Blood Legacy Chapter 117: 115. A moment of truth

Taking a mouthful of my cranberry vodka, I greedily swallowed and placed my glass back on the counter, my determined gaze meeting Dre's visibly uncomfortable one.

"Okay," I carelessly wiped my mouth with the back of my hand,

"First of all, where did you hear that name and second, what the hell was *he* even doing here?" I pointed an accusatory finger in the direction of our driveway, watching her wince a little.

"He's been asking about you, he wanted to know how you've been," she explained with uneasiness, my brow rising though as I definitely knew that that wasn't all.

She immediately blew out a defeated sigh.

"Okay, okay!" She raised her hands up in the air into a defensive manner,

"He's also been pestering me to ask you questions about where you've been and what happened to you,"

"Jeez..." she rolled her eyes and took a sip from her vodka.

*Goddamnit.* Of course he was interested. I was willing to bet that he probably already knew about the bangle too. That was why he'd approached me like that and even tried to touch me at some point. He could tell that it was enchanted and that someone else with magical powers must've placed it on me, seeing as I could barely get ahold of mine, let alone wield it.

"Care...did this Darius guy hurt you? Is he the one who kidnapped you?"

My gaze rose as I could hear that slight tremble in her tone as she spoke, her features filled with evident concern.

"I heard you mumbling out his name in your sleep. Multiple times," she quietly admitted, nervously biting her lower lip as her brown eyes shifted between my own.

My heart started to pump a little faster as a sense of dread filled me, eyes wild with panic and my tone laced with urgency as I immediately asked her back,

"Have you told anyone about this? About me saying his name?"

Her own eyes widened a little and she seemed to hesitate, much to my utter dismay. So I took ahold of her arm, making her snap out of that trance and suddenly cry out,

"I haven't told anyone, I swear!"

"Good," I let go of her arm with a long and relieved exhale, her expression though still displaying confusion as she peered at me, brows furrowed.

"Okay...I've been dying to tell you all about him but I couldn't because I was so afraid that you would go ahead and tell Estefany everything," I truthfully told her, making both her brows raise with surprise.

"Dre, I need you to promise me that you won't tell her anything about this," I pleaded with urgency before anything else, desperately looking at her as I held her arm again. I needed to know. I needed to make sure that she wouldn't tell.

Uncertainty flickered in her eyes for a moment, looking like she wanted to ask me why but she eventually gave up and let out a small nod instead.

"Okay,"

**

Several drinks later, I was finally finished with my little story about who Darius was, what happened and what he did and most of all, what he was to me. She looked so shook now, eyes wild and mouth hanging open as she stupidly stared at me for another few moments, barely blinking.

"Holy. shit,"

"Dude..." she lightly shook her head with incredulity.

"I mean, I knew that shit was crazy with your mating slash betrothal to Nathan and everything...but this...this is straight-up fucked up," she absently pointed a finger at the counter, taking another sip from her vodka.

*Yep. You can say that again.* I slowly nodded and took a sip from my own glass.

"So he's your...I mean this Darius guy is Nate's big bro and your first soulmate?" I nodded again and she looked even more perplexed, brows raised as she blinked a few times.

"And because he offed himself Nathan got to be your second one?"

"Something like that, yeah," I simply nodded yet again, my lips setting into a straight line.

"Is he hot? I mean, is he as hot as his little bro is or...?" She suddenly asked out of nowhere and my gaze narrowed, lightly shaking my head with disapproval.

*Seriously dude?* All that crazy shit I'd just thrown at her and yet she still cared if the guy looked fuckable or not. Typical of Dre.

*Why am I even surprised?* I blew out a tired sigh and she innocently looked at me, batting her eyelashes.

"What? I'm just curious to know,"

*Yeah, right.*

"Well?" She crossed her arms and raised a brow, expectantly looking at me as I had yet to give her an answer.

I blew out another sigh, already knowing that I couldn't win with her on this one.

"Picture Nathan's taller, bulkier and more mature version. Oh, and with black eyes instead of green," I lifelessly explained, my heart though doing a little flip as I let myself imagine his handsome face and that mouth-watering body of his.

Her brows rose at the sound at that last description and I let out a small nod of confirmation, already knowing what she was thinking about.

Yep. Black eyes. Dark and abysmal, demon-y black eyes. *Black eyes that I've grown to long so much for.*

"Holy shit that sounds hot as hell," she exclaimed with excitement and I let out a small nod of agreement, despite my amused snort.

Yes. He was hot as hell. Sin incarnate. A fucking wet dream come alive. And he was all mine. *Even though he wanted nothing to do with me.*

My smile slowly fell away, replaced by that well-known bitter feeling and I took another mouthful of my cranberry vodka, washing it away.

"I don't get it though, man. Why would they lie to you? Why would dad and Nate choose not to tell you about that ritual thingy? Didn't they realize that you weren't going to go for it once you realized what it was? And what it was going to do to you?" She pensively asked after a few beats of silence, my gaze raising back up to look at her.

"That's the thing, Dre," I started with a lifeless smile,

"They weren't planning to tell me until after it was already done."

*Fucking lying bastards.*

"They were going to have me marry Nate and then slice my hand and merge my blood with his, making me do this in front of the entire pack without me even knowing what was happening or why. They were planning to keep me in the dark, possibly even lie to me that it was all just some customary stuff their pack usually did until the spell was going to take effect, binding me forever to him and giving him the ability to use me and my powers however he saw fit,"

Well...that and some other, much more unsavoury stuff we would've been forced to perform in front of the entire pack, had I actually accepted to marry him and become his queen.

As it turned out, the wolfy girls weren't joking when they told me that Nathan had to claim me in front of the entire pack. It was his duty as new king to literally claim his queen. Physically.

"And Darius told me all about it because he thought that I knew at first. He ruined all their plans by pure accident," I let out small and amused snort, Dre's eyes brightening with surprise and even a little bit of fascination.

"We were about to start practicing with my magic, trying to get it out and he told me that he was aware that I hadn't been taught how to wield it yet because of the ritual and everything," I recounted, remembering that day. That candid warmth in his tone, his endearing patience. The way his face fell when he lastly realized that I had absolutely no prior idea about any of that. How he'd tried to patiently explain everything to me, even though I was already a sobbing and distraught mess, and the way he'd tried to comfort and even help me, even though I fought him at every turn, calling him a liar over and over again. I'd suffered so much, and did so many stupid things out of pure desperation. Yet he'd patiently waited for me to let it all out, to process and overcome my grief.

He'd been so sweet and kind to me. The perfect soulmate.

"Yeah. He thought that they told me. That I was aware of it. Of everything that was going to happen to me," I let out a stupid and humourless laugh as Dre continued to watch me with that same interest and fascination, chin propped in her hands as she lightly smiled.

If only he had known what he'd created. The mess he'd unintentionally made. In my life and my heart as well.