Amelia
My breath shudders out of my body. I have kept this secret from all around me for almost fifty years. My mate rejected me a week after meeting me because he couldn’t break down my walls. I’d lost my baby a year previous, and I couldn’t give him what he wanted. But then I guess the mate bond wasn’t that strong if he could walk away from me so easily. Thank the Goddess, we never completed the mating process.
In the romantic sense, I have been alone all these years. I wasn’t looking for love because I didn’t need it. I had enough people to care for and keep my mind on anything besides what I lost.
Even as a child, I worked hard to become the warrior I am today. I worked even hard after the attack. I never wanted to be in a position again where anyone would catch me unawares. Growing up, I was good friends with Thane, Theo, and Tyler. Tyler was my best friend, and we got into a lot of trouble together. When my parents were killed in the Rogue Wars when I was fifteen, Moira and Ronan took me in, and they loved me as an Aunt and Uncle would.
When Thane took the throne, I was by his side, a high-ranking warrior, and I excelled at my job. But almost fifty years ago, I was ambushed from behind by a strong magical being. I had no chance to fight back, and the man took me to a strange place. The man used and ab.used me in ways you wouldn’t wish upon your worst enemy. He tortured, raped, and ab.used me in every way imaginable. I was barely conscious the whole time, and most of what happened felt like a bad dream I couldn’t wake up from. He fed and watered me now and again, telling me every time that I would die soon. I tried to fight back in the beginning, but he used his magic to keep me in line. As strong as I was, the pain became so much that I soon stopped fighting back. I also stopped trying to reach my Lycan because she had long since abandoned me. I wished for death every day, but it never came.
I lost count of how long I’d been in that hell hole. One day blended into the next, and nothing ever changed. Then came the day a doctor came by and confirmed with my tormentor that I was pregnant. I sobbed because I didn’t want to have his child; I just wanted to go home.
I knew without a doubt that people would be looking for me. The Royals would never believe I’d taken off without telling them. They wouldn’t give up on me. I also knew they’d never find me. I was no longer in Lykos or even the same realm as them. It was easy to know that when everything around me was so different from what I was used to.
I wasn’t treated well during the pregnancy. But whenever I was alone, I would talk to my baby and promise them I would find a way to get us out of there and back home. I’d grown attached to my child and wanted nothing more than to keep them safe. I told my baby that soon, we’d be with people who loved and cared for us.
But that was never to be… After a practically nasty beating, I went into premature labor. No one came to help me, though my tormentor stood by and watched as I gave birth to the most precious, tiny little girl I had ever seen. I reached for her with a smile on my face, but the ba.stard, with his magic, lifted the child in the air. I begged and pleaded with him to hand her to me. But with a flick of his hand, the child exploded in a flash of light. I screamed in agony, but that monster merely laughed before leaving the room. I was in a world of hurt. I don’t know how long I lay there, thinking of a way to end my miserable life. But just like every moment in that dark, dank room, there was no way to end things.
Then just as the darkness was taking me, an angel bent down in front of me. Of course, she was no angel; she was one of them. But she wasn’t like them, and she got me out of that hell hole. She hid us to the best of her ability until she got me to Lykos. She told me how sorry she was that she couldn’t get to me sooner, but she didn’t know I was there.
I don’t know why, but I knew she was sincere, and as she hugged me, I clung to her. She told me not to let what happened destroy me and to live despite everything. Then she was gone, and I was home.
I kept things to myself and somehow fooled Thane into believing what I told him. Even though he sent warriors to search for anyone suspicious, no one was ever found.
It took a month for me to recover enough to pull myself together. After that, I worked a hundred times harder, and no one ever snuck up on me again.
As I tell Thane and Tyler my story, both seem shocked. I don’t know what possessed them to ask about this now. But in a way, I’m glad they did. I was tired of having this on my shoulders, and it was time someone else knew the truth. I may finally find some peace. “Oh, Amelia,” Tyler sighs. “I’m so sorry you went through all of that alone.”
“It’s okay, Ty. I’m okay now.”
“Are you sure the child died?”
I furrow my brow at Thane. “I saw him use his magic to kill her. She disappeared right before my eyes.”
“He who?”
I swallow hard because Thane is going to be so angry. I should have told my king the truth as soon as Lyric came. But I didn’t and still didn’t come clean when Emori showed up. I hadn’t even met the woman because I was scared she’d out me. However, I can’t keep this in any longer.
“Astro. I’m so sorry, Thane. I know I should have said something, but I was scared.”
Thane nods once. “Who released you from his prison? Do you remember?”
“I didn’t until I saw her the other day.”
“Who?” Tyler presses.
I look at him, my stomach turning over. “Emori. Emori brought me home. I swear, I didn’t know it was her until I saw her again.” “That’s why you’ve come up with every excuse in the book not to meet my mate? Because you were worried, she’d tell me the truth?” I nod.
Thane huffs. “I figured as much. Were you aware Tyler captured someone spying on him and Emori last night?”
“Bolton mentioned something.”
