TWENTY EIGHT
EVA'S POV
I was sunbathing next to the pool when Amity rushed to my side like a woman with plenty to say.
"Mistress, I have an idea."
I begrudgingly put my sunglasses over my head and turned to meet her face. "And it cannot wait?"
"I do not think so." She replied.
I sighed and sat up. "This better be worth my time, Amity."
"You said that there is a chance she is running from something or someone."
"A chance? I'm certain she is running from the father of her children. That is what happens when you fuck around with criminals."
"So I was thinking, instead of us just watching her every move, we just find the children's biological fathers through their DNA."
Amity could be smart when she wanted to be. It was a good thing I kept her by my side. My thoughts immediately went to the Lily of the Valley pack's doctor. I didn't remember his name. But the man had connections. If the nurse's baby-daddy was in the system, whether it be through medicine or crime, the man could easily find him. But the man wouldn't give in to me easily. I was practically public enemy number one since I had refused to ascend the throne of the pack in my father's stead. Every now and then, the pack would bend and break their vow to never seek me out to plead that I either took over as Luna of the pack or relinquished my birth right. None of which I acknowledged.
Of course I wanted the throne. I just wasn't very good at multitasking. Plus ascending as Luna would mean that I left the Lycan Kingdom. Sure, I would always be a welcome visitor. But it wouldn't be the same.
The stakes were higher now too. Now that it was fairly certain that the healer would get rid of Dimitri's disease, I had to make bold and calculated moves. With the disease gone, there was nothing stopping Milana from becoming Queen of the Lycans finally.
There was also the slight possibility that the 'baby-daddy' I was looking for wasn't in the system. But now it was about bold moves, wasn't it?
"And how do we get the DNA of the kids?" I asked Amity. "Their mother is conceited. But it is clear that the bitch does not trust me. I see how wary she is around me."
"She is currently in the library. The kids are with Lady Milana. The Lady of the house asked me to get the kids ice cream and I thought you would want some too while you were sunbathing. That was when the idea popped into my head."
"Lady of the house?" I quizzed. "Is Milana now your mistress?"
"No... I... Luna Eva... I didn't mean that..." Amity stammered, clearly flustered.
I raised an eyebrow as if guessing her sincerity. It was hard to put my all into someone after Adele. Amity was the next best thing I had. But to rely upon another was foolish. I knew that all too well. "Go on, about your idea."
Amity nodded. "I do know DNA can be collected through saliva. Once I serve the kids, I will ensure I get my hands on the spoons they use and get them to you. You can then get them to the pack's doctor. He is well connected, is he not? I am certain he will be able to find something."
"The doctor will want something." I told Amity. "He might even see this as an opportunity to goad me into accepting my position early and you know that cannot happen early. The last thing that will happen is me sacrificing the freedom I have left to find what who fucked some whore."
"Mistress," Amity spoke before coming to a slow pause. She had that look in her face again. She always had it when she had something to say but was too afraid to upset me.
It made me sigh because it was definitely going to upset me.
"Just say it."
"Luna Eva, you are currently not the hot topic of even Lily of the Valley. Words has spread about the new healer after what happened to Hector Menard. The pack is hoping she will be their salvation too."
I scoffed. Their salvation? it was me. I was their salvation. Some runt of the barrel wasn't just going to waltz in from nowhere and take that away. The healer reminded me of Camille. It took a lot to forget the face of that vile troll but I couldn't forget her actions.
Kind to a fault and always ready to give a helping hand. No one was that nice. People like that were plotters. If the world wasn't willing to admit it yet, I was. Because I was like that once.
"Luna Eva, this shouldn't annoy you." Amity added like she could read my very thoughts. "We can use this to our advantage. We still have a lot of afflicted men and women in the pack. Werewolves on the brink of death. The doctor is afflicted himself, is he not? If you bring in the healer to the Lily of the Valley, all would be forgotten. You would be their hero. Their god."
Hero. God. I liked the sound of that.
"Make sure you get their DNA. I don't care if it is saliva or their hair. Get it sealed or wrapped and delivered to the doctor today. Tell him I want results. Only then can I promise him my devotion to eradicating his disease."
Amity bowed in understanding before leaving.
Immediately she left my side, I slid back into the padded seats to soak in more sun. The sunglasses shielded my eyes from the sun and for extra comfort, I shut my eyes and just let my body tan in the heat. I was back in the moment again when I suddenly felt someone tap my arm.
