Chapter 89 –Again the past

SEBASTIAN

Two days had passed since Teresa’s release, days of delirium, high fever, and hallucinations. She didn’t seem to recover.

I stayed with her all this time, taking care of her, changing her clothes when needed. Her perfect body was probably shaking because of the nightmares that she lived there.

I was still blaming myself for how much suffering she had to go through. Sonia, the girl she had met there, was also here. She was a little better and had explained to us that in time she learned about pain and did not take it into account.

“How is she feeling?” my mother asked in a whisper, entering the door so easily I could barely hear her.

She must have felt a pang of tremendous guilt too for Teresa’s abduction.

“She has not woken up yet. I hope she will be better soon. Where are Erik and Liam?” I asked curiously, not seeing them around here in the last few days.

“Erik is taking care of this girl, Sonia, and Liam is guarding outside with everyone else. They didn’t want to bother you anymore,” my mother explained to me, looking gently at Teresa. “She should have woken up by now. Her wounds are healed completely. The blood recovery will probably last longer, but I am convinced that she will wake up soon.” Her encouragement meant so much to me, especially in these moments when I felt that hope was dying.

“I’d like to talk to this girl, Sonia, and Erik too. Can you stay here with her, so she would not be alone?”

“Of course, my son! You can go. Don’t worry about Teresa. She is in excellent hands!”

Erik and Sonia were in the office, probably remembering their tumultuous past. I found out from Erik the first day we had arrived that Sonia might be his aunt, his uncle’s daughter, Kane. The same Kane who butchered his parents and killed his brother, Adam. We didn’t know for how long Sonia had been in prison, but it was long enough for her to tell us something.

“Erik, Sonia...” I entered, greeting them, already eager to find out what else Lettice was up to. Sonia was going through a tough time too, so I didn't want to pressure her and let her rest up. Now was the time for the truths to be revealed.

“Bash, let me officially introduce you to Sonia Von Hagen, the daughter of my dreaded uncle Kane.” Erik said.

“I’m glad to meet you, Sonia. I’m Bash Gallagher, Teresa’s mate. There are several questions that I would like to ask. I'm counting on you having the answers. Lettice, after waking up, must have been furious. Especially if she realized it was her son Noah who helped us. I didn’t think I could ever say that, but I really thank him,” I said half-heartedly, walking to the window. Liam was still outside with the entire pack guarding, as he had said.

“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Gallagher!”

“Sebastian, please, or Bash. Please tell me, since when were you in Lettice’s dungeon?” I hurried her a little because I needed answers as soon as possible.

“Even now I don’t know how she found me, but I am certain that I was there for more than a year. Nobody ever missed me anyway. I knew I still had a family, though. Now that I found Erik and Teresa and I want to catch up on the lost time, “she admitted happily, supporting Erik’s gaze.

“And Teresa? I know very well the reason they kidnapped her, but have you ever seen Lettice use your blood, for example?” I kept asking.

“At first, I didn’t know what she was doing with so much blood. She kept telling me about the pack she slaughtered when she arrived in Wales and which she transformed at will, not to mention the blood of the first Luna in that pack that always kept her strong.” Sonia remembered.

I couldn’t believe it. It was the first time I had heard that. She turned against a poor Luna. Her past was getting darker and more and more, including us, her family.

“After Teresa arrived, how long did it take her to torture her?”

My insistence was justified so that I could understand it better. It was still unclear to me how this woman acted.

“Not immediately. She first tied her up with me in that cell. I immediately realized why she kidnapped her!” Her revelation sparked a storm in Erik’s soul that was already expecting what was to come. This discussion was going in exactly the right direction.

“What exactly do you mean, Sonia?” Erik asked.

Erik’s thoughts were mixed, as were his words.

It seemed to me that he could no longer speak because of his nerves. Although the discussions between me and him we had in the past and then between Teresa and my mother had the same impact on me. I already talked to Erik and talked about his past, his lost daughter, and his dead wife.

Not to mention the enormous coincidence of the names of the two women, Teresa. There are no such big coincidences. Sometimes Erik also had doubts, but I don’t even mention Teresa.

She still believed nothing and if something shocking doesn’t happen in their lives, she won’t believe it anytime soon. However, there was suffering in her soul and she could reproach me for knowing and wanting to use it. That meant maybe it was a trace of hope.

Maybe when the truth would come out, she would believe it more easily. But until then, I had to have a very serious discussion with Teresa. And I thought the answer to all this was the pendant she had on her mother’s face.

If Jessica Von Hagen was in that photo, then Erik would recognize her. How come I hadn’t thought about that before?

“When Teresa came to the dungeons...” Sonia began confidently and resolutely to unravel the mystery of the Von Hagen family. “I knew the reason from the beginning. Lettice took me because I was the direct descendant of an original vampire, Kane Von Hagen, your father’s brother and uncle, Erik. The only type of blood that Lettice considered indispensable and precious was mine and for a long time she did her work with it, she had many demons under her subordination, and then my blood did not regenerate as fast as it did first, so she got angry and go in search of another soul like me. The poor woman whose only mistake was to be related to the immortal Von Hagen family. No offense, Erik!” she said, watching Erik’s every reaction.

Erik didn’t react in any way. He was just sitting still. It was his breathing that was difficult, not to mention his soul on everything he heard from Sonia.

“None taken…” he eventually murmured, heading to the window. He then turned to us with a rather bold question. “Did you tell her I might be her father?”

The astonishment on his face became more and more intense and obvious, and the longer he waited for the answer to this question, the more his heart pounded wildly.

“No Erik, I don’t have that certainty. Lettice brought her there on a guess. She didn’t do any DNA testing to make sure. She probably didn’t have time to waste. Someone came and killed most of her army. And I knew she wanted more of the Von Hagen blood to rebuild it. That’s why I thought she might be related to you. Lettice rarely makes mistakes. I’m convinced she wasn’t wrong this time, either”

“So, there is a risk that she might not be related to me, though…”

“Your heart tells you a different story. I know Erik, but you’re going to have to take everything step by step. I told her about her mother, Jessica. Well, the one I assumed was her mother. How strong she was and how much she loved you. All her powers are developing in Teresa. I felt them inside her. The power of her mind is the most developed. Jessica could destroy anything she wanted with its help, too. And she discovered them all. She even tried to do it. Annoying Lettice as she, in return, would convey Teresa a state of rage…”

“Jessica was a time bomb when she got angry. God, she wanted to make her so angry that she could face her,” Erik interrupted, thinking about his past and Jessica’s.

“Exactly. It’s just that Lettice was not stupid. She didn’t buy it. She realized that and stopped annoying her. Her work consisted of gathering all the equipment needed for torture and she persisted until everything was ready. I heard her thoughts from my cell and refused to give her satisfaction. She didn’t scream at all. She remained calm and waited for the outcome. “

Erik seemed a little disappointed but also enraged, perhaps waiting for another type of answer. However, he made one last attempt.

“Please tell me, Sonia, did Teresa ever mention a beach, or a couple who took her off that beach?”

His findings lately were so overwhelming. He had barely learned that a couple passing through the area did not know that she was waiting for someone.

My nostrils sensed her immediately. She was just standing in the doorway, inert, with her enormous eyes, glassy because of the tears that could not stop.

“Just answer Sonia, so I can just kill this man that calls himself my father with my bare hands!”