Chapter Forty-one

LUNA

I watched him wearily as we both sat across from each other and ate our food in silence. I had decided to take Ophelia’s advice and not provoke him, which meant that speaking shouldn’t be done on my part at all.

With the number of bruises and pain all over my person, even the feminist in me was gladly taking a bow.

I ate as much as my stomach would allow, staring at all the portraits of my mother. The woman I had never met. She was beautiful, and I was her spitting image. I conjured up images in my mind of what and how we would have been if she was alive. Places we would have visited together. The things we would have done. My heart filled with sadness at the thought of the childhood that I had been denied.

Guillermo finished his food before me, and groaned loudly, leaning back in his chair. He picked his teeth with a toothpick, and I could feel his eyes heavily on me as I ate mine.

“You have quite the appetite, my love.” I cringed at the endearment, but I managed to rough out a small smile and nodded my head. He sighed and continued picking his teeth. “Is the food to your liking?”

I nodded again, draining my cup of orange juice. Guillermo snapped his fingers and the waiter standing in the corner was at my side to fill it up immediately. It didn’t escape my notice how his hands shook. When he was done, I smiled as widely as I could and thanked him.

We were both prisoners in this hell.

“I can tell you have questions.” I didn’t know how to reply to that, so I just stared blankly at him. “You can ask them, you know.”

I scoffed, “The last time I tried that, I was slapped out of my mind. I’ll pass. Thanks.”

He smiled at me and nodded. “Fair point.” I shrugged. “I apologize for that—slapping you.” He waved his hand at my face.

“Uh…”

“How is the head? Does it hurt?”

Of all the things I had expected him to say, I wasn’t expecting an apology. “Not really. Ophelia has been taking care of it. It’s just a little sore.”

“Ah. I need to give her a raise then. To thank her. Now…” He adjusted himself in his chair. “Let’s go back to your question.”

“Okay.”

“What do you want to know?”

I licked my lips and took a deep breath. Opening my mouth and closing it again, seeking the best way to present my question without getting a slap to the face. “My mom…” He groaned. “How well did you know her?”

“Very well. We were best friends. We dated, and as I told you the last time, we almost got married.”

“Yes, if not for my father. You already mentioned that.”

“I did.”

“You say that she loved you back?”

“Yes. We were mates.” My eyes widened in surprise. “I was surprised too, because, well, humans are not usually paired with wolves. But she was mine, and I loved her. And she loved me too.”

“Then why did she leave you? Be honest. We both know that even if my father was actively seeking her attention, she wouldn’t pay him any mind because she was mated to you. Something had to have happened.”

He laughed sardonically and pulled out a cigar from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag. I watched as he puffed out the smoke, making rings in the air. “Well… I wasn’t perfect. Still not perfect. I mean, no one is. And I think that was something that your mother didn’t understand.” I didn’t like where this was going. I had already braced my mind to accept the worst news, but still. “Your mother and I fought a lot.”

“Why?”

“She didn’t like my lifestyle.”

“She wanted you to leave the mafia?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“You don’t ever leave the Italian mafia,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Well, Giovanni said that your case is quite different.” I bit my tongue, regretting my words when his face turned stormy.

“What did that boy tell you?”

I could taste the venom in that question. “Nothing.” The look in his eyes told me not to play with him. “He just said that you were adopted.”

“That’s all?”

I nodded. The look he gave me told me that he didn’t believe me, but he wasn’t going to push it. “Was that the only reason she left you?”

“As I said, we used to fight a lot. And a lot of times, that fight got physical.”

“You hit her.”

“Yes. Not all the time. Just on the days she needed to be reminded of her place, and who she was speaking to.”

“Oh?”

“Do you know what hurts me the most? The fact that I gave her the world. I gave her everything. I flew her everywhere. I bought her the best and finest the world has to offer. I would have done anything for her… but she still chose to leave me for that bastard.”

“I hate to break this to you, but money isn’t everything.” My voice broke towards the end. My heart broke for my mother. And in some way, I was happy. At least she got to witness love. Real love. The kind that doesn’t hurt. The kind that doesn’t hit you, and degrade you.

The healthy kind. He couldn’t see why she had left him, but I could.

“Then she didn’t want a child. Despite all my attempts to get her pregnant, she refused. Begged, cajoled, forced…”

“Did you say forced?”

“Yes, forced. She would always remove—”

“Wait, do you mean to say you raped her?”

“I don’t like using that word.” I swallowed hard, tears gathered in my eyes, clouding my vision. “Anyways, she would always remove the child.” He laughed angrily. “So, you can imagine my anger when I finally found her after several years of searching… and she bore that bastard a child.” The look he gave me made me want to shrink in my seat.

“What did you do when you found her?”

“I was told that she was in the hospital. I thought she was ill or something. I dressed my best, thinking she would be happy to see her mate, only for me to get into the ward and learn she had just had a baby. The bastard was there with her, smiling away.”

“So, you killed her?”

He shrugged. “What? I was angry. And I had every right to.” This man was sick. “I paid her nurse to inject her with poison. That was how she died. I was looking for your father to kill him too, but he just disappeared before I could return.”

“You’re a bastard,” I said, tears falling from my eyes.

“I know. Killing your mother was extreme. I shouldn’t have done that, but it was her fault.”

My breathing started coming in hard pants and my vision was getting blurry.

“But the goddess had mercy on me—that is why she has given me a second chance with you.” He smiled at me.

I needed to get out of here.