“You’re not dragging my son into your mess,” I shake my head in astonishment. “No… No. Forget it!”
I glance to Jadi, anticipating his rejection of John’s request, but instead observe turmoil in his eyes as he gazes at the lady who nurtured him and at his mate.
“You don’t have to do this,” I beg him. “You are not required to help anyone anymore.”
However, it appears that his decision is already set.
“The King has threatened to wage war against me if I do not present myself within two weeks,” he states in a subdued tone. “After all these years, I finally have a family to love, and it is being threatened…” he asserts, casting a stern glance at my husband. “When the King comes seeking me, I want him and my father to regret ever discarding me.”
Therefore after proclaiming that I will fight alongside Stonecold and relaying the events to Melina, , she, Quinn, and Ricky attempt their best to convince me differently, but I hear none of it. Scarlett Haven has already taken so much from me and it appears they are not yet done taking from me.
However, it shall cease henceforth. This conflict concludes immediately.
Despite their utmost attempts, no one can dissuade me from my decision. Queen Josie has called for a break, instructing us to return home and rest before further deliberations. Quinn requests a separate room from John in the pack house and departs in a huff, but not before requesting to meet me again for breakfast in the morning.
“I-I…” I stutter, glancing at Melina, who seems uneasy with my mother’s presence.
“Just breakfast…” Quinn smiles shyly. “Please… I have so many questions… So many things I don’t know about you or myself… I just… I just want to know who I was and who you are…”
I nod silently, Quinn sighing with relief and stepping in for a hug, but I pull away from her automatically. I feel horrible almost instantly, but she seems to understand my reaction.
We are ultimately unfamiliar to each other, and she no longer recognises my identity.
“I look forward to breakfast…” She says. “Goodnight.”
An omega arrives to fetch her and I watch her walk away, unable to believe she is actually still alive… still here after all these years. With the conference ended, we retrieve Bray who is fast asleep with Andrew, both of them sleeping away in the centre of the floor surrounded by toy trucks.
Ricky is silent as we walk back to the guest house, carefully holding Braylon’s head against her shoulder as he sleeps. She ignores me when I try to hold her hand, anger radiating off of her as she picks up her pace and walks ahead of me. Melina can’t even look at me, staring ahead and pretending I don’t exist.
I can hardly understand my own emotions at the moment, but Melina and Ricky’s silent treatments are not helping me sort them out any faster. As we enter the house, Melina storms off to her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her and not giving me a chance to explain myself to her. Ricky is no different, going to Braylon’s room to tuck him in for the night and leaving me alone in our bedroom.
My emotions finally start to pour out of my heart, flooding out of me in thick droplets. My head feels as though it might explode from all the thoughts ricocheting like bullets against my skull. The drumming of my heartbeat grows louder and louder against my ears until all I hear is incessant thumping drowning out the world. A tingling sensation ripples along my skin and my throat feels as though it’s closing up.
I can’t breathe! I gasp, feeling my history falling down on me.
Deep breathes, Jimmy inhales deeply. I mimic him and we both slowly let out the breath, repeating the process till my thoughts quiet down.
For years, I believed my mother was deceased, her spirit eternally residing in the Kingdom of the Moon Goddess. After being permitted to leave the pack house, I would clandestinely visit my mother’s grave on our birthdays, placing flowers for her on Mother’s Day and conversing with her tombstone for hours, hoping she could hear me and reassure me that it was acceptable to live without her.
I lost my voice the day she died. I had no one else to speak with freely, no one patient enough to care about what I had to say. Seeing her now after all these years without a notion of what we’ve been through together is like losing her all over again.
Melina entered my life, providing a glimmer of hope through her benevolence. She embraced me when no one else would, protecting me to the best of her ability from my anguish. Despite her own suffering, she consistently masked it, presenting me with smiles and laughter while likely being fractured internally.
But it was all a lie… Her only purpose was to kill me.
That assertion is false, and you are aware of it, Jimmy retorts defensively, seeking to shield Melina from my ire. She lost everything prior to arriving at Scarlett Haven, and despite confronting the man who abducted her son, she recognised you and chose to forgive. She opted for love rather than vengeance. You cannot reproach her for accepting an unavoidable arrangement, nor can you resent her for selecting you. Your anger stems solely from her failure to disclose this information sooner, yet she has likely grappled with her conscience daily regarding it. Therefore, do not dare to judge her, Jadi! Not after all the affection she has bestowed upon you! He exhales sharply.
I sigh hard, knowing he is right. I cannot criticise her. No matter how furious or confused I am, she is still the only person who cares for me in my darkest hours… She is still my mother.
