Chapter 140: Chapter 140
Hayley's POV
Ariel remained standing beside the table, her fingers resting on the edge of the map.
I was still trying to make sense of what she'd just told me.
“Celine gave Dad the map?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Ariel pulled out a chair and sat down.
“Because Celine had her eyes on your father long before he and I became involved.”
I sat opposite her.
“You mean she wanted him?”
Ariel nodded.
“Very much.”
I frowned.
“Why would Celine want Dad?”
“Stanley was human, but he wasn't ordinary to her. He was close to our world and he moved freely between different circles, and he had access to places she couldn't always reach.”
Ariel paused.
“And she liked the idea of having someone she could control.”
That sounded more like Celine.
“What happened between them?”
“Nothing. Till after she thought she killed me, I guess.”
Ariel gave a small, tired smile.
“Your father never encouraged her at the time. He had already fallen in love with me.”
I leaned back.
“So Celine was jealous.”
“Jealous, angry and determined.”
She looked down at the map.
“One evening, she invited Stanley to meet her. She told him she had something important to discuss.”
“And he went?”
“He did.”
“Why?”
“Because Stanley wasn't expecting trouble.”
Ariel's mouth curved slightly.
“That was one of his faults. He trusted people too easily.”
I smiled despite myself.
“That sounds familiar.”
“Unfortunately.”
She continued.
“When he arrived, Celine offered him a drink. She had put something in it.”
“Medicine?”
“Something intended to make him easier to manipulate.”
I stared at her.
“But she got drugged instead?”
Ariel nodded.
“Stanley noticed something was wrong before he drank much of it. They argued. Celine became careless, knocked the cup over and some of the liquid spilled onto her.”
“What happened?”
“She collapsed.”
I blinked.
“And Dad just left?”
“Not immediately.”
Ariel shook her head.
“He searched the room. That's when he found the map.”
“The one we're holding?”
“Yes.”
“He took it?”
“He did.”
“Why?”
Ariel gave me a look.
“Your father was trying to impress Drake.”
I laughed.
“Seriously?”
“Very seriously.”
She smiled for the first time since we'd begun talking.
“Stanley knew Drake wasn't particularly fond of the idea of one of his own being with a human. He thought if he brought him something valuable, something connected to the werewolf world, perhaps Drake would begin to see him differently.”
“That sounds like Dad.”
“He was very proud of that plan.”
“Did it work?”
Ariel shook her head.
“Not exactly.”
“What did Drake say?”
“He told him to stop trying to buy his approval.”
I laughed again.
“Poor dad.”
“It was saddening.”
Ariel folded her arms.
“But Drake kept the map.”
“And Dad?”
“He kept something else.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“The missing piece.”
She reached into the drawer beneath the table and pulled out another small piece of parchment.
I stared at it.
“You have it?”
Ariel nodded.
“Your father kept it hidden.”
“Why?”
Ariel placed it beside the larger map.
“Because Stanley understood something before many people in our world did.”
She looked at me.
“You were going to need it.”
“For what?”
“To survive here.”
I looked at the small piece.
“You mean because I'm half human?”
“Half-human.”
“And half-werewolf.”
“Yes.”
I frowned.
“Why would a piece of a map help me?”
“Because this isn't simply a map to the Seal.”
Ariel tapped the parchment.
“It contains a record of the territories, old alliances and the routes controlled by several of the ancient packs. Your father believed that if you ever had to enter this world without him or me beside you, you would need something that gave you a place in it.”
I looked at the parchment again.
“So Dad planned for me.”
“He did.”
My throat tightened.
“Even though he didn't know what would happen?”
“He knew enough to worry.”
I ran my thumb over the edge of the parchment.
“Did he know about the Seal Bearers?”
“Not everything.”
“Did he know I was one?”
Ariel hesitated.
“Yes.”
I looked up.
“How?”
“He found out before you were old enough to understand what it meant.”
I sat back.
There were suddenly too many pieces of my life scattered across this table.
My father, the man who I thought hated me all my life.
Drake.
Celine.
The map.
The Seal.
And the fact that my parents had known more than they'd ever told me.
“Why didn't Dad give me the missing piece himself?”
Ariel looked down.
“He intended to.”
“But?”
“He died before he could and you know, Celine.”
The room became quiet.
I swallowed.
“What happened to the piece after that?”
“I kept it.”
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I couldn't trust anyone with it.”
I studied her face
.
“Not even me?”
Ariel looked at me for a long moment.
“You were a child.”
“I wasn't a child forever.”
“I know.”
She sighed.
“I kept waiting for the right time.”
“And now?”
“Now the right time has stopped mattering.”
She pushed the parchment towards me.
“Celine knows about the map. Wales knows about the mountain. Ares knows enough to be dangerous. And someone else has been removing records from the Order.”
I picked up the missing piece.
It fitted against the larger map perfectly.
A route appeared.
It extended beyond the Moonless Mountain and ended at a symbol I'd never seen before.
“What is this?”
Ariel shook her head.
“I don't know.”
I looked at her.
“You're finally admitting that.”
“I'm learning.”
I smiled faintly.
“So Dad wanted Alpha Drake to accept him, stole a map from Celine, and then hid part of it for me.”
“That is the simplified version.”
“What is the complicated one?”
Ariel gave me a knowing look.
“Your father was a terrible spy.”
I laughed.
“He was a human in love with a werewolf. I think he had bigger problems.”
“He certainly did.”
The door suddenly opened.
Damon stood there.
His expression was serious.
“Sorry to interrupt.”
Ariel looked at him.
“What happened?”
“The guards found something in Wales' belongings.”
I stood.
“What?”
Damon looked at me.
“A piece of parchment.”
My stomach dropped.
“Another piece?”
He nodded.
“And Wales wasn't carrying it.”
“Then who was?”
Damon glanced towards Ariel.
“The person who took it from him.”
Ariel's expression changed.
“Who?”
Damon's answer was quiet.
“Celine.”