THE MAN WHO TOOK MY MOTHER
2282 Words
For several seconds, Elara heard nothing.
Not Maeve shouting.
Not Lyra's gasp.
Not Kael demanding an explanation.
Nothing.
She stared at Darius Blackthorne.
The man who had watched her grow up.
The Alpha who had allowed her to remain in Nightfall when others wanted her gone.
The father of the man she'd loved.
The man who had just admitted he captured her mother.
Elara moved before anyone could stop her.
Her palm struck Darius across the face.
Hard.
The sound silenced the room.
Kael froze.
Lyra's mouth fell open.
Maeve didn't look remotely bothered.
Darius slowly turned his face back toward Elara.
A red mark appeared across his cheek.
He didn't retaliate.
That made her angrier.
“Where is she?”
“Elara—”
“WHERE IS MY MOTHER?”
Power burst through the cottage.
Every cabinet door flew open.
Glass shattered.
Darius stumbled backward.
Kael reached for Elara.
Maeve blocked him.
“Don't touch her.”
“She could hurt herself.”
“She could hurt you.”
Elara barely heard them.
Her eyes remained on Darius.
“Tell me.”
“I don't know where she is.”
“You captured her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To save you.”
Elara laughed.
Of course.
Another person who had destroyed part of her life for her own protection.
“How does taking my mother save me?”
“Because she asked me to.”
Elara stopped.
“What?”
Darius rubbed his jaw.
“Your mother asked me to capture her.”
Maeve's anger faltered.
“That makes no sense.”
“It wasn't supposed to.”
Elara stepped closer.
“Start talking.”
Darius looked toward the window.
“Twenty years ago, your parents came to me with a warning. Someone had discovered what Elara was.”
“Who?”
“They didn't know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I don't care what you believe.”
Kael growled.
“Father.”
Darius looked at his son.
Kael's eyes were nearly black.
“You will answer her.”
Something passed between them.
Alpha and heir.
Father and son.
Darius finally nodded.
“Your parents had spent four years hiding you. They changed territories constantly. Used spells to hide your scent. Forged documents.”
Elara frowned.
“I was born here.”
“No.”
Another lie.
She almost laughed.
“Where?”
“Hollow Creek.”
Witch territory.
The same place she'd planned to run after Kael rejected her.
Maeve sank into a chair.
“You never told me that.”
Darius stared at her.
“There were many things I didn't tell you.”
Maeve's eyes narrowed.
“Careful.”
Elara interrupted.
“My parents came here when I was four?”
“Yes.”
“That was when they supposedly died.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Darius inhaled.
“Your father believed someone was tracking your mother's magic. He wanted Nightfall's protection.”
“Why you?”
“Because he saved my life during the Crimson War uprisings.”
Elara frowned.
“The Crimson War happened centuries ago.”
“The original war did. Smaller conflicts continued for generations.”
He paused.
“Your father and I fought together during one.”
“You were friends?”
Darius looked almost uncomfortable.
“Brothers, in every way except blood.”
Elara's anger shifted into confusion.
“You never told me.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because your father's final request was that everyone believe I hated him.”
The room went silent.
Kael frowned.
“Why?”
“To hide Elara.”
Darius looked at her.
“If our enemies believed I cared about your family, they would watch Nightfall.”
Elara's throat tightened.
“So you treated me like I barely mattered?”
His expression changed.
Regret.
“Yes.”
That hurt differently.
She remembered birthdays when Darius barely acknowledged her.
Pack ceremonies where he'd looked through her.
Times she'd wondered what she'd done to make her Alpha dislike her.
“You were pretending.”
“Mostly.”
Lyra blinked.
“Mostly?”
Darius glanced toward Elara.
“You were an extremely irritating child.”
Elara stared.
Maeve snorted.
A laugh almost escaped Elara.
She swallowed it.
No.
He wasn't getting out of this that easily.
“My mother.”
Darius's expression hardened again.
“The night they arrived, your mother told me your seal was weakening.”
“The necklace?”
“Yes.”
