96. Lies

ALEJANDRO

I didn't even register Kiara's gasp as I placed my arm around her waist, holding her close. I stepped back, placing distance between the Rogue King and I as I stared at the woman before me. It was her… yet it wasn't… I didn't know what to think.

That day, coming to and seeing those body pieces spread across the floor. Her hand… Her ring… The guilt that I had killed her… I didn't want to believe it… The woman I remembered as my mother was nothing like the woman before me. She was… kind… sweet… loving… Rafael reminded me of her… a lot. Not only did I feel like my whole fucking life was a lie… But it meant that even before her ‘death'… She couldn't have love me… or she wouldn't have made me go through that shit…

Through the pain and shock, I was feeling the stark truth that she had faked her death, and it hit me like a fucking hard slap across the face. She had let me live with the guilt that I had murdered her. Because of that, I was afraid to be around those I cared for. I told myself I didn't care... Shut everyone off...

My heart was pounding and if it wasn't for Kiara's presence, I don't know what I would have done.

All I know is if she hadn"t done that… I wouldn't have become so fucking closed off… I had still killed the man who angered me but not the mother I loved. Or should I say the mother I thought I loved, it seems I didn't even know her…

"Alejandro…" She spoke, a smile on her face.

It made me sick. Despite her scent being familiar, I realised that I couldn"t smell her wolf. Did she sacrifice it for power? Just the way she had done for the women at Zidane"s pack?

"Don't stand there and fucking call my name as if nothing happened." I spat coldly, my aura fully unleashed as it filled the room like a blanket. I saw the flash on the rogue fucker's face at the level of my power. Yeah, he may be strong, but I was fucking stronger.

"It was all for a cause, Alejandro… You have become the man I wanted you to become." She said stepping closer. I saw Kiara's aura flare around her.

"Stay away." She growled. The power emanating from her was fucking strong. It was blazing around her, but unlike last time when I couldn"t even get close, it wasn"t affecting me. Sure, I felt the pressure, but it wasn't fighting against me.

I watched the witch, not sure if I should call her Endora or Mathilde because I sure as fuck would never address her as Mom again… She lost that right the moment she played dead. I guess I'll go by her real fucking name… She paused, and I didn't miss her tense at Kiara's power.

"I am talking to my son, a son whose mate turned out to be most ideal…" She said, her eyes travelling over Kiara.

"If you even for one fucking moment think that I'd ever side you, then you are fucking delusional." I spat. "All these fucking years you've been alive…"

She smiled slightly.

"I had to do what was needed." She said, her eyes glinting.

The story the witch had told us about her past flashed through my mind. She had always been a hybrid… but she kept it hidden. How? Concealment spell? Probably…

"What the fuck is your plan?" I growled.

"To restore the correct king." The rogue fucker spoke.

I looked at him, feeling my stomach fucking twist. I knew where this shit was going…

"Alejandro... Meet your brother, Marcel."

Kiara gasped as I looked at him. Yeah, I was kind of expecting that… He looked a lot like Dad… and Rafael. I don't even know what to make of this shit…

"I don't get what"s going on." The Rogue, or should I say, Marcel said.

Endora smirked slightly. Her eyes glowed and I felt the darkness growing.

"You need not think." She whispered, her voice seeming to come from every corner of the room. Kiara tensed as I watched Marcel's eyes glaze over. So, he was partially under her fucking control.

"So, this is what you've done to your own fucking son? Made him into a fucking puppet?"

"I"ve waited for far too long to let anything stand in my way. Alejandro... Together we can rule more than just this country." She said.

Fucking psychotic bitch. Yeah, I knew once I was alone I"d feel this fucking betrayal, but right now… I was fucking pissed.

"Oh yeah? What's your fucking plan then?" I asked venomously.

-----

KIARA

I was shocked when Alejandro said ‘Mom.' The woman he had been beating himself up about killing was still alive, and worse, she was the one who was behind it all. I could sense his emotions. He was in turmoil, despite how his facial expression seemed just pissed off, I could sense the storm brewing within him. I held on to him, hoping that it helped somehow. Now looking at Marcel, I could see how much he looked like Rafael. They looked around the same age as well.

"My plan? If it"s appealing, will you side me?" Endora asked, her eyes glimmering red as she looked at Alejandro. I could feel her magic seeping closer. It seemed she didn't know the extent to my ability. Even I didn't, but I would just watch for now…

"Depends." Alejandro said. I knew he was smooth enough, but I saw from the small hint of a smirk on Endora's lips she wasn't stupid.

"You have turned into a fine man, Alejandro." She said, now playing with an amulet around her neck.

Was that the one Janaina wanted? I wonder what it does…

"Yeah, depends on what angle you look at that shit." He growled. "What about Dad? Is he dead or is the fucker alive?"

"You killed your father, Alejandro. My mate…" Her eyes glimmered with tears that were utterly fake.

I could feel her aura, sense her emotions and my annoyance was growing.

"Don't really care. He was a fucker." Alejandro said.

"Yes, of course." Endora agreed.

No… he wasn't. I looked at her sharply. She had made him that way… I was sure of it. It was one of those things I could just sense… Alejandro frowned.

"Fine. So, what's your fucking plan and who the fuck is he? Like, how did you have another son no one knew of…?"

"Rafael"s younger twin. I was told by a seer witch that my second born would be a power that could rival anything. A child who would be powerful beyond measure, a king of our kind, one who would create his own kingdom and rule us all. I misunderstood it and thought it meant Marcel. She meant my second pregnancy, not my second child. Sadly, he was just an average Alpha." I didn't miss the bitterness in her voice.

"So, you fucking raised him to be a fucked up wannabe king?" He spat.

"Your father thought he died in childbirth and that was the plan, then when you were born. I didn't think much of it, waiting for Marcel to become what prophecy foretold. A king that I trained him to be."

"Wouldn't Dad have sensed the bond of a second son?"

"I"m a witch Alejandro, a hybrid. It isn"t hard to cut a pack link and your father simply thought his son died…" Her tiny smile faded. "But then you were such a strong pup and I realised that the prophecy was meant for you. I couldn"t take you away from the pack as your birth had drained me of most my magic. I was weak for years after, only hoping that I could keep my witch side a secret. I needed to leave to grow and regain my powers, by certain means…"

I knew that she probably meant dark magic. The world had a balance. Her birthing Alejandro and her powers diminishing were probably meant to be, but she was working against the very rules and law of nature.

"So that's why no one knew… and Dad never realised your truth?" Alejandro asked coldly.

"No." She said.

Lie. I knew that one was a lie… She had probably bewitched him too. A sudden thought came to me and I frowned… Did she instigate her mate against Alejandro, so he would begin to feel hatred towards his own son? To make Alejandro become hateful? Even though it was just an assumption, I was sure I could be right. It would fit right in…

"So, why the fuck did you fake your death?" Alejandro spat icily.

"Like I said, a cause. To make you stronger, to show you who you are. So, when the time was right, I would return and show you where you truly belong. We can rule together. Over all races. The wolves, the witches and the vampires. With you, a Lycan leading us, the use of a blessed one and I, one of the strongest witches in the world, we can become a force beyond reckoning!"