Chapter 184 DARK MOON LEGACY
Edeline
“So what’s the big deal?” I pressed, sensing there was more he needed to say.
“And... it’s a part of my life I can’t seem to forget,” he continued, a heaviness settling in his tone. “Cilla, I mean. My mate. You remind me of her,” he admitted, his eyes glassy—not from emotion, but from the drinks we’d shared. “The way you get angry, the way you stand up for yourself. You even smile like she did... and you resemble her, too. It’s like I’m looking at her all over again. Your personality, everything,” he said, running a hand through his messy hair, as if trying to brush away the memories.
I couldn’t hide my curiosity. Me? I reminded him of his deceased partner?
“Cilla was a great woman. I made some foolish choices in my youth, and not many people know this, but after my father passed away, I was sent to live with my dad’s cousin, who was also my second cousin. I stayed with him until I was old enough to take over my father’s pack. During that time, my father’s beta ran things. The cousin I lived with was the former Alpha of Dark Moon, Maximus.”
My eyebrows shot up in surprise, and I felt my eyes widen as I took in what he was saying. I might have been a little buzzed, but I was still coherent enough to grasp the significance. Dark Moon was notorious for being the toughest pack around. “Wait, didn’t Nyra and Annabel come from Dark Moon?” I asked, trying to piece it all together.
He nodded, his hands resting casually on the bar as he stared ahead. I found myself fixated on the side of his face, trying to read the emotions he was holding back. “Nyra was actually my third cousin, but she always felt more like a sister to me. Annabel, on the other hand, was my second cousin.”
I was struggling to keep up with everything he was sharing, the connections and histories weaving a complicated web in my mind. But one thing was clear—Conor was opening up to me in a way that few ever got to see.
"I never really knew Annabel when I was younger, but Maximus, the Alpha of Darkmoon back then, was a whole different story. Nyra, his daughter, was in his pack. Maximus had this reputation for being the kind of guy who wanted everyone to be scared of him—and, honestly, the rumors you've heard? They're all true," he said, staring down into his glass, his voice heavy with old memories.
"He made sure every member of his pack learned the art of war, no matter if they were male or female, as long as they were interested. And when it came to mates..." He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. "If one of his family members had a weaker mate, he'd push them hard to find someone stronger. He only agreed to William being Nyra's mate because he saw the potential for a strong bloodline and a good treaty. When Nyra died... I was so angry and heartbroken. She meant a lot to me." His voice wavered for a moment, but he pushed on. "Maximus was devastated too, but his focus shifted quickly. All he cared about was keeping the treaty alive. He made William feel like Nyra's death was his fault, and in the end, William chose Annabel as his new mate. Annabel didn’t want it, but Maximus, with his rank, pressured her into it. She had no choice." He looked genuinely pained as he relived the memories.
I sat there, frozen and tipsy, trying to process everything he was saying. "That wolf... he was my mate’s brother. I never really had much to do with Annabel, but through her mate, I found my own. Maximus was obsessed with bloodlines—especially strong ones. The way he raised me, it was all about producing heirs. Love didn’t matter. He’d cheat on his mate without a second thought, knowing she'd feel the pain from their bond. And me... I grew up to be the tough male he wanted, following right in his footsteps. He was strict, you know?" He let out a dark chuckle, his eyes fixated on the liquid swirling in his glass.
"I remember finding my mate when I was only 17, still trying to figure things out. I thought I was something back then, but Maximus... he wanted me to reject her and find someone else. My father, though, he always taught me to value the gifts the moon gave us, so I went against Maximus and held onto Cilla. Looking back, I wasn’t kind to her. I kept my distance, made her believe she had to become a warrior before we could be together," he admitted, shaking his head as if trying to shake off the regret. "I really did care about her, but... I ended up being with other women. She would catch me, but I just shrugged it off. I didn’t want to hurt Cilla, but I never committed to her either. And if I didn’t sleep around, Maximus would mock me, push me to do things I didn’t want to do. I even stooped so low as to sleep with Anita." His face twisted in disgust at the memory.
This story hit me hard. I had always thought he was heartless, but hearing him now... I realized there was more to him than I had ever known. He kept talking, but he never met my eyes.
"When Cilla's heat came, she seduced me. I was with her then, and she got pregnant. I was just 18. I had no idea she and Ben had something going on behind my back, but honestly, I don't blame her after how terrible I was to her. I wanted her, but I was so afraid of Maximus seeing me as weak or using Cilla against me. He was the one who decided when I would be ready to take over my father's pack, after all. But when Cilla told me she was pregnant, I was over the moon. I stopped messing around with other women, but Maximus... he said I was getting soft. He even threatened to use Cilla against me, just like I feared. He wanted me to be just like him. So, once Tatiana was born, I fell right back into old habits, sleeping around again." His voice dropped, and he shook his head, running a hand through his hair in frustration.