Chapter 422 Most Honest Answer

Chapter 422 Most Honest Answer
Hope Elara's POV

The kids were staying with Maria and Derek today.

Derek had insisted on staying out of everything.

He said it would look like favoritism if he got involved.

Personally...

I thought he just wanted an excuse to spend time with my father-in-law.

The two of them had become surprisingly close lately.

Maybe that was why the media kept accusing us of influencing his decisions in court.

I honestly thought they were just a group of like-minded assholes.

Derek.

My father-in-law.

Valduz.

Jonas.

They all fit together a little too well.

After this morning's meeting, Ansley took over for Valduz.

Since then, Valduz hadn't taken his eyes off her.

He looked upset.

Ansley completely ignored him.

I'd been making assumptions all morning.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel...

If they turned out to be true.

Midnight had stayed unusually quiet after I asked her.

That worried me.

Normally, she never stopped talking when I asked important questions.

She only stayed silent when it was something she hated discussing.

Like her past lives.

Or the things she'd shown me that had somehow repeated in mine.

"We should get moving," Ansley said as she walked toward her car.

"I'll come with you."

I stepped forward.

She stopped.

"Why me?" she asked defensively.

Valduz let out a low growl.

"You're the Alpha," I said.

"It makes more sense for us to stand together than for me to ride with the Rogue King."

"You're the one who put him in the back seat."

I climbed into the passenger seat before she could argue.

This isn't going to end well, Angel, Valduz said through the mind link.

This is the only chance I'm giving her, I replied quietly.

I looked back at him.

The worry in his eyes slowly became sadness.

It was never your place to tell me.

He gave a small nod.

Then he walked toward the back of the line of SUVs.

Ansley stood outside the car for another moment before finally getting in.

Valduz's reaction had already told me everything I needed to know.

At last...

Midnight spoke.

You have to be ready to accept whatever she tells you, she whispered.

I've heard it many times before.

You've felt that pain too.

We already have all the answers we need.

I stared out the window.

How would something like this even work?

The first problem was obvious.

She was a woman.

I'd never been attracted to women.

The truth was...

I'd never liked being around them.

It started with my stepmother.

We hated each other.

She taught everyone else how to treat me.

Teachers.

Doctors.

Girls at school.

They all followed her example.

Things only got worse after I became a werewolf.

Xo hurt me the most.

I trusted her.

I looked up to her.

I thought she was helping me rebuild my broken life.

Instead...

She hurt my baby.

Then she turned her back on me when I needed her most.

It always seemed to end that way.

Maybe that was why making friends had never been easy.

Even Allison had betrayed me.

So yes...

I knew exactly what that kind of pain felt like.

"I wanted to thank you for coming," I said, breaking the silence.

Ansley stiffened.

Her hands tightened around the steering wheel.

"My father called."

"I followed his orders."

"You don't have to thank me."

"Thank him."

I nodded.

"Can I ask you something?"

She glanced at me.

"What?"

"Why did you try to kill me when you thought I was sleeping with your dad?"

Her sharp gasp filled the car.

"You clearly don't care who your father or your brother sleeps with."

"So it felt personal."

"The way you act around me..."

"It feels personal too."

"If there's something you need to tell me..."

"Tell me now."

"Before we're forced to work together."

She shrugged.

"You annoy me."

"And yes..."

"I care about my family."

"It's one thing when they take advantage of other people."

"It's another when someone takes advantage of them."

"They're still men."

"And they usually think with only one thing."

"Is that why you can't reject me to my face?"

I asked quietly.

"Because I annoy you?"

The car suddenly swerved.

The tires screeched across the road before she quickly straightened the wheel again.

A nervous laugh escaped me.

I couldn't help it.

"Did he tell you?" she asked.

"No."

"But you make it obvious."

"My wolf likes keeping her distance from you."

"That's strange."

"She usually wants to know whether someone is a friend."

"I never noticed it before."

"There was always too much happening."

"You don't understand," Ansley muttered.

"What exactly?"

"That your mate is another woman?"

She shook her head.

"I've dated women before."

I studied her for a moment.

"So..."

"Valduz is the problem."

"You don't want to share him."

Her eyes widened.

"Do you even hear yourself?"

"Yeah."

"I've actually been thinking about my own kids."

"They're all so different."

"Zenep is the heir to the Rogue throne."

"And Zoey..."

"He's an Alpha."

I looked at Ansley.

"Valduz told me a little about what it was like for you two growing up."

"He said he was always more aggressive."

"You tried to keep up."

"He kept putting you in your place."

"Your father finally had to separate you."

"And when Maria left..."

"She left you behind."

Ansley let out a dry laugh.

"Is there a question in there?"

"Or are you just listing the worst moments of my life?"

I met her eyes.

"I know exactly what it's like to be left behind."

"To watch your father choose someone else."

"To keep wondering what you did wrong."

"To believe he hates you without ever knowing why."

"It's easy to hate everyone around you."

"You convince yourself they'll never understand."

She stayed silent.

"You don't owe me an apology."

"You don't owe me an explanation either."

"That's not why I'm asking."

"I just need an honest answer."

"A simple yes or no."

"So when the day comes..."

"When my twins ask me what they should do if they ever end up in the same situation..."

"I'll know what to tell them."

"As the shared mate."

Ansley looked ahead at the road.

"It'll be different for them."

"You and Valduz aren't complete assholes."

A small, bitter smile crossed her face.

"My parents were never the problem."

"Nathan and I aren't that different."

"We're both Alphas."

"The difference is..."

"He was always stronger."

"Always smarter."

"He never asked."

"He demanded."

"I spent my entire childhood trying to catch him."

"Trying to prove I was enough."

"Then one day..."

"He turned around and acted like none of it ever mattered."

"He walked away."

"He left me behind."

"I've been cleaning up after him ever since Maria took him."

Her grip tightened around the steering wheel.

"I never understood why he refused to kill you."

"I had more than one chance."

"Before your bond became permanent."

"I wanted to."

"It would've given me everything I ever wanted."

"His strength."

"His place."

"The life he walked away from."

She finally looked at me.

Pain filled her eyes.

"I can't reject you, Hope Elara."

"And I can't even look at you..."

"Because of what I tried to do."

"If you want the dreams to stop..."

"If you want the pull between us to disappear..."

"If you want to stop feeling my brother whenever I'm near..."

"You'll have to reject me."

The words hung between us.

Heavy.

Painful.

Final.

Then her voice turned cold again.

"Until you decide..."

"I'm going to make this pack regret ever asking you to become their Alpha."

"I'm going to kill Allison for what she did."

"For playing with your feelings."

She let out a slow breath.

"That's my job."

"I'm the only one who's allowed to do that."

For the first time since this conversation began...

She looked directly at me.

"All I want from you..."

"Is to sit back."

"And keep looking as beautiful as you do..."

"While I burn every last one of them into submission."

She faced the road again.

"That's the most honest answer you're ever going to get from me."