Chapter 210 THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE
Percival
Mirabelle leaned in closer, her eyes searching mine. “So, why exactly was he considered a threat, Percival?” she pressed, her curiosity clearly piqued.
I didn’t look at her, continuing to stare blankly. I felt a profound indifference. “There are things about Darius that no one knows. Just me, my dad, and Jack are aware. Edeline doesn’t know. If she did, it would completely shatter her and destroy all her precious memories. That’s the last thing I want to do,” I said hoarsely, my voice strained.
Mirabelle’s expression grew more intense. She mentioned she had seen a dark vision about Darius but couldn’t make sense of it. “Percival, can you tell me something?” she pleaded.
What’s the point anymore? I’ve already lost everything else.
"Darius wasn’t feeling well. He wasn’t feeling well at all,” I began, trying to steady my voice. “On my mom's side of the family, there’s this illness that runs in the genes. Darius was born with it, even though it tends to skip around. It’s a mental disorder... He was quite a character, Mirabelle. The former leader of Dark Moon, Annabel’s uncle, and my dad’s first mate’s father. He had it too. He was the toughest alpha around.”
I paused, taking a long sip from my bottle. “Things took a turn for the worse when he discovered that Edeline was my mate. He used to do really terrible things to females from other packs. He never got caught because the women were too scared to speak up. However, Edeline never saw this side of him. He was obsessed with her, always had been. She didn’t notice it, so we kept her unaware. I allowed her to remain unaware... until it got overwhelming.”
I took another deep breath. “So, there I was, just casually strolling along, when I ended up following Darius. This was after our fight. I just wanted to see if he had gotten worse since he was the one helping Edeline through her depression. I saw him heading up to the pack line at the north border. He was sniffing around, checking things out. When he arrived, there was a young woman waiting for him. She was really nice. She said she’d detected his scent and recognized his significance to her—her friend.”
Mirabelle’s eyes widened as I spoke, but I remained expressionless. My words were just a recounting of events, void of emotion.
“She was thrilled to see him, but he was furious. He said that finding her was the last thing he wanted. She was messing up his plans, and he’d never forgive her. He told her he had feelings for someone else and didn’t want to be with her. Her friend started crying uncontrollably. Darius got even angrier when he felt the mate bond. He lashed out, hurling offensive remarks at her. That’s when I took off. I wish I hadn’t gone for a run... I could have stopped him. I had no idea what he would do after I left. I rushed to my dad and told him that Darius had discovered his mate and was reacting strongly. He came with me to the border where I’d seen Darius and his partner. But when we got there, the girl was gone. Darius was gone too. Nothing left behind. We weren’t sure if she’d gone to her dad or something. But I never expected him to do what he did.”
Mirabelle’s mouth dropped open, her face a mix of shock and disgust as she absorbed my story.
“My dad told me not to tell anyone about Darius finding his mate,” I continued. “So, Darius told her he wouldn’t be with her. He said he’d take care of it. That’s why he didn’t hesitate to forbid Edeline and Darius from being together. He wasn’t sure how serious Darius would be after confessing his love for Edeline to his own partner. But once he realized Darius wasn’t going to harm Edeline, he took a chance, letting them be together. I was furious with him. Edeline might have gotten hurt, but I just let my dad walk all over me. I had to keep the secret about Darius rejecting his mate because of Edeline from everyone.”
I took a break to grab a drink, and Mirabelle, perched on the edge of her seat, watched me intently.
"So, Darius’s friend’s dad, Alpha Reynold, decided to organize a search party to find his daughter who had gone missing,” I began, feeling a deep sense of resignation as I spoke. “My dad and I started to get suspicious. We had a hunch about what might have happened to Darius’s partner, but we couldn’t prove anything. Maybe she had just run off on her own, who knows?”
Mirabelle remained silent, her expression unreadable. I continued, “We thought she went back home, tears streaming down her face as she sought solace from her father. I noticed that my wolf started acting aggressively toward Darius. I had this gnawing feeling that he’d done something terrible. That’s when Darius really began to change.”
Mirabelle’s face grew paler as I spoke, her eyes widening.
“Tatiana had poisoned him with tea not long before,” I said, almost as if it were an afterthought. “She was aware of his condition. Tatiana got wind of my conversation with my dad and learned about his decision to reject his partner for Edeline. She didn’t say anything because I asked her not to. But, after that whole incident with Anita and the poisoning, when Darius and Edeline almost got together, Alpha Reynold announced that his daughter’s body had been discovered. Her name was Lilly.”
Mirabelle’s hand went to her mouth, and she looked horrified.
“Lilly was found in the woods,” I continued, my voice low and steady. “Her throat had been slit, and her body was bruised. They thought a human was responsible because she was left on human territory. My dad never said a word about it. When he learned about Edeline’s assault that same evening, he kept Darius locked up in the cellars, never mentioning Lilly’s fate to anyone. The terrible things Darius had done—his own mate.”
Mirabelle looked utterly appalled, her eyes wide with shock. She seemed unable to process the gravity of what I was saying.