Chapter 322: _You Were Only A Child
"Ouch!"
"Hold still, you big baby."
I winced, my jaw tightening as Odessa applied some potions on my wounds. We were in my room, alone, the lights were turned off and the blood moon was finally back to its... "Normal" colour.
I was shirtless and she sat on the bed behind me, her soft, cold fingers on my skin a reassurance that she was here with me.
"You think Ryker changed his mind on ’destroying everything I hold dear’?" I asked Odessa with a dry laugh, curling my fists on the bed. "I can’t believe I let him go."
"I can’t believe you’d want to risk your life like that." She breathed out behind me, her hands slowly tracing from the wounds on my back to the one on my right arm.
It was still oozing with dried blood, but the moment her fingers, which were tipped with the potions, touched it... I felt a soothing relief from the pain.
I smiled wryly, letting out a relieved breath as I glanced over my shoulder. Her eyes were swollen, probably from all the crying before we found her.
That caused my heart to clench, the smile on my face disappearing faster than it came.
"And you didn’t risk your life by going to Ryker?" I asked, even though a voice at the back of my head was telling me not to. She paused, her violet eyes locking with mine.
Her emotions were all over the place, but one seemed to shine brighter than the rest.
Sadness.
"I was... Tired, Kaelos." She finally spoke, her voice lower than a whisper and cracked with pain. Pain that I wished I could take away in an instant.
She continued after a few seconds. "My baby, our baby... He took that away like it was nothing. He didn’t even have to reach me directly. I was afraid of what he could do once he showed up."
I tried adjusting my sitting position to face her fully but stopped when a sharp pain tore through my chest, causing me to groan.
"Case in point." Odessa sighed, helping me adjust and then making me lie on my back. After the soft bed embraced my skin, she added. "You need to rest. Your wolf should help you heal faster with aid from the potions."
Speaking of Damon, he was more silent than usual in my head. Probably because of our defeat.
Odessa stepped down from the bed, about to walk away. But I grabbed her wrist, forcing her to freeze mid-step.
As I sat up again, she turned her head to me, her eyes welling up with tears that threatened to fall. My heart shattered into a thousand pieces but I ignored it, pulling her into my arms.
Odessa stiffened in my arms at first. Her heart beat was quick, like someone who’s been running for her life for way too long.
Like someone who was carrying a heavy burden.
"Odessa?" I called softly, brushing my hand down her hair. "Is there something you want to tell me? I can... sense it. But I’ll never know if—"
"Ryker told me you’re the Gamma who killed my parents." She blurted all of a sudden, her voice coming out as a croak.
I froze, a shiver crawling up my spine. Her hands on my shoulders tightened as she continued, trying hard to steady her breathing.
"He didn’t just tell me, in fact... he showed me through a vision of sorts. He was able to access your psyche through our mate bond." She paused again, pulling out of my embrace.
She pushed her hands against my shoulders, staring into my eyes like she was searching for something. Anything.
My heart beat heavily as that night flashed through my mind. I’d try so hard to erase it completely from my memory.
To tell myself that those people weren’t Odessa’s parents. That little girl wasn’t the woman who would turn out to be my mate and my wife.
But here I am. History sure has a funny way of biting me in the ass these days.
"Kaelos, all I want is the truth." She rasped with a shaky voice, her eyes getting moist. "P–Please... I’ve lost too much already and I... I don’t think I can—"
"Odessa, stop." I couldn’t take it anymore and said firmly, closing my eyes.
I was too afraid to look into her eyes. Too afraid to tell her that Ryker was indeed telling the truth.
’Tell her the story from your perspective, smart ass.’ Damon’s voice was a welcome sound in my head just then.
’I thought you would go into hibernation after that humiliating defeat.’ I remarked.
’The day that happens is the day we’re both dead.’ He growled. ’Now, be a comfort to our mate.’
I finally opened my eyes again, my gaze fixed on Odessa’s face. I held both her hands, causing her to jolt at first.
That was a gut punch, but at this point, I deserved any reaction she had with me.
"I was fourteen." I began with a low voice, brushing my fingers on her hands tenderly. "I recently acquired my wolf and my father... All he saw was a weapon he could use in his conquests. Sending me as his Gamma was a test of my power... a power which I had no control over."
Odessa was silent but I didn’t let that stop me, especially when I saw her blinking back her tears.
The screams of the women and children echoed in the deepest part of my mind which I’d locked away for so long.
"Your parents were just a few... out of many. Tens, possibly hundreds. By the time I killed Seraphina and shifted back... the destruction. The death." I bit my bottom lip, my chest getting heavy. "I was covered in blood. Mangled bodies littered the roads. Crushed skulls of children. Goddess, I couldn’t live with myself."
I lowered my head, staring at my lap. But when I tried getting a hold of myself, a single tear dropped from my eyes.
How quaint...
Suddenly, Odessa’s grip on my hands tightened ever so softly, causing me to hold my breath.
But then she withdrew her right hand, caressing my face tenderly and guiding my jaw until I looked her in those violet eyes which were now like my salvation.
"You were... only a child." She smiled wryly, sniffing through the tears and nodding like she was trying to tell herself that and not me. "I... Forgive you. If anything, I should be pissing on your father’s grave, not yours."
I blinked at first but then smiled warmly.
"You have no idea how much I love you more now." I shook my head and then we both laughed.
We actually laughed.
Even with the world seemingly in peril, our unborn child lost forever and secrets from the past piling up faster than a bad soap opera... We still laughed through it.
If that wasn’t proof of how far we’ve come, I don’t know what is.
"Just..." She sat beside me, her eyes still locked on mine. "Just, don’t keep secrets from me anymore. Please."
I nodded like life depended on it. "I promise with everything in me."
She smiled, her gaze going from my eyes to my lips. I knew what was coming next and I wanted it more than anything.
I didn’t know who kissed first but we locked lips, the room seemingly disappearing around us as she pressed her body against me.