"Amity, what now?" I sat up to face the figure, only to see Adele smiling back at me.
She was just as I remembered. Before she went insane. Beautiful calculated eyes that looked like they mirrored the Mediterranean Sea. Fines lines covered the sides of her cheeks and around her eyes in a way that made it look like she was real and in flesh.
I shrank back, shaking my head, muttering, "You're not real, you're not real," in terror. "You are in the crypt and bound like an animal because you are a danger to even yourself. I am seeing things. You are not real."
"But I am here," Adele's smile widened as she insisted, "I am real, Eva. You know that as long as you walk free, a part of me will always be free too."
"I. Am. Imagining. You." I retorted, shutting my eyes, desperately wishing for her to disappear.
A shiver ran down my spine as I felt hot breath against my ear. "Why is that? Why are you imagining me?"
When I opened my eyes to confront the woman, she had vanished, leaving me unsettled and questioning my own sanity.
Why had she shown up? It had never happened before.
FIVE YEARS AGO (Two months after the Lily of the Valley incident)
A servant hurried in, stumbling as he rushed to deliver urgent news. "The Lycans are at the gates," he informed breathlessly. "They claim to have information about who's responsible for the attacks."
I continued eating my breakfast in silence, while Adele looked as if she had been dealt a blow to the gut.
"What?" she stuttered, standing up and peering out a window to get a view of the unfolding scene. "It looks like they're coming to make an arrest. Who do they suspect?"
"They won't reveal it," the servant replied. "Should we open the gates, or keep them out?"
"Closing the gates would make us look guilty," Adele reasoned. "Let them in. We'll see who they suspect."
At the mention of "us," I dropped my spoon deliberately to catch her attention. "Us? I didn't order a hit on the Lycan King. Did you?"
"Eva, shut your mouth. What are you talking about?"
I almost chuckled. Did she still think it was a secret? "Why? You want me to bury the truth? That you killed my father, that you killed my sister? Nearly burned this pack to the ground out of jealousy and spite?"
Adele looked dumbfounded, but she turned to the servant first. "Leave us. Attend to the Lycans. I will join them shortly."
The servant bowed and attempted to leave, but I wasn't finished. "Don't go. Tell her. Tell her what the Lycans really said."
The servant froze and turned to Adele. She couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Aren't they coming to arrest Adele? Is that not why they're here?"
Radio silence from the servant. But it was damning enough.
"How would they know? It was a clean job. The only way they'd find out is if..." Then realization struck her. "You betrayed me."
"I was betrayed first," I retorted. "The night I followed you to kill that sentinel who spared Camille, I realized you were the one who ordered the switch. It was you who messed up my life. You've always been volatile. I wouldn't even be mad if you did the job right. But you didn't. It took me a long time to admit it, but I realize you will most likely do the same to me when the time comes. Unless I dealt your cards first."
Adele scoffed. "If I get arrested, you will too. You are my accomplice."
"No," I shook my head. "After you killed Camille's adopted parents, I made sure I was never directly involved in your plans. Your lackeys have never once seen me align with your darkness. And for a fall guy, don't worry. I've factored that into the equation. Hector Menard was my ace. You see, that love-sick fool was the key to this. Hours ago, he went to the Lycans and confessed. Your lackeys, whose information I leaked as the upstanding Luna that I am, sang like canaries. It doesn't matter if you scream my name at the top of your lungs. You'll just be an angry woman caught in her own web."
I saw Adele's once-powerful demeanor crumble.
"I loved you like you were my daughter. I would've burned the world for you."
"History, poems, and the sands have shown time and time again that the only survivor with no questions asked is the sole survivor."
Adele cackled, but it was hollow. "I shouldn't be surprised. The way I've lived my life, I'd always end up like this. It's karma. My karma came for me. Yours will come for you, Eva. Because trash is trash, and at the end of the day, a nobody is a nobody."
As the memory of the confrontation with Adele played out in my mind like a haunting reel, I found myself back on the sun-drenched seat by the pool.
The apparition of Adele lingered in my thoughts, and a chilling realization crept over me.
Why had I just seen her again?
Was it a manifestation of guilt or the specter of my past sins come to haunt me?
I shook it off. It was simply a moment of relapse. I wasn't trash and I would never be a nobody.
The only trash was the fool who gave up his future in the name of love. The only nobody was the barren madwoman with no legacy to her name than murderer.
That would never be me.