Loving the leech (Guardians of Red Moon city #4)
44. Hurtful memories

Kaylin’s POV

“Gentlemen,” I respond in a formal tone, not ready yet to be familiar with these men before knowing their true motives. “I thank you for the invitation this evening.”

Alaric and Alreo give each other a confused look before their focus returns to me. I don’t fold under their searching gazes but stand firm, ready for whatever they throw in my direction. However, they seem to give in before I do, given that they both start to smile big.

“It’s we who should thank you for accepting,” Alaric replies and smiles broadly at me. “What I wonder about, however, is why I should set the table for one more person?”

I nod at one of my guards, who walks toward the doors to tell Nathan that he can step inside. My family looks questioningly at me, but I don’t give any indication of what it might be. It’s not until my mate enters the hall with my daughter in his arms that the men seem to understand.

“Father, brother,” I begin, in an effort to get comfortable with calling them that. “Let me introduce my mate, Nathan, and my daughter, Aurora.”

The men stand petrified and stare at the girl in my mate’s arms. I take her from Nathan and put my forehead against hers. She smiles big and giggles happily to be with me again.

“Hello, my girl,” I whisper and kiss her forehead.

Nathan stands closer to me and puts an arm around my shoulders, his gaze also on Aurora. I look at my father and brother, who are now both wearing smiles on their faces.

“Welcome to the family, Nathan,” my father says, stretching out a hand. “Alaric Gotfire.”

“Nathan Obsidian,” my mate replies, and Alaric draws him to himself for a male hug instead.

“We’re family now, then we’re hugging,” he laughs soundly, and my mate smiles big.

“Alreo Gotfire, I’m Qina’s brother,” my brother says, and Nathan looks at me with eyes wide open.

“Don’t ask me because I don’t know,” I answer, rocking Aurora softly. “After all, that’s why I agreed to come here tonight. I deserve answers to my questions as much as you do.”

“Of course, let’s sit at the table,” Alaric says, and Nathan is quick to pull out my chair for me.

Have you ever seen the Harry Potter movies? If you have, you should remember what amazing dinners they usually have, and the table in front of me is very similar to it. They’ve prepared chicken, fish, meat, lettuce, wine, bread, olive oil, and even blood. However, I’m most surprised that they arranged blood, given that I’m the only one who drinks it.

“I didn’t know if you preferred blood or regular food. Hence I arranged for both,” Alreo explains, looking insecure.

“Thank you for that. I appreciate your concern,” I answer and smile at him. “I have no particular preference as I both drink blood and eat regular food. However, I try to avoid blood as much as I can.”

The men are obviously surprised by my choice but choose not to comment, which feels nice. They may be related to me, but that doesn’t mean that I feel comfortable enough to share everything that has happened in my life from birth to this point. The problem of drinking blood directly from the vein is easier to deal with now, but that doesn’t mean that I can cope with it flawlessly. From time to time, it’s still difficult to resist, and it may forever be that way. Ozzandra said some things disappear with time and experience, while others remain as extra darkness in your shadow. I’ve accepted what I can’t change and live with it.

“I want to start by making a toast that our family is finally whole,” Alaric says, lifting his glass. “For the family.”

The rest of us do the same and toast together before taking sips of the wine. The conversation flows well, but it’s clear that we keep the conversation on a superficial level, fearful of what happens if either of us takes the step over it. In the end, I can’t withhold all my questions anymore but start systematically going through them to hopefully get an easier understanding of myself and my heritage, where I come from.

“What happened to my mother?” I ask, and Alaric’s happy facial expressions disappear.

“I met Miranda early in our lives. My father was on a visit to the Vampire Kingdom to hopefully reach an understanding and be able to work together on a diplomatic level. The memories with Miranda are still fresh as if it were yesterday I met her for the first time. The meetings became more and more, and I started to go with my father every time, even though it wasn’t until we both came up in our teens that our friendship developed into something intimate, a beautiful love. Oh my god, we were young then,” he says, smiling as he thinks back. “My father obviously didn’t like it and was a cruel man. He did everything to reduce my interest in the vampire princess, but there’s only so much he could do to stop me. In the end, we secretly saw each other, stealing kisses to survive until the next time. As time went on, our relationship developed, and we created you.”

All the time, when he explains, he smiles at me like my mother and me are the best thing that ever happened to him. His words mesmerize me, and I can visualize how their story went in my head. However, his facial expressions change, and I realize that it’s now that the dark part of the story will come to the surface.

