Chapter 36 Spiritual presence; 🪬
Elly was suffering, panting and moaning unconsciously. Joe's jaw was clenched tight; as if he was feeling the pain in his own body along with her. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore and turned toward Eva.
"You're a healer, you need to do something. She's in so much pain," he said.
Before Eva could respond, Kael intervened.
"Right now she's gaining her powers through that seal. We cannot interfere! Otherwise the seal will be incomplete, and this is her only chance to receive it," he said.
Joe was furious. Gritting his teeth, he shouted at Kael with a growling voice.
"I don't care! Can't you see she's suffering? Not everything is about you and your sacred bloodline! Understand that already!"
The amber rings in Kael's eyes began to glow. He snarled, baring his teeth.
"Shut your mouth, bad blood! You and your lineage know nothing of loyalty!"
Eva yelled, "Stop this now!" But Kael and Joe stood with their eyes locked on each other; as if they were about to attack at any moment.
Eva was truly torn between stopping Elly's seal or not. Then she remembered her first day in town. That girl with braids she had seen at the door of the mountain house, with a huge smile on her face...
Elly had always spoken about these prophecies with great enthusiasm. When she talked about the guardians, there was always devotion in her face and voice. That's why she knew that if she took this seal away from her, Elly's reaction would be very severe.
Moreover, now, just like her, Elly had also lost her grandmother. And this seal could be the greatest memento left from her.
So Eva made her decision. She narrowed her eyes and spoke in a determined tone.
"Elly wouldn't want to lose this seal. That's why we won't stop it."
Joe immediately turned his eyes to Eva. He was trembling with anger.
Kael was literally about to transform at any moment. Breathing through his teeth, he roared with a great growl.
"Take those filthy, angry eyes off my wife! Or even if I know Homay will curse me again, I'll rip that head off your shoulders!"
Eva fixed her eyes on Joe.
"Who could have killed Grandma Agnes?" she asked.
All Joe had on his mind was Elly's suffering, but Eva's question caught him off guard for a moment. Then he started thinking. Who could harm Grandma Agness? Eva had noticed that Joe was thinking.
"Whatever you're thinking, think it with us. You're not in a position to keep secrets right now, Joe," she said.
Joe turned his eyes to Eva.
"Only the hunters could pose a threat. And also..."
"And also what?" Eva asked.
Kael, "And also his father. That scum Caleb!."
Joe looked at him with a growling voice for a moment. He had bared his teeth. But he couldn't object; because he was right. In this town, only his father and the hunters could harm Grandma Agnes. But he couldn't make sense of why his father would do this.
Eva thought for a moment.
"If the hunters did this, it means they've already started hunting. Their goal might be to kill everyone before the ceremony on Christmas Eve."
After a brief pause, she added:
"But if Caleb did it... his purpose will be more sinister."
Then Eva touched Kael's shoulder.
"My love, my past memories aren't fully restored yet. Is there something that killing Grandma Agnes could create?" she asked.
Kael turned his eyes to her and thought.
"Bloodlines," he said. "I'm from the wolf lineage. You're Rose lineage; the witch and healer lineage. Agnes came from the guardian lineage."
His voice grew heavier.
"These three lineages have existed since the beginning. And then there are the demons, of course... but their end came with us. For centuries these three lineages continued. The union of these lineages symbolizes one thing."
Eva was all attention.
"Homay's light on earth," Kael said. "We are Homay's warrior spirit. The Rose witches represent fertility and healing. The guardians are..."
He paused for a moment.
"...the lock."
Eva couldn't make sense of it.
"The lock... what exactly could they be the lock to?" she asked.
Kael shook his head slightly.
"I think we'll find out very soon, little Rose," he said.
Eva had started thinking at that moment.
"Homay wanted us to come here today," she said. "Her purpose was to set things right. Her purpose was for Joe to take the alpha trial."
Joe turned his eyes to Eva.
"I don't want to be an alpha. I don't think I can be one either," he said. "I only came here today with the instinct to protect you. I don't know why I did it. But let's face it... I!"
His words knotted in his throat. He fixed his eyes on Kael.
"To his lineage, I'll always be a bad one. A bad-blooded wolf. Taking me into his pack or me becoming Alpha is something he'll never accept."
Kael was frowning, looking at Joe with harsh eyes. He was also aware that what he was saying was true.
Eva swallowed, trying to control her nerves.
"You carry guardian blood, Joe," she said. "Until now I never wondered about your mother; who she was, where she came from..."
It was hard to speak. Because she felt that after what she was about to say, Kael's view of her might also change. The last thing she would want in this world... was to lose Kael. She turned her eyes to Kael with an evasive glance. As if she wanted to measure what his reaction would be after what she said.
Joe turned to Eva angrily.
"I'm not going to wonder about a woman who abandoned me. What is this now? Are you trying to hit me with my loneliness? Is that your purpose? Are you emotionally exploiting me?" he shouted. His voice was trembling, but more than anger, it contained a hurt child.
Eva said, "Your mother didn't abandon you, Joe," in a calm but trembling voice. "Your father betrayed her. He massacred the entire Rose lineage. And your mother, not knowing she was carrying you, walked toward death."
Joe's gaze froze instantly. The trembling inside him was readable from his face. He sensed that Eva wasn't lying; it was as if he was experiencing her emotions directly. Even though he couldn't make sense of it, he continued listening.
Eva's voice was growing increasingly strained. Finally, she took a deep breath.
"Your mother was a Rose woman. A guardian protector... Alarya. You..."
Her voice cracked.
"Were born on the same day as me, in the sacred haven. We came from the same womb."
Joe recoiled in shock. His eyes widened, his jaw trembled. What he heard was heavy on him. Should he be shocked that he carried Rose blood, or that he had shared the same womb with Eva... He didn't know which to hold onto.
Kael's gaze shifted from Joe to Eva. His eyebrows were deeply furrowed.
"No... no, they couldn't have done this," he said in a whisper.
Eva held Kyle's hand.
"I'm sorry, my love," she said. "The Rose woman who carried the fertility seal didn't give birth to me. İlayra was killed on that bloody night. And Alayra chose to bring my seed into the world at the cost of her life. But she didn't know she was pregnant with Joe."
For Kael, everything suddenly fell into place. Eva's defiance of him, risking her life to protect Joe, was no longer meaningless. Because the midnight seal bound two mates to each other above all else. But Eva had been able to overcome that that day. She had defied her Alpha... her mate.
In that moment, all the pieces in his mind came together.
He turned his eyes to Joe. He studied him carefully. Indeed, from the very first day, he had sensed Eva's spiritual presence. Now he could understand why...