Chapter 60: Chapter 60

DIMITRIS POV Lily sprang from my grasp, lunging at Gideon. His eyes widened before her fist connected with his jaw. He fell to the floor, staring at her in surprise.

“How could you do that?! How could you leave me there, with those people?!” She screamed.

“Lily-“

“Do you know what they did to me?! Do you know what I went through because of you?!” She started to sob. “You abandonded me into the hands of the Devil, and you just left! Why? Why didn’t you take me with you?!”

“It was too dangerous! I couldn’t lose you too!” He shouted.

“You’re lying! You said you’ve watched over me all my life? So you just let them beat me, whip me, cut me with silver? You stood by when they burned me, tortured me, broke me from the inside out! And you didn’t do anything!”

“I couldn’t.”

“Bullshit!” Ayas voice mixed with Lilys. “You couldn’t handle the death of your mate, so you dumped me at the first pack you found! And you took my memories! You’re not my father. I want nothing to do with you. I hate you!” She screamed.

Gideon cringed at her words forcefully, like she’d given him another blow. Chest heaving, my mate ran from the room. Her emotions were hitting me like a train. Despair, grief, heartache. And blinding rage. I believed in that moment, she truly did hate Gideon.

He sat on the floor, looking utterly miserable.

“Why did you do it?” Killian asked before I could.

“I had to find her mother.”

“But Rose…. we all saw.” Clara said.

Gideon shook his head. “She’s not dead.”

“What?” Our voices echoed together.

He looked Clara in the eye. “You should have figured that out. I still have my magic. The bond never broke.”

Her eyes widened. “So, wait. What happened to her? Where is she?”

“I don’t know.”

“Her father..” I started but he shook his head again.

“He died shortly after Rose left. His Beta took over as Alpha, a nice man. They never came looking for us.”

“Then who attacked you? Who was Rose leading off?” Ben asked.

“My brother.”

“What?” We all repeated.

Gideon sighed. “It’s a long story. One I was hoping to explain to Lily.” He looked towards the door sadly. “But I always knew she would probably hate me for what I did.”

“I will talk to her.” Hazels said softly.

“I don’t think theres any point. She has every reason to be angry.”

“You did what you thought was right. You were a father trying to protect his daughter. I’d do the same for my child, in that situation.” She patted her stomach, and my jaw dropped.

“Your pregnant?” I gasped.

“We just found out.” She smiled at Clint. “I’ll go find Lily. I need to lie down anyways.” She kissed her mate quickly before leaving to search for mine.

“Congrats.” I nodded to Clint.

“Thanks Alpha.” He beamed.

“Okay, this is great and good for you, but I’m still really needing answers.” Clara said.

“Same.” Luke said.

“Sorry to take away your thunder dude, but I agree.” Ben said.

“No worries. I’m sitting on the edge of my seat too.”

We all looked at Gideon who sighed again.

“You’ve told them about the Dark Arts?” He asked Clara.

“To a point.”

“Okay. Well, my brother is a rogue, like me, but for very different reasons. He’s always had a fascination with Dark witches. I tried to steer him away from it, down the right path. But he is greedy, selfish. I knew he’d gone too far when I caught him raping a girl from our Clan. He… he was going to use the b***d from her virginity for a ritual.” He cringed and the rest of us did too. “I reported him to the Elders. He was banished, exiled. I was hurt, but I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“You did.” Clara said.

“You saw as clearly as everyone else what happened to my family. Bastian sought me out, wanting to take his revenge.”

“Hold on! Your brother is Bastian? Bastian Whitethorn?!”

“In name only, but yes.”

“You know him?” Ben turned to his mate.

“Everyone knows him. Among witches anyways. He has decimated villages, killed hundreds of innocent people…” She gulped, her face pale.

“Yes, he’s made quite a name for himself.” Gideon said sarcastically.

“How does someone that dangerous go unnoticed by us?” Luke wondered aloud.

“How often do you wolves involve yourself in other species issues?”

“Okay, true point.”

