Chapter 248 LOST CONNECTIONS
Edeline
Looking into his eyes, I asked softly, "Do you miss her? Do you worry about her? Do you still love her?" The pain in my voice was palpable, and I felt my heart ache when a tear slipped from his eye. Conor didn’t cry.
He wiped his angry cheek with his hand and whispered, "Yes."
"Everyone cries, Conor. There’s no reason to feel bad about it. I would be worried if you didn’t still love her," I said with a sad sigh, gently touching his arm.
I leaned in closer, stroking his arm. "Maybe you should call her."
He halted my hand by placing his on my wrist. The raw pain in his dark eyes was striking. He leaned over the edge of the bed, facing away from me. "She doesn’t want me to," he said, his shoulders slumping in resignation.
"Would you ever take her back? As your daughter?"
"Yes..." he replied, his head hanging low. "I'm ashamed of how I treated her... my princess. Your dad was able to look past everything and still accept your brother as his, but my pride got in the way of what truly mattered—my family. Even if she isn’t really mine."
At that moment, I felt a swell of pride for my dad. He had been so kind, able to overcome the same worries that plagued Conor. And here was Conor, finally expressing his feelings, even if it involved my old worst enemy.
He ran his fingers through his dark hair, and I couldn’t help but notice.
"Conor, would you like me to call Mirabelle and find out what’s going on with her?" I offered.
He paused, turning his head to the side, deep in thought. Finally, he nodded seriously. "Thank you."
I smiled softly. "It’s not a problem. I haven’t talked to Mirabelle in a few weeks anyway. I’ll be right back."
My heart raced as I got out of bed, walking to my room to grab my phone from the table next to my bed. I had no idea why I felt so scared.
Mirabelle picked up on the third ring.
"Edeline! I was just about to call you," she said, relief evident in her voice.
Sitting on the edge of my bed, I frowned. "Hey, Mirabelle. What’s going on? Are you okay? How’s the pup?"
I could hear her smile through the phone. She laughed, "Better than okay! The puppy is great so far. I finally told your brother that I couldn’t be his mate because I didn’t want to. And you know what? He was okay with it. We can work this out as friends. It makes me happy."
I couldn’t help but smile, too. "I’m glad. But what do you mean you couldn’t be his partner? I thought Tatiana was marked, so he must have chosen her."
"Oh, Edeline..." she gasped. "You don’t know..."
My heart raced. "Know what? This isn’t good news, is it?"
"William revealed his secrets to the pack... five males challenged him. Alpha Reynold was present as well. Oh, Edeline, so much has happened... the pack is falling apart. All the members want William to step down. They want Nixx to be their next Alpha..."
My mouth dropped open. Was it possible for my brother to become Delta?
"They let Percival get out of the trials since he just killed Darius, but they still want to challenge him for his position in the pack hierarchy." A chill ran through me, like a howl echoing in my mind.
"But they don’t want Tatiana as their Luna. William agreed to train Nixx to know everything he knows in three months. Two months are up—only one left until they expect him to take over and challenge William. He’s been training hard, but he has to reject Tatiana and pick another mate. Oh, Edeline, it’s gotten so bad here... I can’t stay much longer. Once we figure out who will hold the title... if Nixx can’t beat William, I have to leave. The pack will self-destruct. He wants Tatiana, but he doesn’t want to be Alpha. He’s so upset. The pack still wants Tatiana punished, so William has her locked in a cabin a mile away from everything... away from all pack life... until the three months are up. She knows I’m pregnant, and the mark on her is driving her wolf to insanity. I know she’s done awful things, but no wolf deserves to be trapped like that... unable to shift and wander. She’s going to go insane, just like Percival." Her voice cracked, realizing the weight of her words, how much she had just revealed.
Tatiana was locked up? But...
"Z—Percival? What do you mean, crazy?" I asked, my voice trembling.
Heaving, she said, "I'm sorry, Edeline... I didn’t mean to say that. I know we agreed no news about Percival unless you asked, but... well, his wolf has become stronger, and his human side weaker. Someone from another pack is helping him, but I think it’s making things worse. He’s too strong now—on both sides. But his wolf doesn’t take over anymore, which is good... I’m just really worried. He isn’t the same, Edeline. I don’t know if you’d even recognize him anymore."
My heart felt like it was going to burst. My wolf growled in response, urging me to check on our friend.
But I couldn't.
"Hey, Edeline, how are you? How's training going?" She tried to change the subject, knowing that my silence meant I was lost in thought.
Taking a shaky breath, I replied, "Good. It’s good. I won my first fight today. Got a tattoo. Hey, Mirabelle... can I call you back tomorrow? I just... I need to think."
There was a pause. "Yeah, sure. Call me tomorrow. I want to hear about this tattoo. I love you."
A laugh escaped my lips. "Love you too. Bye."
"Bye."
As I turned off my phone, I sat on my bed and stared blankly at the wall.
Was Percival really in that much pain?
He had only been bad for a few months, so could it really be that severe?
I was sure it was more aggressive.
But not enough for me to notice?
He wouldn’t have known who I was either.
The sound of my door being pushed open and the familiar scent of someone I knew let me know that Conor was there.
When I turned to face him, his worried eyes met mine. He rushed over to me as I sat on the bed.
"What’s going on? What’s wrong?"