Never Bend

Chapter 28: past reveal

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Fear can make you do things,

Don't let it rule you.   MJ

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My daughter's emotions are as wide as the ocean, I hear it in every voice recording I have received. The last one was the worst of all. Each word is a wave that pierces the emotional shell I created for myself that I thought was indestructible. Everything I have done has been for her sake. Keeping her from the truth has kept her safe until now. No, she can't know about me or the magical world, she can't know about her father, about her heritage. Some things are better not said. She can never know the truth or the extent of my actions to keep her safe. To some, like the Resistance, I am a monster worse than Davon. I can't risk her hating me.

I would fix everything now if I could. It would be beneficial to remove her emotional burden, but I can't do that now. I am too weak. I stop the voice recording from her room, unable to hear any more, and open the surveillance camera from the office.

I look at her at her desk and zoom in on her beautiful face. She looks so much like her father. Having her work there was the only way I could be sure to see her since Richard refuses to put a camera in her bedroom and it's her favorite place. Richard is annoying about boundaries, it has something to do with mates and avoiding future problems for my own good. Still, I can't see Annie as much as I'd like. Giving her a job was the better way to see her.

Rummaging through the papers, Annie searches diligently for a file that has been requested. Since she has been working there, she has proven to be bright and in control of her emotions. She has had so many questions since she got her job, but for now she has been told that they are ill or that they have had some mental madness and that has been enough to calm her down.

Gradually, she will learn about our world and satisfy her curiosity at a slow and controlled pace. Whenever her second personality arises, or not, we will be there to do what is necessary and keep the animal from taking over.
One year.
No, I have less than a year to get healthy enough to deal with this for good. The 18th birthday is the day the beast awakens and no magic will be enough to get rid of it unless it is killed from within. I would have rid Annie of it if my husband hadn't come early and protected the beast with a bond between them. A bond between wolves is sacred, for they share a pattern of their souls. Since Annie's wolf was part of his pack, the beast couldn't be killed without harming my husband.

My head bowed over the destiny. My husband was angry that day, and our mate bond was living proof of it. My magic was acting up and I couldn't control it. I had to leave the house to protect my family. When things finally returned to normal after a few weeks, the children were left with Richard, but Annie wasn't. I knew then that I had lost her again, and I may have lost my husband as well. The feeling was worse than any other. It was like someone had ripped my heart out of my chest and left an empty space. My life would never be complete without her.

My eyes burn, I pound my chest, summoning my heartbeat to get it together. This is an old story and I should be over it and I hate myself for being so emotional about it. Finally, after so many weeks, she was taken back, but my husband wasn't. He paid the price for trying to keep her away from me. Now all I have is regret and an unfair price to pay as not a day goes by without my soul calling for its soul mate.

So does the devil within my daughter. For even in his absence, the bond is strong, so strong that the beast was able to contact me in danger months ago. It was something Richard did not know, which shows how treacherous the cub is.