Eikosiduo [ 22 ]

It was silent across the field and it was as if time had stopped. 

"What are you talking about, Mum?"

She blew out a breath of vexation. "Your so-called mate killed your father, the only man I have ever loved. That's why I hate him."

I stayed silent for a long time, taking in her words over and over again. She peered at me somewhat expectantly and I clenched my fists tightly as I swallowed down the feelings of disgust that arose within me. I couldn't help but feel pure disgust and much to my mother's chagrin, it wasn't aimed towards Tristan. 

It made me feel sick to know that such a cruel alpha who had a part in Tristan's suffering was my father. I took a step back and shook my head. "He's not my father. I'd never met him. All he is to me is the sick and twisted alpha that had a hand in all the pain Tristan had to endure." I could tell that my words angered my mother, but I couldn't bring myself to care. 

"You didn't know the man I knew." She vehemently replied and I struggled to hold back what I said next. 

"What man did you know, Mum? He left you while you were pregnant—us. You said yourself that he wasn't meant for you. He wasn't meant to be my father." I couldn't brace myself for when her hand collided with my cheek. The connection reverberated through the quiet fields as she gasped and I could barely register it before Markus was in front of me, shielding me from her. 

He was right when he said it'd be like he wasn't there. 

"Don't lay a hand on my Luna. I don't care if you're her mother. No one harms her in front of me." He seemed fiercely loyal already and something tugged at my heart at the thought of it. He barely knew me, but the fact that I was Tristan's mate meant he would protect me no matter what. 

Laying a hand on his shoulder, I quickly spoke. "Markus, it's okay." The stinging of my cheek quickly subsided and the skin cooled down within seconds. Lightly nudging him to the side, I stared at my teary-eyed mother. "If it makes you feel better, hate him all you want. But, he's my mate and I could never hate him." She looked apologetic but I was drained by it all already. "If all we're doing is arguing then I don't think you want me here."

Her hands folded over each other and she shook her head profusely with a shocked expression on her face. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you." I stepped back when she took a step towards me, too upset to want her near me. "Of course I want you here, you're all I have."

I shook my head in response. "If I really am all you have, you'll leave this pack with me." Walking around her, I set off to go down the hill with Markus beside me. Deciding that I needed to clear my head, I walked around the territory aimlessly. 

When the silence between us got too much to bear, I spoke quietly. "I know you heard what my mother told me. I need you to keep it between us until I decide whether or not to tell Tristan."

Markus sighed and nodded. "If I may, Luna…I fought in the war, a-and I was forced to fight with an alpha I didn't respect—y-your…" He trailed off and shook his head lightly. I was more than surprised to know that he had experienced my 'father's' reign. "He wasn't a good man. He was unjust and entirely cruel. Alpha Tristan saved us all."

Glancing at him, the frown pulled at my lips and my heart ached to see the pain that was etched on his face. "I know that, Markus. I don't doubt how much of a good man Tristan is. This just seems like a cruel twist of fate."

"It is, but it isn't the be all end all, Luna. If you really want to see it from the brighter side, think that you're able to give him a sense of happiness no one else can. In essence, that man was never your father and you shouldn't think you have to pay for his sins."

Even though I saw the sense in his words, I couldn't help but think Tristan wouldn't want to be with me if he found out. He could look at me and only see the cause of past pain. It scared me to the core that he wouldn't want me anymore. It would even kill me. The mark on my neck meant that I was connected to him in a way that if severed, I most likely wouldn't survive. 

Nobody survived rejection after marking. It was considered to be the cruellest thing a mate could do. 

The thought seized me by my throat and I choked out a response. "Do you think I should tell him?"

"I think you should." He replied sombrely.

Nodding, I decided that I would at least tell him in person. It wasn't something he deserved to hear over the phone and I didn't want this information to possibly spoil the moment we saw each other again. 

When we finally made it back to the house, my phone rang as I expected it to at exactly twelve o'clock. Greenland was three hours behind London, and nine o'clock was the first break in training for everyone. I picked up the phone with shaky hands and tried to calm my breaths. 

"Good morning, Kara." His deep voice filtered through the call and the mere sound calmed my nerves. I felt my mark throb as if he was right next to me. 

