↣ Secrets We Keep

∾ 𝔼𝕡𝕚𝕤𝕠𝕕𝕖 𝟚𝟚: 𝕊𝕖𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕤 𝕎𝕖 𝕂𝕖𝕖𝕡 ∾

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𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓 𝐎𝐍 the sand, bathing in the moonlight. The sea shimmers with the white light - the water looks almost like liquid silver. Serene silence surrounds them, as their eyes again gaze upon the moon.

The Alpha sits next to her, a distance between them, though. Even though the attraction between them existed, none of them dared to act upon it since it was dangerous. One's mate should be their world, their other half of the soul.

That's why the Alpha and the Queen were left confused and frustrated as to why their bodies reacted the way they did. The craving for each other's comfort, though, remained. Perhaps that's why they found themselves together in the night. So close, yet so far.

"Have you ever wondered what your past might be?" Lucian asks.

She hesitates before answering him. The lies she had spun were entangling and suffocating her. For some reason, she despised lying to Lucian. All she wanted to do at that moment was to tell him everything about herself. But she believed some lies were necessary.

"I do, all the time. Some say that it is wise to let go of the past because it has happened. What they fail to realize is that past has made us what we are today. Every second of our life that we have spent is essential and worth remembering because it gives us a reason to live. A reason to make the decision for the future," she replies.

She lies down on the soft bed of beach sand, her eyes on the diamonds twinkling in the stars. As a mermaid, sometimes she wished she could reach them. There was a belief among the Merfolk that the stars were in fact, our ancestors. They looked upon us from the endless sky, ensuring that in times of despair we were never alone.

"Maybe I had someone who cared for me, a family who misses me. Maybe my mate waits for me somewhere. I feel loneliness creeping in every cell of my body, every single second I spend here. I know my past waits for me with open arms. I have a purpose in life and I must find it again. I must find my other half, again," she says, in a whisper. But Lucian hears it all.

He had never wondered about Blue's mate. Every werewolf had one, so he was sure that she might too. It hurt him to think of her with another wolf, but fate is something he can't play with. And now that he had Mia, he shouldn't think of being with Blue.

"I know what it is like to be alone, Blue," he says.

They don't see each other because they know that if they did, they will get lost in each other's eyes.

"Loneliness can be a boon sometimes, Alpha Lucian. When you are alone, you realize that the only person who can truly save you is yourself. It makes you stronger. And when you find someone, you know their real worth. If you have been alone, you no longer are. I am sure Luna Mia is a great mate and there are packmates around you," she says, although confused by his statement.

"But it wasn't always like this," Lucian replies.

He wanted to open those doors he had closed a long time ago. What lay beyond those doors made him a monster. It made him weak. But it was a part of who he was, and he knew that those demons of his will break those doors he built one day.

"Tell me about it," she says, in a soft voice.

She could feel the pain in his voice. Hear the turmoil in his mind.

"My childhood wasn't so easy. With great power, comes sacrifice. My father was just Alpha, one of the best in his time. He believed in the betterment of the were-kingdom. One would think that the kindness of a man will be rewarded with kindness and love, yet fate was cruel to him. His mate, my mother, was a witch. They met by accident but their bond wasn't an accident. He loved the moment he saw her and even though the werewolves had their mis-comings when it came to the matters of the maleficis, our pack accepted its new Luna with open arms," he said.

A pause was put on the story as Lucian tried to remember his mother. The woman who birthed him, who was supposed to give him the world. Yet, no good memories came to his mind.

"Everything was good for a while until I was born. My mother didn't want me. I was a burden to her. She believed that a child would ruin her life since a part of her magic would be passed onto me and with that, her power would deplete until it completely became mine. What she didn't realize is that I was a Lycan, a wolf. Not a maleficis. My parents fought, my mother tried to murder me multiple times and when my father caught her, he rejected and killed her," he continued.

Esmeray sucked in a breath - no child deserved a mother who despised their living. She couldn't imagine her mother cursing her existence. Yet, the world had again proved her wrong.

"With her dying breath, she put a curse on me and my father. She cursed my father that he would grow weak and hateful without her. And he did. In ways, I couldn't fathom. When my father died, I felt no resent for I loathed the man he had become. Even the pack was grateful for his demise. As for me....." Lucian said but he couldn't continue.

