Corinne’s POV
“Why aren’t you asking me more questions?” I asked Harley seriously.
A few minutes had gone by, and she was looking at me with hate and anger.
“Let’s go inside,” she said coldly, then turned and went into a huge mansion I assumed was the pack house.
“You heard her,” I whispered, then followed her inside.
I paid no mind to the wall interior because my eyes were fixed on how she walked. Even her movements were exactly like my sister’s. If my sister were any younger, she could have passed as her identical twin.
I made a turn and walked into the living room, where she pointed at a sofa.
“Thanks,” I said simply, then took a seat.
We both glanced at the door when the two Alphas and Betas walked in.
“Now that everyone is here, I won’t hold back on what I’m about to say and ask,” Harley announced seriously.
“Of course,” I whispered.
Ever since we received the call about Harley being alive and possibly well, my sister wasted no time in sending me to meet her. Before I traveled, I had a few of the witches in my territory prepare me a few things, like the two daggers that had a strong hallucination spell when cut into an enemy’s flesh and the coat that allowed me to teleport a safe distance whenever I wanted.
I also mentally prepared myself for any reactions, insults, or questions my niece would ask and throw at me.
“Why did my mother and every relative she has abandon me? No, why did she throw me away like garbage in a damn street?” she asked in a cracked voice full of raw emotions.
“Harley, first and foremost, I won’t apologize on my sister’s behalf or for what we did,” I said as her eyes switched to that of her dragon’s.
“Because it was the only way to save and protect you,” I said as they went back to normal.
“You see, dragons are like most creatures or beings. They are very territorial, but above all, they do not stand back to claim what they want or what is rightfully theirs,” I said, then pointed at the sofa opposite me.
She looked at her mates, then moved and sat down.
“Unlike other supernatural and magical beings, most dragons do not easily accept a ruler. They have to fight to the death, and the one that comes out victorious takes over all territories,” I said honestly.
“Before your mother became the Queen of the dragon territories, she had nine siblings, myself included. Although we knew we had to fight each other to the death to claim the throne, we were in no rush to do so,” I said, and then smiled as I thought back on how we used to be before the war.
“Your mother was so in love with your father, and I, being the free spirit, usually scolded her over how he was just a mere commoner and not of royalty, but still, she loved him. So when she got pregnant with you, she was so happy and shared the news with her bond, your father. I was also happy for them but absolutely scared,” I said seriously.
“I was scared of how my brothers would finally take advantage of the situation. My sister, your mother, was the strongest dragon in all our territories because she is a fiery dragon,” I said as she raised a brow.
“I know you want to know what that is. Originally, those who had your mother’s rank of dragon had a different name, which was known as Divroke. Divroke is an ancient word that means greater than the most powerful,” I explained.
“The name was used from generation to generation to identify such a dragon until our parents, who dearly loved gemstones, changed the name. Because of how my sister’s dragon had an amazing fiery orange and yellow color at its tail, which looked like flames and fire opal, the name was bestowed on her dragon, which is a Greek name that means fiery,” I explained simply.
“Her dragon was the strongest of four ranks, yet that didn’t matter to my other siblings because they knew how a pregnant female wouldn’t protect herself to her full potential. They teamed up and began plotting. I was the only one at your mother’s side,” I said calmly.
“For months, they gathered our territory members, promising them wishes that would be fulfilled if they helped to rebel. My parents had no clue what was going on, and neither did we,” I said honestly.
“Back then, I had no idea if they were planning to split the territory after their plan went through or if they were planning to turn against each other. But their plans soon reached my sister’s ear, and by then, her due date was close. She knew running away from the territory was impossible.”
“The only thing we could think of was to hide away where we could make sure you were born safely since our parents were too blind to accept that our siblings would do such a thing. They were so delusional that they thought they raised us with so much love that we would abandon our instinct to kill each other and live together in harmony,” I pointed out.
“They tried everything in their power to change the old rules, thinking they were evil, and did their best to establish new rules that would make us live peacefully. So when we told them about what our siblings were planning, they couldn’t believe us and thought badly of us,” I said, then sighed heavily.
“And so we hid: your mother, her bond, myself, and a few of the trusted servants who served us. When our siblings heard of our disappearance, they were furious and decided to take the throne for themselves, so they killed your grandparents,” I said, blinking back the forming tears.
Even after years, it was painful to recall their deaths.
“And after they took over the throne, they turned against each other and began killing one another. Your mother knew that running and leaving everything behind would lead to the death of thousands of our kind. Because our siblings were sadistic and took pride in hurting the innocent, she decided to stay,” I said coldly.
“But sadly, how could she even fight with you by her side? It would cost her and your life if she were to even try. That’s when a sad, painful decision was made,” I whispered sadly.
“When you were born, I was to go with a servant to human territory and leave you there; that was the given order I carried out. But because I didn’t know how everything would turn out, I asked the servant to be the one who would leave you in a safe place.”
“I didn’t want to know what the place was because I feared that if I were to go back and be captured, they would drive that information out of my head with a witch,” I said honestly.
“After the servant was sure you were left in a safe and secure place that would raise you well, we went back and began planning our next move.”
“It didn’t take us much time to kill all our remaining siblings, but it did take us a lot of time to find and kill the traitors who sided with them and still wanted to raise a rebellion. Unfortunately, the servant who knew your whereabouts died without disclosing the details to us, and so when everything was settled after years, the search for you began.”
“Your mother and father did their best to find you, but they couldn’t. The witches in our territories were all useless, or they were traitors. How can a witch fail to locate our own blood? But my sister, either way, spared them!” I exclaimed.
“Because our kind are prideful, no one had connections with other supernatural beings or humans,” I said furiously.
“We searched and searched in human territory but found nothing until the call we received. There was a chance it wasn’t going to be you but a trap; yet I decided to take the risk and find you.”
“Harley, I am not asking you to forgive our actions, but I am asking you to understand. I do not want to drag you back to the dragon territories, but I am asking you to at least go and meet your _.”
“That’s enough,” she said coldly as she stood up, cutting me off.
“News flash: I wasn’t left in a safe place, as you would have imagined. I was left in an orphanage where I was abused every day!” she screamed and then composed herself.
“I am not going anywhere with you. Your story was touching, but that doesn’t mean I want to see your sister or your so-called territories,” she said coldly.
I could see the pain in her eyes even when she had a cold expression on her face.
“So that’s your decision?” I asked in a low tone.
“It will be over my dead body that I go with you,” she answered seriously.
I got to my feet and smiled.
“I understand. Thank you for having me,” I said and then walked to the door.
“Hey, are you seriously going to leave just like that?” Alpha Sky asked.
“Yes,” I answered, and then walked out of the living room and packhouse, ignoring the sobs that I was hearing.