When I met Alaric the first time I stepped foot into the council chambers, he offered me a deal. He knew Cedric was my father, knew I was the rightful heir to his seat on their ancient council. He wanted that seat, and it could only be handed down or challenged for. Since my father was no longer around to challenge, he needed it passed down.
So, at the time I didn’t think much of it, I wanted to be a vampire so it seemed like a win-win situation for me. I got what I wanted while he got what he wanted, so I slept with him, which was also part of his plan. I wasn’t aware that vampires or werewolves could tell when their lovers had been with another. Alaric gave me his blood and sent me on my merry way, Theo and Tobias promised they would change me one day. But I was sick of waiting, so I took matters into my own hands. They said after we married, they would change me, then it was after they marked me. Always another excuse.
I knew it was Tobias; he wanted to see if he actually had a mate, and I think deep down he knew I wasn’t his.
Max and I were fighting in his office. I hurt him when he realized what I had done, that’s when I realized his feelings for me weren’t just friendly, he wanted more. More than I was willing to give him. Theo and Tobias walked in, and Tobias lost it. He could smell Alaric on my skin, smell Max on my skin when all he did was comfort me, but it didn’t look good being found in the arms of another. Tobias lost control and killed me.
Imagine my shock when I woke up back at Max’s place.
I never went to see them, instead, I distanced myself from everyone before taking my place beside Alaric, supporting him with the council so no one would find out about our little deal. Max loved me and said I was safest from Tobias and Theo if I remained with Alaric. As much as it pained him to admit. Christopher, Max’s father, was livid when he found out about Cedric’s heir handing his title over, so then it became a game of who could outsmart the other. He hated Alaric, in fact; I don’t think any of the council members truly liked one another; it was always a battle of power, a battle for dominance. They decided out of fear or who had the biggest bargaining chip.
So, when Christopher said he knew where my father was, he knew he had me. He told me he would help me in return for a favor. Christopher hated Theo and Tobias for what Theo did to his son. They worked things out after my ordeal with them, Max remained working for them, but decades of building anger bubbled over the day Max mentioned my name, by accident. Apparently, Theo went berserk and attacked him in a meeting at work.
Christopher helped me find my father. Even after finding out about the new family he created, I was mad, yet I couldn’t bring myself to hate him. Forever was a long time, after all. I knew he would come back to my mother after that witch died. She made it very clear she wanted nothing to do with the council or anything to do with immortality; she didn’t want that life for her daughter. Then, we became the hidden family, he never told her about the secret he kept hidden from her.
When I found out about her, I confronted my father and he made me promise not to tell my mother. I kept his secret for so long; I didn’t want to be the one to break my mother’s heart. But when he left and didn’t come back, I watched her slowly go into a depression, I knew I needed to tell her. I may have been a daddy’s girl, but my mother never abandoned us, she had a right to know.
I told my mother that I knew where dad was when I found him. Found him with that witch; I was heartbroken, he had moved them away from the city and was watching from the shadows. Christopher didn’t know about his other daughter, he just knew he had a thing for some witch. I didn’t want to hurt my only sibling, I was cruel but not that cruel. After years of watching him watch her; I’d had enough. The witch seemed nice enough, but I needed my father, I needed him to come back and get me out of this mess I created. I needed a parent back in my life since mom was gone.
What I wasn’t expecting was finding out my husbands were my sister’s mates. That hurt, I loved them, and so my anger towards Imogen grew. If I couldn’t have them, why should she? So, I hurt her in the worst way, took from her what she unknowingly took from me, her mother. That brought him back to me, I thought it had worked like Christopher said. My father was unaware of what I had done, I couldn’t tell him, it would have ruined everything. I needed him to take his spot back on the council to clean up the mess I made because I wasn’t sure how.
Christopher and my father were friends. Christopher wanted him to take his rightful place but when he refused, he became mad. Told me to kill him and he would help get rid of Alaric. I told him I would, too scared to go against him. I moved into my father’s home, that he once shared with my mother, at the council.
My father refused to return, and I knew if I didn’t act fast Christopher would kill him if he found him. So, I took matters into my own hands. One thing I knew was now that my mother was gone, and I had contact back with my father, he wouldn’t deny me anything, so I asked him to visit me. Sneaking him into the council without Percy knowing was difficult, as he is sort of the gatekeeper, but I managed with the help of Christopher.
I told Christopher I wanted revenge, let him believe I wanted to help him get my place back on the council and get rid of Alaric. So, when I got my father home, and had him standing in front of me, I didn’t want to kill him. He was my father, despite all his wrongdoings and abandoning us. I was still daddy’s little girl, I couldn’t risk losing him again.