“Good! Well, Liam and I will be there tomorrow, as well. Damian wants to make sure his princess doesn’t run into some... unnecessary trouble.”
He means if the Jade Moon Clan meddles in. They could try to hurt me before the duel, or even find someone else to challenge me again and again if I win over Vincent. Moreover, during a fight for the Alpha Position, a Clan is usually weakened, making it easier for Rogues and other packs to attack. However, none of the local packs will dare to do such a thing if the Blood Moon Clan is there. With Liam andNathaniel Black present, the Jade Moon pack members will have no choice but to acknowledge the duel’s result.
“Thank you. Did you talk to Damian?”
I’m sure the two of them already discussed the matter of Alec. Nathaniel nods with a smile.
“Yes. Don’t worry. We will prepare accordingly to be sure to catch your brother.”
“Just focus on your duel, Nora. Trust me, we won’t miss him,” adds Liam.
I feel better knowing the Black brothers will be there. As expected, Damian most likely won’t be able to come, but I know I can trust these two. Even if no one from the Jade Moon Clan will be on my side, they will.
“What of Marcus Sickels?” I ask.
No one dared to bring back that matter on the table for a while, but I need to ask. I’m sure Nathaniel was on it, and I need to know if there is a chance he will show up, too. But he just shakes his head.
“Still no trace, sorry, princess. We are still looking into it.”
If I stabbed him, he couldn’t have gotten very far without help. And I remember how much blood there was, it was no light wound!
Well, for now, I should just focus on the upcoming duel with Vincent. While I go to sit on the couch next to Liam, Nathaniel keeps talking.
“Your birth matter is still a blur, too. Your parents were indeed part of the Gold Moon Clan, both of them. It’s a pack we are on good terms with at the moment, I got some info. Apparently, the Blackwoods got married in their mid-twenties after your mother got pregnant with your older brother. They shortly bought a house to start their family, and it seems like they got less involved with their Clan afterthat. More importantly, no one remembers them having a daughter.”
“To be honest, I don’t remember living among another Clan before the Jade Moon, either,” I admit.
It’s not so rare for young werewolf couples to detach themselves from the matters of their pack to focus on their family. Especially those with young pups.
“What happened to them, then?” Suddenly asks Liam.
All eyes converge on me. I bet Nathaniel already knows... He probably already told Damian about his findings, too. But now that Liam is asking me, and with the siblings there, I can’t really hide it anymore. I really don’t want to say too much, and my memory isn’t too good either. I might as well keep it to what Nathaniel should know, as it is all in the police report. I take a deep breath to answer as calmly as I can.
“They died. About ten years ago. When I was six, my... my mother killed my father and then took her own life.”
Liam and the siblings look at me, dumbfounded. Only Nathaniel acts very calmly, going to the kitchen to grab drinks for everyone. Liam is the first one to react after a minute of heavy silence.
“Wait, what?”
“It’s as I said. Our mother was... mentally unstable. She was often depressed or anxious. She had been ill for a few months before it happened, and she had a sort of... crisis. She went mad and... aggressive. She stabbed my father.”
“The police report did mention that Alice Blackwood was under serious medication for her mental health.”
I just nod. I really don’t feel like reminiscing any further, so I’m not going to give any detail. This is the darkest memory of my six-year-old self, and I don’t want to linger on it any more than necessary. It seems like Nathaniel already dug up all that there was. I take a cup of tea Nathaniel prepared anddrink from it, letting everyone stay silent for a while. Bobo and Tonia are looking at me, but I don’t want to seem pitiful. Liam, however, is frowning with an odd expression.
“What’s with your last name, then? You told us you were named Bluemoon. Isn’t that odd you don’t even remember being called Blackwood at all? What about your brother? Did you guys ever use either name at all?”
“I never had to. Since Vincent picked us up, I... I spent all my life in the main house. I never had to do any official documents; I just assumed everything already was in order, or that Vincent or Peter took care of it for us. Before Nathaniel brought it up, I never imagined there was absolutely nothing about me!”
“What about the school, then?”
I shook my head.
“I never went to school. The pack just gave me tasks, one after another, and no one ever brought it up. I knew how to read and write, I assumed it was enough. I just studied whatever books were in the basement with me.”
They look at me, clearly shocked.
I remember spending hours reading old books no one wanted, likeWuthering Heights,Metamorphoses, orHamlet. Treasures of Literature with beautiful covers, yet no one ever looked at them. No one cared for the dusty, massive bookshelves since screens and video games were available upstairs. There were also full collections encyclopedias and dictionaries, and I just read them all to complete my vocabulary. I would even pick up history books when I was bored or couldn’t sleep.
