Chapter 36: To find my grandmother.

**EROS**

All the King ever wanted was for his children to be happy. His childhood was Hell, and no man would wish the same suffering on his own children. As time went on, more and more of life's challenges caught up with him, and it was not until he met his mate that Eros found peace within himself. Sure they had their happy and not so happy moments, but that didn't mean the King didn't love his mate from the bottom of his heart.

However, reaching his dream and watching his children grow up was pure agony.

It all started with Ally and the crazy roller coaster she called a relationship. Deep down, Eros knew Wrath wasn't the bad guy, but like everyone else, he made mistakes. Some that were unforgivable.

When River came into their lives, the King wasn't worried about Bea's future. Something about Sloth was different, and perhaps Eros blindly hoped the man would be too lazy to cause trouble. But how wrong he was. Bea was the one who suffered the most - she enjoyed the years by her mate's side without knowing who the man was. And then Eve banished him, and slowly their life turned into pure Hell.

The only child Eros didn't have to worry about was Aldonis, for the boy was sent away for training. Only the Moon Goddess knew if the boy did nothing wrong or broke the rules while his parents were so far away.

"Love, you should eat something," Eve invited herself into Eros' office and placed a tray of food on the table. The Queen didn't want to show her feelings, especially when their daughter was home, but far too many thoughts plagued her. Now she couldn't get rid of the feeling that things could have been different if not for her and her hasty decision. As a mother, she wanted nothing more than to protect her child, but who was she to decide better for her? Especially when it comes to mates- Queen or not, Eve had no say in the decisions the Moon Goddess made for them. Looking back a few years, she never thought the poor and weak human girl would one day become a Queen and mate with a Lycan.

"I'm not hungry, thank you." Eros continued to stare out the window. Something inside him kept telling him that he would find answers if he just looked long enough. But the problem was, he didn't have a clue or a thread to find those answers and move towards them. There was one thing he couldn't get out of his head for quite a while, and he couldn't decide if it was a good idea to talk to his mate about it. "Listen," Eros sighed, turning to Eve. She was standing next to the desk, looking like someone had shot her. Eros could see tears forming in her eyes. He rushed up to Eve and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry," Eve cried against his chest, "This whole mess, it was me. If I hadn't made him leave, oh God if I'd only listened to what he had to say. River isn't that bad, I'm sure he was trying to protect her, and now he's taking drastic measures to take her away from us. Bea always belonged to him first, and only then she was ours, but I was selfish and decided to change that. I had no right. And now we are going to lose our baby because I was too stupid and too proud." She let out everything that hurt and that the Queen feared. Eve decided it must be her fault- the mess with the Deadly Sin and the upcoming war.

"It's not your fault. I won't go around and lie that you had nothing to do with some parts of everything, but I'm sure that River understands why you decided to send him away. Bea was far too young to understand certain things back then. She's still pretty much the same, and we made a mistake when we decided to keep so many details from her, but we can still fix it. We'll sit down and answer all her questions, explain how things work and what's the best thing she could do to figure herself out. However, I need to talk to you about something that won't leave my mind before that. Love, can you please give me a moment and toss away the problems we have with our children? We will figure out everything, one thing at the time." Eros let go of Eve and took her hand in his. She wiped her tears and nodded, letting her mate drag her to the sofa.

They sat down and gave each other the much needed moment of silence and peace. Everything happening around them in the Kingdom went far beyond their worst nightmares. Who has ever thought that humans would want to take over a Kingdom where they had no place. To live in peace and harmony, humans and shifters had to be separated from each other. It was funny how those who were weaker still thought that they had all advantages and better armies. Shifters could have taken over the world a long time ago, but they decided to stand aside. Who was the real monster here?

Eros sighed and closed his eyes. Something told him that Eve wouldn't like his decision. "Listen, the last time we stood face to face with River... Do you remember what he told me?" The King looked around awkwardly, doing everything to avoid Eve's gaze. It didn't matter that she was the love of his life- sometimes, speaking to her was way more stressful than joining another council meeting. Eve, at times, was too suspicious of everything that happened or new things that came into their life. The same happened with people and relatives- both of them had their fair share of bad experiences, and the Queen did everything to avoid the possibility of negative outcomes.

She brought her hand to her chin and hummed. "Not in details. I was too angry and shocked about Bea's sudden disappearance. I can't deal with that girl; she can sneak away unnoticed at the worst moments," as suspected; Eve was too focused on the problems that overwhelmed her mind. Sometimes, Eros hoped that she wouldn't be the way she was. Sure, he'd still love her, no matter how Eve acted or reacted to things, but a little change of her attitude would feel like a gush of fresh air in his face. One that was much needed.

"No, love," Eros chuckled and shook his head. His mate looked extremely beautiful whenever she lost herself in thoughts, but he had to ignore that detail now. "I'm talking about someone River mentioned during the heat of the argument. Someone that could be really important to me. Please, don't think I'm trying to make this whole mess into something that'll bring me advantages because I'm not. But it's so hard to talk about this now, knowing how our life changed." He focused his gaze on the door behind Eve. Not because Eros thought that someone could interrupt them, but because he couldn't meet her eyes.

"Eros, don't fear my reaction and explain what's the reason why you're so worked up. Please, just tell me," Eve's voice grew desperate. The Queen thought that something terrible had happened, and now, they had more issues on their hand. God forbid there's something wrong with her mate- Eve couldn't imagine a life without Eros by her side. Without him, she wouldn't see a reason to keep on living. Though children crossed her mind, Eve knew that they were grown enough to walk down the path of their lives; none of them really needed their parents anymore. And at this point, Eve had only her mate, and she'd jump down into the abyss of eternity with him if that was what would expect them. Hand in hand.

The King jumped to his feet and looked down at his mate. Even now, with worry written all over her face, Eve was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He took a moment to admire her features and silently thank the Moon Goddess for blessing him with someone like her. "You won't like this, but I can't hide anything from you- that would be unfair. River mentioned that if only I found my grandmother, I'd find Bea along the way. Someone from my blood relatives was alive, and I decided that I'm going to find her. No matter who this woman is, I need to get to know her. She will have the answers I'm dying to hear, and honestly, if she could hide our child from us for three years, I'm sure she can help us figure out the whole war thing. She never harmed Bea, and I don't believe that she'd ever intended to do so." Eros took a deep breath as he watched Eve's face twist. "See, though I know we should have no secrets from each other, I knew I shouldn't have told you this."

"No, you misunderstood me. I might look like I just saw a dead animal because the thought of losing our child again terrifies me. I'll admit it, I'm still scared, even more now, that you want to find that woman. What if she takes her away again? I'm sure she had a reason to do so, and all I'm asking for you is to keep our children safe. I'd be more than happy if you met a long-lost relative for as long as they don't try to snatch our kids away anymore." Eve stood up and wrapped her arms around Eros' shoulders. She pulled him closer and pressed her lips against his as if trying to prove how genuine her words were.

The King smiled against her lips and gladly gave in the kiss. It's been a while since the last time two of them kissed each other with such passion and need. When they broke the kiss, both of them were breathless. "So, what are we going to do now?" Eve giggled.

Eros tightened his hold around Eve's waist and grinned. "First, I'll carry you to my bedroom and make love to you. Then, just when you'll think that it's all, I'll fuck you just as hard as you used to love. God, it's been too long since the last time I got to touch and use your body like an animal I am." His words left Eve speechless, but the slight blush creeping on her cheeks was enough for Eros to know how much his words excited her. "And then, I'll leave you to enjoy your trembling knees as I try to find my grandmother."