Chapter 66 - The Truth

"Whitlock," Evelyn began as she sipped on her tea.

She carefully balanced her teacup on a plate while she reached for a piece of salami that was on the cheese board before us.

A slight breeze in the air made it chilly enough to raise all the hairs on my body. I looked around at the beautiful view and immediately compared it to the greenery surrounding the Cooper Mansion. But, as stunning as this place was, Huntly was still a million times prettier.

After our introductions inside, we made our way out to the backyard. Evelyn said the open air helped her think, and she needed it for the information she was about to give us. There was a beautiful pergola gazebo standing in the middle of their immaculate lawn. As we made our way towards it, the sun revealed the beautiful peaks and forest the house sat on.

How rich were these people? Were all supernatural people this well off? No way was I ever going to get used to all these luxuries.

Once we got close to the gazebo, I noticed a little spread organized for us on the outdoor furniture—tea, coffee, min sandwiches, a cheese board, and various other nibbles.

My stomach grumbled a little, reminding me of our little encounter with Blake's psychotic ex. Thanks to her, we didn't even eat the food we ordered. I was looking forward to the french toast that was on their menu. My sweet tooth couldn't resist a delicious treat like that.

After making ourselves comfortable, I watched Evelyn gently fold her salami and place it on a cracker. She slowly took a bite and nodded like she agreed that yes, it's yum.

She either had way too much time on her hands, or she didn't understand that my life was hanging on the fact that she was the only one that could cure me.

"Evelyn," Blake pressed. I knew he could feel my anxiety rising.

"I'm sure you know who Michael Whitlock is?" Evelyn finished off her cracker and wiped her fingers on a napkin.

"You mean King Michael Whitlock? King of the North?" Blake sat up more, his ears twitching at that name.

Evelyn nodded and sipped on her tea. Besides Rocky, Taylor, and the Cooper family, I had never seen someone talk to Blake so casually. There was always a sense of respect when people spoke to him.

"Of course I know him. He is part of the council and a very good ally. But what does King Michael have to do with any of this?" Blake questioned.

I hadn't realized it, but it suddenly became very quiet. The chatters died, and everyone stared at Evelyn.

"King Michael and Luna Dorothy play a big role in all of this, actually. However, to know more about Rosalie, we must first know more about her history. After I'm done telling you about all this, you may not want to lift the suppressant from her as that will be a less painful death compared to what's coming." Evelyn put her empty cup on the table and wiped her mouth.

"How about you tell me my history first, and we can cross the suppressant bridge once we get to it" I was getting impatient. It had taken me 29 years to find out about all this; I didn't want to wait any longer.

Evelyn smirked and cleared her throat.

"For those that don't know, the Whitlock family has ruled the North for over 500 years. King Michael and Luna Dorothy have reigned on the Northern territory for almost 40 years. They have generations of pure werewolf blood running in their veins. Together Michael and Dorothy have three kids. The youngest, Jonathon Whitlock, is the only boy and has just turned 30. The second oldest, Lena Whitlock, was killed in a "car accident" 20 years ago. She had just turned 21 and was about to take her father's throne." Evelyn reached for another salami. She seemed unphased by the information she was providing us.

Why did she put bunny ears around a car accident? Was Lena's death not an accident?

"Yes, I've heard about Lena's tragic death, but I didn't know that Michael had three kids. If Lena was the second oldest, then who was the oldest, and why didn't they take the throne?" Blake asked.

Elijah and Kendyl both nodded in agreement with Blake's question.

"No one has ever mentioned King Whitlock had three kids. It's always been known there were 2. Lena and Jonathon” Sara added.

"Well, he is a very powerful and influential person. It wasn't hard for him to erase the existence of his kid. Especially one that went out of her way to make sure she ruined her father's reputation." Evelyn leaned back in her seat before continuing.

"Michael's oldest was what you would call the epitome of a rebel. She had no understanding of rules and regulations. No matter how hard Michael and Dorothy tried, there was no caging that free spirit. Things got worse for them when their oldest daughter turned 16. The day of her birthday, she stood under the moon, and instead of transforming into a wolf and stepping up to take the throne, she told the Moon Goddess she didn't want that life. She pretty much begged The Moon Goddess to take her wolf spirit away."