“She needed stronger magic to repair it. But performing the spell would create a magical signature powerful enough for anyone hunting her to locate Nightfall.”
Maeve slowly understood.
“So you staged her capture.”
“Yes.”
Elara's heart pounded.
“Then what?”
“We created a false trail.”
Darius's voice became quieter.
“Your mother allowed herself to be seen being taken by Nightfall wolves. Your father took you to Maeve.”
Maeve frowned.
“He arrived alone.”
Darius closed his eyes.
“I know.”
Elara felt sick.
“What happened to him?”
“He was supposed to meet me afterward.”
“But he didn't.”
“No.”
“Where was my mother?”
“Hidden beneath the old Alpha residence.”
Lyra's eyes widened.
“There are tunnels under the residence?”
“Several.”
Kael stared at his father.
“You kept a woman prisoner beneath our home?”
“For nine days.”
Elara's hands curled.
“Did she want to be there?”
“At first.”
At first.
Those two words changed everything.
“What happened?”
Darius hesitated.
Elara stepped forward.
“What happened?”
“On the ninth night, someone entered the tunnels.”
Maeve stood.
“Who?”
“I never found out.”
“They knew she was there?”
“Yes.”
Darius's voice tightened.
“When I reached her room, two guards were dead and your mother was gone.”
Elara swallowed.
“Gone?”
“There was blood everywhere.”
Her knees weakened.
Kael instinctively moved toward her, then stopped himself.
Elara noticed.
She hated that part of her appreciated it.
“Whose blood?”
“Some was your mother's.”
“Some?”
“Some belonged to a vampire.”
Maeve went still.
“A vampire?”
Darius nodded.
“The scent was unmistakable.”
Elara's mind raced.
“So vampires took her.”
“I believed they had.”
“Believed?”
Darius looked at the letter.
“Until today.”
Elara followed his gaze.
If her mother wrote that message six months ago, she survived.
At least long enough to send it.
“Why does the letter say not to let the Blackthornes find her?”
“I don't know.”
Maeve scoffed.
“Convenient.”
Darius glared.
“You think I haven't asked myself that?”
“Maybe she discovered something about you.”
“Or maybe someone wants Elara to believe that.”
Elara grabbed the note.
“Either way, I'm following the feather.”
Darius shook his head.
“No.”
She stared at him.
“You're becoming as annoying as your son.”
Lyra covered a laugh with a cough.
Kael glared at his sister.
Darius ignored them.
“The feather could be a trap.”
“Then I'll walk into it.”
“Elara.”
“I have spent twenty years believing my mother was dead.”
Her voice broke.
“If there's even a chance she's alive, I'm going.”
Kael stepped forward.
“Then I'm going with you.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
She turned toward him.
“Did last night teach you nothing?”
“It taught me plenty.”
“Apparently not.”
“You can hate me.”
His words stopped her.
Kael held her gaze.
“You can scream at me. Hit me. Accept the rejection whenever you're ready.”
His jaw tightened.
“But I'm not letting you walk into unknown territory alone.”
Elara crossed her arms.
“Why?”
He opened his mouth.
This time, he answered.
“Because you're my mate.”
Her chest tightened.
“You rejected me.”
“I know.”
“You don't get to claim me afterward.”
“I'm not claiming you.”
“Sounds like it.”
“I'm telling you what my wolf feels.”
Elara laughed bitterly.
“Your wolf should have spoken louder last night.”
Pain flashed across his face.
Good.
She turned away.
“I don't need you.”
“I know.”
That stopped her.
She looked back.
Kael's expression was serious.
“I know you don't need me.”
His voice lowered.
“But maybe I need to make sure you come back.”
Her heart betrayed her with one painful beat.
She looked away before he could see it.
Absolutely not.
She would not let one decent sentence erase what he'd done.
Maeve picked up the feather.
“Argue later.”
Blue light spread across her palm.
The feather lifted.
It spun rapidly.
Then stopped.
Pointing north.
Maeve frowned.
“What?”
Darius asked.
“The direction changed.”
Elara stepped closer.
