Chapter Seventy-Eight

Jasmine’s POV

The silence in the room after Isla’s words was deafening.

To think that particular thought had never occurred to anyone the entire time was nothing short of astounding.

At her words, I remembered the dream I sometimes had.

The only dream I could remember.

The only dream that had my mother in it.

The dream of my parents’ death.

I went over each scene more closely, knowing the dream for what it was, a memory.

From being woken from my sleep by my mother to being handed over to my father to hide me.

It all became clearer.

But more than anything, it had all started to make sense.

I remembered the last sight of my mother in the dream.

Of her fighting off werewolves.

Not vampires or witches, but werewolves.

I had always wondered why she had not transformed into her wolf to fight them.

A clear image of a pure white wolf instantly came to mind.

If I had a pure white wolf, that meant my mother had had one as well.

And she had purposely not shifted so as not to reveal her identity to her attackers.

It suddenly occurred to me that my mother had been part witch as well.

Isla had said our grandmother was a witch who was mated to my grandfather, who was of the Royal bloodline.

That meant my mother had known they were coming. In fact, she had probably seen them coming.

And had known better than to reveal who she was to them.

Another thought came to me.

Had she not revealed herself because she knew that her attackers were unaware of whom they were attacking?

Or so as not to alert her attackers to the fact that pure white wolves still existed so that I would not be hunted?

Had she truly made such a sacrifice just to keep me safe?

Tears welled up in my eyes as I remembered the sight of her head being ripped off her body.

Of my father trembling in the pain of his mate’s death even as he kept running to hide me.

My head started to hurt.

The memories were becoming clear as day.

I felt a sudden terrible pain in my head that made me let out a scream, my hands coming up to hold my head.

I could not hear anything, but I could see how everyone else in the room rushed over to me.

It felt as if time had slowed as I watched them, the pain causing my vision to start to turn hazy.

I knew my eyes were open because I kept them open on purpose, not wanting to pass out from the pain in my head.

But as my vision turned hazy, it did not turn dark as I had expected it would.

Rather, several images flashed through my sight, with each image a memory I had never had being revealed. It took me a moment to realize that they were my memories.

Memories I had never had before.

I suddenly remembered Isla telling me that the reason I had only one memory of my mother was because she had wiped them all, in order to keep me safe.

But the memories that floated through my head had her in them.

Her alongside my father.

There were even memories of Isla in them.

The same as she was in the dream I had upon her arrival.

There were several with just my mother.

Holding me affectionately, kissing me loving, singing to me.

Her laughter, her smile.

Most importantly, her face.

It was clear as day. No more a foggy image I tried to make out.

She was beautiful.

So very beautiful.

I did not realize when I started to cry.

I only realized that once the image cleared and I regained my sight, I was a sobbing mess in Lena and Nana’s arms.

I had not cried as hard as I did in a very long time.

I cried for the daughter who could not remember how loved she was, I cried for the mother who did not hesitate to risk her life simply to save her child.

I cried for the father who did not stop running even as he trembled in pain, simply to protect his child.

I cried for the father who I had heard being tortured for hours until his final cry.

I had come to realize that he had known all along that he would not survive. That they had both known all along and had agreed to that fate willingly.

As I cried, I looked over Nana and Lena’s shoulders to where Isla was now seated on the floor of the study.

Her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them protectively.

She was staring into space, her mind so far away, even as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Unlike me, she was not sobbing.

Simply crying in silence.

Hurting in silence.

I started to wonder.

How long had she done that?

Hurt in silence, suffered in silence.

Because she had known that she had no one to comfort her.

Unlike her, I was being comforted by two people who had their arms wrapped around me in comfort.

Gaia stood watching in concern beside her son whose worry was clear to see.

Even my Gamma stood watching me in concern.

But no one looked at Isla.

Again, I wondered, how long had she lived like that?

Pulling away from Nana and Lena’s embrace, I stood to my feet with their assistance and made my way over to her without taking my eyes off her.

She did not even notice my approach, her mind still far away.

It was only when I stood directly in front of her, blocking her line of sight where she had been staring, that she finally looked up at me.

Though different in their colors, the look in her eyes broke me.

I had always thought that I had suffered much at the hands of fate. But one look in Isla’s eyes told me that fate had been kind to me.

It told me that my suffering, in the face of hers, was nothing.

That my pain was nothing compared to hers.

That she had gone through things she would never speak about.

Slowly, I knelt down in front of her.

Her eyes followed my movement, though I doubted if she truly saw me.

“Isla”, I managed to choke out, my voice barely above a whisper, and raspy due to my crying.

