Chapter 172

Third Person POV

“How about I make us some tea,” Iris suggested as she stood to her feet.

“I’d like some answers,” Erik said, stopping her from leaving the room.

Iris sighed and he could see the compassion in her eyes; she was feeling guilty about something. Maybe from keeping this secret from him for most of his life?

“And I will give them to you,” she said gently. “But how about we talk over tea?”

He thought about it for a moment and then relented, giving her a nod. He always found it difficult to say no to her, that’s what made her such a great nanny. She was the only one he would truly listen to.

“Okay,” he finally said after a beat of silence.

She smiled at him, but he could still see the underlying worry in his eyes. Taking a deep breath, she turned and left the room. He sat there for what felt like an eternity. He stared at the wall clock, watching it tick. He glanced at each of her pictures hanging on the wall and resting against the fireplace. They were pictures of her and her family; there was even a picture of Erik when he was a small boy. She had always told him that he was like a son to her, a son that she never had. She had a couple of daughters, but they were older and no longer lived with her. She was married once, but her husband passed away from a disease a few years ago.

Erik had met him a few times when he came to the palace during his youth. But he didn’t really leave a lasting impression on him.

The door opened and Iris stepped into the room with a platter. She placed the platter on the coffee table and started to pour two mugs of tea. She had sweetener and milk on the platter as well and she smiled at him.

“Do you still like your tea sweet?” She asked.

He nodded, watching as she put some sugar and a splash of milk into his cup, stirring it delicately with the small decorative spoon.

He thanked her and then lifted the mug to his lips while she got her own tea situated. The tea was delicious, as usual. He set the tea mug down on the table.

“Can we please talk now?” He asked, eyeing her carefully.

She took a sip of her own tea and then set it down on the coffee table.

“You wanted to know about your birth mother,” she said softly.

He nodded.

“My whole life, I had been lied to,” Erik told her. “I want to know the truth that my father had kept from me.”

She nodded.

“And you thought I would know?”

He narrowed his eyes at her. He sat there for a moment, staring at her. After a beat of silence, he sighed and reached into the bag he placed on the ground. Within that bag, he reached in and pulled out a stack of envelopes.

Her eyes widened at the sight, and then immediately, her face paled as realization dawned; it wasn’t just a guess, Erik knew with certainty that Iris knew his mother.

“You… you found them…” she whispered, tears starting to glisten her eyes. “How?”

“I found them in the attack,” Erik explained. “They were in a lock box, though, so it was clear whoever put them in there didn’t want anyone to find them.”

She nodded as her eyes remained fixed on the letters that Erik still held. He stared down at them, each letter addressed to Iris.

“She used to write to you,” he said after a long stretched-out silence.

She nodded and looked up at him.

“Yes, she did,” she admitted softly.

“Who was she?”

She swallowed the lump in her throat and took a deep breath while collecting her thoughts.

“Her name was Carla,” she finally said softly. “She was a witch from the Red Oak Tribe.”

“She was a witch?”

Erik already knew this information based on the letters that he couldn’t help but read. But he wanted to hear Iris say it for confirmation.

“Yes,” Carla said softly. “She was a human witch.”

Erik nodded as he processed the confirmation of the information he already knew.

“And how did you know her?” Erik asked.

“How much do you know about the Red Oak Tribe?” She counter asked.

Erik only knew as much as what he read in the letters. He knew that it was a tribe of witches and typical humans. He knew that they were hiding after the King, his father, put a hit on all humans, including the ones with magical abilities. If they weren’t a shifter, or beneficial for society, then the Alpha King wanted them dead.

“Not a lot,” Erik admitted.

She nodded.

“It was a tribe of witches and normal humans,” she explained. “It was founded by two women who came from the bloodline of Enigma wolves. Enigmas were rare, but they were around. They were the most powerful wolves to ever exist. Your great great great great grandfather, the very first Alpha King, was an Enigma. The hope was that each King after him, the ones that fall on his bloodline, would also be an Enigma. But it didn’t work out that way. When your father came to power, his wish was to have an Enigma baby boy, but he knew that he would never be able to do that with his current wife. He discovered that it was never about the male genes, but the women’s. That was why he wasn’t an Enigma because his mother didn’t have the gene to birth them. He knew that Leonora also didn’t have the gene and though she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, he wasn’t as powerful as King Arlan would have hoped. So, he strayed….”

“He had an affair with one of the witches with the Enigma gene,” Erik whispered, already knowing the answer but he needed ot hear the confirmation.

Iris nodded sadly.

“He met your mother, Carla,” she continued. “For a long time, they were a wildly known tribe because of their abilities to birth Enigma’s. Two different members of the tribe had birthed an Enigma at one point and word got around. “I was a friend of your mother since childhood. We never let our differences get in the way of our friendship. We grew up around the same town and back then, humans and shifters lived in harmony. We went to the same schools, the same stores, the same restaurants. There were other tribes that also had the Enigma gene as well, but most of them had gone into hiding long ago. With how greedy our world is… it was for the best. Most wanted to use them for their own gain; and make Enigma birthing machines. But this particular tribe refused to hide. The King had gone to them and played his part well. He pretended to be in love with Carla. She thought he would leave his wife and make her the queen. I told her that it was a preposterous idea and that she should cut ties with him, but….”

“She was in love with him,” Erik finished for her.

She nodded and nibbled on her lower lip.

“Yes,” she whispered. “She was so in love. But he was only using her for her genes. You see, Carla was the granddaughter of an Enigma as well, which gives her the Enigma gene. She could birth them… it’s not guaranteed, but it’s a possibility for her and that was all King Arlan wished for. He just wanted a chance to have an Enigma baby. He thought with his genes and her genes combined, it would be unavoidable.”

Erik stared down at his hands, the reality of the situation weighing heavy on him. He wasn’t an Enigma, he knew he wasn’t. He wasn’t strong, or powerful… he was smart though, and Whitty when it came down to it. But he knew for a fact that he wasn’t an Enigma.

Lost in thought, he didn’t notice Iris reaching over until he felt her warm hands wrapped around his. He lifted his gaze to meet her and saw how compassionate they were.

“You are not an Enigma,” she confirmed his thoughts. “Often, it’s clear during the pregnancy when a baby is not an Enigma because there are certain signs that the mother could feel. However, it’s even more apparent once the baby is born. Enigma’s have a strong aura, even at birth, their powers are strong and it’s impossible for anyone not to notice it. When you were born, your father was…”

“Disappointed,” Erik murmured. “And he’s made that apparent every day for my entire life.”

Iris nodded sadly, not bothering to deny it.

“It was never your fault, Erik. I hope you know that. It was his greed that clouded his judgment. When you didn’t turn out to be an Enigma, he was devasted. He waited all that time wooing someone he didn’t love, making her fall in love with him, spending time with all these humans and witches, and having an affair with his true mate. He had broken the only woman he had truly loved, and it ended up being for nothing.”

She was quiet for a long while, watching him as he processed her words.

“Wolves are very temperamental and hot-headed. When things didn’t work out the way he wanted, when he nearly lost the love of his life due to his selfishness, he blamed humans for it. He grew to hate them so much that he wanted them all dead. He found them to be liars, and they didn’t benefit the world he envisioned. He didn’t truly believe that Enigmas would ever be born from them. So, he put a hit on them… wanting them all gone from his world.”

“And he kept me alive?” Erik asked, narrowing his eyes. “Why?”

She was quiet for a beat longer before she took a deep breath and looked up to meet his eyes.

“Because of Queen Leonora.”