Chapter 112
It was a death more swiftly, with no margin for error.
Too late, my mother lunged at her.
"You tried to save them; to what end?" Like she always did, my mother moved and grabbed me by my hair, venting her fury on me. "If I do not find their fucking prince by the end of this night, you will suffer the consequences." She turned around and left the room, leaving me in a bath of blood.
The room was spinning, my air was coming in too quickly, and I was having trouble breathing all at once. Suddenly, I felt a hand pull me back.
Luna was breathing heavily and blinking up at me, but she was still breathing.
"I apologize; I tried." "You'll protect him." With assurance, she spoke. "My son, promise me you will keep him safe." I nodded my head as a little child, not knowing what fate had in store for her.
Derrick watched me silently for hours while the image kept playing. I didn't move away from his mother during that time.
I had no idea what was going through his mind, but it seemed like he had finally realized that I was not the monster I had believed myself to be. "All this time, you made me think that you—" he shook his head in astonishment, unable to look at me. "I should have done more; I should have tried harder." "You should have told me the truth; all of this pain could have been—"
I wrung my hands and whispered, "You wouldn't have believed me, and I barely remembered." "All this time, all these years, I had thought that it was my fault, and it was easy to convince myself of it when all I had been taught was that I wasn't good enough." I shrugged as if it didn't matter.
"But it's fine; I understand what you needed to do, and I forgive you for it."
My words horrified Derrick, destroying his handsome face, and all I wanted was for him to be here, in reality, for us to not exist only in my imagination, so that I could touch him. I wanted him to comfort me as much as I wanted to comfort him.
"You protected my parents when I wasn't there for them, and I locked you up for it, and if that wasn't the icing on the cake, you are my mate and I—" His tone became strained. You told me about your mother and how she used to abuse and lock you up, and I followed suit. I was spiteful and did it." He made his way in my direction.
"I don't deserve your forgiveness." He confirmed.
"It is impossible for you to harm me in the same way that my mother did; you are not like her at all.
"Don't bullshit me when we could easily see the truth in here." The picture before us abruptly went blank, and the colors began to strobe once more.
When the recollection finally registered, my heart sank to my stomach. It was one of the cruelest training exercises my mother had ever subjected me to, and I didn't want him to see me in that light.
"Take us back to your throne room." My voice betrayed my panic. "I don't want you to see me like this, please." After scowling at my plight, Derrick looked behind me and saw my small frame leaning against a wall, my rear exposed. His eyes were filled with fear.
My mother would conduct this activity with me every day to help me become more adept at erecting barriers of protection. She would stand a few feet away from me and wield a silver whip coated in silver.
I awaited the skin to be struck by the whip, as that was precisely what transpired each time it did so. My mother waited until my magic failed, even though it blazed and held it in place.
"Stop." Both now and in the past, my feeble voice pleaded.
"I don't want to live like this again." Derrick's glazed eyes returned to mine when I made him look at me again.
He recognized me for who I truly was. I was so much weaker than he believed, broken and beaten.
He instantly saw the expression on my face and snapped me out of my reverie for the here and now.
My body wavered from the new pains I was experiencing, and Derrick moved quickly to draw me toward him before I fell backward and smacked my head on the hardwood floor. The throne room was a blur. He took me into the warm embrace of his chest, his body trembling from the emotions of all he had witnessed, and let out a deep, sorrowful whine.
The reality of the situation became apparent.
The pack fell silent, their rage turning to shock as they realized they had witnessed it all too, seeing their king crumble in the arms of his mate.
"I'm okay," I whispered to myself, attempting to reassure and console myself.
I clung to him and muttered, "I'm here," as though I was going to vanish.
"I'm yours." His body trembled with sobbing as his arms became tighter around me, but he withdrew from me as soon as he heard those final words.
"You're mine." He made good on his word, his lips brushing the region where he would leave his mark, and I didn't stop him.
I gave him a vow, "Yours," and sighed with satisfaction as his teeth entered my skin.
All I had ever desired from him was all I had ever dreamed of, and as our spirits finally joined, I realized that this was exactly what was meant to happen.
"I'm never letting you go." I strained my eyes to stay open, but as darkness edged in, he made a promise. "I will earn your forgiveness, and I will fight by your side."
It felt like a warm blanket as he gazed at me as if I were the only thing in the universe. I buried my face in his chest, longing for the last time he would hold me in such a way. Before I knew it, darkness had taken me once more, and I had finally given in to the weariness of everything that had transpired while I was secure in his arms.