The Forgotten Son
1148 Words
Lizzy’s POV
The bed was still warm.
My skin still tingled—like I could feel the shape of his hands burned into me. Like his breath still brushed the edge of my throat. But the man who had just worshiped me with his body like I was the last beautiful thing in a crumbling world… had retreated again.
Not physically.
Varek stood by the window, shirtless and silent. His back to me. A fortress of muscle and shadow.
My chest ached.
Not from what we’d shared—but from the way he was already building his walls again, brick by merciless brick.
“You’re doing it again,” I said softly.
He didn’t answer.
I sat up slowly, the sheet falling from my shoulder, clinging to me like a second skin. “Shutting me out.”
Still nothing.
“You said you’d never betray your mate,” I continued. “But it’s not betrayal if you never let her in.”
His jaw twitched. Just slightly.
That was enough.
I stood, pulling the blanket with me. “I want answers.”
That got his attention.
He turned, silver eyes narrowing. “To what?”
“Erin. My mother. The rites. Pick one.”
He exhaled sharply and ran a hand through his hair. “Erin was nothing. A body. A friend I trained with. She scratched an itch. That’s all.”
“And you didn’t think that was relevant to tell me?” I snapped. “You didn’t even use protection!”
“There is no protection here,” he said, his voice low. “This isn’t the human world. It’s not… available.”
I blinked. “So you just—what—released inside her and walked away?”
He flinched at my bluntness. “Yes. I did. And I regret it. Every second. Especially now.”
“Right,” I muttered. “Convenient.”
He stepped closer. “You think I’d ever betray our bond?”
“You said it yourself—it’s the law. Not love.”
His eyes darkened. “Would you rather I love you and betray the bond? Or follow the bond and be cold?”
“Is that a trick question?”
We stared at each other, the silence between us crackling like lightning trapped in a bottle.
“I’m going to get dressed,” I said tightly.
He didn’t stop me this time. Just stood there, letting me retreat into the space behind the tall divider wall. I found a fresh set of clothes—black leggings, a long-sleeved tee, likely belonging to Varek, soft and worn.
When I emerged, Varek had pulled on dark trousers and a fitted shirt, black on black.
We matched. How fitting.
“You said you wanted answers about your mother,” he said, folding his arms. “Let’s start there.”
I sat on the edge of the bed, gripping the edge of the blanket.
“I was always told she died giving birth to me,” I said. “There were no photos. No stories. Just… the silence. Like she never existed.”
“She existed,” he said. “Her name was Christine. My mother’s best friend. The Beta’s mate. She was strong, loyal, brave.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Then what happened?”
“She vanished,” he said. “Taken, supposedly. Killed. But the more I think about it… the less sense it makes.”
My stomach turned.
He went still.
And then—before I could ask more—there was a knock at the door.
“Kai,” Varek said without turning.
A second later, Kai entered, carrying a heavy leather-bound volume in both hands. He stopped short when he saw me, still perched on the edge of the bed in Varek’s oversized shirt.
“I can give you two a minute,” he offered with a lopsided grin.
“We’re decent,” I said, cheeks burning.
He raised his eyebrows. “Debatable.”
Varek ignored the comment. “What did you find?”
Kai crossed the room and dropped the archive onto the dark stone table. The sound echoed like a gavel hitting wood.
“The entire pack record,” he said. “Bloodlines, mating bonds, offspring, battle logs… even exile orders.”
He flipped through pages with quick, practiced hands, finally stopping.
“There,” he said. “Christine of the East Hollow Clan. Blood-marked. Mated to Beta Malric of the Dread Court.”
I stood and stepped closer, heart pounding.
A faded image. Her face.
Mine.
She looked just like me.
“She’s your mother,” Kai said, voice unusually quiet.
I couldn’t breathe.
“Wait—” Varek leaned over his shoulder. “That entry. What’s that?”
Kai frowned and adjusted the page.
A small handwritten note, barely legible.
“Child—male—born one moon prior to disappearance.”
My blood ran cold.
“What?” I whispered.
Varek’s face was unreadable. “She had a son?”
I blinked. “My father said I was her only child.”
Kai scanned the margin note. “No name listed. No confirmation of fate.”
Varek narrowed his eyes. “Why would they hide a firstborn? And why wouldn’t my father know? His Beta’s child should’ve been documented, protected, trained. This dates back prior to her abduction.”
A long silence.
Then Kai cleared his throat and gently closed the record. “We don’t have answers. Yet. But we’re getting closer.”
Varek nodded, jaw tight. “Thank you.”
Kai turned to me. “You okay?”
“I’m not sure,” I admitted.
He gave me a crooked smile. “You’re doing better than most.”
He paused at the door. “I’ll have the training arena cleared by dawn. Rites prep begins tomorrow.”
Then he slipped out, leaving me staring at the place where that single line had been.
Child. Male.
Why hide him?
Why hide me?
“What are the rites?” I asked suddenly.
Varek exhaled slowly. “They’re not just a ceremony. They’re a test. You’ll be stripped of your wolf. Sent into the Trial Woods. There are illusions. Pain. Blood.”
“Why?”
“To prove you can survive me,” he said. “Survive this world. The crown. The power.”
My mouth went dry.
“And if I don’t?”
“You will,” he said firmly. “But we train tomorrow.”
His voice dropped lower. “And until then, you rest. No more questions tonight.”
I looked up at him.
There were still a hundred things I wanted to ask.
But I nodded.
Because the truth was—I didn’t think I was ready for the next answer.
Not yet.
Not when everything I thought I knew was already crumbling beneath my feet.
- Writer
