Ultima Trials

Finding the Truth

Camden’s POV

I looked between the Ultima Wolf and my godmother. I moved to hug her, but Ultima Wixx released a low growl.

“Why are you here, Randall?”

“You’ve been gone for 25 years, Gloria. Where the hell have you been?”

Gloria ignored him and looked at me, “Camden, what are you doing here? I sent you away to keep you safe and now you come strolling back. What was the point?”

“Gloria, what is the meaning of this? We were in a meeting.” The frustration rolling from Ultima Wixx was stifling. I didn’t want to submit, but I also didn’t want to be in the same room as him.

“Maverick said you had a new mate.” She looked at Hayden and smiled, “Oh yeah. That’s the look of a mated pair.”

“Oh, so you remember what it means to be mated?” Ultima Wixx snorted.

“Randy, I don’t know if you noticed I’m kind of busy. I’ve been taking care of this boy since the day he was born, and the same for his son. You don’t get to be macho Ultima when you are the reason I left in the first place.”

I stared at them. Was this the way the Ultima Wolf was related to me? I looked down at Hayden, she was trying not to laugh at the older couple in front of us.

Gloria mussed over me, as if it had been years since she had seen me a few weeks. I was glad I had finally filled back out. She commented on my weight more often than I liked. Even Mav had begun to put on a healthy amount of weight from not ingesting wolfsbane. No one said anything, but I could feel the tension-filled air grow stronger as the Ultima looked at Gloria.

I tried to remember a time when Mom or Dad talked about Gloria being mated but came up blank. It wouldn’t be possible for her to be marked, the Wixx would have come looking for her, especially if it had been 25 years.

“Gloria, I think you have some explaining to do.” Wixx grumbled as he sat in a chair.

She rolled her eyes again but sat in the chair farthest from him.

“It’s been two decades and you’re still angry at me?” He sounded sad.

“One doesn’t just get over finding a she-wolf in her bed, Randall. The day of my Luna ceremony.”

I let out a low growl in protection of my godmother. She had been there my entire life, and I would even go up against an Ultima wolf if it meant protecting her.

“Shut it, Cam.” Gloria warned, “What happened between the two of us, is just that. Now I will explain the need for the wolfsbane.”

“Wolfsbane?” Wixx growled.

“As you all know, I’m not the usual Wiccan. As such, I have many different abilities. One of those abilities is glimpses of the future.” She looked at me, “I saw him kill you, Cam. You and Mav. Your very existence is his downfall. He has no right to claim Silver Star as his, since you are alive.”

I thought about what she was saying.

“Did you know about Jeri? Mom and Dad?” I whispered. Gloria wouldn’t keep something like that from me.

“I told your mother about my vision of the rogue attack. Yes. That’s why you weren’t on the territory that night. I had no idea there would be rogues waiting for you.”

“So, you knew Mom and Dad were going to die that night? It’s supposed to be okay that it wasn’t my mate. It was just my parents. My best friends!”

“It was your son, Camden! You know how this works. You were mated, marked, but none of that matters if you don’t have an heir. If Jeri had died with no heir, your title was useless.” Gloria shot back. “I made sure that you were gone that night because of Mav. No matter what happened, they would have saved him first, but he would have had no one. Yes, you lost your parents and your friends, but Mav still has you.”

I opened my arms and Mav climbed into my lap. The top of his head sat right under my chin and his face nuzzled in my chest.

No matter how much hurt I had endured the last three years, it had always been worth it because I had Mav. I hadn’t lost everything. I had my mate, my son, my godmother. It didn’t ease the pain of losing my family, but at least I wasn’t alone.

Had I died that night, who knows what Noah would have done with Mav? Would he have raised him as his own, just to control the pack? Or would he have thrown him out to the rogues left to die as an infant? I shook my head from the dark thoughts.

How hard had it been for Gloria to keep those secrets? I remember Mom being extra clingy those last few days. She made sure to tell me that she loved me before she went anywhere, even if it was just down to the kitchen. She had spent a lot of time with Jeri the day of the attack. I just thought it was to help Jeri get ready for our date. Mom had always wanted a daughter. Gloria had known that her best friend was going to die days, maybe weeks, before it happened. Then, after losing Mom, she saw me die. I couldn’t really blame her for not wanting to lose more. Add in whatever the hell happened between her and Wixx and Mav and I was the only family she had left.

“I’m sorry, Gloria.” I said softly, “I can’t imagine seeing your best friend die.”

Gloria nodded but didn’t say anything.

“I do not believe there was an explanation of the use of wolfsbane on an Alpha. You know that is a punishable offence, Gloria.” Wixx brought the topic back.

“It was necessary, Randall. Your council had just agreed that Noah had become rightful Alpha. How often do mates not die within hours of each other? Everyone assumed that because Luna Jeri had died, that Camden would die as well.” Gloria didn’t meet his eyes.

“No, we did not assume. We were told he had perished.” Wixx said.

“He was in a coma. That might have been helped by some wolfsbane.” Gloria spoke softly.

I wanted to yell, but I knew that she did what was best for Mav. My wolf would have healed me within days of the accident. Then I would have been weak trying to attack rogues. Or whatever the hell Noah’s ranks were.

Do not blame, Gloria. There is more she is not telling us. Jersey growled in my mind.

I stared at Gloria. She hadn’t met anyone’s eyes but kept her eyes on the ground. Her hands were sitting in her lap.

“There’s more. Isn’t there?” Hayden asked suddenly.

Gloria looked around the room and sighed.

“There’s quite a bit more.”