“The girl he found is Astro’s daughter. She claims she’s part Fairy and part Lycan. She also claims her mother is a warrior within this pack.” No!
No, it cannot be! I saw her die; I know I did.
But what if I saw only what Astro wanted me to see?
That cruel, evil bas.tard!
“Thane,” The door bursts open, slamming against the wall. I turn in my seat and gasp as Emori walks into the room with an angry-looking Lyric.
Emori’s eyes land on me, wide and shocked. “It’s you.”
I get out of my seat and nod my head. “It’s me.”
Emori runs to me, wrapping her arms around me. I hug her back. She pulls away and smiles. “I always wondered if you made it home. You look so healthy. Oh! Have you told her?” Emori looks at Thane, but he seems to be mind-linking with Lyric. Thane’s eyes are clouded over.
“Told me what?”
“About Taylen. Oh, Amelia, I tried to take care of her for you, and I didn’t want to leave her. But I couldn’t go back for her with what happened here.”
What the fu.ck is she saying?
‘Amelia, she’s talking about our pup! She’s alive, Amelia, our pup is alive.’
‘Amara, can this be true?’
‘It is; I feel it. Oh, Amelia, our baby! My Lycan sobs in my head. For too many years, we have both grieved our pup.
I look at Tyler with tears falling from my eyes as he nods, letting me know Emori is speaking the truth. “Where is she?”
“She’s in the dungeon. They won’t let me see her.” Emori tells me.
“Thane?”
Finally, he looks at me while getting out of his seat and walking around his desk. He wraps his arm around Lyric, who lays her head on his chest. Whatever he told her, she seems content with. But if the girl in the dungeon is my baby, I need to go to her. I don’t know what she’s doing here or how she even got here. But I pray Thane doesn’t take her from me.
Then again, if my little girl came here with ill intent, I will have no choice but to stand by while my king executes her. It will hurt like hell, but my loyalty is to Thane, not a young woman raised by a monster.
‘You’d really stand back and watch Thane kill our pup?’
‘What choice would I have if she is a traitor? And it’s highly possible she is, Amara. I don’t know if my heart could take it. My Lycan whimpers, but she knows I’m right in what I’m saying.
“I’ll take you to see Taylen.” Emori’s eyes light up, but Thane holds up his hand. “This is risky, Emori. If she sees you, Taylen could find some way to let Astro know you’re still alive.”
Emori shakes her head. “She won’t. For one: I trust Taylen with my life. Two: I cast a gagging spell over her when I first held her in my arms. I did so because I wanted to tell Taylen about her mother. I knew I couldn’t without the spell because Astro would have known, and I didn’t want that.
“With the spell, Taylen couldn’t tell her father what we’d spoken about, and he wouldn’t be able to pry it out of her by force. She also wouldn’t be able to tell him if she’d seen me somewhere I shouldn’t have been. I know it probably sounds cruel, but it was necessary.”
“But you lost your Fairy magic,” Lyric points out, but all I can think about is my baby in the dungeons.
Taylen.
I chose that name but never said it out loud in front of Astro. I didn’t want to give him any more ammunition to use against me. The only person I said it to was… Emori. She heard me and somehow convinced Astro to name my baby Taylen. My stomach flip flops, and my heart is banging too hard.
“Surely any spells cast broke when that happened?”
“No,” Emori smiles. “Fairy magic doesn’t work like that.”
“Right, well, I guess I’ll take you down there. But just remember, this doesn’t pardon the girl. I may never let her go.”
I nod because I wouldn’t expect anything less from Thane.
I’m so nervous; my body is shaking all the way to the dungeons. I doubt anybody knows anything, but wondering eyes are making me paranoid.
Thane leads us to cell four, and tears are streaming down my face. Emotion is almost drowning me. I see her standing close to the bars, wide-eyed and looking at Emori.
Taylen is so beautiful, and thankfully, she looks nothing like Astro, even if she does dress all Fairy.
“Auntie! Auntie, how are you here?”
Goddess, she sounds just like my mother once did!
“Oh, Taylen. Please, open the doors.”
The doors slide open, and Emori rushes in, wrapping Taylen in her arms. Both of them cry while Emori explains how she’s still alive. They talk a mile a minute, Thane and Lyric joining in now and again. But I can’t speak; I can’t take my eyes off the girl who reminds me so much of my mother.
Taylen’s eyes lock with mine, and her mouth drops in shock. “Mama?” There is so much hope in her voice.
I slam my hand over my mouth, trying to push back the sobs stuck in my throat. Tyler lays his hand on my back, trying to comfort me.
I pull myself together enough to walk into the cell. I can feel the bond only a mother could have with her child. All Lycans will know their kin upon first sight, and it’s stronger with children. Taylen is my child; there is no doubt.
“Mama? Is that really you?” She asks, and I nod while swallowing back my emotions. “Mama!” She screams, sobs, and throws herself into my arms.
I can’t stop the sobs as I hold the child I have mourned for too many years. “My baby. Mommy’s got you now, and I’ll never let go.”
But then, a colossal growl shakes the cell…
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