acres at least, with a ton of crypts and tombs,” Nico admitted.
I shook my head. “We’ll never find it before they stop us. We need more details.”
“Hang on,” Nico said, pulling his phone out.
“What are you doing?”
“Texting Luis.”
Realization dawned on me, and I allowed myself a little grin. “Are you doing what I think you are?”
He nodded as he typed with his thumbs. “Yeah. We need the info on the safe houses, but now we need to see if we can hear any details on the vault’s location. If it’s that important, someone may talk about it, especially if they believe they’re alone.”
Nico sent the text and sat staring at his phone, waiting for a response. They would have gone forward with the mission at any time. We could only hope they got the message before they moved ahead.
Finally, Nico’s phone chirped and opened the text. “Hell yes!” Nico pumped a fist. “He got it. They’d just pulled into an abandoned parking lot when I sent it. The brothers are going to listen for any info.”
I released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “Great. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Nico didn’t respond. Instead, he placed his phone on the table and looked at me. He had a weird look on his face. “Maddy?”
“Hmm?”
“The envelope? Your dad’s journal entries?”
“What about them?” I could still remember the words. They were burned into my mind.
“Are your dreams like that? Almost like… I don’t know… like you're living in a movie or something?”
I sat there for a minute, thinking about his question. “Kinda, yeah.”
“Do you want to tell me about them?”
I did. I talked for a while, giving him detailed descriptions.
Especially the one where I’d been walking through the woods and the memory of being murdered.
Before I started talking, I thought it would be traumatic to relive it out loud.
Instead, I actually felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. When I was done, he looked shocked.
He chuckled mirthlessly. “I can’t believe this is really happening. Like, it’s all real. Does your wolf seem hostile or bloodthirsty? Kind of like what your birth mom said in the letter about your dad’s?”
“No, not at all. She’s angry with the royals, but that’s it.
Honestly, there’s a lot of fear in her, which makes sense now after learning everything.
I mean, they murdered her in a past life—she has every reason to fear these people.
Of course, it’s not the same people, but after hundreds of years of money and power, I doubt they’ve become any less awful.
In our experience, they may actually be worse.
I think my wolf isn’t the same as Edemas’s.
I can’t see her taking over my body to go hunt descendants of the royals like what happened to my father. ”
Finding out my dream was real gutted me because I could still remember the fear and horror she felt as she was pushed over the railing. The way the hard stone floor had rushed up toward her. I gritted my teeth. “I’m not entirely sure what she wants, but I know that I want vengeance for her.”
“Don’t forget what your mother said in that letter,” Nico warned. “Control your emotions. Don’t let yourself get carried away in those emotions. If she’s like mine, hate, anger, and revenge will just feed her and make it hard for you or her to think straight.”
I took a steadying breath. He was right.
Knowing what we did about how Edemas and my father interacted when they were in the same body gave me pause.
Could the wrong emotion at the wrong moment send me down that same path?
Would I show up at home, covered in blood and gore after being gone for days with no memory of what I’d done? The thought made my blood ice over.