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“Your questions are valid to think about, Willow,” Dimitris stressed. “But does it change what has already occurred? Will it change your current path?”
“No,” I admitted and let my shoulders drop. “Yet I can’t stop thinking about it, Dimitris.”
“Because?” He knew I was holding back. He could see it in my eyes.
“I feel like a fucking bitch,” I mumbled and glanced to our feet. "How do I go from being best friends with Aurelia only four months ago and now it feels like we’re fucking strangers? How can our friendship crumble so easily when I should be doing my best to try to save it? I know it takes two to tango…that Aurelia needs to do her part too so we can maybe be friends again or acquaintances…or something, but here we are, finding out that she has a twin fucking sister who was supposed to grow up here in our realm like Milo did until she became of age to claim her throne, and because of me, she was taken back.”
“It wasn’t because of you, Willow,” Dimitris stressed.
“When you think about it, I’m the reason why her energy levels were lower than Aurelia’s. All that forced experimentation and bullshit led to her energy being far too weak and them thinking Aurelia’s was superior,” I reasoned. “I fucked up both their lives, Dimitris. No wonder Aurelia was treated like a fucking misfit. They didn’t want her here, but because she had the higher magic levels, they went along with it because they needed a prodigy that would be on the High Council. They assumed they were getting someone who was designed to rise upon a throne, and they got Aurelia instead of Auraleia. Now look how bad this looks!”
I lifted my hands to try to run them through my hair, but Dimitris stopped me.
"That’s the Coven’s fault for making the wrong decision, Willow. Not yours,” Dimitris reasoned, but I wasn’t going to accept that.
“It doesn’t get rid of the fact that at thirteen the two of them were scanned and the decision was made that Aura would return to Faerie and Aurelia would stay here. If I hadn’t been infused with Aura’s magic, she would have remained here. I…I wouldn’t have forgotten her! Onyx would have gotten to meet her. Aurelia would remember she legit has a sister. I feel like I’m at the center of a catastrophe, but what hurts the most is that this probably looks so bad in Aurelia’s eyes.”
“Looks bad?”
“Think about it,” I began. “I ascended onto the High Council, taking the position she’s spent her whole life stressing about as her duty on the Coven’s behalf. Then, she’s forced to part ways with me to protect her men. I’m about to get my birthright which makes me the center of everyone’s attention, and now I’ve unlocked a damn closet full of skeletons by not only revealing she has a twin sister who was supposed to take her place and be raised here, but that same sister is now royally bonded to her ex! It’s like I’m the number zero that destroys fucking everything in a math equation.”
I tried to move my hands again, but Dimitris simply tightened his hold around my wrists.
"The Coven is now going to remember that they fucked up and chose the wrong fucking Clementine twin, and instead of obviously admitting their misstep, they’re going to put the blame on Aurelia and further emphasize what a mistake she was. The word’s going to spread that she, in fact, has a sister, and I bet they’re going use some damn excuse that they kept it a secret to protect Aura because of how powerfully gifted she is or some made-up shit to make the Coven still look good to their academy of brainwashed witches and wizards. Aurelia’s going to be an outcast, and I don’t want that for her, Dimitris. We…may not be friends anymore…or may never be friends again, but she doesn’t deserve this. She doesn’t deserve to be treated like trash because of the truth.”
"I understand,” he admitted as he slowly lowered my arms and brought me against him. “But have you ever thought that this is something Aurelia has to go through to lead her to her true destiny?”
I hadn’t in the slightest thought about that, which was why I pulled back to give him an odd look.
“Do you believe this is a test for Aurelia?”
“Could be,” he confessed and looked deep in thought for a moment. "Our world is a rather tricky one, Willow. It’s one filled with uncertainty, challenges, and struggles that are forced upon us during crucial times to see if we’ll break. All the shit you endured in these four months…I’m sure anyone else would have caved. Broken down entirely and given up. Yet, you kept going and going, and even now, when the final bomb of truth is dropped onto you, here you are, standing in this stunning dress, worrying about another when this is your time to be celebrating your success.”
“You’re right…but…”
“I met my mom the other day.”
His admission was so random that I actually paused whatever I’d been trying to say in order to repeat his words in my mind.
“Your mom?” My voice barely pierced the air. “She’s alive?”
“Alive, well, and definitely not missing like I’d believed all these years,” Dimitris answered almost bitterly. "She visited a little bit after Klaus had left and disclosed to me that I had the support of the purebloods and my father’s Coven, which she not only is a part of, but I’m sure is ensuring my spot is secured when I’m ready to rise to my role as a Coven Leader.”
He met my surprised eyes once more and shrugged.
"To be honest, I was a bit pissed once she left. Pissed and relieved. I’d forced myself to accept that she was dead or abandoned me because I couldn’t fathom the idea of her being in the same city or country as me and not trying to find me after my father’s passing. I was pissed that she’d been around all along while I suffered through so much shit and then dealt with Mikael’s death. For a second, I even wondered if he was alive somewhere. If he hadn’t been lost in the forest of blood roses and it was all a façade. I really needed a moment to think and question why all the fucking secrets. What was the benefit of staying away from me when I needed her the most?”
“Was that why you were drinking?”
“Sort of,” he confessed. "I just had too much on my mind and I needed to really think it out without wanting to go on a rampage.”
“But you reached a conclusion,” I assumed.
“I did,” he admitted and smiled just slightly as his eyes closed. “Shifters raise their offspring so differently than humans. It’s not really loving and kind. It’s brutal. Animalistic. They do things that we mentally question as to why it was beneficial to us when all it did was leave open wounds and scars upon our flesh.”
Opening his eyes, he inhaled deeply and let it out slowly.
"If my mother hadn’t disappeared, I wouldn’t be the Alpha I am today. I would have relied on her presence for comfort, and even if Mikael were still here, I’m not sure if we would have survived. Our mother was kind and loving to us, but I don’t think she had enough power to protect us. It doesn’t make her abandoning us right in the mundane perspective, but her absence forced me to understand how cruel this world really is. That was the moment I needed to realize you have to fight dirty to survive, especially when your father leaves a legacy of power and money behind,” he elaborated. “I guess I proved to my mom that I was as strong as my father, if not stronger. I didn’t get completely corrupted as he did, and I thank Mikael for that. I found my path, and that led me to gather a pack that I’ll go above and beyond to protect.”
