“It wasn’t easy, but knowing it was to keep my pups safe and that it was for the greater good helped. Your dad struggled. He saw the evil within the two, and he hated it. Granted, the evil expressed itself differently in the way it came out.” I gave Roselee a side-eye, questioning what she meant. She understood me. “Meaning, Bellum was spiteful and very, very promiscuous, while Blossom was pure evil. She tricked people with her sweet face, having them believe she was innocent, but if you looked in her eyes, you’d see the darkness in her. Blossom was the one we really had to keep our eyes on. Even then, that wasn’t enough because she still found a way to fool us.”
“Since you’re a mage, that means my dad is a wolf shifter?” I asked curiously.
“Yes, he is. Brynlee took after your dad when it comes to looks. She’s his twin. He’s looking for her. Once we found out you were coming back, he wanted to find her too. Hopefully, he’ll be back home soon.” I could see the love in Roselee’s eyes when she spoke about my dad.
“How is he?”
I had never really had a father figure in my life, and I never put much thought into it either. I supposed I didn’t like to think about me not having a father because it was a sore spot for me. I always wanted a father growing up, and I remembered my mom Venus saying my dad died before I was born. She didn’t like talking about him, and I picked up that mentality.
“He can seem scarier than he actually is. Brice carries a lot of pain. When Byron passed, it changed Brice, but he loves us more than anything on this planet,” Roselee said with a small smile.
“Is this really my life?” I asked out loud in disbelief.
“It is, but don’t be alarmed. Everything will come to pass, and peace will be restored.”
“This is stupid.” I threw my arms up in aggravation. “Why did the two people I loved have to die to keep me safe?” I felt tears welling up in my eyes and anger slowly building up.
“Who is the other who lost their life?” Roselee asked, looking confused.
“Alonzo.”
“He’s not dead,” Roselee responded with a straight face.
“Are you serious?” With wide eyes, I asked excitedly.
“I am. He’s in the Sanctuary of Life, where all the other protected shifters live.”
“Can I go there?” Joy filled my heart hearing that Alonzo was alive.
It meant the world to me knowing he wasn’t dead. The guilt I carried over Alonzo losing his life weighed on me heavily. If he was really alive, it would’ve been the greatest thing in the world to me. I just wanted to lay eyes on him one more time.
“You can, but I don’t think you should,” Roselee answered with concern in her voice.
“Why not?” I asked harsher than I meant to. I wasn’t trying to disrespect Roselee. She was my mom after all, but her telling me not to go see Alonzo didn’t sit right with me.
“Well, for one, your mate won’t be as understanding of you being excited to go see another male shifter, especially since you two haven’t completed your mating bond.”
“Alonzo is a shifter?” I questioned with astonishment.
“He is. A cheetah to be exact.”
“Wooow… That makes so much sense.” I wanted to be more surprised, but thinking back on a lot of the stuff Alonzo did, it made more sense that he was a shifter. “I should have known.” I chuckled while thinking about Alonzo and how he loved being around shifters. I never understood his fascination with shifters.I guess he wanted to be around his own kind. It was crazy that I really had no idea who the people I thought I knew were. It was kind of alarming how much I didn’t know about my own life.
“Yeah, shifters don’t like to be too far from their own,” Roselee snickered.
“I’m going to see Alonzo,” I declared with more assurance than I actually felt.
For starters, I had no idea where this Sanctuary of Life place was. I definitely couldn’t make it there on my own, so Kenzo had to come with me. Or maybe I could get Halo and Creeland to take me. I was kind of nervous about seeing Alonzo after all this time, but that didn’t deter me too much.
“Kenzo won’t be pleased.”
“Kenzo is going to have to get with the program. At one point, Alonzo was my fiancé, and I loved him,” I gritted with self-assurance that wasn’t real.
I felt like everyone was trying to control what I did and did not do. Having a fated mate was an experience unlike anything else on this planet, and while I was still learning how it worked, I hated how everyone wanted to act or feel a different way because of Kenzo. I felt something deep for him; however, that didn’t stop all my feelings I had before. Besides, no one should be that possessive over their mate. It screamed insecure.
“Oh, my child, you need to get your memory back. You would know better than to go against your mate.” Roselee looked at me, amused, and it pissed me off. I felt like a teenager ready to rebel against my parents.
“I’m going to see my fiancé,” I replied in a carefree voice while holding my ring up triumphantly.
