Reclaiming Herself—Completed

Chapter Thirty-One

Danielle.

Her head swam with the knowledge. Every different type of thought she could have was swirling around in her brain. It couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be true. It wasn’t. If it was the truth, it was too much to bear. The witch was lying. She had to be. The warrior was wrong. There were no videos. d**k did no such thing. He couldn’t. None of this was happening. There was no way this was her reality. The more her mind raced, the more bogged down it became, and a sharp, searing pain pierced her temples. Just as her knees began to buckle, Patrick’s arms circled her and gave her the strength she needed in the moment.

“Where are the videos?” his voice asked, stern.

Though Danielle hadn’t known her mate for very long, she could hear the strain in his tone. He was trying his best to keep himself in check. She briefly wondered how much Aero was fighting for control.

“They’re here, Alpha. We took them from the pack before burning the place to the ground. The place was deserted, and we figured that if he went back, at least he’d have to take the time to rebuild. He also must have had an alias set up just in case because his footprint is nowhere to be found. All of the alerts that Calebb set up in order to locate him are still silent,” she replied.

Gently turning her around, Patrick looked into Danielle’s eyes. His sadness for her was palpable, and it almost made her more angry that he would have such a profound pity for her.

“What do you want done with the videos? It’s your decision,” he said.

Staring blankly over his shoulder, Danielle searched within herself to find the answer. Her immediate reaction was to burn them. She hated that there was physical evidence of his torturous ways. However, Patrick had mentioned taking him to the council and holding him accountable for his actions. If they kept the videos and even submitted them as evidence, it would be that much more solid a case. She could contact Sharon in order to figure out how best to move forward in this area. Until then, though, she needed a plan.

Danielle cleared her throat. “I–I think I want to see them. Then, we’ll contact the New Council. I have a contact who will keep them safe for us as evidence against Dic–Alpha Richard.”

Patrick nodded, his eyes tight. “You want to, uh, watch them? Are you sure? I understand the evidence part, but really? Watching them? Won’t that just bring up other…”

“Other trauma? I already have that, Patrick. There was just so much. My memory blocked out a lot of it. But this, this is almost an answer to my questions. Here is actually proof of what he did. If I can see it, see what really happened, then I can heal. I can move on and not dwell on what might have or might not have happened. I know the things he did were vile, but my mind wants to tell me that it wasn’t that bad. How can I heal from this if my own body is fighting against me? I’ve already had painful memories stolen from me,” Danielle paused to shoot a fiery look at Maria before continuing. “I can’t run from this. I can’t let other people decide for me what I can or cannot handle. No matter how good of a place it comes from. If I’m going to be strong and rise above all this, then I firmly believe this is the step I need to take for myself.”

Unable to help himself, Patrick smiled at her. “Yes, Luna. This is your decision. When would you like to do this?”

“Not today,” she half chuckled. “There’s still the business with Maria to figure out first. But perhaps in a day or two? Though this is a step I need to take, I don’t want to take it. I will need a day or so to collect myself and ready myself.”

“Absolutely,” Patrick said, before turning his attention back to the warrior. “You heard the Luna. Store the videos in a secure location until we view them.”

The warrior nodded, bowed to both of them, and then shut the door behind her, leaving the room deathly quiet. Maria’s face was as pale as a corpse.

“It looks like you have something to share, witch,” Patrick said coldly.

Maria practically jumped out of her skin, but gave a small nod. “I suppose I should. It makes more sense now than before.”

“What makes sense?” Danielle asked, curiosity clearly written on her face.

“The ritual. The curse. The frenzied look in his eyes when any slight inconvenience occurred. He was drinking your blood because of the blessing you received from Tal’esh. There’s an old prophecy, perhaps even as old as the first days when the gods would walk among us, that one would be chosen to rise above all the rest. He or she would attain incredible power after completing the sacred ritual. This person would be chosen as a new god or goddess and join ranks with them in the heavens, ruling the earth below. Of course, this is a legend passed down from my mother and grandmother and great grandmother before me, who probably heard it from her mother and so forth. But, that’s just it: it’s a legend. I didn’t think he would actually believe it.”

“So, Alpha Richard thinks he’s this chosen god?” Patrick asked, disbelief clouding his eyes.

Maria tilted her head from side to side. “Kind of?”

“What is the ritual you mentioned? And how does it relate to the curse you put on the bracelet?” Danielle questioned.

“In the legend, it spoke about being dragon-blessed. It is said that those who have been can hold magical properties within their blood that can enhance another’s abilities. If consumed regularly, they can complete the ritual that will ascend them into the heavens and godhood.”

“Okay, but how does that correlate to breaking my bond with Patrick?”

“Well, the one completing the ritual needs to be bonded with the dragon blessed. I assume that Alpha Richard thought he literally needed to be bonded to you or mated, as your kind calls it.”

Danielle took a moment to gather herself. “You’re implying that when Tal’esh healed me, I became dragon blessed, and Di–Alpha Richard somehow found out about all of this and began drinking my blood to complete a ritual and become all powerful.”

“Yes.”

“How? This all seems so silly. Something out of a book!”

“Most of the other races were seen as fantastical until they showed themselves to us, didn’t they? Humans didn’t even believe in werewolves, and yet, you lived among them for centuries.”

Danielle sighed. “Yeah, yeah. I see your point.”

Patrick frowned. “What I don’t understand is how Alpha Richard knew about Danielle’s dragon blessing. Even she herself forgot all about the dragon because you took her memories away.”

Maria winced. “Yes, I left out one tiny detail.”

“Go on,” Patrick pressured.

“Well, you see, news spread fast about the dragon egg. I’m guessing that was when he learned of the legend. He had joined the hunt for the dragon egg and participated in the g******e of your pack all those years ago. I believe that was when he obsession with you began. I–” she closed her eyes for a moment. “I can still recall it. The fires surrounding us. Smoke everywhere. We had made it to the trees. I was about to portal us when I saw a hand grab onto your hair. A very young Richard, before he was an alpha, was trying to pull you away. You were crying, but his eyes–they were so… They were cold and piercing. He never took his eyes off you. I quickly blasted him with a spell to make him let go, and then I was able to portal us to safety.”

An icy revelation hit Danielle. “That’s why he targeted my new pack, isn’t it? He found out I was there.”

Maria could only nod, her eyes turning glossy.

“Why work for me?” Danielle asked in a pained whisper. “If you knew everything? If you knew what he would do?”

“Why does anyone work for evil incarnate? He kidnapped my daughter. I only found out too late that he had sold her before I even agreed to work for him. The piece of trash who bought her sent me a picture of her corpse as a gift.”

Danielle shook her head. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“I’m so sorry for caving into his demands and helping him harm you.”

The room quieted once more. In the span of minutes, the room felt full of pain and sorrow. So many questions and regretful decisions. However, all they could do was move forward. There was no saving her parents or saving Maria’s daughter, but there was a chance to bring the one responsible to justice.

“Sounds like we need a plan to capture this son of a b***h,” Danielle said with confidence. “And make him regret everything he’s done.”