Eliza/Mario POV
“Do you think he has found them by now?”
“I don’t know Eliza. He is supposed to be dead. How is he still alive?”
“I don’t know, but he is and he is the only one who knows the truth about everything.”
“ We already told Crystal the story, and if she wants to believe him over us, then we know where her loyalty is.”
“Mario, she is half fox. Do you not remember her mother? If she can do anything her mother can do, then we have no way of hiding the truth from her.”
“ We won’t have to, because if she could do anything her mother could, then she would have known the truth by now, and besides, what is she going to do? She is nothing but a girl, we… We, on the other hand, hold much more power.”
“ If you are talking about Zara, don’t bother. I haven’t seen her in months.”
“Eliza, you should know better than anyone that blood runs thicker than water, we did kill Zara’s sister and her unborn child.”
“ What are we going to do, Mario?”
“ We will give them what they want. A war.”
I left Mario’s office in more turmoil than I was before I went in. I have no idea where they are or how to start looking for them, and if it is a war they want, then our hands are tied behind our backs, because if Crystal is a fox and anything like her mother, then we will have no choice but to submit and I am a Queen I will never submit to a fox. Let alone a little girl. I know what we did was wrong, but I was brought up being told stories about foxes and what they can do and will do to have power, and that is always what they want. Power.
I never questioned the stories or the actions behind them. When I was a little girl I always wished to meet a fox because they were so pretty in the pictures and it was said that a fox has multiple lives and the only way to kill a fox and be sure they won’t come back was to separate the head from the body.
Marina was my closest friend and the kindest woman I have ever met. No one knows this but I had nightmares about her and what we did for months after her death. And I always just brushed it off as a bad dream until one day I could have sworn I saw her standing behind me and I kept hearing strange voices.
When I told Mario, he just brushed it off and made me feel like I was losing my mind.
After Odin lost his mind, the kingdom sort of fell apart, everyone became scared and soon more and more wolves started moving out of the castle and onto the ground. Donovan’s first born son would have been the head royal Beta but Crystal was born instead. When Crystal was born, Odin refused to have a girl as a Beta, so we said he could choose his Beta when the time came, and it never did.
We don’t know what got into him but it was almost like he was getting worse and worse every day. His temper got shorter, his sluts got more, and then his mate came along.
She never deserved the kind of treatment Odin gave her, so I helped her to get out from under him and hid her amongst the humans. When Zanian was born, I left to go see my grandchild, but when I got there she had already left and all I found was a note and a couple of photos.
I read that letter so many times I actually memorized it.
I sat behind my desk rubbing my face with my hands when there was a knock on the door. “ Come in.”
“sorry to disturb you, but you called for me?”
“ Yes, I have Mike. Please come and take a seat.”
I motioned for him to take a seat and I went to pour a drink. I handed him a glass and then sat down opposite him.
“ How much do you know about foxes?” I asked, not wanting to waste any time.
He looked at me confused before he said, “I only know what I read, so I would say I know enough about them. Why?”
“because we might go into war with one leading the war.”
Realization set in and he looked more angry than surprised. Mike knows what happened, not everything, but he knows the important details and that is all anyone ever needs to know.
“Marina? But I thought Donovan killed her.”
“not Marina, and he did. I’m talking about their daughter, Crystalia.”
“ She is only a wolf. We had her tested before she was taken away, and her blood came back with human and wolf DNA only.”
“ Well, we don’t know what she is or what her father did to her, but we do know that he is looking for her and if he finds her, then all hell will break loose.”
“but he is supposed to be dead. It had been twenty years since his mate died. How is he still alive?”
“ We don’t know. He is a scientist after all, maybe he found or did something to keep him going for this long.”
“ What do you want us to do?”
“I want you to assemble an army and prepare them for what is coming. I want at least 1000 wolves ready and trained. You will hand pick them personally and you will keep this between us and make them understand as well. Everything you do from now on will be a secret, and you only answer to me.”
I dismissed him and sat back in my chair. I have no idea how we are going to do this.
I still blame Donovan for never telling us about his mate but instead trying to hide who she is with serums and injections. Killing her was never a mistake, but he should have been dead by now.
Donovan POV
The following day, I was going about my normal routine, only this time I had to cook for more people and sit in the company of my estranged daughter, who kept looking at me and narrowing her eyes. I had to keep myself from laughing because that is exactly what her mother did whenever we had a tiff or she didn’t get what she wanted from me.
I cooked some bacon and eggs, Zara made pancakes and Tracy made toast. As uncomfortable as this silence is, it is actually welcoming.
“Crystal, is there something you would like to say or ask because you keep looking at me?”
She cleared her throat and said, “if you didn’t want to kill us, why did you send all those rogues, and why did you kill the Alpha’s and Luna’s of every pack you attacked?”
