153- Truths Beneath the Skin
POV Lunara Grimwald:
“It was Thalira who killed Catalina, Edric. It was all her scheme from the very beginning.” I ran a hand through my hair, tossing the strands over my shoulder. “She confessed that secret before Alessio dragged me away with him.” I bit the insides of my cheeks, feeling nervous. His expression was impassive as he looked at me, showing no reaction at all. “Where is she?” I asked, breaking the oppressive silence that had settled in.
“Dead.”
I blinked, confused. My face contorted, my lips opening and closing, unsure of what to say.
“What?”
He let out a resigned breath.
“Thalira told me you had run away with Alessio of your own free will, because you were still in love with him.”
“That’s a lie!” I cut in, burning with hatred for the unreality the two of them had created.
“I know it’s a lie.”
“You didn’t believe her for even a second?” I asked in a whisper, looking away at one of the torn garments on the bed.
He stepped closer and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead.
“No, little wolf, I did not.”
I lifted my gaze back to him.
“Why not? They created a convincing lie. I had already shown interest in removing the mark.” I rubbed my nails against my neck. “For a long time, I thought you wouldn’t come for me, that you wouldn’t come get me.”
“I’m sorry if that’s the impression I gave you.”
“Not the impression you gave me, but what I chose to believe.”
He raised his fingers and caressed my face, his eyes fixed on mine.
“For a time, I truly believed Thalira and was manipulated by her. I thought she was on my side, that she wanted what was best for me. But things changed the moment you walked into my life.” He smiled, his fingers making idle circles on my cheek. “I felt your despair, little wolf. And I would never, even if I hadn’t felt your reaction, believe that you went with Alessio because you still loved him. I learned who you are over the past few months, little wolf.”
“You learned?” I asked, curious, narrowing my eyes.
He nodded.
“You changed so much after you arrived here. At first, you were a skittish but quiet she-wolf. You didn’t talk much, you didn’t trust anyone. But over time, you bloomed, like a flower.” He took a deep breath. “I have many flaws, Lunara. And all of them will always be part of me, but you learned how to deal with each one of them, to know me, just as I did with you. It wasn’t a short process, nor was it easy, but it happened in our own time.” He withdrew his hand. “That’s why I knew it was a lie the very moment Thalira opened her mouth.”
My heart was racing, out of rhythm.
“Did you kill her?” I asked, my mouth dry.
“Yes, I killed her.”
“But…” I licked my lips. “Did she tell the truth?”
He nodded.
“When she realized she would no longer be able to manipulate me, yes. I killed her for her betrayals against me. I personally buried her body deep in the forest, condemning her to a posthumous existence without any dignity, preventing her from entering the Valley of the Dead. No one knows the exact location where her body lies, only me. And that is a secret I will take to my grave.” His jaw muscle clenched. “I also forbade anyone to speak her name. She will be completely forgotten and reduced to nothing, just as I promised her on her deathbed.”
I could not condemn Edric for his choices. Thalira had burrowed deep into his chest and hurt him. He had trusted her. And trust was something far too special, far too important, to be broken.
Thalira had been even more treacherous to him than Alessio had been to me. Alessio deceived me for a while, but he showed who he truly was before something worse could happen. But she did not. She drew closer to Edric, took advantage of his wound. A wound she herself had caused.
“I’m sorry, Edric. I’m sorry she did all of this.”
He shook his head.
“I was the one who was wrong, for letting myself be deceived for so long. Because of my mistakes, innocent and important people died.”
I brushed away my tears, breathing deeply.
“I mourn Catalina, but I mourn Anton even more. His death hurt deeply within me.”
“His death hurt all of us. We gave him a worthy funeral, with a great pyre of noble wood. Andrei and I carved the logs ourselves.”
He did not speak Catalina’s name, but I also imagined he would not.
Involuntarily, my hand slid up to my abdomen. The movement did not go unnoticed under Edric’s scrutiny.
“I’m pregnant,” I confessed in a whisper. “I mean, I still think I am. I don’t know if the pup survived after everything that happened, and I also don’t understand how this happened, but… it means we’re destined mates. I know you thought Catalina was your mate and all that…”
He placed his hand over mine on my abdomen and shook his head.
“I never said I thought Catalina was my destined mate.”
I frowned.
In truth, he had never said anything about it. I was the one who came to that conclusion.
“So…”
“Catalina was my lover. She helped build the pack and she was my first love. For years, she tried to get pregnant and never could. She knew, as I did, that we were not destined.” He looked at me. “What made you think she was?”
I blinked, stunned and confused.
“I don’t know. You always spoke of her with so much pain, with so much guilt. I thought she was the great love of your life.”
“I did love her, yes, and I was willing to share my life with her, even knowing she was not my destined mate. To be completely honest, I never thought I would find my mate. I never had hope of having pups. I was training Anton to take my place if I died before him, just as he should train the next successor.” His shoulders shifted with a heavy breath. “And all the guilt I carried over Catalina’s death came from the fact that she died on my territory, under my protection. I failed as her alpha, as her fiancé and companion. That failure cost her life and my dignity. That is what hurt me, what left me reeling for the past few years.”