Alec laughs at my confused expression. “Oh, you can stop thinking, Nora. You have no idea, do you? You’re so pathetic... You think you’re a victim, that you couldn’t have done anything wrong? But guess what, sis. You didn’t have to do anything! You did anyway!”
He’s crazy. His sentences make no sense. Why do I have to listen to all this? I shake my head. “Enough, Alec!”
“You were freaking born! Here’s what you did wrong!” He yells.
What? What is this now? This makes no sense... While I’m lost by my brother’s words, Tonia suddenly walks up to him and slaps Alec with all her strength. She looks furious.
“I’m done with your stupid word games! Spill it now, you damn junkie, or I swear I’m finishing you myself!”
“I said it! If she wasn’t born, my family would have been perfectly fine!”
“What do you mean?” Asks Nathaniel, getting impatient too.
Alec spits a bit of blood to the ground, probably because of Tonia’s hit. She growls and steps back to let him talk. Alec stares at Nathaniel then Tonia before his glare comes back to Damian and me.
“Mom wasn’t sick,” he says, “she was just in love. She had loved our father for many years since they were kids. They were from the same Clan, and they grew up together. The only one mom ever loved was him, but they weren’t fated mates. So, even if she tried, for years, our father ignored her. He believed he might find his mate someday...”
His eyes shift from me to Damian with a smirk. Damian growls again, but I put my hand on his chest to have him wait. Alec annoys me, too, but I want to hear it. Damian’s hand covers mine and presses it gently. His growling gets a little softer, but he still glares at my brother.
“As years passed, it became clear neither of them found their mates, so he eventually agreed to start dating mom. A few months later, she got pregnant with me, and they got married. Can you imagine how happy she was? The love of her life finally marrying her, letting her have his children!”
I don’t like how he makes it sounds...
“Father was one of the Clan’s hunters. He wasn’t very good at it, to be honest, and our grounds weren’t the best either. Father wandered further and further into the North, apparently to patrol. Every time he was away, Mom disliked it, as you remember. Yet there was another reason. As our dad went away, she started to wonder. What if he was still searching for his fated mate?”
Insecurity? Is that what it was? But our father never found another woman...
“Yet, father always came back home, and every time, Mom’s worries disappeared just as easily. For three years, she was all right. She just missed him while he was hunting. She soon forgot about her doubts, because no matter what, dad always came back and eased her. One night, while he had been gone for days, Mom was awakened by a baby’s cries. That’s how you came into our lives, Nora. A newborn baby, crying on our doorstep.”
Wait, what? It can’t be. They told me... I mean, I was sure I was born from Mom! And plus, I resemble my father! That’s when I suddenly understand. Oh, Moon Goddess, no, no, no...
Seeing the expression on my face, Alec smirks.
“Do you start to understand, Nora? Mother took you in. After all, you were just a newborn baby, and your parents were nowhere to be found. When dad came home, he agreed with it right away! How funny, huh? Mom had no idea back then. She started taking care of you, too, as her own daughter. After all, Dad loved you, didn’t he? Do you start to understand, Nora? What sort of bastard our father was?”
I shake my head. No, I don’t want to hear it. My dad didn’t do that. Alec sighs and smiles.
“So, years passed! Mom was fine, letting you believe you were her daughter since it made our father happy that way. Yet she slowly started to doubt, watching you grow. Because somehow, you looked like me, you looked like Dad. How amazing is that? Whenever dad was away, our clueless, stupid mother was left with the two of us and her doubts. Despite our three years difference, it started to show, Nora. Our nose, like Dad’s. Our curly black hair. Even our voices. All those little, but intriguing similarities. Can you imagine how much Mom started to think and wonder? What if? What if you really were our Dad’s daughter?”
Tears silently start running down my face. I wish he was lying. I hope this was all a made-up story, something twisted that Alec invented to hurt me. Yet why does it feel like this is the truth? The last, scary piece of the puzzle.
“Years and years to wonder, Nora. She never dared to ask. If she was wrong, Dad might get angry and leave her. That thought alone kept her silent for almost seven freaking years. Can you imagine what it does to the mind, Nora? All this time, every single minute, wondering if you are raising your husband’s child, yet knowing it’s not yours? But she loved him. Oh, Moon Goddess, she loved him so much she kept her doubts to herself for so long. Until that day.”
That fateful day. And all this time I thought my mother just had gone crazy all of a sudden... I had no idea she had to keep it bottled for so many years. How did she feel every time she looked at me? Did she despair inside, yet hide it? She never said a thing...
Alec closes his eyes, and I suddenly see a tear among the blood on his face.
“One day, she finally asked him, Nora, she did. I was upstairs. I heard them yelling... When I came down, Mom was... she was crying. She kept asking him how he could do this? Have a child with someone else and leave another woman’s baby on her doorstep? He didn’t say a thing all these years, keeping the lie alive! But you know the worst, Nora?”
This time, we are both crying. Tears flow, and I can’t stop. Alec doesn’t care, he keeps talking, half smiling, half crying. He looks crazy again, and his tone keeps changing. Yet this time, no one is stopping him. We are all listening, stunned by the truth unveiled.
“He didn’t even do it for her! It’s not because he wanted to keep his marriage! Not even because he was afraid of leaving her, or because he wanted to stay with his family. He liedfor you, Nora, all for you. He wanted his daughter to have a normal family, to be able to grow up with a mother and a father. With a Clan to protect her. All his lies, all he did, he did it for you!”
I’m crying desperately, shaking my head. I can’t hear it. I can’t believe it.
“You did it! Because of you, my father became this man! He drove my mother mad, and he lied to us! Just because of you, Nora! Because of you!” Yells Alec.
I can’t hear him. I’m crying and sobbing hard; I don’t want to listen to this. My head is spinning. I want to leave this room; I want to forget this. Little black dots cover my vision. I hear Damian’s voice, but I don’t understand. Strong arms hold me, and I fight the dizziness to stay awake. I blink several times, trying to breathe to calm down. I feel a hand on my back, patting me. Tonia’s voice reaches my ears.