“One dark evening when we met in the gazebo behind the castle, Miranda told me that she had discovered that she was pregnant and that she was carrying my child inside her. I was obviously overjoyed to have a child with the woman the goddess destined me to love, my mate. The only problem was that my father had become suspicious and followed me that night. He overheard our conversation, which made him go crazy. Miranda’s father, Salazar, came to the scene, and while my father explained the situation, I tried to get to her. But my father refused to let me forward but withdrew again and again until I could do nothing more than stand there, hoping for the best. When Salazar showed his support for our relationship instead of being outraged, it became too much for my father, and he tore me away while promising that a collaboration would never happen. I still remember Miranda screaming for me and how we tried to reach each other’s hands while her father held her.”

My own tears fall when I listen to his words, and my heart hurts for how much my mother must’ve been hurt by having to be away from her love. For us supernatural, it’s a fate worse than death. I can’t even begin to imagine how they both must’ve felt.

“Then what happened?” I ask and try to keep my voice steady.

“Once we got back to our territory, my father locked me in the dungeon. He tricked me there, and I was stupid enough to fall for his tricks. “I’ll take care of the problem and your dirty mistake,” he said, leaving me there. It took weeks before he let me out again, and by then, Miranda was already gone, as was my child. At least, that was what others told me. I had to promise to pick out a mate or at least create an heir with another dragon for me to get my freedom back again. That’s how I had a relationship with my best friend, Gillian, and together we created Alreo. Unfortunately, she passed away during childbirth, and I became a single father to an amazing little boy,” Alaric replies and smiles broadly at Alreo, caressing his cheek. “However, I never forgot the child I didn’t have time to meet. I always wanted a girl first, and that’s exactly what I got. Now I have answered your question, and it’s your turn to answer mine. What happened to Miranda? What happened to you?”

Nathan takes Aurora in his arms, and I gently wipe away my tears so as not to smear my makeup. It’s hard to think back on what has happened. Talking about what happened to my mother, I manage because I wasn’t present when it happened. But having to think about and remember my darkest parts of life, I honestly don’t know if I’m ready for it yet. However, it doesn’t seem to matter since that my father is right. He answered my question and told me in detail about his experiences, no matter how much it hurt to do. The least I can do is return the favor.

“I don’t know exactly what happened to mom. I’ve only heard Salazar’s version. But as I understand it, he managed to keep my mother protected until the birth and sent me with Carl to keep me alive. Mom was killed a few weeks after that, but if you want to know more precisely, you’ll have to ask Salazar,” I explain, and Alaric nods slowly.

“No, it’s not easy for you to know, given that you were just a baby at the time,” he replies, rubbing his eyes. “What happened to you? How have you lived your life?”

“I grew up with Carl, who I constantly thought was my dad, and he had some disappointment about me,” I start and see in the corner of my eye how Alaric clenches his fists. “It wasn’t Carl’s fault, however. Salazar enlisted the help of a witch to put the illusion that I was his daughter until I reached an appropriate age when he would remember who I really was in order to prepare for what was going on. The problem, however, was that the illusion stuck permanently, and no matter how much he could’ve tried, he would never get out of it on his own.”

“That’s the dangerous thing about illusions on humans. I’m not happy that Carl felt such feelings towards you, but as his friend and from his perspective, I can understand them.”

“I was reticent when I grew up and didn’t have many friends, not even in adulthood. Over the years, I developed depression and anxiety that caused addiction that almost took my life away from me,” I explain, and everyone present solidifies when they hear my words, Nathan included. “When I woke up in the hospital and Carl was crying next to me, I decided to quit. I started to work with other people who had addictions and helped in every way I could. In the evenings and weekends, I worked at a bar near my workplace. That’s where I met William, my beloved.”

“Your beloved? Is Nathan your second chance mate then?” Alreo asks, confused.

So I begin to explain everything that has happened from my first meeting with William until now and how heavy it has been to carry all this pain on my own. Especially when I was in the dark place in my cell, knowing that I was pregnant, would die and that there was nothing I could do about it. I think that’s what scared me the most: I was aware that nothing I said would change anything because they chose not to listen to me. You probably remember that I tried and got hurt because of my desperate attempt to persuade them that they mistook the person?

It was the worst of all, and that’s also why it took me a long time to start acting like an average person again at all. Even though I understand in retrospect why the Everton family didn’t believe me when I tried to defend myself during the negotiations, it still hurts. People I was close to didn’t believe me at the only time I needed them to, but the worst part was that my own beloved didn’t. On the other hand, William has repeatedly proven that he’s a piece of shit that deserves neither Aurora nor me. But it’s obvious he can no longer walk up with his shit and claim it doesn’t stink.

