Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Father stared at me. “No, you’re lying,” he whispered.

I

If you want, I can go back and get her head,” I growled. “Try reaching out to her. Just try.”

Father squeezes his eyes shut, concentrating through the mind-link. But there is nothing for him to find. She is gone.

The chair behind Father’s desk nearly keels over under his weight as Father collapses into it. “No.” he breathed. “No… no.. my baby…”

“I was your baby, too,” I hissed.

The guards looked at Father, still holding onto me but unsure of their next moves.

“Go.” a voice said behind them. “Leave us.

An alise Ashbluff strode in, and the guards bowed and left.

“A nalise,” I greeted her coldly.

“Isla.” An alise crossed the room to her husband, who was now hunched over his desk and sobbing and put a hand on his back.

Ashlar Ashbluff shook her hand off. He was inconsolable.

An alise stood back, folding her hands in front of her. She watched her husband with

aness in her eyes.

“This is all very touching,” I said, folding my arms. “But what I’d really like to know right now is WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?!”

“Gone,” An alise replied.

My stomach dropped, but before I could react in any way, An alise held up her hand. “Not dead. Just… gone. She shifted into a wolf pup and ran. We couldn’t catch her.”

“I was relieved, scared, and enraged all at the same time. “You’re telling me my daughter is

lost in the woods somewhere? Blind?”

A nalise shook her head. “She wasn’t blind anymore. In wolf form, apparently, she can

see.”

familiar

I worked my jaw, wondering if this was better or worse. “She’s still out in territory without her father or me. And she must be scared out of her mind!”

– “I imagine so,” An alise responded, but she did not sound particularly remorseful.

I snapped. “She’s a little girl, for Goddess’s sake! I mea just look at all you two have: done! Is it really never enough?! Is there no ceiling on how depraved you people can be?!”

An alise bowed her head. “The prophecy…”

“To blazes with you all and your prophecy! How many people were you willing to hurt and kill just to make sure Father never lost his throne?!” I snarled.

An alise raised her chin, her eyes dead and cold “As many as it took.”

1 suppose that means you’re going to kill me now, too?” I said. “You might find that a bit more difficult to do now.”

With a shrug, An alise replied, “What would be the point now? Hera is dead. Your father is broken. There is nothing left to salvage.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Your sister was to ascend to Luna soon. She has been running the pack for the most part for the last few years. Ashlar is ill.” An alise placed a hand on her husband’s back again. This time, he did not shake her off.

“Then I suppose Jasper will be more than happy to take over,” I sneered.

“No,” An alise replied. “The tide is turning. Moonrose is winning. He has fled.”

“Coward.”

An alise inclined her head, agreeing with me. “I would be grateful to you, Luna Moonrose. if you would show mercy and allow Ashlar and me to leave.”

“Oh, would you be grateful?” I seethed. “Your gratitude means so much to me.”

“Please,” An alise pleaded.

I took a deep breath, tamping down on my anger. “You can go.”

An lise nodded and started pulling Father out of his chair.

“No,” I said. “Just you.”

“But-

“GO, or I will make sure they execute YOU first!” I shouted.

An alise let go of Father and scrambled out of the room. I didn’t know where she was going off to. I didn’t care.

I placed my palms on Father’s desk and leaned over him. “I was your daughter. I am your daughter. Didn’t that matter?”

Father looked up, his eyes empty. “No. It didn’t matter. You were a problem that needed to be dealt with. If I’d been thinking clearly and not had my judgment clouded by fatherly feelings, I would have had you killed at birth.”

“Fatherly feelings? Do you even know HOW to feel?” I asked bitterly. “You let Hera torment me. You all tormented me. And later, you took me away from my mate. My daughter. You erased my memory of the only happiness I ever had in this life. You let Hera poison me. You were going to let them execute me for crimes I was never a part of What kind of monster are you?”

“The kind that was going to secure the rulership of the pack for your sister,” Father said. “Your bright, wonderful, intelligent, lovely sister.”

“For Goddess’s sake, Father, we were identical twins! How did you choose one of us over the other?!” I demanded.

Father shrugged. “Hera was always more like tne. You, you were always weak. We needed. a strong Luna to lead this pack to glorious victory over Moonrose.” His eyes turned

accusingly on me. “You went ahead and married the Alpha of our greatest enemy pack.”

“I might not have if you’d ever shown me some small shred of kindness or belonging to this family. Do you think I couldn’t have been loyal to you?!” I shook my head. “Now, what a pathetic old excuse for a man you’ve become.”

“Your mother called me that once. She wasn’t going to let me set you aside to prevent the prophecy. She said she loved you too much. Obviously, more than me, or she would have helped me bury you.” Father smiled, a smile so evil that I had to take a step back. “I killed her.”

My heart stopped. “You… you what?”

“Juliette Ashbluff was as much a traitor to me as you were, if not more. She tried to smuggle you away, so I couldn’t do anything to you. Couldn’t involve you in my schemes. She was willing to let me die someday in order for you to live. She betrayed me, and she died for it,” Father said.

I couldn’t breathe. My hand curled around the handle of a letter opener on Father’s desk of its own accord. “You were afraid I would one day end your reign, Father?”

“Yes. The prophecy said you would. One day you would end my reign,” Father replied.

“Well, guess what, Father,” I hissed, raising the letter opener. “Today is that day.”

Before he could do anything, I stabbed the letter opener into his throat and dragged it across, slashing it open.

Ashlar Ashbluff gurgled and slid sideways, dangling over the side of his chair as his blood ran out. His shaking hand went to his throat, but there was no stemming the tide of blood.

I dropped the letter opener, my own hands trembling. My heart broke for him. Even though he deserved it, even though he’d done terrible things to me and others, he was still the only father I’d ever known. Recently, he had become just a sad shell.

It took only moments. He was gone.

I choked on a sob and dropped into the chair across from him, covering my face with my hands.

A shuffling of feet brought my head up, and I looked to the door.

I could see at least twelve guards standing there, with more behind them. I straightened. standing before them. If my time had come, so be it. At least I’d taken that monster down with me.

There was a tense silence; then the guards started to keel.

“Luna Ashbluff,” the leader said. “What is your will?”