“It was a while ago,” he states. “I don’t know how she could be mated to someone like my father. She was selfless in the purest way. Together, my parents were literally unstoppable. She had her witch powers, and he had his supernatural powers.”
A ball forms in my throat as his emotions start to swirl in my chest.
“Did he do something to her?”
Caleb’s hooded eyes lock onto mine. “I’ll never know, but I suspect he did, and I’ll hate him forever for it. She hid a lot of their relationship from us, probably to protect us. But he got worse after she died. He wasn’t great before, but when he lost her, he went off the rails. We all suffered in our own ways, too afraid to speak out or do anything to stop him. He had us all manipulated.”
“It’s not your fault,” I say sincerely.
“I know,” he murmurs eventually. “I wish she could have lived the life that should have been hers. Not with my father. Even if that means I was never born.”
My heart crumbles at our family trauma. It’s unavoidable in our world. We’re all fucked up one way or another.
“The painting you saw in my bedroom?” he says vacantly.
“The half woman, half wolf?”
He nods. “That’s my mother.”
My mouth opens. “Wow. She’s beautiful, as is your painting.”
“Yeah,” he rasps. “She was.”
I raise my hand to stroke his cheek, and to my surprise, he presses his face into my palm. Warmth spreads through my skin and into my heart as if it’s trying to heal me in some way.
“Do you have other family?”
Caleb swallows thickly, and I notice the way his face twitches in discomfort.
“You don’t?—”
“Sorry,” he whispers raggedly. “It’s just I never talk about my family.”
“We don’t have to,” I reassure him. “You don’t owe me anything.”
His hollow eyes flick between mine carefully. “I know, but I think I want to.”
I stay silent as he inhales a breath, as if he’s psyching himself up.
“I had a brother,” he starts. “He passed away a few years ago.”
My face twists. “I’m sorry.”
“We weren’t close. He was turning out to be like my father, and I couldn’t understand how he could change and want to be anything like that man. Sometimes, I think it was fear; other times, I think it was in his blood.”
“Do you think that’s why he’s pushing you to produce an heir and help him?”
Caleb nods. “I’m his only living relative. He’s clutching onto his bloodline like his life depends on it, but if anything, I want it to end with me.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“Why are you apologising?”
“Because you don’t deserve this.”
His gaze falls an inch.
“Did he hurt you?”
