Chapter 57: Submission

Melisande POV

The hour grew late, and the land was dark. Melisande/Hades could let Lilia rest after one more round of experiments.

Inside Melisande's body, Hades studied his handiwork. Lilia was yanking at her bonds, trying not to double over after being dosed with the potion. Her beautiful face glowed with a ghoulish yellow light, a side effect of the potion. 

It was the pain the potion gave Lilia that Melisande was focused on. Lilia would become violently ill soon, and Dane would surrender to spare his mate more pain. A good thing, too, because Dane Cresta wouldn't be as easily bewitched as the grief-stricken Jude. Hades had scanned him and seen the broken heart that made Jude weak and vulnerable. Dane Cresta was far too strong, his heart intact … 

But if you hurt his mate, Dane would surrender, too.

"Just a bit more," Melisande said in a calm, mild voice. "Then, you can go back to your tower room with your mate and your mother."

Lilia gritted her teeth. "Whatever it is you want, Melisande, you won't get it."

"MASTER."

"Excuse me?" Lilia turned her head to stare at the wooden cabinets on the wall. 

"Call me 'Master.' That's what I want right now," Melisande purred.

Stone-faced, Lilia said nothing and continued to study the cabinet doors.

"Say it. Say, 'Master.'" Melisande went around the lab table to block Lilia's view of the cabinets. "That's not so difficult."

"Master."

The word came from Jude, not Lilia. He cleared his throat. "Ravyn and Dane are thinking about cooperating."

Well! This was an interesting turn of events.

The Dark Goddess whispered in Hades'/Melisande's shared brain, "You have to be sure. Jude is in your power–that's a fact. But Dane and Ravyn are clever. They could betray you. Test them. Ensure their loyalty."

"Don't I always test my followers? I won't make the mistakes of the past. This time, I will have several Alphas under my control. Even the mighty and cold Jiro Cresta will succumb!"

Silence from Hades' victim made him look at Lilia, studying her stunned reaction and savoring it. Lilia's eyes popped.

At last, she burst out, "WHAT? That can't be!"

With a small smile of triumph, Melisande said, "Oh, when Dane felt your suffering on top of the silver poisoning him, even he couldn't resist for long. After all, he might not know for certain you're pregnant with his child, but he suspects–and your mother knows!"

Lilia's face twisted up, and for a moment she couldn't speak. Then, she hissed, "Lies." Her wounded-child gaze at Jude could almost move Melisande's heart.

"It's true," Jude said with no emotion. 

"JUDE," Lilia pleaded. "Remember who you are. You're the man my mother fell in love with, Bram's and Mali's father. Ransome and Titania think the world of you. My pups, and all the Cresta pups, think of you as a grandfather. Azandra and Kyon look up to you. So do Jiro and Dane. Patch and Dirge have played so many pranks on you over the years."

Melisande walked over to Jude. "How is Dane?"

"Healing," he said. "Ravyn, too. They want to be reunited with Lilia."

Melisande smiled at Jude. He was handsome in a stiff, noble way. "And they will be–after we're finished here. Which depends on our pretty little witch."

"I'm the Luna of the Evenhide Pack and don't you forget it," snarled Lilia. "Jude, tell her! Emer wouldn't give in for a minute."

"But your mother did," Jude said in a toneless voice. 

Lilia bit her lip. "That can't be true. My mother and Dane wouldn't just accept you."

Melisande chuckled. "Really, such naïveté. You just said your mother fell in love with Jude–are you saying your mother is lying to the man she loves? And that your mate is lying to him?"

A seed of doubt had been planted. Lilia hesitated, her hands fluttering. "Jude, my mother is always truthful–"

The Dark Goddess whispered to her of Ravyn's deviousness towards Jude, giving her all the ammunition she needed.

"Really?" Melisande seized the moment. "Your mother didn't tell Jude she intended for him to fall soppily in love when he was only interested in a marriage for power and security."

"What would YOU know of love?" Lilia snarled.

"I know that people ruin themselves because of it. That they'll do anything for the object of their affection and desire." 