"We all know The Moon Goddess would never force her wolf spirits onto someone. However, Michael's daughter was born with the birthright. A birthright that would unbalance the way of life if removed. So she was given an ultimatum. As compensation, she had to produce a child to take over her birthright, or she would have to fulfill it herself. If she failed, there would be consequences."

"To say Michael was furious was an understatement. He demanded she fulfill her duties, but the hormonal teenager agreed to the Moon Goddess terms. She was stripped of her wolf and sent on her merry way with a warning that someone would make sure she remembered her deal. Once they returned home, Dorothy convinced Michael to let their daughter calm down before they spoke to her, but that never happened because when the sun rose the next morning, their daughter was gone, never to be seen again."

Evelyn's story had us all sitting at the edge of our seats. I didn't even know I was holding my breath until Rocky sighed loudly next to me, breaking my trance.

It was eerie how quiet everyone was.

"But if she left and did not produce a child to take over her birthright, then wasn't she punished?" Mia asked, pursing her lips.

"When no one had heard from her for a while, they knew she wasn't coming back. Whether or not Beth was punished for her failure to comply with the Moon Goddess's wish, no one knew. Well, someone did know, but Michael and his family didn't. They had to move on, and the only way to do that was to give Lena the throne. After Lena's death. Jonathon took it." Evelyn explained.

"As interesting as your story is, Eve, you still haven't explained how this has anything to do with Luna Rosy. How does she fit into Whitlock's history?" Klaus finally spoke.

Evelyn looked at me and smiled. There was a slight cheekiness to her smile.

"Michael's oldest daughter was Bethany Whitlock. Aka, Bethany Peters, Rosy's mother."

I felt the blood drain from my face.

Did she say, Bethany Whitlock? My mother was the daughter of the King of the North?!

I could feel all eyes on me. Their stares were burning holes into me and making me uncomfortable.

"I… She…. You…." I tried to speak, but my overwhelmed brain wouldn't let me form sentences.

Evelyn sighed and rubbed her hands together.

"Look, I understand that this is hard for you to hear, Rosalie, but your mother was most definitely not who she told you she was. After she ran away from home, she wanted to live and have fun. Do exciting things while exploring the world that her parents blocked her out of. Beth was gorgeous, and she took the easiest way to make money and enjoy life simultaneously. Becoming an exotic dancer wasn't her first preference, but it gave her the money she needed. How she went from stripping to prostitution, I don't know. I told myself it was because her raging werewolf hormones were still active even though she didn't have a wolf."

" However, that's how she met Richard. He was her first client thanks to his eager swimmers; he knocked her up. I don't know if getting pregnant was the Moon Goddess's way of punishing her for running away, but she was only 16. Regardless of what she had done, she was still a kid. Beth was scared, and she knew you'd get the life she had run away from. Not that it was a bad life, she just didn't want it. Not even for you. After you were born, she brought you to me. She begged me to suppress your wolf because it would get you killed one day. You were a pure breed with a powerful birthright. Beth was very vague about her reasons, but I told her she couldn't mess with the balance of life. If the Moon Goddess wanted it to happen, it would happen."

"But Beth was very stubborn and said if I didn't help her, she would find someone else that would. I didn't want her getting herself into any more trouble, so I agreed. I knew at some point the Moon Goddess would intervene and claim what was meant to create the balance. So we kept an eye on you after I had cast the spell. If ever there was any sign the spell was wearing off, I re-did the spell. Once Beth saw you with Blake, she knew it wasn't long before your true identity came to light, and when it did, Beth didn't want you finding out she was behind all this."

"Richard was never going to reveal to you that he was your father. But the closer you got to Blake, the more Beth panicked. She wasn't sure what all you knew about the werewolf world, but she didn't want to wait to find out. Somehow Beth convinced Richard to tell you who he was so that when the time was right, your heritage would be traced back to Richard and his curse, not Beth. They had talked about Richard trying to convince you to leave Blake, but you two were more involved than they had anticipated. Whatever it was, Beth was really trying to hide; she was terrified of it coming out and went to great lengths to keep it a secret. She hadn't planned on staying a stripper for long, but once she started that life, her pimp made it difficult for her to leave by getting her hooked on drugs and alcohol. So she used her life in the hell hole you grew up in as her way of keeping you both safe."

