161
Chapter 161
Anna
"What are you planning?" I asked as soon as Azeal entered my bedroom. I had been here for three days and each day that passed, I was trying to keep my sanity.
"To take what belongs to me, to us."
"We are not allies" I seethed.
"Aren't we?" He asked with a shrug.
"No, we are not. I only betrayed Duncan because I wanted information about my mother, nothing else."
"Oh, so you don't want Duncan destroyed? Isn't that the reason you infiltrated? To destroy him and duh out the other men responsible for your mother's death?"
I didn't say anything. I couldn't think of anything to say. On one hand, he was right. The whole point of this was to gather enough evidence to use against Dunacn but it slowly grew into all of these puzzle pieces that I was still putting into place.
"We had a deal, Azeal. I give you our documents, you tell me about my mother. Don't you think it's high time you do that?"
"Maybe," he shrugged,
I stared at him, waiting for him to speak.
"But first, tell me. How long do you think it will take Duncan to find us?"
"What?" I asked in confusion.
"Well, it's coming for you, you know that, don't you?"
"Why would he be? For revenge?"
Oh, of course you don't know yet."
"Know what?"
Azeal smiled.
"Nothing. Let's talk about your mother, shall we?"He said as he came to sit beside me, eyes glowing.
"The truth is quite simple, Anna. Your mother got mixed up with the wrong crowd, sold drugs to the iron vine members but one day, she found out what they were, werewolves. They didn't like that, they especially didn't like that she was researching one of them... One of their own that was diseased. See, your mother was sort of a dropoout. She dropped out of med school, so,when she found a dying wolf in the street, her biggest mistake was helping him.
I took in a sharp breath.
"But I don't understand..."
"I don't expect you to." He answered.
"They killed her because she found out about them?"
Azeal nodded, yes.
"But why did she give up Celia then, why did she keep me? Why did I have to watch her die?"
"She gave up Celia because she knew it was dangerous for her."
"And it wasn't for me?" I glared.
"Your other motives were never clear to me. She was my best friend yet sometimes, we couldn't meet eye to eye."
Something wasn't adding up. The story made no sense..
"How do I know you're telling the truth? Where's the evidence?" I asked.
"If you want proof, I can give it to you. I can show you her research book and everything you need to know,"
"Show me. I want to see everything, I want evidence,"
Azeal stood.
"Very well then," he nodded and made his way out of the room only to emerge an hour later with a silver briefcase.
He placed it on the bed and opened it with a code.
He opened the box and inside were various documents, journals, vials. Just like one of the vislsvi had found in her place years ago.
I took one of her journals and glanced through. Various
I took one of her journals and glanced through it. Various calculations filled the yellowing pages -scribbles of dosages, notes about anatomy, sketches of wolves in both forms. My mother has been studying them. Obsessively.
Pge after page was a tangle of scientific theory and frantic handwritten notes, sona crossed out, others underlined. There were diagrams of claws, canine teeth, musculature comparisons between wolves and werewolves.
I took out another journal from the bunch. This one had everything she knew about them.
This one had a leather cover, cracked and worn with age. My hands trembled slightly as I flipped it open.
The first page was dated April 12th, the ink faded but still legible.
> "The subject shows signs of cellular degeneration unlike anything I've seen in humans. Metabolic rate exceeds normal by 400%. The body heals within hours but brain activity is... volatile. I need more time. I need answers."
\- C G
My mother's initials
Candace Grey.
I read through the journal, she'd found out so much, so much.
This was probably the reason she was killed.
She was killed for protecting herself.
It had nothing to do with my father like I had suspected.
I sighed and stood up.
"Who did this to her? Who killed her?"
"Who do you think?" Azeal said.
I swallowed, not wanting to believe it.
"Duncan did," he answered when I didn't put two and two together.
"No," I shook my head.
"His father ordered for her to be killed. He was among the four other men that had been sent to kill her. The fourth one died years ago. I killed him,"
Azeal answered.