I waited until her eyes focused on mine before I continued.

“I am sorry”, I said, tears rolling down my face that I did not bother to wipe.

“I am so very sorry”, I cried. “For the pain I have brought you”, I said. “For you loosing your family all because of me. For all the years you have suffered so that I could live”, I cried. “I am sorry”, I told her.

She watched me quietly, her tears shining in her eyes but not falling.

Finally, she opened her mouth.

At first, no sound came out. But then, I heard the most heartbreaking sob wrench out of her.

The sob hung in the silence, and I watched her try to hold it back. But all it took was her looking at me again for another one to follow.

I pulled her into my arms, wrapping them tightly around her as gut wrenching sobs escaped her lips.

I had never heard such pain-filled cries as the sounds that escaped her.

I didn’t even know when I started to sob along with her.

She had been hurting all those years without a shoulder to cry on, without so much as a hug of comfort. And I had been thinking how sad my life was when I had people around me who loved me.

Even as I recovered from my tears, she still cried, her voice turning hoarse from her crying.

I glanced around to see not one dry eye in the room.

Including, Gaia, Alpha Gaius and even my Gamma. Everyone’s eyes at least glistened with unshed tears that they tried to hide, at the sight of Isla’s pain.

It warmed my heart that she felt comfortable enough with me to fall apart in my arms.

If nothing else, it meant that she trusted me.

Finally, after a long time, her tears subsided to hiccups.

Once in a while, a tremor would course through her body, causing her to shake in my hold.

I did not let go of her, holding her close to my heart until she could speak again.

When she did, her voice was hoarse.

“At first, I blamed you”, she finally said. “I did not mean to, but I had lost so much and I had no one”, she said. “So I blamed you”.

She paused for a while and I waited in silence for her to continue.

“But then I remembered my mother”, she said. “She always said that just as your mother was her little sister, you were mine”, she said. “Mine to love and protect, just as she did to your mother”.

I felt tears well up in my eyes at the knowledge of just how wonderful my Aunt was.

“The last thing she told me was”, she said. “That when the time was right, I was to find you. I did not know what she meant but she told me I would know when the time came”, she said and turned slowly to look at me.

“So I waited and endured in the hopes that I would find you”, she told me. “Because I knew that even though I blamed you at first, you were still all I had in the world”. Her eyes started to wander again. “All I wanted was to find you”, she said. “And when I started having visions of you and your pack’s crest, I knew the time had come to see you again”, she told me. “So that I could look into your eyes and tell you that I forgive you”.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as she spoke.

“That I do not blame you any longer”, she went on. “That I do not want to be alone any longer”, she said and a sob escaped me at that. “That I am glad I finally found you. And that I will protect you with my life, just as my mother protected yours”, she said.

Before she could say anymore, I pulled her closer as another bout of tears and sobs escaped me.

This time, she held me as we cried.

Afterwards, I pulled away to look at her.

“You will never be alone again”, I told her. “My family is your family now”, I said to her.

She smiled, not her usual empty smile but a smile so beautiful that it showed in her eyes.

She nodded before stopping all of a sudden.

Her next smile was so wide and bright that it caught me by surprise.

“I can hear him better now”, she said.

I frowned in confusion at her statement, having no clue as to what she was talking about.

Still smiling, she brought her hand to rest on my stomach, where my pup was growing.

Realizing the meaning her words, I found that she was right.

I could hear his heart beat clearer now.

A smile I was certain could rival hers found its way onto my lips.

“He is going to be very strong”, she said.

It took only a moment to realize that her eyes were closed and she was seeing something.

I bit my lip to keep silent so I would not distract her.

Gaia did the same thing to me each day to check on my pup.

Without warning, a hiss escaped her and she pulled her hand away.

Her eyes snapped open as I watched her in surprise.

She looked to me with worried eyes before looking around and stopping on Gaia.

“She has your eyes”, she said urgently. “But not your hair. Who is she?” She asked her.

“Arwyn”, Gaia answered without hesitation.

“Is she your kin?” Isla asked.

Gaia nodded. “Distant and removed but yes”, she said. “She is an enemy”, she told Isla.

“Good”, Isla said with a decisive nod. “She wishes to harm my nephew and I will not stand for it”, she said, a look of determination coming into her eyes. “I never show mercy to an enemy”, she said.

“I will personally plead that you do not”, Gaia said. “She is evil. But unfortunately she is a direct descendant of the Earth Goddess and a very powerful witch”.

Slowly, a smile came onto Isla’s lips, one that made a chill run down my spine.

“You forget”, she said to Gaia. “So am I”.