Lilia snorted. "That explains a lot about you."

"How little you understand. You have no idea that sentiment is a weakness. Fortunately, I'm going to teach you that lesson." Melisande circled Lilia, coming to a full stop where she could look directly into Lilia's eyes. "What are you willing to do for your mate, your mother, your wayward father, and your stepfather?"

* * * * *

Lilia POV

She focused on Jude, because the sight of Melisande turned her stomach. 

Jude couldn't be Melisande's slave! The man and wolf and Alpha wouldn't permit it. Melisande wasn't nearly as gifted as Hades at controlling people, so Jude had a chance. There had to be some hint in Jude's eyes, or in his face, or in his body language.

She searched and came up maddeningly empty. Nothing. Jude might as well be a wooden golem or an Orc machine. She could find no trace of the man her mother fell in love with.

"Ravyn tricked me, it's true," Jude said flatly. "But I gained an excellent Luna. I should be pleased at her shrewdness. And I am. She'll serve the master well.:

That was Melisande talking. Lilia was sure of it.

"Jude." She reached out her hand. "My mother was willing to try to give you what you wanted. Yes, she hoped to convince you that you deserved more. But her intentions were pure. You are the only man who's made her laugh with her whole heart, and encouraged her to be herself, and I include my father in that."

It was true. Although her memories of her parents' marriage before her father's disappearance were positive, she now could look back and see that her father complained about the shop. About Ravyn's devotion to it. 

"Ravyn, just because your family started this shop doesn't mean you have to be tied to it for the rest of your life. And I'm not going to force Lilia to continue."

Odd how she remembered that now, after so many years. 

She remembered Ravyn brushing off Daxius' concerns. "I have to open up the shop and i'm already late. We'll talk about this later."

"Of course we will." But his tone had been sarcastic.

Did they have that conversation? She didn't know. If they did, it must have been when she was asleep, or spending the night with Anneliese. 

Jude's eyes glowed wolf gold, and he seemed to "wake up." His smile dazzled her. 

Lilia continued, "Ravyn will always be my mother. She's my best friend–even more so than Dane and Anneliese. But I've watched her with you, and I see that she has a different path than either of us could have imagined years ago. It's my path. She's going to be an outstanding Luna of the Silverpaw Pack."

His grin widened. "Do you mean that?"

"Of course I do! And if certain people would let me out of these bonds, I'd hug you," she said.

Melisande huffed. "Not until we're finished."

"I think you've put her through enough for one day," Jude said, his tone restrained and his eyes shifting back to brown. "You experiment on her further and you could harm the child. We'd lose any chance of gaining Ravyn's and Dane's cooperation."

Melisande grunted. "Fair point. Release her–but don't let her loose."

Lilia deliberately went limp. "I'm too weak to do anything. I think he better carry me."

"You heard her, Jude." Melisande stroked Lilia's hair with what might have been affection. 

Lilia forced herself not to jerk her head away, even though her skin crawled.

She felt the straps being unfastened and heard the click of the buckles. Then, before she had the chance to stretch and savor her freedom, Jude scooped her up in his strong arms. "Don't give me any trouble, now," he said in a stern tone.

"I swear on my unborn child," Lilia said.

Melisande put on her healer face. "Rest, Lilia. We'll talk again in the morning. I have a feeling you'll be an excellent servant."

"It would help if I knew what I was serving," Lilia replied, trying to be as agreeable as possible.

"You'll learn soon enough," Melisande said. "Jude, take her back to the others. And find Marieke and Daxius. Make sure he's obeying."

Jude smirked slightly, managing to make it look sinister. "If he sees his daughter isn't fighting us, perhaps he'll be more accommodating."

Lilia turned her face away, burying it in Jude's chest to hide her smile.

She had no idea Jude was such a good actor–he was even better than Patch or Cyran or Jiro! Maybe all that dwarf opera he and Ravyn loved had taught him a thing or two. 

"Excellent thinking, Jude. Now go. We mustn't make Lilia's mother and mate worry."