"I know she was a horrible mother, but there was a secret in her life that was more important to her than being a mother. Especially to a child she never wanted. She even used Novo to kidnap you and defame you enough so that Blake would lose interest and leave you alone. But Blake ended up saving you before anything could happen. That's when she decided to run. She knew it wasn't long before her past caught up to her looking for the two of you, and if she couldn't get rid of Blake, she was just going to leave you behind. But I guess she didn't get very far." Evelyn stared into the distance, letting out a loud sigh.

By the end of Evelyn's story, I couldn't breathe. It felt like someone had punched a hole in my chest and ripped out my heart.

My mother had lied to me my whole life. Every small detail was laced with a thick coat of lies. Not knowing who my father was, not knowing who her family was, not having another option but to take off her clothes for a living. It was all a lie. All these lies just so she could keep us hidden? Hidden from what, though?

"She left me behind to deal with the mess she created? A mess I don't even know about?" my words came out as a whisper. I knew I wasn't asking the question out loud but more trying to confirm to myself that I understood Evelyn's underlying message.

"Angel…." Blake's voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up at him, my eyes burning from the tears that were forming.

"She left me behind… They both did," I croaked, tears involuntarily sliding down my cheeks.

After their death, I had come to terms with everything my parents had said and done. But this revelation had opened all my wounds and added so much salt to it that my body was numb from the pain.

My parents, the people that brought me into the world, had abandoned me. I had never asked to be born. I had never asked to be part of any of this. But their actions had put me into a situation that I didn't even know about.

More and more tears slid down my cheeks, and before I knew it, I was sobbing loading.

Blake wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly. I felt another warm hand on my back. I didn't have to turn to see who it was. I knew Rocky wanted to comfort me too.

"I am so sorry, Angel. So sorry," Blake whispered as he hugged me, rubbing my arm.

"Can you lift the spell from her?!" Klaus demanded.

"Yes, I can. But now, after everything that's happened and the risk I've taken, there's a price for her life," Evelyn sneered.

A price?!

I straightened up, trying to get a clear view of the old lady.

"Price? Why is there a price?" I stammered, wiping the tears from my face.

"Because by helping your mother, I'm an accomplice. So whatever the big secret was, whatever Beth was running from, I am now part of it. If I'm going to be in trouble, I might as well make the most of it," Evelyn sneered.

"What do you want?!" Blake demanded.

"It's not what I want; it's what she wants," Evelyn nodded to someone behind us.

Everyone turned to look in the direction. Evelyn nodded.

There, in the doorway of the house, stood a girl. She stepped out of the shadows, and the sun glistened off her gorgeous blonde hair.

Where had I seen hair like that before?

The closer the girl got, the more familiar her appearance became.

The same clothes. The same hair. The same beauty. It was her.

Cynthia walked around us and sat on the handrest of Evelyn's chair, casually leaning into her.

Blake growled loudly and clenched his jaws so hard I could hear his jaws click.

What the hell was she doing here?!

"Didn't your mate tell you who I was? Oh wait, there's a lot of things he hasn't told you," Cynthia snickered, twirling her perfect silky blonde hair between her fingers.

I wasn't in the mood for her bullshit. Once upon a time, she may have been Blake's fuck toy, but right now, it wasn't about that.

"Evelyn, please, tell us what you want so we can get this over with." I croaked.

"You see, my granddaughter here has requested me for something, and it seems like you are the only one that can give her that," Evelyn explained.

Granddaughter? Cynthia was Evelyn's granddaughter? Didn't the waitress at the cafe say Cynthia lived with her grandmother?

"She already has everything she wants. What more does she need that's more important than my mate's life?!" Blake barked.

"You," Cynthia smirked. "I want you."

I closed my eyes and willed myself to breathe. Cynthia wasn't serious, was she?

"My granddaughter has expressed her love for you, Blake, and would like to make you her life partner. So, in return for saving Rosy's life, I would like you to marry Cynthia. Do we have a deal?"

I felt tears roll down my already tear-stained cheeks. The universe was determined to leave me empty and alone. But was my life more valuable than my love for Blake? With how imminent my death was, did I want to trade in the one amazing thing in my life in the attempt to live longer?