CHAPTER 62: The Mate Bond Truth

CHAPTER 62: The Mate Bond Truth

Georgia's POV

"I'm not your mate!" I shoved Damien away from me, putting myself between him and my children. "You can't just claim people!"
Damien's golden eyes flickered with amusement. "I'm not claiming you, Georgia. I'm stating a fact. The mate bond has existed between us for five years. You've just been too spelled to feel it."
"Mama, what's a mate?" Keira tugged on my dress. Her memories were returning fast, but she looked confused and scared.
"It's nothing, baby." I pulled all three children close. "This man is lying."
"I never lie." Damien stepped closer. The Lycans in the throne room watched quietly. "Touch my hand again. Really feel it this time. You'll know I'm telling the truth."
"No."
"Mama, why does my chest feel funny?" Shadow pressed his small hand to his heart. "It feels like... like something's pulling me toward him."
My blood ran cold. "What?"
Kelvin nodded. "I feel it too. Like he's connected to us somehow."
"That's because I'm your father," Damien said gently. "The bond between parent and child is strong in Lycan blood. You're feeling it for the first time."
"But we already have a papa," Keira said, confused. "His name is Jared. He has red hair and he's really nice to us."
Damien's face darkened. "Jared is not your father. He's a wolf who took advantage of your mother and stole five years of my life with my children."
"That's not true!" I snapped. "Jared didn't know—"
"Didn't know what? That he wasn't the father?" Damien laughed, but it was a cold sound. "Come now, Georgia. Three children with silver hair and golden eyes? How stupid would he have to be?"
I froze. He was right. The children's hair had started turning silver weeks ago. Their eyes had been changing to gold. I'd thought it was just part of their powers growing, but...
"You knew," I whispered. "Jared knew they weren't his."
"Of course he knew," Damien said. "He just didn't want to lose his claim on you. So he pretended. Let you believe the lie."
"No." But even as I said it, memories flooded back. Jared's strange looks when the children's eyes changed color. His demand that they not leave the palace. The way he'd tensed when anyone mentioned Lycan blood.
He'd known. All this time, he'd known.
"Mama, don't cry," Shadow said, wiping my face. I hadn't even realized tears were falling.
"I'm okay, sweetie."
"You're not okay," Kelvin said. He was always the watchful one. "You're sad. Is it because of what the scary king said?"
"I'm not scary," Damien argued. "I'm your father."
"You ARE scary," Keira said strongly. "You have big teeth and glowy eyes and you talk mean about Papa Jared."
"Jared is NOT your papa," Damien said, his voice harder now. "I am."
"But Jared plays with us," Kelvin objected. "He brings us toys and tells us stories. He tucks us in at night. What do you do?"
The question hung in the air. Damien's face tightened.
"I would have done all those things," he said quietly, "if your mother hadn't hidden you from me."
"I didn't hide them!" I yelled. "I didn't even know you existed! Someone put a spell on me, remember? Made me forget!"
"Then who cast the spell?" Damien asked. "Who would want to separate us?"
Before I could answer, a door burst open. A female Lycan rushed in, her face pale.
"Your Majesty! The barrier—it's been breached!"
Damien spun around. "What? By who?"
"The Alpha Jared and his pack. They've crossed into Lycan territory. They're demanding you return the children."
My heart leaped. Jared had come for us. Despite being knocked asleep. Despite Damien's enormous power.
"Foolish wolf," Damien grumbled. "Guards! Prepare for battle. If they want a war, they'll get one."
"No!" I grabbed his arm. "Please, don't hurt them. Jared was just trying to protect us."
"Protect you?" Damien looked at me like I was crazy. "He's been lying to you for months. Using you. Keeping you away from your true mate."
"Maybe he was protecting me FROM you," I shot back. "Maybe he knew what kind of monster you are!"
Damien's eyes flashed dangerously. For a moment, I thought he might strike me. But then his expression softened.
"You really don't feel it, do you?" He touched my face gently. "The bond between us. The pull."
I wanted to lie. But the moment his skin touched mine, something inside me woke up. A warmth spread through my chest. A feeling of rightness I'd never experienced before.
I jerked away, frightened. "No. That's not real."
"It's very real," Damien said. "And it's been there since the night we met. Someone suppressed it with magic. Made you think Jared was your mate instead. But magic can't change the truth forever."
"Mama, what's happening?" Shadow asked. His eyes were fully golden now, shining in the dim throne room.
"I don't know, baby," I admitted.
Another Lycan burst in. "Your Majesty! Alpha Jared has challenged you to single combat. He says if you win, he'll leave. But if he wins, he gets Georgia and the children back."
Damien smiled coldly. "Does he now? Brave for a wolf. Stupid, but brave."
"Don't fight him," I begged. "Please. He's not as strong as you. You'll kill him."
"Would that be so terrible?" Damien asked. "He's been lying to you. Using your children. Pretending to be their father."
"But we love him," Kelvin said softly. "Even if he's not our real papa, we still love him."
Something flickered in Damien's eyes. Pain, maybe. Or hatred.
"Your Majesty," the Lycan guard pressed. "What is your response?"
Damien looked at me. Then at the children. Then back at me.
"Tell Alpha Jared I accept his challenge," he said. "We fight at dawn. Winner takes all."
"No!" I screamed. "You can't—"
"It's already done," Damien said. He turned to his guards. "Take Georgia and the children to the royal chambers. Make sure they're comfortable. They're guests, not prisoners."
"We want to go home!" Keira cried.
"You are home," Damien said softly. "You just don't know it yet."
As the guards led us away, I looked back at Damien. He stood alone in his throne room, looking suddenly tired.
"Why are you doing this?" I called out. "If you're really my mate, why force me to stay? Why not let me choose?"
Damien met my eyes. "Because five years ago, someone chose for you. They used magic to steal your choice. To make you forget me. To bind you to Jared instead." His voice dropped. "And I'm going to find out who. Even if I have to tear apart both our worlds to do it."
The doors closed, separating us. A guard led us through silver halls to a beautiful room with four beds.
"Mama, I'm scared," Shadow whispered.
"Me too, baby," I admitted.
But as I held my children close, trying to comfort them, a terrible thought came to me.
What if Damien was saying the truth? What if someone HAD spelled me five years ago? What if my entire life with Jared had been built on a lie?
And if that was true... who hated me enough to destroy my chance at true happiness?
The answer came in the form of a mirror across the room. As I looked into it, my reflection smiled back at me.
But I wasn't laughing.
My reflection's eyes turned black as night. "Hello, sister," it said in a voice that wasn't mine. "Did you really think you could escape me forever?"
Then everything went dark.