Blood Legacy Chapter 81: 79. In the name of love

What?!?

I hadn't even realized that my hands were shaking until I took a quick glance at them, watching them tremble in my lap.

I met his tear-filled gaze again, stunned and entirely lost for words as I stared back at him, reeling after what he'd just said.

H-his brother killed his own soulmate? How? Why?

"He just wanted to mark her as his and she'd accepted it because she was already in love with him and she'd accepted what he was and how our world functioned, even though she'd been absolutely terrified at first when she found out about what her lover truly was," he started to explain, his voice trembling as he fought those tears with all his might, my very heart breaking, little by little as I quietly sat there and listened to him.

"So he decided to do it in front of our people like tradition dictates," he lightly shook his head again and let out a humourless chuckle, stifled by another sob.

"We were all so happy, including me, even though I knew that I was doomed to take over what he gave up on just so that he could be with the one he loved. I loved him too and I just wanted for him to be happy," he quietly said, letting a stray tear finally trail down his cheek.

"But it all turned to have such a disastrous outcome as the moment he plunged his canines into her, her body started to inexplicably reject it," More tears started to trail down as he said that, my eyes wide as I unconsciously placed my hand over the side of my neck, feeling the bumps and dips of that certain scar under my fingertips.

"No one else in our entire history had ever witnessed such thing before. There are other werewolves who have humans as mates, and they're all alive and well, even after being marked and mated,"

"But for some unknown reason, her body didn't accept it. It was like her body was trying to fight a some sort of violent disease," his hand tightened over my hip, tightly closing those beautiful eyes for a moment as he seemed to recall a very painful memory.

"We all had to watch, horrified and helpless as she fell down and slowly withered away in excruciating pains, all the while my brother rapidly sunk into a bottomless pit of mad desperation, screaming and begging for her to forgive him and come back," My own pained whine surprised the hell out of me, lastly realizing that I'd started crying too as I could feel those hot and wet tears trailing down my cheeks.

"But she never did, no matter how hard he cried or begged, leaving him behind with a broken heart and his sanity damaged beyond repair,"

"It was like he died right then and there with her. Gone was his usually lively and strong nature, replaced by a cold and hollow shell.

He refused to speak with any of us from then on, drowning himself into an endless black hole of sorrow and alcohol until his wolf spirit wasted away from the unbearable pain, taking him with it," We were both crying by now, gazing into each other's eyes as he told me his brother's heartbreaking story.

"It broke me. Their tragically ended story, what happened between them and how much he suffered after losing her, it all broke me. It broke me, Carina," he sincerely said, making my heart hurt so much for him. He'd suffered a great loss, and having to watch someone you loved struggle like that and then waste away, it wasn't easy. Not to mention that he was still a kid when it all happened. He obviously didn't really understand what was going on around him yet he'd been forced to grow up faster than he should've and take over a great responsibility that wasn't even his. I could see why he'd been so angry at first and wanted nothing to do with me. It was because his choices had been simply taken away. His freedom, everything. Even his chance at true love.

"I've sworn from then on that I will never let myself love like he did, much less a frail little human," his gaze lowered, absently staring at our intertwined hands as he said those words.

"I've sworn that if I ever found my mate and found out that she was human I would reject her right away and carry on with my duty, just like I was supposed to and marry the one I was betrothed to."

"But then I met you," his gaze found my own again, gently reaching out to place his palm over my cheek.

"I knew all about you, who you were and where you lived. I knew that you were of my age so that meant that we'd soon have to meet, and so I decided to take matters into my own hands and came back to see you in that little town where I knew Lysander had left you," his lips stretched into a small smile, his gaze slowly becoming rather dreamful as he let it roam over my face.

"Nothing prepared me for that shock, that intense sensation I felt the moment I laid eyes on you," his eyes met my own again, peering between them with a certain intensity.

"I couldn't stop myself from thinking how beautiful you were, how fucking sexy you looked in that tiny skirt and those knee-high stockings. It took my breath away and made my balls hurt," My lips parted open, feeling my cheeks heat up a little at the sound of his rather bold statement.

"I became infatuated with you right then and there. I wanted you so fucking much it hurt. Never in my entire life have I ever felt so damn attracted. You were there talking with your friends and all I could think about was ripping you away from there and throwing you over my shoulder, then locking you up in my car with me,"

"Goddess, the things I thought about doing to you," he pensively said, his gaze lowering to follow his fingers as they gently glided from my tear-stained cheek and all the way to the side of my neck.

"You'd be horrified and call me a fucking psycho," he lightly shook his head and let out a small chuckle, my eyes however wide and my heart pumping a little harder as for some reason, I kinda found that hot. He...wanted me? I thought that he couldn't stand the sight of me, the first time we met!

"It didn't help you know, the fact that you kept trying to defy me and even fight me off at every point and every turn. It only made me want you even more.

Gods, and I was so angry. I was so angry with myself, for allowing it to happen. For falling into your trap so easily. I tried and I tried to stay away from you; hell, I even tried to make you hate me. But none of it worked. Nothing worked. Every time I pushed you away my desire for you came back with a vengeance. It drove me fucking crazy," his hand slipped over the side of my neck, pausing to gaze at my lips before his eyes met mine again, peering at me with that familiar hint of desire.

"But it all made sense then; after my wolf intervened and bit you, showing me who you truly were to me. I finally understood, why my brother did what he did, what was happening to me.

It was the bond. This sacred bond that binds us. You were made for me and I for you. You were born to be mine, not matter how hard I tried to turn away from it or deny it."

"I was born to love you, Carina," he softly whispered, letting his gaze fall on my lips before meeting my own again, gingerly caressing my jaw with his thumb.

I let out a calming sigh, all our tears long forgotten as we simply stared at each other, losing ourselves into that serene and magical moment.

He was in love with me, and I with him. We've fought each other so hard at the beginning that it all seemed so stupidly funny now. We've wasted too much time arguing and trying to push each other away when all we needed in fact, was to be close to each other.

All I needed was him, from the very beginning. And he needed me too, to understand why his brother did what he did.

It was all in the name of love.