Chapter 85: Chapter 85

DAHLIA:

I stared in awe at Tristan’s chest. Why was my mark still there?

He was still pulling my hand against his chest. I fingered the mark and scratched it. It didn’t come off. I scratched harder.

“It wouldn’t come off no matter what you do,” Tristan said, his breathing becoming heavier.

I pulled my hand away from his grasp, but he resisted.

“Don’t push me away, Dahlia… Just stay like this for a while. Just until you recuperate please...”

I wanted to laugh. I was the injured one, but my rescuer was the one pleading for me to stay.

My body wanted to succumb to him. I missed Tristan’s warmth. I miss his touches, and therefore, this closeness between us was too dangerous.

I reminded myself that I was trying to stay away from him and not get pulled in by his seduction again. I spoke in a firmer manner.

“No. Please let me go.”

His face looked like he was about to cry a bit when suddenly, I heard Lady Livia’s voice.

“Leave her be, brother. I’ll keep her company while you and Sir Casior sort out this mess.”

Looking crestfallen, Tristan took one last look at my face and reluctantly settled me into the ground while Lady Livia sat beside me.

I closed my eyes for a while. Being pulled away from Tristan’s scent and resisting the strong desire to be with him were making me feel positively dizzy.

“Dahlia, I’m sorry for not warning you… I should have told you to close your eyes at least,” Lady Livia said. She stroked the top of my head as she spoke. Why was she suddenly behaving like this? When had we gotten so close?

“Well… That was a very cool power to have,” I said back, still not opening my eyes.

Indeed, I wished I had that power too. If I did, I would not be so pathetic as to need being rescued.

“Did you see my brother’s anguished face? Have you thought about hearing him at least?”

I opened my eyes to her question. “But what is there to talk about? He had deceived me. Everything was a lie from the beginning…”

“Like you said, we did lie to you, but I am sure when I say this - my brother treasures you… Also, we need you…”

My eyebrows furrowed. “You need me for what? Revenge?”

“Yes, but not just for revenge but for uncovering the truth.”

“What kind of truth do you need to uncover?”

She sighed heavily. “First of all, we wanted to know why the king decided to attack our pack. Also, we wanted to know what happened to our mother.”

I looked at Lady Livia’s cold but morose expression as she continued to speak.

“As you know, I never saw my own mother, and my brother was far too young to understand what had happened at that time. She was heavily pregnant when she was taken. We just wanted to understand why everything has to happen like that…”

Silence passed between the two of us. I, who had also never seen my own mother’s face, felt the immensity in her voice.

“My father told me that his mission was to rescue a she-wolf… I am not sure if she was talking about your mother, but there might be a high chance he was,” I explained to Livia.

“That’s highly possible… My mother was the Luna of the Shadow Rune Pack.”

I sat upright in a hurry that my vision swirled a bit.

Livia has a worried look. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes,” I nodded, patting Livia’s hand that had supported me from the shoulder as I sat. “You said your mother was the luna of the pack? Then your father must be -?”

“Uh huh. Alpha Ruthor Daedrich - the last Shadow Rune leader.”

My mouth hung open in astonishment. No wonder Tristan’s wolf was so massive! No doubt he would have inherited the alpha title if the tragedy against his pack did not happen…

“My brother was persuaded to seduce you for several reasons, but we swear that harming you was none of them,” she declared.

“Then what could be those other reasons that he came to me?”

“We needed quick access to the palace. By marrying you, my brother would have gained the footing he needed to be in close contact with the nobles…”

“So that’s it? You wanted to use me to spy on the nobles?”

“Yes… And also, we’re curious about your magic.”

“My magic? You mean my ability to heal?”

Lady Livia nodded. “We suspect that your magic might be somewhat connected to our mother. As you know, Shadow Runes have the innate power to use sorcery because of one element – the presence of a spirit stone.”

I have heard of it before. Being descendants from powerful witches and werewolves, all wolves from the Shadow Rune Pack were born with a spirit stone – a rune that helps them harness magic naturally. This also explains the presence of runes on their wolves’ foreheads.

“We think that your ability to heal might be connected to our mother’s spirit stone, which we are trying to locate…”

My eyes might have popped out of my head from surprise. “Do you mean to say I may have been given her spirit stone?”

Again, Livia nodded. “That’s what we thought, but a few weeks ago, we heard news that a spirit stone would be auctioned illegally at Dalrus. There’s a big chance it’s our mother’s…”

Dalrus was the capital city of the Apricus Kingdom, and it was known infamously for its black market dealings.

“I know you had not forgiven us… No, you don’t need to forgive us at all, if that is the price my brother and I had to pay for deceiving you, but please don’t shun us away… We really need your help this time.”

I have an inkling about what she was going to ask me next, and after hearing her words, I knew I was not mistaken.

“Please help us at Dalrus… We need you… We need you to get our mother’s spirit stone. Only you can help us obtain it!”