Chapter 70 - Lost II - The Royal Hybrid

Hayden’s POV

It was weird. No matter how I tried to look at it, it was weird, and it felt uncomfortable just being near it. Her headstone had been delivered shortly after her coffin had been lowered into the ground and now, several hours later, here I was.

“It doesn’t even look real, does it?” Gabriel muttered from behind me, making me jump in surprise.

“When did you get here?” I questioned.

“You would think that for a wolf you would be able to hear me coming from miles away,” he chuckled. “What is on your mind?”

“Everything,” I breathed. “My mind is clouded with so many thoughts that I can’t seem to tell the difference between them.”

“I know what you mean,” he said as he came to stand next to me. “But just remember that it hopefully will change soon.”

“You know we can’t talk about that here or anywhere for that matter,” I hushed. “The freaking trees have ears.”

“I know, sorry.”

“It looks unreal, doesn’t it?” I mumbled under my breath.

“What? The headstone?”

“Yeah…” I trailed off as I walked over to it.

I crouched down so the inscription with her name was at eye height and then I let my fingers slowly run over it feeling every curve within the letters.

“She would love it though,” he breathed as he lowered himself to the ground. “It is very simple looking and yet very flashing.”

I looked at it to see what he meant, and I didn’t have to look long to see it. The stone was white with a subtle sparkle in it and the engravings were colored over with a matte black color, making it stand out even more. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was to somehow capture her fur to immortalize it. It truly was beautiful. Simple yet outstanding.

“I can’t wait to see it in the sunlight,” I whispered. “I think when the sun's rays hit it just right it will shine as bright as she did.”

“I think you are right and wrong at the same time,” he sighed and leaned back on his elbows. “Nothing will ever be able to shine as bright as she did.”

“Yeah, you are right about that,” I smiled. “How could I ever believe anything could.”

“I don’t know,” he chuckled lightly before lying down completely. “Look how bright the stars shine right now,” he said and pointed to the now very dark sky.

I scooted back a bit and laid down next to him. He wasn’t wrong. The sky was clear of skies, so the stars had a clear path to let their shine through.

“Do you think she can see them too?” I asked in a wondering tone.

“I do,” he mumbled.

I knew he wanted to say more, but I also knew that he was right. We had to be careful with what we were saying. We could never fully be sure that we were alone because if there was one thing I knew, it was that she was watching us every chance she got, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she was somehow watching us now too. As if on cue, I heard the grass shuffle beneath a pair of feet that made their way to us.

“Sorry,” her soft voice spoke. “I didn’t know anyone would be here now.”

I tilted my head back just enough to see Kathleen stepping out of the shadows. She looked so innocent standing there with a small frown on her face. If the frown was because she was acting to be sad or if she was displeased with us being here, I had no idea.

“It is okay,” Gabriel breathed as he sat up. “You are welcome to join us if you want.”

I was surprised and very impressed by the calmness in his voice. I wasn’t sure I could mask my disgust as well as he could, so instead of even trying, I turned my attention back to the sky.

“Are you sure?” she questioned, and I could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

I noticed how Gabriel heard the same as he lifted his brow before turning his head to her.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be sure?”

“I don’t know, I just… I don’t want to intrude if you are having a moment,” she said and shifted the weight on her feet.

“Well, moment or not, you were her best friend, right? You meant just as much to her as we did, so you have every right to be here.”

I heard the secret message in his words, and I couldn’t help but wonder how she didn’t pick up on that. He didn’t have any venom in his voice, but even when he tried his best, he couldn’t hide every emotion he had in him and when she didn’t answer at first, I held my breath, fearing that she had noticed it too.

But when she sat down next to me, I realized that she hadn’t, and I could once again breathe.

“It is so weird,” she mumbled. “Her not being here anymore,” she clarified.

“Yeah, it is,” he agreed.

“It felt as if it was yesterday that I was sitting next to her talking to her about you two and now…” she trailed off. “I wish I could have done something to prevent it.”

And then I could no longer keep my mouth shut.

“I’m sure that if anyone could, it would have been you,” I huffed and immediately felt Gabriel’s eyes burn into the side of my head.

“I think what he means is that you kept her safe for all those years,” Gabriel quickly added. “We didn’t and, since we didn’t know exactly what we were up against like you did, then you had more of a chance to make sure that she would know the danger she was in.”

I bit my tongue knowing that Gabriel might just have saved us from my very big mistake.

“I’m sorry,” I sighed, trying to sound sincere. “I didn’t mean it like that at all, I just…”

“You are grieving,” she interrupted. “I don’t take it to heart, but you are right though. I knew what Chad was like and I knew what Killian would be willing to do, or so I thought… I didn’t know that he would go to this length.”

