Chapter 147

Alaric’s POV

I might not have direction knowledge of the BloodyMoon past to be able to fully decipher what this old woman is speaking of, but from the look of horror on Cara’s face to the way Aidan’s face twists with rage, I think I can piece together enough.

This woman’s words weren’t just the ramblings of a woman in failing mental health, she was reliving a past, where she told her Alpha King lover that she attempted to murder his wife.

What happened next, I can piece together on my own. That I have never heard of or seen this woman before tells me that the Alpha King cast her aside, perhaps exiling her, in favor of his wife.

If the man truly loved his wife, though, he should never have cheated. Even so, cheating does not necessitate poisoning.

Noel stands beside Cara, giving her a shoulder to lean on.

Knowing the police and accompanying soldiers are waiting for my judgement, I take Mia over to her mother. Immediately, Cara reaches out and then hugs Mia close. They both cry a little, while Noel keeps watch.

He and I lock eyes for a moment.

We seem to have an understanding right now. While we both still want to be with Cara, our rivalry is currently on hold while all of this is dealt with.

Tomorrow, or a future date, when the trauma of these moments has settled, we can start our competition for Cara’s heart once more.

Right now, she needs both of us to protect her, even though I am loathe to admit it.

With Mia and Cara safe, I turn back to the old woman and Aidan, who has been inching closer to her, fury in his eyes. Immediately, I go to him and placing my hand on his shoulder, inch him back.

“She will face what she has done,” I tell him.

“She won’t even know it,” Aidan grumbles. “She’s totally lost.”

“Justice will still be served.”

I wave for one of the soldiers and direct him to take the old woman away. She hesitates at first, stepping back from the approaching guard.

“I won’t go back! I won’t!” she says. Then, cradling her head with her hands, she starts to wail.

It’s a distressing sound, even for a woman who has done terrible things.

She still protected Mia. I can’t and won’t forget that. Even if she didn’t truly understand what she was doing.

“Go easy,” I tell the soldiers.

At the same time, the other police and soldiers carry George out of the room. One soldier starts to push Lilia toward the exit. The path leads them right near me.

“Alaric! My darling!” Lilia calls. She gives me the same doe eyed look she did when I’d fallen for her lies more than five years ago. “You know how much I love you, don’t you? Surely you can understand why I did what I did?”

Her lack of concern for her ailing mother and unconscious partner is troublesome. I’d find it alarming if it wasn’t so predictable of her.

When I knew her better, she never cared for anyone but herself. Why should that be any different now?

“You must see my devotion to you!” she continues. “I love you, Alaric! I can’t live without you!” Her words become more and more desperate, her voice rising and tightening with her amplifying panic. “Please, my love! See what I would do for you? You need someone like me in your life!”

I have no intention of humoring her with a response, not even to reject her. To acknowledge her at all would be a kindness, when it’s attention she really wants. Ignoring her is the cruelest punishment.

Looking at the soldier behind her, I tell him, “Take her away. Lock her in the most secure cell you can find. I will send more instructions later.”

“And this one,” another soldier asks, gesturing to the old woman. “Imprison them all.”

“No!” Lilia screams. “How can you do this to me, Alaric, after everything we’ve been through together? Don’t you remember our time in the woods when we were children? You were lost and I saved you! How can you betray me now?!”

I harden myself to her words. I’ve allowed that memory to control me for far too long. Before exiling her, Lilia used that memory against me whenever she needed or wanted something. It had become something of a weapon in her hands.

I’m not going to allow it to have the same effect now in the present, especially since she’s never been the lost Auburn princess. I would be shocked if that memory wasn’t just one more thing she stole from someone else.

Regardless, even if it was her who saved me from being lost in the woods when I was a child, I do not care anymore. That debt to her was repaid a long time ago.

Knowing this is another call for attention, I continue to ignore her. I nod to the soldier once more, who again starts pushing her toward the door.

Cara’s POV

Most of Lilia’s tirade makes me want to tackle her again. How dare she try to manipulate Alaric, as she did so effectively in the past? If I wasn’t holding Mia, I would step forward and at least say something. As it is, I don’t want to further traumatize my daughter.

Even so…

What did she just say? About saving Alaric as a boy when he was lost in the woods…?

I’ve had a recurring dream like that, so frequent and so real that I thought it might be a memory from my own childhood.

I’d forgotten so much about my time in BloodyMoon as a child, yet I distinctly remember that.

A little boy dashing through the woods, his fine clothes torn and muddy. He was so afraid. I was slightly lost too, but I knew my way around those woods better than most. I knew if I headed one direction long enough that I would eventually find my way out of them.

The little boy didn’t know that though, and was afraid, even if he was trying to hide it. When I found him, he was curled up in a ball in the shadow of a tree trunk. When he saw me, he wiped away his tears and put on a brave face.

“Are you lost?” I asked.

He didn’t want to admit it at first. “I… I…”

With so many brothers, I knew how male egos could be. I wouldn’t force him to admit he was lost, even if we both knew it was true.

“Come on,” I said and offered him my hand. “I can get us out of here.”

At first he seemed uncertain, but then he decided to trust. “Okay.” He placed his hand in mind.

As I return to the present, I realize that I know that little boy. Those eyes are distinctive, and those clothes… that crest on his chest… That was the mark of DuskWood.

But how can Lilia have the same memory?

Or… is this just one more thing she tried to steal from me?

Does that mean that the memory is real?

And that the lost little boy had been Alaric?