I stopped chewing my food and swallowed. It is a good question, but I don’t think she will like the answers, and certainly not Zanian. I cleared my throat and put my hands on the table.
“ The rogues were never there to kill you, Zanian maybe, but not you. And the reason I killed the Alpha’s and Luna’s is because when I started looking, I wasn’t looking for you, I was looking for Zanian. I found his brother instead, so we made a deal. If I get rid of Alicia he will give me Zanian…” before I could finish my sentence, Zanian jumped up and launched at me, but Tracy stepped in and had him in a vice grip. The thing about Tracy is she is a vampire, a royal one. She was kicked out of her home when she rejected her mate and killed him. No one ever knew why and she never told anyone, because it would ruin the second most powerful coven, and everyone would hate her more. Zanian was twisting and turning in her grip but she never even wavered. “ You should stop moving because her grip can be lethal. Now can I finish my story please, and don’t be so rude as to interrupt again.
As I was saying, he wanted to make a deal, but I am not one for spilling innocent blood, so I refused the deal and paralyzed him instead. I then injected him with a truth serum, “one of my creations.” And I got everything I wanted. I never touched anyone or spilled innocent blood. Before I was done with him, I heard the attack and I left. Those were not my wolves or on my orders.”
As for the rest, well, they all had nasty little secrets to hide. For instance, Alicia was not your father’s child, she was a love child from another, but your parents mated and your mother said it was his child. Your father always knew she wasn’t his because she smelled different. He had her killed and blamed you for it, but killing your mate that was a step too far.
As for your pack, Crystal. You were abused for years, and then eventually killed and they never did anything or even noticed enough to ask you questions.
I saw you change, day in and day out, looking more pale and more skinny, and then you would disappear for days. So I followed you one day when they dragged you off and saw how they chained you up in the dungeons and beat you unconscious and then starved you. So I gave them an easier end than you had.”
“ Why now, Donovan? If you saw me, why didn’t you ever help me or even get me out of there?”
“because I waited for the day that you shifted and that was when I lost you, because you changed.”
I looked over at Zanian and saw the way he was looking at Crystal, with so much guilt and sadness. “Tracy let him go. We still have a lot to discuss.
Tracy let him go and he walked over to Crystal and bent down.
Zanian POV
This woman’s grip is so very tight.
Crystal has been avoiding me since yesterday and she hasn’t spoken a word, not with me anyway. Zara explained a few things, so we know now that she is a witch. She is also Crystal’s aunt. Crystal’s mother was Zara’s sister.
When I woke up this morning, Crystal was already gone.
I have no idea what to do with her, but one thing is certain, the more time I spend with her, the harder it becomes to fight the mate bond and the attraction.
Sitting at the table and eating feels weird because everyone is so silent and Crystal keeps looking at Donovan. When he started explaining the story and the deal, I just lost my temper. I didn’t let him finish when I jumped up ready to rip out his throat. That is when Tracy jumped and grabbed me in a vice grip. I struggled to get loose and with every attempt I got angrier and angrier. I don’t know what this man injected me with, but Blaze was quiet the whole night and morning.
I listened to what Donovan said about Crystal and my heart broke into a million pieces. Not because I feel sorry for her, but because I did exactly what they did to her is not worse. I never made her feel safe or welcome, but most of all, I never gave her the time of day. I saw the scars on her body, but she never told me where or how she got them, and she certainly never mentioned that she died and came back to life.
Donovan told Tracy to leave me and I walked over to Crystal. I knelt down in front of her. “ Why haven’t you told me what you went through?” I asked and I’m pretty sure I know the answer to that one. “because you never cared enough to ask Zanian, everything with you was about challenging me and humiliating me, so why would I ever tell you anything about me?”
When I looked into her eyes at that moment, all I could see was sadness and hurt, that made it feel like a knife through my heart and it was painful to know that I had caused her sadness and pain. I tried taking her hand but she pulled away from me and stood up.
She looked at Donovan and said, “now that you have us, what do you want from us?”
“I told you I just want you to listen to my side of the story and then you can do with it as you please.” Donovan said and looked at us.
“ What more is there?” I asked and stepped closer.
“ Follow me and I will show you and tell you the story,” Donovan said, and walked out of the kitchen. We followed him into his study, which is small but comfortable. He motioned for us to take a seat and went over to a small wooden cabinet. He took out a book and a file and went to sit down at his desk opposite us.
“ All I need from you is to forget everything you have been told, because you only know a lie. Everyone who ever knew the truth is dead except for me. And I’m afraid I don’t have much time. Donovan said and pushed the file towards us. Crystal picked it up and opened the first page.
“what is this?” Crystal asked and showed me the picture.
“ That is a picture of the complete royal family years ago. Mario, Eliza, Odin, his mate Melissa, his mother Marina and me.
That was taken a month after I found your mother, but you weren’t born until six years later. Melissa was already pregnant with Zanian.”