“It pointed north earlier.”
“Not anymore.”
The feather slowly rotated.
West.
Then south.
Then east.
Lyra frowned.
“It's broken?”
“No.”
Maeve's face paled.
“Something is interfering with it.”
The feather suddenly shot across the room.
It struck the wall.
Then dropped.
A thin trail of black smoke rose from it.
Maeve cursed.
The feather burst into flames.
Elara rushed forward.
Maeve grabbed her.
“Don't touch it.”
The fire disappeared.
Nothing remained except ash.
Elara stared.
“Our only lead.”
“No,” Darius said.
She turned.
He looked uncomfortable.
“I may know another way.”
Elara narrowed her eyes.
“You've had another way this entire time?”
“I had a theory.”
“I'm starting to understand why Maeve threatens to turn you into animals.”
Maeve smiled.
Darius sighed.
“The vampire blood from the tunnels belonged to an ancient bloodline.”
“How do you know?”
“I kept a sample.”
Maeve stared.
“For twenty years?”
“I hoped one day I could identify it.”
“And did you?”
“Three years ago.”
Elara's heart accelerated.
“Who?”
Darius hesitated.
Kael noticed.
“Father.”
Darius looked at Elara.
“House Draven.”
Maeve's face changed immediately.
Elara caught it.
“Who are they?”
“The oldest vampire family in this part of the world,” Maeve said.
“Royalty,” Lyra added.
Darius nodded.
“The Midnight Court.”
Elara folded her arms.
“So we go there.”
Kael laughed once.
“No.”
She turned.
“Excuse me?”
“You don't simply walk into the Midnight Court.”
“Why?”
“Because vampires don't particularly like werewolves.”
“Seems mutual.”
“And Prince Lucien Draven especially doesn't like them.”
Elara had heard the name before.
Everyone had.
Lucien Draven.
The Blood Prince.
Stories claimed he'd killed an entire rogue wolf pack alone.
Other stories said he'd ripped a vampire's heart out during a royal dinner and continued eating afterward.
Elara had assumed most were exaggerated.
Maeve didn't look like she thought so.
“If House Draven took your mother,” Maeve said, “walking into their territory could get you killed.”
Elara looked at the ashes of the feather.
“Then I'll knock first.”
Darius rubbed his forehead.
“You truly are your mother's daughter.”
Elara ignored him.
“When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow,” Maeve said.
“Today.”
“You haven't slept.”
“I'll sleep in the car.”
Darius shook his head.
“No cars.”
Elara frowned.
“Why?”
“The Midnight Court is hidden behind magical borders. We'll need someone who can open them.”
“Who?”
Darius and Maeve exchanged a look.
Elara groaned.
“If one more person gives someone else a mysterious look instead of answering me—”
A violent knock struck the door.
Everyone froze.
Kael moved in front of Elara.
She rolled her eyes.
“Seriously?”
He ignored her.
Darius opened the door.
A Nightfall guard stood outside.
He was pale and breathing heavily.
“Alpha.”
“What happened?”
“We found another body.”
Elara's stomach dropped.
“Where?”
“Pack territory.”
The guard swallowed.
“But that's not the problem.”
Darius's expression hardened.
“What is?”
The guard looked directly at Elara.
“This one isn't dead.”
Elara stepped forward.
“Who is it?”
The guard hesitated.
“She says her name is Seraphina Draven.”
Maeve whispered a curse.
Elara frowned.
“Draven?”
Darius nodded slowly.
“Lucien's younger sister.”
The guard continued.
“She was nailed to a tree.”
Lyra covered her mouth.
Elara felt sick.
“Is she conscious?”
“Yes.”
“What does she want?”
The guard's face became even paler.
“She won't speak to anyone except Elara.”
Silence.
Elara stared.
“How does she know my name?”
“No idea.”
The guard swallowed.
“But she keeps repeating the same thing.”
“What?”
He looked at Elara.
“She says the Blood Prince is coming.”
A cold breeze moved through the cottage.
Then the guard added quietly,
“And he's coming for you.”
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