“It is not your fault. You aren’t in control of other people’s decisions or actions,” Gabriel spoke. “We know that you did what you could with the cards that you were dealt. I am sure that she knows it too.”

I looked at Gabriel, whose face was as hard as stone, and then my eyes went to Kathleen, who looked smug. Out of all the things she could look like she looked smug and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why. She thought she had tricked us, that we had no idea how she actually felt. But we did. She felt victorious and yet again I found myself having to bite my tongue in order to not explode and for once, I was actually happy that Syx was hiding because if he had been alert and on his toes, I wouldn’t have been able to stop him from shifting and taking over.

“I did try my best,” she sighed. “That is why I helped her escape in the first place.”

“Only to capture me again later on, isn’t that right, Kathleen?” a familiar voice spoke from behind the headstone. I got to my feet faster than I had ever moved before and right there… Right there behind the white stone shining ever so slightly in the moonlight, Tatiana walked up.

Gabriel, who had just gotten up, looked surprised and like he was about to throw up, and I... I was holding my breath, scared that this was yet another illusion.

“Ta-Tatiana,” Kathleen stuttered. “How…”

“Go on,” she said, her voice so calm that it chilled me to the bone. “Apologize.”

Tatiana’s POV

I was listening to them talk about me. How they were grieving and trying to deal with it. Even though they were occasionally laughing, I could hear the pain in their voices.

I knew they were hurting, and I was hurting too, but I didn’t know how much. Had it not been, because this was the only option we had; I would never have done this to them.

“They will be okay, you know,” Chad whispered from behind me.

“They might be okay, but do you think they will ever forgive me?”

“Forgive you? Tatiana, you are their mate. They think you are dead, so for you to just come back to life? That is the one thing every mate hopes for.”

“Is that your way of saying yes?” I questioned.

“Yes, it is. I believe they will forgive you,” he sighed. “Maybe not right away, but they will eventually just be happy that you are alive and back with them.”

“Goddess, I hope you are right,” I muttered and listened closely.

“I can’t wait to see it in the sunlight,” Hayden whispered. “I think when the sun's rays hit it just right it will shine as bright as she did.”

“I think you are right and wrong at the same time,” I heard Gabriel sigh. “Nothing will ever be able to shine as bright as she did.”

“They do really seem to miss you,” Chad whispered, sounding pained.

“Are you going all soppy on me now?” I teased.

“No, I just… I never really had that, you know,” he shrugged.

I looked at his face and saw nothing but the truth. Over the past few weeks, I had gotten to know Chad pretty well, and despite everything that had happened in the past, he really wasn’t such a bad guy. He still wasn’t my favorite person in the world, but he had saved me and, by doing so, he had also saved my pack and, for that, I would forever be thankful.

“I am sure you will get to feel love someday too,” I ensured him as I rested my hand on his arm and watched him nod.

“She is here.”

“It’s time then,” I sighed.

“Will you still not let me go with you?”

“No, this is something I must do alone. However, if something happens, you need to cut in. You have to make sure that she doesn’t escape us,” I told him.

“I will,” he nodded.

“I’m serious Chad,” I stated, my tone harder than intended. “I’m counting on you here.”

“And I will not let you down,” he assured me. “Not again. Besides, why would I go through all the trouble of saving you only to let you fail?”

“You are right,” I breathed.

I knew I had to trust him with this too. But now that we were so close to actually pull this off, I couldn’t help but have some doubts.

“And you are sure they won’t sense me coming?” I questioned as I got up.

“Yes, you are still cloaked, so they won’t be able to see, hear, smell, or sense you before you make yourself known.”

“Good, here goes nothing.”

Not only was I nervous about exposing myself, but I was also excited. I would finally be able to go home. I would finally get to see them again, to be in their arms and feel their warmth. That was the hardest part about all of this. I missed them so much that I multiple times had to pick myself up and stop myself from breaking down completely. It truly had been excruciating for me to not be around them and I had a feeling that they had felt the exact same thing except for the fact that they thought I was dead, while I knew that they were very much alive.

“I did try my best,” I heard her sigh as I was only a few feet away. “That is why I helped her escape in the first place.”

“Only to capture me again later on, isn’t that right, Kathleen?” I asked, trying my best to sound indifferent.

Within a second, Hayden’s face popped up from behind the headstone; my headstone. He was gaping at me, not blinking even once, as if he was scared that if he did, I would disappear again. Not long after, Kathleen was staring at me with pure fear in her eyes and next to her, Gabriel was standing looking ever so pale.

“Ta-Tatiana,” she stuttered. “How…”

“Go on,” I spoke calmly. “Apologize.”