Page 43 of Wolf Burdened


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RUMIR

Istepped into the cave that held my mother’s portal and leaned against the wall. The lit torches around the room flickered, and I took a deep breath.

"Hello, Mother," I grumbled. "I’m sure Lucian has filled you in on what's been happening, so I thought I’d come and tell you it's time to wake up. The other Executives need you.”

I paused, hoping the right words to convey what I needed to say to her would come to me. I hadn't visited her since she went to sleep. Before this, I’d had nothing to say to her, but now I did.

“I think if you were here, the words would come easier. I have a lot to say, but I don't know where to start. I guess you should know that since Lucian's last report, so much more has happened because of this virus. More souls are being erased from existence.” I pushed off the wall and walked over to the portal. “Oh, and now I know I was never supposed to be mated to Natalie—or anyone else, for that matter.” I grimaced. “I’m sure Lucian told you that he and I are both mated to Natalie, so you already know Fate went behind your back to give me a mate. She told us she was pissed about what you did during the vampire wars on Earth with Ruby, Axel, and Xavier, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.

“But I have to tell you, it’s killing me that it took another goddess having issues with you and seeing me as a means to hurt you for me to be given a mate. How twisted is that? But you want to know what’s really sad? I feel lucky that it came to that; otherwise, I'd still be alone.”

I laughed dryly and looked away, shaking my head. “Fate acted out of anger and used Natalie to tie Lucian and me—your two children who hate each other—together forever. But as upsetting as that is, I can't be angry at Fate. Because she gave me Natalie.”

My dragon roared in my mind with rage, and I clenched my fists.

“It comes down to this—either I settle with sharing a mate or I'll have none. You had Lucian set to be mated to Natalie, and I would have remained alone. Now, we both know that if you were here, you'd say I was overreacting. But tell me, how can you say I'm wrong for believing you care more for him than you do for me, when you gave him the only thing I've ever asked for?

“You care more about Lucian’s happiness, of helping him find peace after you made him a monster, than you do about your only fucking son! I have a father who thinks I’m an abomination and a mother who loves her creations better than her own child. And you wonder why I have issues?”

I couldn't stop the words once they started, and my voice grew louder the longer I spoke. My blood dripped onto the ground from my clenched fists, and the torches flickered once and then went out. A light, like floating clouds, appeared in the room, and I felt my mother's presence.

By now, my body was trembling, and my vision became sharper, indicating that my eyes were now dragon eyes. "I know I look like him… my father… and you hate him. But I’m your son. I’ve only ever wanted to show you that I’m nothing like him.”

Tears pricked my eyes, and I quickly closed them. "I love her…" I swallowed hard. "I love Natalie with everything I have. I haven't told her yet, and now, I don't even know how to tell her. We all know she was never truly meant to be mine."

My eyes opened, and I took a breath and squared my shoulders. It was time to get back to the business at hand. "The gods finally told us about Tedara, the Mother of Chaos that the Imperium sealed away. She's the one causing this virus. And now Natalie is infected."

The lights around me went still, and my jaws clenched.

That’s what you react to?

I hardened my heart and released my fists and my anger. No god was going to push me to the point of insanity—not even my mother.

I deserved better from her. That was what was important. And Natalie…

“Natalie is bonding with her divinity. A child of yours is being overtaken by a Primordial," I added. “Just in case you were interested.” The lights pulsated, growing brighter, and I ground my teeth, then turned away to leave. "I suggest you wake up, and soon. We need you. And as for me…” I paused and glanced over my shoulder, watching as the lights grew so dim, I could barely see them. “I don’t consider myself your son anymore. I'm done. I feel nothing for you or anyone else. The only person that matters to me is Natalie."

I turned away when the lights went out, plunging the cave into darkness. "Goodbye, Mother.”

* * *

Natalie

Ihadn’t slept.

All night long, I lay awake or paced around my room. Over and over, I’d replayed everything I’d heard that day about the mate bond between Lucian, Rumir, and I, as well as the connection between me and Tedara. And the longer I’d thought about it, the more restless I’d become.

Tedara was the person I’d seen in that red wasteland. She had to be behind the whispers I kept hearing. I’d been free of them last night, but they'd return. I only hoped next time, I could make out what was being said instead of having my eardrums bleed.

If only there were a way to remove the power inside me! My body was like a dried-up well, and Tedara’s power was the water gradually filling it. I felt like I was being broken apart and mended simultaneously.

It was maddening.

As I’d paced my room throughout the night, I’d already started noticing changes. My hearing was suddenly twice as sensitive as it had been, and my sense of smell and sight were as well. Now, I could see the forest from the window in my room and the life force within the trees.

It looked like white veins within each leaf, each branch, and through the trunk, I could see it traveling into the ground through the roots. My vision changed and far away, farther than I'd ever been able to see, a bird with a worm in its mouth flew by. But it looked only inches away from me.

I turned my back to the window, pressing my wrists into my eyes, then stormed from the room.

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