Sacrifice (Book 2)

Chapter 23 - Unleashed

Ethan felt his blood pressure spike. He gritted his teeth for a moment before lashing out. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well...well...that's what most people believe," Ren stammered. "There is no way of proving it of course, but it seems the most reasonable explanation." He took a step back out of Ethan's reach.

"My mother did not turn us. That bloodsucker Erdo did."

Field went quiet. The corner of his mouth twitched. If he dared smile, he'd not live to see another night.

Mariposa's hand touched his arm lightly and he looked at her. Her eyes told him everything he needed to know. Panic fisted in his chest.

"Please. I need to talk to you," she whispered. He froze as the truth settled in. Mariposa took his hand and led him out of the waiting room. Numbly, he followed as they walked the halls until they found an empty corner.

His perception of the world crumbled. Leaning against the wall, he braced himself when all he wanted to do was sink down onto the floor. He'd spent a century searching. It was all for nothing. All that energy, all that effort was wasted. It was his mother that had made him the monster he was. The betrayal was crushing. He slammed the back of his head on the wall several times. He needed the pain to shake him out of the downward spiral his thoughts were taking him.

"Ethan," Mariposa said softly.

"Just tell me this, did she do it on purpose?"

"No. Please don't be upset. She never wanted you to find out like this."

Anger flared hot in his blood. "She kept the truth from me for more than a century and you're telling me not to get upset?"

Mariposa flinched at his tone. It wasn't her fault. Scrubbing his chin, Ethan reigned in his emotions. He relaxed his stance and hoped she'd tell him more.

It seemed to help and she continued. "You have to understand, Madison didn't mean to do it. She didn't know what she was doing that night. She thought Erdo had turned you and you were suffering because you needed blood. So she did the unthinkable in the vampire world, she gave you hers. Newly turned vampires are ruthless in their cravings. Erdo put you and your sisters in the cellar for her to feed on. But she didn't. She gave instead of took. Had she been any other vampire, you wouldn't be here today."

The clamp around his chest loosened slightly. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"She was under the same impression as you that Erdo turned the family. It was only a few years ago he corrected her misassumption. She was afraid you would hate her for it. Erdo used that information to blackmail her into doing what he wanted."

The details started to make sense.

"You don't have any idea how devastated she's been. She's carried the guilt around with her every day since she found out. I know. I've watched her and seen how it's weighed on her." Mariposa brushed her hand over his forearm to comfort him.

It all came down to the question did he wish he had died that night? If Erdo had made him for the purpose of adding another lowly minion to his line, that was unacceptable. But if his mother accidentally turned him when she thought she was helping him, didn't that change the equation? Could he look at his life differently now? He wasn't turned in some evil procreation scheme. It was an accident. His mother had done it out of love. Could he forgive her for that?

He looked at Mariposa. Despite the internal struggle she was fighting and the difficulty she had communicating, she had defended Madison. This beautiful, brave woman was amazing.