Chapter 67 Guilt Trip?
ANGELICA'S POV
The alphas didn't let me anywhere near the place where the decapitated bodies were kept.
They didn't want me to feel traumatized by the scene. Maybe they were right in that decision.
It was unbearable to even think about the kind of pain those girls went through. And the thought that it all happened because of me was eating me alive.
It has been ninety-seven minutes since we got the news, and I was just feeling burdened by the death of those females.
The dreams they saw, the pain their families were going through, their future, everything weighed upon me because I was the reason this happened.
Every minute felt like an eternity. The pain in my heart was only intensifying.
Did I make a mistake saying yes to become their mate, to agree to mate and bond, and take the position of Luna? After all, I was just a human, a helpless one among these supernaturals.
The more I thought about it, the sadder and angrier I became.
If I could meet Keith right now, I would've plunged a dagger in his heart myself for what he did.
Ericson came to check up on me a few minutes ago and told me not to blame myself. The fight with rogues like Keith was never-ending, and while it was sad that they lost a few she-wolves of their pack, this wasn't the first time.
I know he was saying those words to coax me and bring me out of the guilt trip, but…
“Dear Luna,”
I heard an elderly voice and turned to look at the woman who walked in.
She wasn't alone. Five more people accompanied her. Two old men and three women.
I quickly wiped the tears from the corner of my eyes and stood to face them.
“I am sorry, but Alpha Dylan and Alpha Ericson aren't at the premises at the–” I started to speak, but they interrupted me.
“We are here for you,” The same lady said with a sad smile and tears in her eyes.
I paused.
I didn't know what they wanted to talk about.
“Please sit,” I said, and they sat on the couch and the sofa one by one.
“The girls who died, they were our daughters,” she said.
I was about to bring water for them when their words struck me.
Tears brimmed in my eyes immediately. I didn't want to cry and look like a weak, pathetic, crybaby, but the guilt had been weighing me down and… I didn't know what these haywire emotions were.
I looked at their sad expressions and couldn’t help but clench my fists.
“I am sorry. Please forgive me. I am sure everyone has already heard that Keith did it because when he kidnapped me, his fourteen men died. And he blames me for it. This is all because of me,” I said, blinking the tears furiously.
“There's nothing I can do to bring your daughters back or ease the pain in your heart. Still, I would like to apologise sincerely,” I whispered before getting on my knees before the six people.
I bowed my head to them, feeling deeply remorseful, and was about to apologise again when the man rushed to my side.
He raised his hand, and I flinched inwardly.
However, to my surprise, rather than attacking me, he helped me to my feet.
“What are you doing, Luna? Please don't punish us by bowing to us like this. You are like our leader, like our mother, despite your age,” the woman walked to me and patted my knees.
She dusted my clothes as if that was more important, and I stood there, shocked and confused.
“We are sad that our daughters had to die like this, but Keith challenged us. We are sure our alphas would make him pay for that. It's just, we heard you are blaming yourself and couldn't help but come to comfort you,” She said.
I couldn't move.
They came to comfort me?
After losing their daughters to those monsters who did god knows what to them, rather than blaming me for this, they came to comfort me?
Was this what it meant to have someone’s blind trust in you?
A fresh wave of tears formed in my eyes.
“Mi vida,” Ericson said, and I rushed to him before hugging him tight, crying in his arms.
He didn't ask anything. He just kept hugging me until I calmed down.
Once I did, he wiped the tears from my eyes and kissed my forehead.
“We will make them pay,” He said, his voice like a promise, and I nodded.
“I want him to regret this. I want him to cry tears of blood.” I said.
“He will,” Dylan walked inside the house before looking at me with a comforting smile.
“You guys should go and prepare for the ceremony,” Dylan said to everyone, and they left.
Once they left, Dylan turned to me.
“Mi Amore, Keith thinks that you killed his fourteen men, but you told us you were tied, and later Tyler found you in some kind of forest. Can you try to recall what exactly happened in that time span? Who killed them? Who took you to the forest?” Dylan asked.
I gulped.
I remembered that night very clearly, at least to the point where that person picked me up in their arms.
“Fuhrerin,” I said.
“Hmm?” They asked together.
“That's what he called me when he picked me up. He apologized for being late. I didn't see anyone. It was as if something powerful was moving a metallic string in the air. They sliced those people,” I said.
I didn't know if what I said was able to tell them anything, but judging from the way they looked at each other, it almost felt like they knew something that I didn't.
“A cult,” Dylan whispered.
“A cult?” I asked.
Ericson nodded.
“This language is used by the cult whose leader vanished many years ago. It's called to be one of the strongest cults of mages,” Ericson said.
Mages? He meant witches? The one who can perform magic?
“Am I in danger?” I asked, looking to and fro between the brothers.
Ericson shook his head and pulled me in for a hug.
“No one will harm you, not until we are with you. They'll have to go through our dead bodies before reaching you,” Ericson said.
I smiled at them, feeling much more relaxed, though my heart was still uneasy about what was to come next.