Haley hissed, “But not fucking me… nooooo… I can kill him and be fine.” Melanie quickly said, “That’s not true. You weren’t fine afterwards. I’d actually venture to say…. you’re still not. You couldn’t have killed Arion if not for your pups. You acted as a mother protecting your young… it’s very common.”
“In fact… only your pups, Eric, and your Hackura family would’ve been who you could’ve hurt Arion for. He was dead as soon as your… umm... well… Alania convinced him to partake in your kidnapping. I just think, given this information, it was more about Arion dying than you.”
“Obviously, if the Ring could set up Arion’s death and still have Haley in their clutches, in their minds, it would’ve been easier to turn her evil. I doubt Fabian shared the knowledge that Haley would likely give birth to the Truth Seeker.”
“Plus, even if they knew… until Cassie was born, there was no way to know if it was her or not. They probably would’ve taken her at birth if they still had Haley. Which… I still cannot overstate how crazy that is… knowing the Hackura are coming.”
Cayden hit the wall, which had Melanie jumping a little into me. Dad surmised, “So, the Ring is going to keep coming for Alexander.” Melanie answered, “I mean… they’re trying. You’ve killed a bunch of them… so has his Guard… and so have me and my friends. Well…. a lot were me… it was…ok… a lot of me… sometimes my friends… that’s a thing.” Oden snorted, “Barely ever according to Freya.” I wasn’t shocked by that.
Cassie questioned, “The Ring is coming at my brother because of some damn passage in a book? Do they have no logical thought process? I have Cayden and our children. I’m not leaving them or turning evil. If some wretched bastards hurt my brother, I’d just kill them not turn evil!”
I said, “The Ring won’t get the option to try to turn you evil, Cass. I’m not dying at their hands. Uncle Arion didn’t even die at their hands.” Melanie agreed, “That’s true. Technically speaking… The Ring messed up. They turned Arion to the side of evil using good intentions on his end.”
Melanie continued, “The books say nothing about the Enforcer turning evil. They shouldn’t have used Arion…. like that, if they wanted Haley to be evil. Honestly, if they were thinking logically, they should’ve had Fabian try… to kill Arion.”
Mom admitted, “He did try. I had Masium save Arion.” Melanie said, “That probably wasn’t the Ring’s plan though. Fabian just wanted to see you suffer…. because his plan failed and he was going to die. Fabian was never more powerful than Arion, but he would’ve been the best person to kill him… well logically. Since… he couldn’t have….no matter what.” Again, what?
Uncle Aiden scoffed, “That’s not true. Fabian could’ve killed either of us.” Melanie argued, “No, Fabian couldn’t have killed you. Nor would the Ring have wanted him to.” Mom said, “They wanted me to kill Aiden. Right? Their whole fucking plan was to turn me evil and have me kill everyfuckingone for them.”
Melanie hummed, “Maybe. The Ring… definitely wanted you to be evil and take Aiden’s power for sure. One of them might want to kill him… but it wouldn’t work. I’m sure there’s an O’Toole family member that thought they would be the strongest promised siblings.”
Melanie added, “Or one that is jealous because…. Aiden is more powerful than they are. From what I know of them from Charles, they are pretty stuck on themselves…. to the detriment… of literal the race of Fairies… when you think about it.”
Mom was in pain in our bond. She whispered, “This is my fault.” Melanie felt horror. My mate gasped, “What? No….. No it’s not. I did not say that… everyone heard… that I did not say that… right?” I assured her, “We know that.”
Grandpa Titus said, “Princess, this wasn’t your fault.” Mom argued, “They came for Arion because of me and who I am in the fucking prophecy.” Melanie quickly questioned, “Do you blame Cassie for them coming for Alexander?”
Mom answered, “Of course not, but …” Melanie cut her off, “Then by your own logic…. this is not your fault. If you want to get technical, I think Alania would be the most to blame. In the realm… of no… well all realms.”
Uncle Bjourn encouraged my wife, “I like that thought, do continue with why it’s Alania’s fault.” Melanie explained, “Alania knew Aiden, Arion, and Haley were the promised siblings. She could’ve prevented Arion’s death by letting him bond…. with Haley… when she was a child.”
Melanie rambled, “Obviously, they could’ve had the dynamic that… EJ, Alexander, and Cassie do. It’s not the same for them…. since they aren’t the promised siblings; however, there are elements… that are the same for them.”
“Alania had to tell someone that it was you guys… or someone told her… but it tracks that either way that went down… shetold the wrong person. Until then… Arion would’ve been fine. Your life would’ve been hard… because the O’Toole’s poisoned everyone against partial Fairies.”
Melanie waved, “Ultimately…. Alania caused this though. You guys could’ve been protected. You should’ve been put together… instead of separated. Arion literally wouldn’t have been able to help himself from bonding with Haley over something if you’d spent more time together.”
“Someone needs to get Alania to tell us who she told that you guys were the promised siblings. She seemed to be under the impression…. that Haley could discover you were the promised siblings so your powers could activate.”
“Then the crazy sight seeing Fairy…. seemed to think Haley would keep it to herself and no one would know. The ironic thing is she told someone… which put you all in danger. So, Alania isolated you guys from each other for… well…. no reason.”
“I’d bet someone told her this was the best way though. Which, for a Fairy, I can’t believe she fell for… I mean, she couldn’t have asked who it would be best for? Alania obviously inferred to herself it was best for you guys… or her…. When… in reality, it was best for the person she confided in and the Ring.”
Everyone was silent, absorbing this information. I told Cassie, “I’ll repeat, the Ring won’t hurt you by hurting me. I won’t let them.” My wife’s feelings in the bond agreed with that emphatically, along with anyone who wanted to hurt me was dead at her hands. Oh god. Oden snorted.
Uncle Aiden said, “So, for my nephews and nieces the next group so to speak was Haley’s first set of triplets; however, it doesn’t have to be triplets that carry the traits we have, but we are stronger than them. We will have to watch my great nephews and nieces to discover who is who.”
Melanie said, “Yes, then there’s the layer of protection for those pups. Which is the fact that the Enforcer, and his mate, cangive birth to more…. Enforcers, to protect the family and make them more insulated.”
“The Ring and the O’Toole’s… wanted Arion to die before he had children. They are attacking Megan because part of Arion’s strength in the Beyond… is coming from her. Your brother is…. Well, he’s becoming a god, but Megan’s… a very powerful Witch.”
“The mate of the Enforcer is powerful in some way. I’m the White Wolf… but I think they thought I was just good at fighting. Megan is one of the strongest Witches around. I bet if Lila trained with weapons, she’d be quick to pick it up and quite skilled.”
“They don’t want Xander and me to have pups… because the Enforcer that could turn Cassie and Cayden’s daughter evil will be in their family… but Xander and I can have more than one pup who are Enforcers.”
“The Ring wouldn’t be able to turn anyone in our family line evil… but with more lines of defense for the Truth Seeker… and the family in general…. It means that they have to work harder…. and clearly working hard is not their thing.”
Melanie didn’t seem to know Megan and Arion had a son from the Faerie orphanage. Megan had wanted it kept quiet, but she’d raised him. I’d bet Jarrod was also an Enforcer. Oden told me, “Freya said mate does know about him.” Interesting.
