Three Mates & A Tribrid

Chapter 14

Rose's POV

     Atticus sat down on the window sill next to me as I braced myself for the emotional band-aid that I was about to tear off. I've never been so open with someone before. Not even Damon. Atticus was just the kind of person you could be yourself around. Someone that you know wouldn't judge you. I wanted to tell him before I could even handle looking at Everett while saying these words. He would surely not be able to control his wolf with my emotions running high. And Axel....I don't even fucking know where that situation was currently at.

     Atticus sighed deeply as he looked out the window, avoiding eye contact with me. "I never wanted to be the leader of my coven. My brother, Percy was meant to take the place of our father when he either died or passed down the title." Atticus took a shaky breath before continuing. "Me and Percy were training with a couple of others from the coven when we were ambushed by a rivalry coven from up north. There were so many of them...I lost sight of Percy. I felt like something terrible was about to happen, but I couldn't find him."

     I watched as a single tear fell down Atticus's cheek. "What happened?" I asked quietly, already dreading the answer.

     "I found him...but I was too late. A warlock had blasted dark magic through his chest, obliterating any ounce of good that he had left." I watched as another tear fell down his cheek and chiseled jaw. "I had to kill him. It was the only way." More tears trailed down his face as he turned and looked at me. "My dad made me kill him. He was in no shape to take over the coven in the future, and there couldn't be a living heir running around on a dark magic hiatus."

     "I'm sorry, Tuck," I said as I grabbed his hand, intertwining our fingers together.

     He gave me a small smile. "Don't worry about it, Roe. I was eighteen when it happened." He let out a dry laugh. "I was planning on just messing around up until that point, but everything was now resting on my shoulders. The coven was now my responsibility." He looked at me and smiled. "I didn't even think that I would find a mate. I was so self-absorbed that I slept with any girl that I could. I hated myself. I didn't think I deserved happiness. Didn't deserve life."

     I leaned in and gave him a kiss. "You deserve more than you know, Atticus. I don't want to do life without you...without all of you. Even the fucking asshole." I laughed with tears in my eyes. "But you can't betray me. I couldn't handle it," I said truthfully.

     "I promise you that I'm not going anywhere, Rose," He said before leaning in and giving me a gentle kiss on the lips. "Your turn." He gave me an encouraging smile.

     I sighed. "When I was thirteen, me and my dad had to run away from our old life. Someone had found out what I was and were hunting me down. Even though I was technically a tribrid, my powers weren't at their full potential...not without a willing sacrifice." I sucked in a breath of air, willing myself to continue. "My dad gave me a special knife, one that was given to me at birth. It is the only thing that is able to kill me, and it was also the weapon needed for a sacrifice. He wanted me to do it because he knew that was the only way that I would survive."

     "He loved you. You shouldn't feel so guilty about what you had to do." Atticus said, squeezing my hand with his.

     "I know, I just can't help but think, what if there was another option though? Am I really worth the sacrifice?"

     "Don't say that. He did what he could to protect you, his daughter. We often sacrifice the most for the ones that we love," Atticus said, looking into my eyes.

     "That doesn't mean that it's always the right choice though. We often love the wrong people, and it ends up bringing us heartbreak," I said, my voice cracking slightly.