“It makes me both angry and sad to listen to your story, Qina,” Alaric says in the end, and only now do I dare to face his gaze. “I wish I could’ve been there for you when you needed me, and I’m sorry that I didn’t fight more to find out the truth about your potential death. Forgive me, my girl.”

My tears quietly fall over my cheeks, and this time I can’t stop them. I can’t be mad at Alaric because it was never his fault. Apparently, he did his best to deal with a difficult situation, and the thought of him carrying my anger towards him because of it harms him.

“There’s nothing to forgive, Alaric,” I respond with a sigh, and he reacts to me using his name instead of the title he deserves. “I realize that it feels strange that I use your name, but you also need to understand my situation. Carl was the one who raised me. The first time I got into a fight, he was there, patching up my injuries. When Melvin Derryl broke my heart, Carl bought ice cream and threatened to shoot him down with a shotgun. He ran off to the store to buy everything I needed when I got my first period... Carl may have had the anger of illusion against me, but I never had to hesitate whether he’d be there when it really came to. He was and still is my dad. The one who raised me and made me who I am.”

Alaric sighs and looks down at his plate while slowly nodding. He understands me and respects how I feel even though my words hurt him. Damn, I’d probably be broken too if Aurora started calling someone else mom. On the other hand, I can’t be dishonest to a man I hopefully get to know and, over time, begin to see as my father.

“That doesn’t mean, though, that I don’t plan on giving you an honest chance,” I go on, and Alaric looks up at me with hope in his eyes. “What you have to understand is that I’ve been alone basically all my life and that I’m not used to letting others in. It takes a long time for me to trust other people, and that’s probably always going to be the case, especially considering William. However, I still want to get to know you, both of you, and one day maybe we can actually become a real family. Blood doesn’t make a family; loyalty and respect do.”

Nathan takes my hand and smiles big at me. His lips touch my forehead, and I feel the love spread in my body. If Nathan weren’t my mate and didn’t make an effort to show that he really wanted me to be able to trust him, then it would’ve taken even longer before we got this close. I can do no more than hope that Alaric and Alreo do the same. If they allow time to heal wounds and actions to talk, then in the near future, we’ll get very close.

“We understand what you’re saying and respect your desire, Qina,” Alreo replies, smiling.

“Why do you call me Qina?” I ask when I remember that they haven’t used my name once.

“That’s your real name, at least that was the name your mother and I planned to give you,” Alaric replies, giving me a sad smile as if it hurts to think back on everything he missed when I was growing up. “It means “champion of the light” which we both hoped you would become.”

“What does Alreo’s name mean then?” I ask, curious.

“Lord of the skies,” my brother laughs.

“Wow, we have the most pretentious names ever,” I laugh, and the others do the same.

Again, we talk about simple things and laugh a lot together. Nathan gets along well with the two men, and I’m glad. Honestly, it could’ve been the other way around, and that would’ve made my life more complicated than it already is. From time to time, I notice that Alaric is looking at Aurora with great interest. It doesn’t take long for me to understand that he’s excited about getting to know his only grandchild as well.

“Do you want to hold her?” I ask, and the others quiet down. “It’s your granddaughter, after all.”

Alaric smiles and nods. I get up from the chair and walk around the table until I stand next to him. Gently he takes my little girl and holds her up in front of him to look her over properly.

“What a beautiful little girl you are, Aurora,” Alaric whispers, and I smile at the way he looks at her as if she’s the best thing that happened to him.

“Aurora, this is your grandpa,” I say, caressing her cheek.

Alaric begins to compliment her on how nice she looks in her bright pink dress and that she looks like a real lady. It’s cute to see how careful he is with her and that she’s this calm in his vicinity. In the end, I start talking to my brother while Alaric has a low-key conversation with Aurora as if they’ve known each other for years. Who knows, over time, maybe I can finally have that family I never had.

A / N:

Good morning, everyone!

Kaylin gets to meet her family and learn about what really happened between her parents.

✿ Do you perceive Alaric and Alreo as good people?

❀ Can they help Kaylin get back to who she was?

✿ Are their reactions realistic when it comes to her experiences in life, or were you expecting more?

I greatly appreciate all the feedback I get, and I wish to get at least a few words from you once again. Given that I write a whole book series that’s free, then you can at least give me a little comment, right? Lots of love!

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