Chapter 49: Weakness
Dante had set the whole of Zestonia in uproar, rallying up rebellion and calling other humans to his cause. It was amazing to see so many humans come together. But it was terrifying to see them all under Dante’s control. He didn’t seek to free them. He wanted to use them, to draw attention to himself and he hoped that his uprising would spark more uprisings in other regions. It was diabolically clever and it’s what I would have done if I was Dante.
“We’ve killed King Nicholas and his traitorous mate! We’re taking back Zestonia and everything else that the lycan scum have taken from us. And we won’t stop here! Join us! Rise up from your shackles! Down with the lycans!” he yelled, with the rest of his Wolfsbane members yelling in unison behind him.
“I can’t believe he’s doing this! First he poisons me and then tries to kill Nicholas and you. Why?” Melissa asked.
“Vengeance.” I said, letting the word hang heavily in the air. That was when I explained to Melissa all that had happened thus far, taking care to recollect it as accurately as I could.
Melissa listened closely and once I’d finished she let out a loud sigh. “When I found out that Daniel was Dante, he also tried to recruit me. When I refused, he retaliated, but not before telling me his crazy scheme. He would poison me to get into Nicholas’ home and to get closer to you, Ariya. Although I could see he had an unhealthy obsession with you, he had an even more unhealthy obsession with a weakness he was convinced Nicholas had.”
Immediately my blood turned cold and I took in a sharp breath.
“Did he know what the weakness was?” I asked, almost too afraid to hear the answer.
“No. That was another one of the reasons he wanted to get closer to you. He was hoping that you knew.”
“And you do know, don’t you?” Theo asked from behind us.
I turned towards him and slowly nodded.
“That is… unfortunate. I was hoping Nick would have kept it a secret from you to keep you safe,” he said.
“What is it?” Kiyan asked.
Theo shook his head.
“You’re safer not knowing,” he said before storming off.
**Kiyan**
I followed after Theo as he stormed off, catching his attention by grabbing onto his arm. He turned towards me sharply, his eyes filled with an unfamiliar look of bitter resentment.
“What weakness, Theo?” I asked softly.
He shook his head at me and shrugged right out of my touch.
“You fuck me for a night and then sneak out before sunrise. And then the next time I hear from you, you’re on your way to the airport. If it wasn’t that you all were in danger, I would have regretted leaving you my number that night,” he said.
My face was on fire, and I felt so much of guilt burning through me. Not too long-ago Theo and I had run into each other at a local bar. He’d enraptured me with his charming smile, and I found myself engrossed in a conversation with him. A few drinks down the line and we were walking each other home. And then after that… things got extremely hot and heavy. When I woke up the next morning I felt ashamed of myself. I wasn’t a one-night-stand type of guy, and I felt as though I’d taken advantage of Theo’s feelings for me all for the sake of drunken pleasure. I was so confused, even more so after that night and I feared doing something that I’d regret as a result of that confusion.
So, all I could say was a soft, “Sorry… I didn’t mean to leave you like that and not call you after.”
There was a moment of silence that passed between the both of us before Theo sighed and shook his head. I couldn’t tell if he was wavering or not because the look in his eyes was still so achingly unfamiliar to me.
“Why… didn’t you?” he asked, slightly softening his gaze.
“If I tell you, will you tell me the weakness Ariya was talking about?” I asked.
Theo shook his head and sighed before saying, “You don’t know how dangerous knowing that is. Not only to you but to your sister. It’s better for you not to know… for now.”
He said that part a little softer.
“For now?” I repeated, wanting to know whether or not he intended for me to hear it.
His eyes widened and he shook his head before saying, “Nevermind. I trust you’ll find yourself a room.”
“You won’t let me stay in yours?” I’d stupidly blurted it out before I could stop it from slipping out. Theo paused a moment, looked me over and then shook his head once more.
“Goodnight, Kiyan.”