Axel was not sure what to think about Talia's words. "What do you mean, Alpha Damon doesn't know who you are? You are his mate. Even if his head is muddled, the bond should force him to recognize you."
"I don't know, Axel. When he came around, he looked at me like I'm a stranger. I could feel the bond, but it seems he can't. I need to know what those black runes do. I need to fix him."
"I understand.", Axel responded.
"Why are you helping her?", Alpha Isaac asked. "Were you the one hiding them until now?"
Axel ignored the second question. "What do you think I should do? Do you want me to knock her out? Or cripple her? She came to us for help. She trusted us, yet we…"
"Don't you see that she is harming us?", Alpha Sophia asked. "We are your parents!"
Axel hissed at these words. "I see that you are just fine. As for parents…"
Both Alpha Isaac and Alpha Sophia glared at Axel, wondering what he will say next, but then there was a knock on the door and Cassandra appeared.
Cassandra's eyes flashed when she saw Talia and she bowed quickly while moving toward Talia, and then she prostrated herself next to the coffee table.
"Stand up.", Talia said stiffly. This was all too theatrical. "I need you to tell me about the ritual you performed on Damon. Tell me about the black runes. I need to know everything."
"Yes, yes.", Cassandra said. But she didn't get up completely as she remained sitting on her knees. "The black runes are recorded in ancient books that are passed through generations. We use them to restrict magic and to punish prisoners…"
Talia listened to Cassandra's explanation, but it sounded like she was talking about how to use a weapon without understanding how it works.
"The ancient books about black runes. Where are they?", Talia asked.
"I will bring them. If you allow me to."
Talia waved at Cassandra to get going. "Get all of them."
With Cassandra hurrying out of the study, the four people were left in silence.
Axel reached for Talia's hand and gave her a squeeze. He wanted to pull her into a hug and tell her that things will be alright, but he didn't know if she will be fine with hugging, and he definitely didn't know if things will be alright. He felt so helpless, and he hated it.
"Why are you so docile with her? Is that how a future Alpha behaves when his parents are in danger?", Alpha Isaac asked Axel.
"If the two of you ended up like that, what can one small me do? Should I attack her and end up stuck like the two of you? Besides, I told you that I didn't approve of what you were doing. I am determined to make this right. Since when are we harming people who come to us for help? And they are not random wanderers; they have powers, our powers. That makes them our people. It's our duty to take care of them.", Axel was heating up. What his parents did contradicted everything they taught him so far.
"How can you ignore what she is doing to us? We are your parents!", Alpha Sophia hissed.
"Are you?"
Alpha Sophia was shocked. "Are you denouncing us?"
"No. Your blood flows in my veins. My question was, are you ONLY my parents?", Axel asked and looked at Talia.
Talia could see that Axel gave her a meaningful gaze. "Should that mean something to me?"
"Axel! No!", Alpha Isaac shouted.
Talia looked at three people in the room and then focused on Axel. "If there is something you want to say, just say it." She was not in the mood for solving riddles.
Axel released a long breath. "Talia, I believe I am your brother."
Talia gaped at Axel. Did she hear him right?
She looked at Alpha Isaac and Alpha Sophia who both visibly paled.
It can't be true, Talia told herself.
She spent years suffering and wishing for her parents to come for her, wishing that her presence in the Red Moon pack was a big misunderstanding. Someone kidnapped her. Or maybe her parents were poor, and they didn't have the resources to come and get her. Or maybe they were dead. Or maybe… anything other than her parents being Alphas who took away Damon from her, the only man who looked at her like she was important.
Talia refused to accept this. She laughed weakly. "What are you saying, Axel? I appreciate you wanting to lighten up the mood, but this is not the time for jokes."
"I am not joking, Talia. The moment I met you, there was a sense of familiarity. When I realized you have powers, I confirmed that you belong to the Midnight Guardians pack. And then your aura… it's definitely Alpha aura, the strongest one I felt. And eyes… don't you see that we have the same eyes? Based on all that, there are only two Alphas who could be your parents, and they are in this room. So either one of my parents cheated and you are the result of that affair, or we are sitting with both of our parents right now."
Talia didn't dare to turn and look at Alpha Isaac and Alpha Sophia, fearing that she might blow up in rage or maybe dissolve into tears. None was good because this was about Damon, and she needed to keep her head cool.
"Hear me out.", Axel said. "There is a prophecy. The Moon Goddess descended on Earth to bless a newborn with unimaginable powers. The prophecy continues to warn that whoever knows about the child's true nature, will be consumed by greed and bring calamity."
"And you think that's me?", Talia asked.
'It is you, Talia.', Liseli spoke into Talia's head. 'Selena's blessing was making me your wolf.'
'Did you know about this?'
'No. But it makes sense. They probably saw moon rays and interpreted them as Selena descending. But it was me merging with you.'
"I believe it's you.", Axel spoke this time.
Talia now turned to look at two Alphas who stared at her with shock and regret. Did they regret that she grew up away from them, or that she found out about this?
Images of her being neglected and abused flashed in Talia's mind, and she couldn't imagine that any parent would leave their child to such a fate. And these were not just any parents, they were Alphas, in charge of a pack and their actions would impact many. If they would neglect their child like that, how are they taking care of others?
"Assuming you are right. How did I end up in the Red Moon pack?", Talia asked Axel.
"I can't be sure, but my guess is that they believed they are protecting the pack. If your powers will bring calamity, the safest thing would be not to awaken them."
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