For Me,There Is Only You |18+|

35. A Life That Should Never Have Been Saved

"Why do you say that?" I asked immediately, picking up on the bitterness in his tone.

It was as if he resented his very existence, as if he wished he had never been born.

"Because everyone has suffered since my birth," Ansel said, his voice heavy. His eyes locked onto mine, filled with a depth of pain. "Dad... Mom... and now you."

I swallowed hard, my throat tightening. "Ansel..." I whispered; my voice barely audible as I struggled to find the right words to soothe his anguish.

"It's okay," Ansel said softly, shaking his head. "You don't need to comfort me. I don't deserve it."

A cold silence settled between us, thick and suffocating.

Though we didn't speak, our unspoken thoughts and emotions swirled in the air around us, leaving us both feeling raw and exposed.

"My mother was from a mystic lineage. They were elementals who could glimpse fragments of the future, give revelations, or issue prophecies. Even after the great curse stripped elementals of their full abilities, the essence of their power remained in their blood. Because of this, occasionally, a child born within their kind could manifest even a sliver of their power."

"These children were usually kept hidden because werewolves or others might see them as a threat, potentially sparking another war," Ansel continued. "My mother was one of those children. She could sometimes have visions of the future."

What?

A chill ran down my spine as I suddenly remembered what Galina had said to me after Ashley's wedding.

This is the beginning.

She must have seen something. That was why she spoke those words. Was she trying to give me a warning? Maybe I should have taken her words more seriously.

If I had, perhaps I wouldn't be in this situation now.

"You're shaking," Ansel's voice cut through my thoughts, startling me. I looked up to see him standing closer than before, holding a small blanket I hadn't noticed.

He gently draped the blanket over my legs, tucking it around me with a tenderness that made my heart throb.

"You don't have a fever, do you?" he asked, concern etched on his face as he placed the back of his hand on my forehead. "Is your wound still hurting?"

My hand instinctively went to the side of my stomach. "I'm fine," I sighed, my voice softer than I intended, as he withdrew his hand. "Did you forget? You made Genesis heal me in the car, even though she complained she was exhausted."

Ansel exhaled, his eyes lingering on me a moment longer, as if to reassure himself I was truly okay.

Then, he stepped back to his spot against the bookshelf.

His eyes turned distant as he continued. "When I was about to be born, Mom had a vision... I was going to die." My heart sank at his words. "Mom was terrified because her visions always came true. And there was nothing she could do to prevent it."

"When my father found out, he became frantic, desperately searching for ways to stop it from happening. As my mother went into labor, he resorted to something forbidden. He called upon an Elemental Elder to our pack."

"An Elemental Elder?" I asked. "Why?"

"Unlike other elementals, the Elders were different. They never participated in any battle between werewolves and elementals, so they were never punished. They still had their powers. After the great curse, they retreated to the mountains to seek forgiveness from the gods, and nobody saw them after that."