Tears spilled down from my face.
"Now that you know the truth, you need to avenge your mother. She did everything to protect you and your sister,"
"What about her husband? My father?"
"Anna, he's gone, dead.
After your mother started dating Selena, he left. Your mother gave Celia to him because there was no way she could take care of a baby with wolf powers. Not in the real world anyway,"
"But you said he was alive,"
"I implied it but the man is dead. He deserves it. He put your mother through a lot. Deceived her."
"Wait a minute." A thought crossed my mind.
"What is it?"
"If mother gave Celia away that must mean I have werewolf blood in me."
"I'm afraid you don't carry that gene. That's why your mother kept you."
He answered.
I let out a sigh. This was too much information being dumped on me
All these years that I had searched for answers, this was it ?
She was innocent after all.
All she wanted was to be able t protect herself.
"Did she know what my father was?"
"Not for a while. She found out one night. I was there. It was the night he discovered she was having an affair... if I wasn't there, he would have killed her."
A shaky sigh eccaowd my breath.
"And I assume she discovered that same night that you were... also... this."
"Yes, I had hidden it for so long. It was refreshing to tell her. You see, Anna, you and I want the same thing, to bring Down the iron vine, to take down Duncan for his crimes."
I wanted to believe that Duncan couldn't have done it but I had seen him killed innocent people in cold blood that it made no sense for me not to believe it.
'What is your plan?" I asked, fully ready to end it.
Azeal smiled.
"Well, here we go..."
Hours later after Azeal had told me what he was planning, I was in the dinning room staring into space.
Thoughts of Dunacn came flooding through my mind.
The good memories, the first time I had met him, he'd been so intense, it had scared me.
Not to mention the fact that he never trusted me until gradually.
The first we had sex.
I could still remember how great it was. How he'd made love to me and played my body like an eternal instrument. He knew me more than I knew me.
The random trips we took.
I knew I had to kill him but I was starting to wonder if that was a good idea.
Azeal had said he'd come looking for me to take his revenge and kill me and we were to use that to our advantage.
In a couple of hours, I'd be going with him somewhere, Where Duncan would be.
His plan was for me to kill him. It was an ambush. But would I be able to if I saw him again?
Maybe when he tries to kill me for betraying him.
I shivered as I remembered the look in his eyes when I had told him I was the mole.
The sound of footsteps took me out of my reverie and when I glanced at the direction of the footsteps, it was Celia.
She walked towards the fridge not so much as acknowledging me. I could still feel the hatred emanating from her.
I truly wanted a relationship with her but I wasn't so sure how to go about it. I had been harsh towards her but I had been so angry when her whole reason for terrorizing me was because she thought I had life easy... Something in me had cracked.
I hated thinking about my past because of how much trauma it had brought me.
I had lived in so many foster care homes, I had even lived with a family of serial killers.
I had only escape with my life marginally.
"Will you stop staring at me," Celia said.
I looked away. But I felt her eyes on me.
"Now, you're the one staring, I glanced back at her,"
There was a long stretch of silence before she spoke again.
"You know... I didn't know about all that stuff you... uh... you talked about,"
My eyes softened.
"I guess I always felt rejected while you were always accepted that it felt like I was robbed by you."
"Hey. If it's any consolation, I really hated mom for giving you up but I don't think she thought you were a monster. I think she didn't know how to handle a child like you so she was caught between a rock and a hard place. She probably thought she was giving you the best chance at a normal life with people she thought could understand you."
"It still hurts that she didn't try,"
"It's bound to,"
I whispered.
She nodded and after a while of silence rose from her seat.
"I still hate you. This isn't some sister bonding moment, wr haven't gotten to that part yet,"
I chuckled and she laughed too.
Just then Azeal came out.
"Let's go, prepare yourselves. Celia, tell the men,"
"Roger that,"