Connection Through Blindness

Chapter 34

   We were sitting at the edge of the cliff as he began to tell his story.

"I was just a teenager when I was cursed by a witch. I slept with her daughter and stole her virginity, so she had her revenge, turning me into something that didn't fit in with any species. What I didn't know destroyed who I was. She didn't only make me look like a monster, she made me one. For each year that passed a darkness so dark and evil controlled me without me knowing, and it used me. I lost myself in hate and anger and evil. I killed innocent people whenever I ran into them and tore apart their families. I didn't care; all I saw was darkness."

"I destroyed villages, towns, cities - you name it, I destroyed. I created monsters just because I was bored. I fought and won any pack. My reputation drew packs attentions to me. That, and the fact that no one knew what I was. To them I was unseen; a shadow. That curse was said to have made me unable to have a mate or a beloved. That's how I was turned into a hybrid."

"Beta Ryan was the first werewolf I didn't kill. I saw how strong he was, so I used him to become powerful even though I didn't need him. My pack and kingdom grew and became powerful. We took over territories, killing anyone who stood in my way to becoming the most powerful supernatural creature alive. In the end I was the most powerful, but I was also alone. Of course the darkness comforted me, but that wasn't enough for some reason. I was planning on destroying the second most powerful pack in the world, though."

"Shadow Blood pack," I said automatically.

He nods. "Yes, the Shadow Blood pack was next."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because something inside me didn't allow me to. I knew why when your mother attempted to enter my territory. I allowed her entrance. Beta Ryan and my warriors sedated her and Bruce and brought them to me. I told them to lock them inside the prison. For two months I kept them locked up. Bruce got loose and I let him leave. He wasn't a threat."

"So did you really care about me or did you just want to use me as a weapon?" I wanted to know since the moment I knew the truth. As children, Ellie and Vincent had talked to Zach and I and told us about the Alpha King.

"Back then, I didn't care, but I could hear two little heartbeats beating together, and that something that had stopped me from destroying your mother's pack, felt for you. It created emotions I haven't felt in over a thousand years."

I smile.

"I allowed your mother to leave, too. Of course I stayed with her until you were born, but once I saw you I had to leave. But you stole my heart from the beginning."

My smile widened.

"And then you came back and almost fought my mom, but the ancestors didn't allow it. I know that part."

Shakes his head, holding my hand. "The ancestors didn't want it to happen, but you stopped us," he said.

I frown. "I don't remember that."

He nods. "Something inside me told me to stop, and I did. I left. Flash forward nineteen years, and here we today."

"After you rejected me," I add, wrapping a leaf around my fingers.

"I didn't necessarily reject you," he defended, "but I did make our bond disappear for only a little while, and when you finally showed up at my territory, I had said, 'You are a force to be reckoned with', because you were."

We both chuckle quietly. I sigh and look over at him. "Despite all the hardships we've faced, we've pulled through because we love each other," I said.