“Anyways, Bastian had been keeping an eye on me. He found out that Lily was special, though none of us, except maybe Rose, knew just how special she was. The night we were attacked, it was because he wanted Lily. He set our house on fire while we slept. I held him off as long as I could while Rose got Lily outside. He reminded me of his promise for revenge, saying he was going to use Lily to make him the most powerful witch in existence.” His fists clenched tightly. “Instead, he got my mate, and I was forced to hide Lily in a random pack I came across.”

“How do you know he still has her?” I asked.

“Bastian is a cruel son of a b***h. I’ve lived all this time, all these years, feeling Roses emotions. I feel when he hits her. I feel when he touches her. I have tried to follow the bond, but I always come to a dead end. It’s as if she’s here with me, but out of my reach. It’s f*****g Hell!” He slammed his fist on the ground.

My stomach rolled. I couldn’t even imagine going through that, let alone for years. How had he not gone insane yet? I shared a look with Killian, knowing we were thinking the same thing. Any wolf would have gone feral by now.

“Question, why didn’t you go back for Lily? When she was older?” Luke asked Gideon.

“I wanted to. So badly. She is right, I saw everything those wretched people did to her, If I had known what they were like beforehand, I never would have left her there. I would have found another pack. But I knew Bastian was looking for her as well. I didn’t want to give her away, lead him to her. So I watched her grow up through my Orb, keeping an eye on her.”

“Orb?” I questioned.

“Like a crystal ball.” Clara explained.

“Ah. Still, you could have taken her with you. You could have searched for Rose together.” I snapped.

“You all think I’m strong, but Bastian is stronger. She was protected, invisible from him. The minute I took her back, he would have known and he would have come for her. Do you have any idea what happens to us when we dally with the Dark Arts? What happens when we give ourselves over to it?”

“You lose your soul.” Luke said. His research into different species was paying off.

Gideon gave a hard nod. “Right. My brother has no soul. No consious, no sense of right or wrong. He has magic I could only dream about. I cannot defeat him, and because I am a rogue, I have no help from the Clans or the Elders.”

I wanted to yell at him, accuse him, but I couldn’t. He was caught in an impossible situation, with no way out. I wanted to hate him for leaving my mate at the hands of Snow Moon, but I understood why he did, and why he never went back. Whereas before I saw my enemy, now I saw a broken, hopeless man who only wanted his family back after years of suffering. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

Lily was going to eat me alive for this.

“We will help you find Rose.” I stated.

Gideons head snapped up, eyes meeting mine. “I didn’t come here to ask you for your help.”

“Then why did you?” Clint asked. “You just said Bastian would know if you were with Lily. Yet, you came here willingly. What’s the deal?”

“Lily has a strong mate and a pack who loves her now. She is far more protected here than she was at Snow Moon, or even by herself with me. I can be with her now, as long as she has you.” He looked at me. “She’s been here for months, and he hasn’t tried to take her.” He sounded like it should have already happened, which concerned me a lot.

“I think you’re forgetting what happens to us when we use Dark magic for so long.” Clara scoffed. “Isn’t it obvious? He’s weakened.”

“How so?” Clint asked.

“According to you,-” She gestured to Gideon, “- He’s been using Dark magic for over a decade. He gave up his soul a long time ago. Losing your soul takes a huge toll on you; Our souls are our essence, our bodies only the shells that carry them. Bastian will literally wither away into nothing sooner or later.”

“I… I didn’t know that.” Gideon gulped.

Clara gaped at him. “How are you more powerful than me?!”

“Then why don’t we just wait it out? Wait until he dies?” Ben suggested.

“We can’t.” I said. “If he’s weak, then he’ll be more desperate.”

Gideon nodded. “He’s already started his attack.”

“What do you mean? Killian demanded.

“I took James for what he did to Lily. And yes, I killed him. I meant to grab Jennine too, but…”

The b***d drained from my face. “Bastian got her first.” I stated.

“Yes. And based on what I saw from her time here, I have no doubt she will help him destroy B***d Moon.”