\[Denali’s POV\]
I stare at my mother, trying to make sense of what she is saying. Was that the reason that I was here? Because I used the command already?
“So there is no going back for me,” I say quietly. “I truly died.”
“No,” my mother counters. “You aren’t.”
“But I used the command.”
“You couldn’t have,” she counters. “If you were to use the command, you wouldn’t even be here,sweetheart. Your soul wouldn’t exist.”
“But I used the command.”
“Denali,” my mother sighs, giving me a look of grief. “I think it is about time I completely opened up about everything from the command to your twin, and even about hiding my will.”
Nodding, I wait as my mother seems to collect herself. It was clear from her expression that everything she was about to tell me was difficult, but she kept me in the dark for too long, and since I was here with her, I wanted to know everything in the hopes that it would help me going forward.
“I was adopted by the alpha and luna of emerald moon,” she explains, starting her story from the very beginning. “My life before that is a blur as I was very young, but there was one thing that I was absolutely certain of: my adoptive parents saved me from a dark place where everyone wanted to use me for their own good.’
‘They treated me like their own child, and I didn’t want for nothing. They taught me about my family and my background and made sure that I would always keep my guard up against those who only got close to me because of what I could do. However, all that changed when I met your father,” she continues sadly. “He was my mate, and he was so sweet and caring in the beginning, so naturally we got married. Shortly after you were born, but not only you, your sister.”
There it was—the thing that I wanted to know the most. Why did my mother agree to getting rid of Elise and keeping me? There was no way my mother would willingly do it, so why?
“You have to believe me, Denali,” she says, reaching out and grabbing my hands while a tear falls down her face. “I was told that Elise didn’t make it.”
Didn’t make it. Her words hit me like a ton of bricks, and I tried to make sense of why someone would say that a child died. Was it my father who did this? Or was there someone else working behind the scenes?
“I was devastated, and I never fully recovered,” my mother continues. “My health started getting worse after that, and before I knew it, I was hospitalized.”
As she speaks, my concern that someone was responsible for all this continues to grow. It was all too coincidental, with Elise being said to be dead and then my mother’s health taking a hit. This was clearly all planned, and I was certain of who the one responsible was.
“It was in the hospital that I wrote my will and then hid it in that watch I gave you,” my mother sighs. “By this point, your father was beginning to show his true colors, and he went from being this man who was so full of love and light to one who only cared about power. Of course I couldn’t possibly let him have my pack, which was given to me in good faith.”
“Dad,” I whisper, my anger spiking. “He had to be responsible for all of this.”
“I don’t doubt it,” my mother agrees. “But I don’t think that he was working alone.”
“Beatrice,” I sigh. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they were already together at the time, since he brought her home shortly after your death.”
“Do you see now?" my mother says, her voice growing urgent, which causes me to go on alert. “This is why you can’t die, not yet. You have to right my wrong before your father truly destroys everything.”
As she speaks, I can feel a tugging, and I realize exactly what is happening. Once again, my time was up with my mother, and when I went back to the real world, I would have a lot of cleaning up to do.
“Please, Denali!” My mother begs. “You have to save emerald moon and your sister!”
“You know about Elise?” I ask, surprise rushing through me. “Does that mean that you've..."
“I’m always with you,” my mother smiles sadly. “I’ve seen it all, and I’m so sorry for all the trouble I have caused you, but I’m relieved to know that you have someone by your side who is so caring and who truly loves you.”
“Yeah,” I murmur as Rosco’s face appears in my mind. “I got lucky.”
“Not lucky,” my mother counters. “You were always fated to have all the finer things.”
“Mom!” I sob, throwing my arms around her as my body begins to glow. “Thank you! And I'm sorry I wasn’t able to help you.”
“You did help me,” she beams. “You gave me so much happiness in the little time that we were together.”
“But I couldn’t save you,” I whisper.
“You saved me by surviving.”
With that, the world begins to fade until I’m thrown into the darkness that I was once in, until I can feel strong arms wrapped around me and a soothing warmth.
“She’s coming around,” I hear Rosco announce as a warm wetness splatters against my skin. “Thank the goddess.”
His voice is filled with so much pain and relief that it hurts, and when I finally open my eyes, I find myself staring up into the dark depths of his own, which are filled with so much damn emotion that I can’t help but reach up and wipe a tear that is stuck to his lashes.
“Hey,” I whisper as he stares down at me as if he isn’t sure if this is real or not. “Did I leave you waiting?”
“Don’t joke!” He growls, pulling me against him while burying his face in my neck. “Do you know how fucking scared I was?"
Rosco’s body and voice shake as he continues to hold me, and I know that he is actually crying, but why? What happened while I was out to leave him like this?
“Hey,” I murmur, trying to get him to look at me. “What happened? Why are you…”
“You were essentially dead,” Maria responds, drawing my attention to where she sits in her cell.
Her face is pale and covered in sweat, and Tristan worriedly holds her, but her lips are turned up in a smile.
Remaining silent, I begin to look around, taking in the area around me until my eyes come to rest on a large wolf who is hovering over a body, ripping it bit by bit. For a moment, I can’t quite understand what I’m seeing, but when I feel Elise’s familiar energy, I know that she is the wolf, and the one beneath her is Alexander.
“So it is over,” I murmur, relief crashing into me. “That’s great, but the bigger fight has just begun.”