Page 65 of Claimed By the Alpha
“No, my parents were killed by Liam because I am human, or at least he thought I was.”
Her lips remained sealed, and I recalled what Derek said about them. He said our parents were in hiding, because it was time for us to step up, fulfill our duties.
“They were running,” I breathed in realization.
“Yes, they tried to stop it. Stop your unnecessary death, your punishment, because of what happened ages ago.”
Punishment?“What did I do?”
“You fell in love, Joanne. Without a mate bond. You choose someone else.”
The paintings.I was William’s mate, but fell for his brother. I ignored the mate bond and followed my heart just as I did in this life. But why would that rip the Realm apart? Why would that make Isaac turn evil?
“And why was that wrong?” You couldn’t trap your heart and force it to follow a certain path. That was impossible. I knew it was hard when there was a mate bond involved, but you would always have a choice.
“As Isaac and William are my sons, you are the daughter of another goddess. And we agreed, in order to bring our two worlds together, we would make a pairing.”
“Fire and ice,” I whispered, putting the pieces together.
She silently nodded as I tried to fully grasp the meaning of her words. I was a daughter of a goddess, just as Isaac was a son of the moon goddess.
“My mother, the one that created me. She is the one that punished me, didn’t she?” She wasn’t my mother; my mother was a sweet and caring person. She would never do anything to truly harm me.
This goddess that called me her daughter, was the monster. I could feel it in my bones, she was the one pulling the strings, but how?
“You defied her. And to punish you, she cursed Isaac.”
“How?” I didn’t know what the true powers of a goddess were, or what it would mean for me. What I had inside me.
“The curse carries two parts. One, he could never have a child and is destined to watch his mate die. And two, his wolf. Logan, he is cursed with something else. An extra sense that corrupts his soul.”
“Corrupts his soul?” I knew Isaac believed he was cursed, that he could never have a pup. But I didn’t know about Logan.
“He kills everyone that holds some part of his own bloodline. William’s bloodline. Helia didn’t know the ramifications of the curse, but it was a nice side effect for her. Now, she could ensure her line would overpower mine.” A stray tear rolled over her cheek, one she patted away. Pretending it was never there.
This battle between them was ancient, and I didn’t see a way out. How could I defeat a goddess and claim back my life?
Celine cleared her throat and straightened herself slightly. “I hoped his mate would be strong enough. And she was, but she still died and so did his son.” More tears followed, and her lips trembled. Holding back the sobs that wanted to escape. The mask she tried to keep up was cracking, and her full heartbreak was showing.
My brows knitted, wondering what she meant. “She didn’t die because of the curse?”
She slowly shook her head. “I have been trying for decades to find a loophole, but Helia doesn’t want me to succeed. She has more working for her in my world than I imagined.”
“Isaac’s mate was killed?” A lump formed in the back of my throat, my mind going back to William as Laila’s words resonated inside me.“He. Knows. Everything.”
“I don’t know for sure,” Celine said.
“It was William,” I sighed, leaning back against the cold stone walls. “Everything was his doing. He had the means. He had the knowledge. He played me, and my brother.”
Oh god. He had to be behind everything. All the heartbreak, everything to keep Isaac and me apart. For what? So, he could claim the throne?
The throne that was meant for him in the first place. That was promised to him, the one I took away by falling for his brother.
My brother. He was going after Derek next. He was the only one that stood between him and his goal. He had to take Derek out of the equation. He already believed I wasn’t a threat, and he truly believed Isaac was dead.
There was one thing he didn’t do…
“Why Liam?”
