I remembered the moment vividly, the first forceful intrusion of the Queen into my mind. It was like a sudden jolt, a thrumming of unfamiliar magic that sent shivers down my spine.
And then I had felt the presence of my other rising within me, a fierce determination to resist the Queen’s invasive powers.
At that moment, I had known that she wouldn’t gain access to my thoughts or memories. My other wouldn’t allow it. And it hadn’t it.
As I had sat there, aware of the oblivion of my guardians and Diana over what had happened, grappling with the unexpected assault on my mind, I had sensed the Queen’s surprise, her realization that I was not as vulnerable as she had assumed.
I had felt her retreat, her presence fading from my consciousness like a fleeting shadow. She hadn’t succeeded in extracting anything from me, and I hadn’t been able to stop the feeling of triumph at the knowing; even though I had played no role in keeping her away from my mind.
‘Thank you.’
I had mentally sent to the being within me. But like before there had been no response, except a hum of energy, as if it had been acknowledging my appreciation.
At least that’s how I had chosen to interpret it.
In this moment now, I was aware of a tense silence that had descended upon the room. I could feel the eyes of Diana and her parents on me, their disbelief palpable in the air. I knew I had to speak up, to confirm what they were all thinking, to reinstate what I had said earlier.
“The Queen was in my mind,” I repeated, my voice steady despite the turmoil raging within me. It was a statement that hung heavily in the air, shattering the illusion of safety and trust that had surrounded us until that moment.
At that moment, I realized the extent of the danger we were facing. The Queen’s intrusion into my mind was just the beginning, a chilling reminder of the power she wielded and the lengths she would go to achieve her goals. .
“Please don’t ask me how I had known, how I had defeated her grasp on my mind, because I don’t know. Just like I don’t know how and where my other had come from, and what it is doing in my head. I am still discovering myself.” I added immediately I noticed that Peter was about to speak. I had no answer to the question he wanted to ask me.
He noticed that I had noticed, and smiled, then turned gruff again, probably remembering that he wasn supposed to smile at me, until I explained myself.
You know I half expected Diana to call me a liar again, considering the allegation I had just laid against the queen, but she said nothing.
I haven’t looked at her yet, so I didn’t know what her facial expression was and its interpretation, but I knew that the hostile energy that had been oozing out of her toward me had reduced by a percent. It was little, but I took it as a significant Improvement, since I haven’t brought out the recording.
“Also, I am still waiting for your reply to my first question. Can you hide your lies or truth from the queen? Because as I said before, that was the main reason why I had kept my memories from the queen. I don’t trust her. I don’t trust what she will do with the knowledge, even though it’s barely anything. Just the memory of a girl that has been abused, and has had it wrong with life for a while.”
A flash of sorrow crossed Laura’s eyes. She must be seeing the reason for my panic attacks.
“It’s your choice, Maya. We can’t promise that we can keep our truth from the queen, because if she had invaded your mind without Laura or even Diana noticing the magic, then it means that we might be at risk. So, I will leave the choice to you.”
I swallowed. I didn’t like the answer even though it sounded reasonable. It was unfair to Diana who already had her own secret out. She wouldn’t be entirely pleased if I didn’t go forward with this, not minding my reasonable excuses. I had to say it.
However, I checked first to know if there was anything that the queen could use against me from my memories, but there was nothing. So, I shrugged my shoulders, and began to speak.
“I will tell you everything. No more secrets.”
When Peter sighed, I wasn’t sure if it was out of relief that I was telling them my story, or out of defeat for the burden they were going to bear. Still, I went on.
I told them about my family at the pack and its division, my mother’s love, and the other party’s hatred, and how I had found out later that I wasn’t of the pack, that my mother had seen me as a baby dumped at their doorsteps.
Then I told them of the bullying that had happened when the doctor had found out that I had no wolf gene in me; the bullying that had come from all angles, including from my siblings.
I talked about the bullying incidents, making sure to remain aloof, to remain out of my body during the whole process, so I wouldn’t get emotional. Then I talked about how I had met Naomi, my only friend in the pack, and then the triplets.
I talked about the cafeteria incident, and how it had gotten to the king, and the king’s decision to send me out of the pack.
I told them about Adam’s sudden love, and our very short relationship, of course leaving the r18 scenes. But I had told them of the sensitivity that had popped up immediately when we got intimate, as if it had unlocked something.
Then I told them about the send off party and the set up, about the king’s decision and about my time in the holding cell, including the dreams that I had.
I told them about the abnormal Adam, who had led me out of the cell to the borders of the pack, where his brothers had met us, and how they had beaten me and left for dead.