Chapter 79
When she woke up, I spilled my secrets to her like an avalanche of burdens, laying them all out on the table in front of us. Telling her the truth was the only thing I could do to keep her safe; there was no other options.
She remained where Kyle had left her, breathing heavily while listening tolerantly as I spilled every unpleasant detail of my past.
I informed her about my mother's malevolent intentions towards us, the magic embedded in my blood, and the day a demon bound my abilities to enable me to escape from everything. That was the day I lost my brother and came across someone who seemed normal.
That was the reason I had come across her.
The pain was still there, piercing me like sharp nails and exposing the wounds I had never taken care of.
When I was finished, there was a gap of silence between us, her hands balled into fists in front of us, her jaw clenched with rage, and her eyes full of tears. Though it was the only thing that made sense with everything going on, I had expected her to despise me and the way she could hardly look at me. That didn't make it any less painful, though.
As I watched her get up from her seat and walk around the bakery putting her fingers to her lips, my heart faltered. She stood there for a brief moment, taking in the mess I had made of her, a shuddering breath ripping through her body, before her eyes fell back on mine.
"This whole time, your brother was my mate." At last, she spoke, the betrayal vanishing from her voice. "And that motherfucker did his voodoo shit on me and left me here." Like a child, she stomped her foot and curled her fingers into fists.
I knew more than anyone that she would melt under his presence only once he stood in front of her, but she turned in her place again, almost as if she thought he would appear out of nowhere so she could give him a piece of her mind.
I studied her closely, perplexed by what my revelations had revealed. I had revealed all of my secrets to her, that I was a kind of wolf that she should hate, and that the only thing on her wolfish mind was her partner.
"Where did he go?" She glared at me, her turbulent emotions making my skin prickle.
"He didn't have a choice." My speech was barely audible, but her eyes only seemed to get smaller.
"Like you didn't have a choice, so you lied to me for ten years?" I flinched. "This is fucked; we are so fucked." She moved her hands to her hair and then dragged them over her face.
The carefree person I had shared half of my life with was no longer there; every moment it took for her to process what I had told her, stress was visible on her face.
"I know you despise me, but don't ever think that I don't still fucking love you, Kylie. I'm just mad at you and your prick of a brother." As she drew closer to me, and I breathed in her words, my heart began to beat wildly. "I know why you withheld this information from me, but it still stings to think that despite our lengthy relationship, you didn't have enough faith in me.
"Vera, I had to protect you; I had to. This wasn't about trust; it was about not wanting you to hate me once you realized who I was, since you are the only person who has ever really cared about me outside of my own brother. Because of that, I didn't want to put you in danger." We were both out of our depth because our love had always been a quiet, subtle thing. I took a breath as she struggled with the intensity of my feelings.
"What about Derrick? Have you told him?" The mere mention of his name made my body stiff, my brother's words echoing in my mind while the piece of paper remained folded into the palm of my hand.
I didn't think I would have the courage to tell her what Kyle had said to me after he had put her to sleep because, if he had come to me with a way to break their mate bond, it could only mean one thing for them both.
I didn't want to upset her once more by dashing her hopes with him the way my own mate's had been dashed.
Vera interpreted my silence as a response.
"Of course you haven't told him; I assume it's the reason why you haven't let him claim you either."
Finally, I said, "It's complicated," as she briefly closed her eyes and then fell to the ground in front of me, placing her hands on my knees.
"Is it even more complicated that your brother abandoned me here shortly after we discovered we were mates?" Glancing down at her, I scowled because she reflected every action I planned to take. My sinful conscience shaped me into a person.
She represented the way I intended to ruin Derrick once I parted ways with him.
Vera, my mother has found me once more, and this time, I'm a witch blood wolf. Standing on the royal foundation that penalized death for my kind, my mate takes this personally because of what transpired—in addition to being law.
"Because a witch-blood wolf killed his parents." She spoke incredulously, recalling our early history lessons about royal ancestry.
"Was it your mother?" I gave a stiff nod in response to her direct question.
She didn't have to be aware that I was also present and that my magic played a role in my mate's parents' deaths.
I said instead, "I have lived with hate; it is embedded in my bones, and I don't think I can survive any more of it," but if it meant Derrick wouldn't leave me; I would accept his hatred for me.