13. Sacrifices

Isabelle POV

I see this woman in a white, silk flowing gown, sitting on a chair facing the garden. I smiled, feeling a connection with her. I knew she's not my mother because she had red hair, but I feel a blood connection with her. I walk toward her, to look at her face. Excited to see the beautiful face of obviously a beautiful woman. As I walked near, my heart thumped in confusion and horror. There was blood all over the floor, dripping from her. My breath hitched but I could not seem to stop myself from seeing what's going on. I walk around the chair... and I screamed, the most blood-curling scream I ever screamed in my whole life. Falling down to the floor with horror and shock....

The scream echoed in my mind, reverberating through the silent office. I was back in that haunting vision, unable to escape the horror before me. The blood pooled under the chair, its crimson hue stark against the verdant garden. My breath came in ragged gasps, my heart pounding in my chest as I struggled to reconcile the beautiful image of the woman I had just seen with the gruesome reality before me.

"What did you see?" Xander woke me up from that vision, his voice a lifeline in the chaos of my thoughts.

"There's this woman... in a white gown. She... she was sitting in a garden, but there was blood everywhere. When I went around the chair, her... her stomach was totally clawed out. As if the baby chewed his way out of her stomach..." My voice cracked, and I couldn't continue. I hugged Xander, seeking comfort from the tingles and warmth provided by his body, hoping his warmth would remove that image from my mind.

Silence. Then Seraphina spoke. "Do you want to continue dear?" 

"Who was that woman?"

"Your grandmother. Vesper's mother. Vesper has always boasted of getting out of his mother's stomach on his own. But no one alive has ever verified that story as his whole pack burned to death shortly after he clawed himself out of his mother's stomach."

I could not help it any longer. I ran to the restroom connected to the office and let out everything my stomach held. Xander followed me, soothingly patting my back and holding my hair away from the vomit.

My mind reeled. "My grandmother..." I whispered, the connection I had felt with her making sense now. A pang of grief struck me, a sorrow for the family I never knew but had lost so cruelly. "How could Vesper kill her?"

Seraphina, Alpha Benjamin, Luna Clarissa waited until Xander and I sat back. "Are you alright sweetie?" 

I nodded and nodded for Seraphina to continue. This time, I held Xander's hand tightly.

My breath caught as the smell of burnt flesh mixed with burnt synthetic materials invaded my nostrils. I came to and was standing in the middle of a burnt village, houses, animals and even people burnt to a crisp. My heart, earlier in pain because of how my grandmother died, now wants to shrivel and drop as I see the devastating situation of a whole village. Crying kids of not more than eight years old walked around the horrifying scene, calling out for their mothers, fathers, or family members. 

Then I see a baby crawling from under the rubbles. At that young age, a smirk was evident on his face, looking at the devastated children. Then he pointed at a child with his forefinger, a line of dark lightning flashed directly at the boy, putting a whole in his body where a heart was supposed to be. The boy dropped on the ground and the others screamed in fear, looking at the dead boy with a whole in his body. Then everyone looked at the baby crawling with a menacing smirk. Not able to talk yet but has the power to murder a whole village.

Like a picture, the scene flashed past me, and I was transported to a familiar room I used to stay at with my mom. My eyes teared as I see her creating a spell in panic. A familiar woman sat with her while six others surrounded them. I sat watching as they seemed to be rushing. I walk near them and see a two-year old version of me, sitting quietly at the center of the group. Then the house was empty, every little thing, everyone, was gone. As if the house has never been occupied. 

Seraphina gazed at me unwaveringly when I came to. "Miranda used a forbidden spell, one that bound her power and yours. She suppressed your magical abilities and put your wolf to sleep, essentially turning you into a human. It was a painful and risky process, but it was the only way to hide you from Vesper's reach. She scattered clues and wards around the world, ensuring that no one could trace your origins back to her."

My heart ached for my mother, for the unimaginable sacrifices she had made. "She gave up everything for me," I murmured, tears welling in my eyes. "Her power, her life..."

"She loved you more than anything," Seraphina said gently. "Her only hope was to give you a chance at a normal life, away from the darkness that plagued our world."

I took a deep breath, feeling the enormity of my mother's love and sacrifice. "What about Vesper? What drove him to become so monstrous?"

A tense silence filled the room, the weight of the question pressing down on everyone. Luna Clarisse spoke first, her voice somber. "Vesper was born as a dark entity. No one knows how, but everyone believes he is a direct descendant of the Destroyer. He has always been obsessed with power. He was mated to Miranda, and with his power, he was able to hide who he was at first. He later discovered who Miranda was. He believed that merging his power with Miranda's would make him invincible. When she rejected him and fled with you, his rage knew no bounds. He became even more than the monster he was, driven by the need to control and destroy."

A chill ran down my spine as I remembered my confrontation with Vesper, the malevolent force that had threatened everything I held dear. "I understand now," I said quietly. "Why my mother did what she did. Why she hid me."

Xander's grip tightened around my hand. "You're not alone in this, Isabelle," he said firmly. "We'll face whatever comes, together."

I met his gaze, drawing strength from his determination. "Thank you," I whispered, feeling a flicker of hope amidst the darkness. "Thank you for standing by me."

The room fell into a contemplative silence, each of us processing the revelations that had come to light. My mind was a whirlwind of emotions—grief for the family I had lost, admiration for the mother who had sacrificed everything, and a renewed resolve to honor her legacy.

As we left the Alpha's office, Xander by my side, I felt a mix of fear and hope. The darkness of my father's legacy loomed over me, but the light of my mother's love and sacrifice shone just as brightly. I would carry with me both a reminder of the past and a guide for the future.