Chapter 23
Iris
My heart ached for him and I began to understand why he despised me so much from the first time he saw me. It was because I reminded him of his pain.
The fact that he was telling me his story showed that his resentment for me had been assuaged, but I wasn’t sure that it had gone completely so I took what he could give.
“According to her, the necklace should be given to my brother, and the bracelet to me. She knew that I had eyes on the bracelet, but I didn’t know that I’d be getting it from her that soon.” He croaked.
I didn’t know how to console him any more than I’d already done, but I was sure that my presence was making it easier for him to grieve.
My heart bled for him when I imagined how long he had to bear the cross alone.
“Do you know the worst part?”
I shook my head.
“He was never there in all of this. My father acted like my mother didn’t matter to him and I began to wonder if she was truly his mate. It was so bad that I asked some of the elders and then I got a response that shook me to my bones. My mother was not his mate, that was all they could tell me.”
My body shivered and a gasp tore out of my lips. I’d mentally prepared my mind for his response but this, it was unheard of.
“How is that even possible?”
“I don’t know,” He replied flatly.
More questions sprang up in my mind and I was willing to ask them now that he wasn’t ten seconds from tearing me apart.
“I’d like to ask a question, and I’m apologizing in advance if my curiosity will annoy you but I can’t help it.”
“Go ahead,” He urged me on.
Having several questions was one thing, but putting them into words and treading on his vulnerability was another thing.
I sucked in air to calm my frayed nerves then asked, “The banters you had with your father at the execution ground, is it still related to the suicide?” I asked carefully.
For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t respond and then he chuckled. “Is my resentment for him that obvious?” He asked rhetorically. “I was never close to my father but the incident from that night pushed me farther from him.”
“He noticed my coldness and tried to placate me with gifts, but the more he tried to atone for his sins, the more my hatred for him grew until I couldn’t take it anymore. And then one day, I informed him of my decision to go to the human world to study.”
My fingers went to my chin and I massaged it while connecting the dots together. Then I realized that the reason I didn’t know the Alpha had more than one son was because Gradel had been absent from the pack for the greater part of his life.
There was no way I’d have known about Prince Devin’s twin since people rarely spoke to me about it, not even my sister. And I doubted they knew much since he was quite older than the people in my age group.
“I’m guessing he let you go,”
“Yup,” He popped the ‘p’. “It wasn’t that easy because he kept threatening me with giving the throne to Devin, but when he saw that I didn’t care about being an Alpha he had no choice but to give me his permission, not like I needed it anyway.” He said casually.
Gradel acted like everything was fine with him, but I could sense how hard it was for him to overcome his grief.
How he wore his stoic expression like a mask, unwilling to let his guard down. And then I wished he could let it down for me, but did I deserve it?
“Why did you come back?” I probed further, enjoying the conversation as I didn’t know when I’d be opportune to speak this casually with him.
“He claimed to be sick and for some strange reasons, I didn’t feel comfortable staying away. I just felt the urge to return and make sure everything is in place in case anything happens.” He sighed. “My late mother would have loved that.”
“And then I took the bracelet,” I blurted out loud, receiving a scowl from him.
He fixed an unsmiling stare at me. “That’s why you are going to help me find the bracelet. You’ll have to atone for your sins. Keeping you in prison won’t do us any good and that bracelet is the only connection I have with my late mother. Each day that I’m without it, my head feels like it’s going to explode so you are going to get it back for me.” He said firmly.
The harsh lines on his face reminded me of my position in his life as I swallowed nervously. The vulnerability he allowed me to see earlier was gone and all I saw now was a man who wanted to take back what he had, and I couldn’t make a mistake of defying his orders.
“How will I achieve that? I don’t even know who took the bracelet,” I admitted.
He sighed and folded his arms. “Tell me all about it,”
“After your brother rejected me during the mating ceremony, I ran back home to find the bracelet then ran away just like you wanted. So I climbed on a stool and took out the box containing the bracelet from the ceiling but when I opened it, the jewelry was missing.” I paused and glanced at his face which bore no emotions. I couldn’t even tell if he believed me. “No one was at home when I hid the bracelet and that’s why I’m still surprised that it could have disappeared without a trace.”
He tapped his chin as if in thought then exhaled while tension formed a cloak over my skin. Telling him that I’d planned to sell the bracelet would rile him up and jeopardize this newfound ‘truce’, I didn’t want that to happen.
“Well, you weren’t careful enough. Someone might have watched you hide the bracelet without you knowing, but that’s not the problem now. You’ll find a way,”
A different kind of fear sank into my chest as I imagined how stressful it would be to search for his bracelet. I didn’t even know where to start.
“Thank you,” I said
“For what?”
“The conversation. No one has ever engaged me in a conversation like this, apart from Hazel, my new friend.”
When I noticed that he wasn’t responding, I quickly straightened my dress and headed to the door.
Holding onto the door knob, I was already beginning to envisage how the Alpha would punish me for putting his son and the pack in trouble. But I’d barely opened the door when I heard my name.
“Where do you think you are going?” He drawled, his voice calm and alluring. “We aren’t done talking.”