How Do I Hate Thee? Let Me Count the Ways...

"Things make more sense now for his motive to kill you, and to become Alpha. He was never doing it for your sister. He wants to make sure I can't destroy all he has built. Should you become the Luna, you'd have access to everything. I am certain you knew what Veltar looked like - you could easily tell your sister he was alive. Which would then show Syrana that Silas knew this entire time and used his blood to control her. With him in charge, he could hide everything he has ever done to get to where he is," Metas spoke lowly and very intensely.

"I wasn't going to kill him, you're right. I didn't want you sister to be harmed by proxy. However, he's not her actual true mate. It makes me wonder if he was denied a match. It's rare, but some are never gifted companions for one reason or another. He seems to be very happy with his life, so I doubt he was rejected, or rejected someone. It's such a scandal that it even would have made it down to the mines. He's high-profile, it would have been very public," he went on.

Myranda hung onto his every word. It was hard to imagine how much information Metas had stored in his head for centuries. He was a bit older than her - but not by much - so she understood how long 200 years could feel, and if the pads were on the other paws, she would be lost by now.

"I think he wanted to save face, and he found your sister beautiful, so he went for her. With Harbinger as his father figure, I can see that easily being done under everyone's noses," Metas finished as though he were thinking aloud at this point, and she could hear the concern in his tone.

"I thought impure couples couldn't produce pups..." Myranda said aloud.

"Impure doesn't mean you weren't paired, Myranda. It means something else..." Metas trailed off in hopes she would understand what he was implying.

"Oh.. Oh! Oh. That's...that's terrible" she replied breathlessly.

"Indeed. You can at least take comfort in the fact that Syri was very wanted, and your sister is not being abused. I know it isn't much - but it's all I have for you to hang onto at the moment," he comforted her and laced his fingers with hers as she snaked her hand down into his right one.

"I guess I should have actually cared about the whole Mate-Pact thing in school. I just always thought it was garbage because of my parent's behavior," Myranda trailed off, but immediately followed up with hurried words. "I'm sorry about before. I know you said don't bring it up again, but I really feel terrible about it. I should have never judged you."

"I will never hold it against you, so you needn't worry. I have forgiven you, and so you should work on forgiving yourself," he replied soothingly and moved his head so that he could kiss the top of hers.

'I love you,' he thought. He was far too afraid to say it too early, so he kept it to himself, but he truly loved her. He wanted to protect her, provide for her, and have the next generation of his bloodline with her. Metas was too smart to rush into words, though - he could still sense she was not ready to accept him entirely yet. Sexual desire was one thing - but love was another level.

They had time, though. He knew that. One way or another, patience would reward his loyalty and honor -so he just kept his feelings to himself.

"We need to bring your sister to our side. That should be our next goal. I had other plans, but it is far more important we get her to see who Silas truly is before we do anything else. As I said before, no Alpha King has ever ruled successfully without a Luna. Historically it's always ended in bloodshed and tears. Without Syrana, all of the support Silas has gathered will fall away to nothing. No one - not even the most elite would dare follow a Mate-less Alpha. It's too taboo - and far too dangerous," Metas added after a long bout of awkward silence.

"When we see Jyriah next, we should tell him what we've discovered. I'm sure Joss could figure out a great way to tell her and convince her that we're not just lying because we hate him. You know, your theory is really starting to make sense....she loved Veltar with all of her heart. If Silas smells like him, and she equates him to Veltar, she'd fight anyone to stand up for Silas. What a snake," she sneered towards the end and huffed out of her nose briefly.

"It is a good thing wolves are not afraid of snakes, then" Metas said easily and let out a soft, deep chuckle.

Goddess, even his low laughs and small noises made her stomach flutter like a kaleidoscope of butterflies. She had truly been denying herself and him of the most comforting, and safe feeling she had ever known. The more she spent time with him, the more she realized how much she had almost destroyed her chance for the 'happily ever after' she desired each day of her life. Myranda wouldn't make that mistake again.

"Once we get back to my safe space, I'll look over what I have written down, and adjust it. We're going to have to go into the dungeon cells to see if Veltar is even alive. He is the single-most important piece of evidence we need to convince her how underhanded her so-called mate is," Metas said as he calculated his next movements carefully.

"MMmhm. Syrana won't believe otherwise. She is very much a show-me kind of female. If we could also deliver her to the happy ending she deserves, I could sleep well at night. Her life never sat well with me, it always felt off. I get it now. This isn't supposed to be her life. Veltar is..." Myranda replied and let out a small sigh.

"I'll just add this as one more thing I hate Silas for, even if we don't know about its truth or not. I just really hate the guy..." she tacked on.

"I despise him, too. For a long time it was just rivalry. Then he hurt you, and it became a roiling boil of anger and rage. I'll never be able to look at him as a worthy male ever again. It is one thing to hit your opponent in battle...it is another to strike a woman who hasn't harmed you, and is unarmed. If he was willing to hurt Syrana by killing you, he is capable of hurting her by making Veltar go away," he replied in kind.

Their session of hate-bashing Silas was actually cathartic. To be able to it in his home, was just icing on the cupcake. It wasn't even close to getting justice, but it was a great start.

[PLEASE NOTE: the next chapter deals with toxic relationships and abuse. I know this novel is free right now, but as a hopeful person - perhaps one day it will be pay to read. I just don't want anyone wasting coins should I be lucky and honored enough to get a contract. That's your money, and to not warn you about wasting it makes me feel icky inside. So spare your coins if you're sensitive to spousal abuse and toxic relationship. Part 1 deals with it pretty heavily]