"Morning, Tristan." I murmured, taking a seat on the edge of my bed. Our conversation started off with standard questions and it was almost like I wasn't there. My newfound information was nagging at the back of my mind yet I was enjoying the probably short-lived attention Tristan was giving me. 

I sensed a change within myself. Ever since he marked me, I craved him more. Perhaps it was the distance between us right now, but the fire within me burned for him more. Not only physically but emotionally too. It was like I couldn't be away from him. If someone had told me a month ago that I would want Tristan with everything in me, I would have laughed in their face. 

But now, I wouldn't even be able to deny it. As much as I thought I was good at resisting the mate pull and denying my attraction towards him, all my efforts proved to be futile. I was powerless against him—he had everything on his side. The power, the allure and the mate pull. He used it to his advantage and had me hooked on him within weeks. 

"Kara, I have to go. Training is starting up again." He seemed reluctant to go and I really needed him to continue speaking to me. I wanted to hear his voice and soak up any amount of attention he would give me. 

I was overwhelmed with everything that had happened and I knew he was the only person that could make me feel better. 

"No, wait, please…" I gripped the phone tighter and closed my eyes, forcing down the lump of emotion that threatened to cut off my airways. "I need to keep hearing your voice."

"Okay, okay." He sighed and sounded like he was heading indoors. His voice was much clearer and the sounds of people talking were fainter. "You'll be home soon, right? I promise you'll feel better once you're here."

"Is this affecting you the way it's affecting me?" I quietly asked, laying down on my bed. 

"It's hard for me too, αγάπη. I thought it would be okay because I've been alone all my life anyway, but I was wrong. I feel weak without you and that's the worst feeling ever." His candour was appreciated and it was like I fed on it, sating my heart's desire to know how much he wanted me. 

Before silence had the chance to settle, I spoke once more. "I'm coming back tomorrow. I'm going to book the flights now." Standing from the bed, I moved to my open suitcase that had barely been touched and pulled out one of his shirts. Taking in his scent, I closed my eyes as he responded and it was like he was right next to me. 

He sighed in relief. "Is everything okay with your mother?"

I took a moment to answer, trying to rack my brain for what I could say. I could hardly tell him that our conversation had ended in a strike to my face. I didn't want him to see my mother in a bad light, it surely wouldn't help if their dislike was mutual. "I'm not too sure." I couldn't tell him about my biological father either. "I kind of gave her an ultimatum."

"Which was?" he questioned after a beat of drawn-out silence. 

"I'm leaving no matter what. She either comes with me or doesn't." I said quietly, casting my gaze downwards. "I don't know what to do anymore. All we've done is argue."

There was silence on his end for a few long moments and then he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Kara. This is all my fault."

Shaking my head, I brushed the pad of my thumb across the button on his shirt. "Don't blame yourself, Tristan. My mother is stubborn…I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree because I wasn't exactly easy to be with." I laughed a little too bitterly. "But if I can come around, I believe she can too."

"Let me know if she chooses to come with you. I need to make a visit to the council to officially register you in my pack anyway." He gasped so lightly that I would have mistaken it for an inhale if I didn't have such excellent hearing. "It's going to be your pack too. Six years of sole leadership is coming to an end."

The corner of my lips lifted into a smile. It felt foreign to know that I would be a Luna of a pack. I had never expected to be mated to an Alpha let alone one of the most powerful ones. I knew it came with a lot of responsibility and I had no clue how Tristan had managed it so well. But then it occurred to me that being an alpha was in his blood, he would know how to lead because he was always meant to be a leader.

I could've almost said the same for myself until that nagging voice at the back of my head came to the forefront. If he didn't want me anymore then not only would I not have a pack to lead, I wouldn't have a pack at all. At the thought, a sharp pain surged through my chest and I bit my lip to catch the whimper that wanted to fall. 

"Promise me that I won't go through it alone," I uttered quietly, squeezing the fabric of his shirt in my hand. 

"You won't be alone, αγάπη. I'm with you every step of the way, okay? Always. I promise." He answered instantly and with a sense of surety that I hoped was unbreakable. 

It might have been a silly fear, but the truth about my father threatened to destroy the foundations of our relationship. Foundations that had taken effort and promises to build. I hoped with everything in me that this was a promise Tristan wouldn't break.