Those memories were dark. Even though he didn't remember much of his mother, he remembered her words. He remembered the hate she spoke them with.

"A mother cursing her own blood. Life can be cruel sometimes," Lucian says.

Esmeray watched Lucian's back, not knowing what to say. She can't tell him she understands - because she hasn't been through it. All she could give him is comfort.

"You don't have to continue. All I can say that the man sitting beside me is a strong leader. A just man. You should be proud of what you have become and I am sure your pack is blessed to have you as their Alpha," she says. Lucian doesn't reply - but she doesn't expect him to.

Both of them have their secrets, their own demons.

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄 sooner than she had anticipated. Or maybe it was the constant banging on her door that woke her up. As her eyes opened and she sat up on the bed, she knew that something was amiss. Even with her sharp senses, she could detect a danger looming outside.

She opened the door hurriedly. Benjamin rushed into her room, instantly. His body was covered with sweat - as if he have had a long run and his eyes were red. What was going on?

"They are here. The pack has been attacked, we need to get you to a safe place," Benjamin says as he opens her closet and takes out a bag.

Fear gripped her heart but she maintained her confident stature. Death had threatened to hold her captive once again. Was the prophecy really for her?

"What do you mean they are here?" she says, although she knew the answer. Yet, she prayed that her assumptions were wrong.

"The rogue king is here, Ray! And he has a witch with him. She is unlike anyone I have ever seen. We need to get you out of here before they come and get you," Benjamin says.

He zips the bag and grabs Esmeray by her hand. As he drags her out of the packhouse, she couldn't comprehend what was happening. Cries and screams filled the air, the temperature increasing tremendously.

Death had been chasing her a lot recently, since wherever she went dead bodies and terror surrounded her. She couldn't understand why this was happening with her - what crime had she committed to be punished like this? Away from the eyes of the other wolves, Ben led her to a dark, hidden pathway.

Not before her eyes landed on the attack the Ignis pack was under.

Wolves fought each other, snapping and tearing apart each other's necks. Blood stained the green grass. The fire consumed the beautiful homes she had once adored. And here she was, running away from the people who were protecting her unknowingly. She might be a lot of things, but a coward wasn't one of them.

"No," she said as she stopped.

Ben turned to face her, his eyes raised and confusion on his face.

"What, no? We must hurry, Ray!" he shouts at her. But the Queen refused to listen. She can't leave these people alone.

She turned to see the Ignis pack turning to ashes. She can't let that happen - a home destroyed because of her and a stupid prophecy she was linked with. Even if the prophecy was true, she was meant to stop terror - stop Damon. Running away wasn't going to get her anything.

She scanned the ground, and found the wolf she was looking for. With his jet black fur, majestic figure he could stand out in any crowd. But when she saw another wolf with the same look but larger figure, she knew that Lucian might not be able to survive the battle he was fighting.

Especially not when the maleficis was away from his eyes yet she looked like she would attack him. Magic can fight magic, and Esmeray was magic.

"Help Lucian! I will handle the witch!" she orders Ben.

Without letting him reply, she ran to the field.

The fire was scorching, the toxic fumes making it hard to breathe. She was a creature of water - the coolness of the sea was what she was used to, not this horrendous fire. The pack members ran around her, barking orders and fighting.

The battlefield approached her, so did Lucian.

She had to do this - for him.

Closing her eyes, she knelt to the ground. Even beneath the ground, there is water. Water that listens to her. She imagined every single drop rising above the ground, tearing apart every barrier of soil and grass. The Queen didn't need to call upon the sea - she was the sea. Water and magic ran in every inch of her veins. Even though the crown didn't sit on her head - the power.

"We have been looking for you, mermaid," she heard a sweet voice.

She didn't recognize the voice - but she knew it belonged to the maleficis. The magic radiating from the person could be sensed by her easily, it was strong. Esmeray knew the trick would work, the witch would forget about Lucian if she realizes that the creature they had been hunting for stands in front of her.

Opening her eyes, she lifted herself from the ground.

Glowing blue eyes met deathly violet ones.

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