CHAPTER 137: Blood for Blood

CHAPTER 137: Blood for Blood
Morgan’s POV

The moment the Lycan king had swept into the room, stifling the air and making everyone unable to breathe, I felt it again. 

The same way I had felt when he had walked in and rescued me from the hands of Xavier. 

I knew him.

I knew this man, but it was hard to figure out where. Something was very familiar about him. I began to wrack my head looking for answers. 

The Lycan King’s blank, icy gaze swept over the chamber. When his eyes landed on my mate, they softened, if only slightly. 

I felt my body stiffen. What if he liked her? You cannot say no to a Lycan king. All they do is take take take. 

But when he turned to the elders, his voice was like a blade, cutting through the tension his presence had brought. 

Then a carbon copy of me emerged from his back. She was a spitting image of me, and I felt a connection to her so strong I instinctively stood up and walked over, unable to take my eyes off her. 

My heart thudded in my chest and a thought occurred to me, but I waved it away. 

I couldn't be

It's been more than eight years. It couldn't be

We saw the corpse. 

It couldn't be

I reached out and touched her face. 

My dead sister's face flashed in my mind. 

I gulped and took a step back. 

There were gasps and murmurs going on in the chambers.

I turned to the Lycan king. “I know you” I retorted. 

“Why does she feel so familiar”? I asked, turning to the wolf who had said nothing since they arrived. 

She just kept staring at me longingly. 

The Lycan king turned to me, “I'm here to make an exchange.”

I furrowed my brows. “What exchange"?

"My granddaughter for your sister”

There was a pindrop silence.

In a flash, Jones was in front of me, anxiety radiating from him in waves. 

Jones had been away the day the incident occurred, the day we had lost our parents. 

He had been away at boarding school far, far away from the pack. 

I opened my mouth in disbelief.

My sister.

She looked just like I remembered, just a little older and more mature.

Her brown hair tied up in a pony.

She had fair skin and looked like she was being taken care of. 

She had a streak of red on her brown hair that looked like a highlight.

It didn't look like she had gone through any hardship at all and, because of that, I heaved a sigh of relief. She looked nothing like her younger self yet… those eyes. Goddess above, those eyes were hers. The same sea-storm eyes that used to drag me out of trouble and drown me in guilt when I disappointed her.

“Morgan,” she whispered.

Her voice… I will know that voice anywhere. Soft, warm and her.

Elena

It was really her.

“This isn’t real,” I muttered under my breath, though I didn’t know if I meant it for myself or for everyone staring. She died. She…she died.”

The Lycan King’s lips curved like a knife unsheathed. He spread his arms wide, as if presenting her to me like a prize. “And yet, here she stands. Returned to you, Morgan. The sister you mourned all these years.”

Jones was faster.

In a flash, her hand was in his, and he was staring down at her like he was mesmerized.

“Elena”? He breathed, touching her face and turning her over.

“How? How are you alive?

She smiled, “It’s no trick, big brother. The moon goddess took care of me.”

That was the confirmation I needed. 

Big brother

Only she ever called me that. It was not just the word, it was in the way she said it. 

“Why?” I turned to the Lycan King, the words coming out rougher than I intended, my chest tight. “Why didn’t you come sooner with her? Why did you keep my sister for so long without informing me? Why did you save me? Why are you calling my mate your granddaughter?”

His gaze didn’t flinch. If anything, it softened, like a man remembering a promise long buried.

“Your father, the Alpha King, was my best friend. When he was alive, I had come to the pack many times, then you were still a boy, maybe that was why you felt a bond. As for your sister, my warriors found her almost dead in our pack border, dragged away by the jaguar king. Since they trespassed, and were nothing but rogues, we saved all the prisoners they had with them. That was how your sister came to live under my protection.

“She had lost her memory from trauma. Only a year ago did she recover them. By then, it was too late to return her, because I knew somehow the Moon Goddess would bring her back to your doorstep.”

“You mean to tell me…all these years…she was alive? Breathing? Laughing? Growing up without me? And you…you had her the whole time?!”

“Yes, and he took care of me like his daughter. He became a father to me. I am sorry I didn't come sooner, but I am here now, brother”, she turned to me. “Morgan… It's me. Don’t you feel it? Jones, you’ve grown so much” she said, tears dripping from her eyes.

Jones ran into her arms, sobbing like a child. 

I staggered forward two steps before stopping myself. My wolf inside howled with recognition, desperate, claws raking against my skin to go to her.

I took a step, two steps, and before I knew it, we were wrapped around each other, sobbing like children. “I missed you guys so much” she cried, clutching on my arms, dragging us closer. 

Alora’s eyes met mine across the room, and she smiled, nodding.

I smiled back and hugged my siblings closer. 

Then there was a throat clearing, jolting us back to the chambers.

The Lycan king's gaze was fixed on me.

“You will not get her for free. For blood returned, blood must be given. My granddaughter… for your sister.”

I froze as there were gasps in the council.