A gift from the past

Aidora

I woke up, clutching my chest. I'd lost my fight with consciousness the second I was put in the recovery room, but a dream about my parents brought me back.

My hand was still clutching my chest, like it was going to soften the ache I felt.

Still drowning in pain when the door suddenly pulled open and Hadrian walked in. He took up space the second he was in the room.

With just both of us in that tiny space, my wolf grew restless, aching to touch him. His hands were balled tightly beside him, an indicator that his wolf was probably restless as well.

For minutes, we both said nothing, just staring at each other, then he cleared his throat.

“What do you know about an Akatalytos bond?” 

I swallowed, wetting my dry throat. My father mentioned it in passing, there had been one case of an Akatalytos bond in the pack.

“The bond ties two lives together.” I whispered.

“Is that all?”

“It cannot be broken.”

His face darkened. That was clearly not the answer he was expecting, but that was all I knew.  It wasn't a bond that occurred frequently, therefore it wasn't talked about. He should know that much.

“Why are you hurting?” 

The question took me off guard and my brows shot up, reaching for my hairline. 

“The bond, it makes me aware of your feelings and you're hurting. Why?”

I thinned my lips, the question seemed too simple, too straightforward, and I was well aware he didn't care enough to ask me something like that.

“Is that why you are here? To ask why I am hurting?”

“No. I came to ask if you truly believe your parents are innocent.”

A personal interrogation. Did he expect my answer to change just because he was asking me privately?

“I do. I don't just believe, I know that they are innocent.”

If he was offended or surprised by my answer, he didn't show it. His face was completely neutral, and somehow, that made me more wary.

“And I believe in the past decade,  you have not heard from them.”

I recoiled. What was this? A mockery? 

My parents were dead, they died that night. He knew that.

“The dead don't and can't reach out.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Is that what you believe? That they are dead?”

“Stop it,” I said in a barely audible voice. “Whatever this is, just stop, please. Do not…”

“Your alpha has asked you a question,” he cut in and I froze momentarily,  “and you have to answer. Do you believe your parents are dead?”

Gritting my teeth, I forced an answer out.

“Yes. My parents are dead, they died that night.”

“I see.” 

“After 14 years, you were finally summoned. Have you thought about why?” I shook my head. “Three nights ago, the guards stationed at the borders reported seeing your parents.”

“That's not possible.”

“That's what we all thought as well, but three witnesses, their footprints and scent that lingered in the air can't possibly be wrong.” 

My breath ceased and I slowly shook my head. “You are lying.” My whole being felt disoriented and even if I tried, I couldn't stop shaking my head.

It was simply impossible. They wouldn't abandon me for 14 years, if they were alive, they would have come for me even if it meant risking their lives.

“That is not possible. My parents are dead and they are not traitors! They risked their lives that night to keep this pack safe! They are the…”

“Safe from what? From who?”

I drew back, eyes wide. 

I had no answer for that. I searched my brain, returning to that night, but my mother never told me what.

Still, I shook my head. It wasn't possible that they betrayed this pack,  they loved this pack, they sacrificed so much for it.

“If this is your way of trying to get me to admit to a crime I and my family are innocent of, try again.” 

Surprise flickered through his gaze, but he instantly suppressed it.

“Haven't you ever paused to think why people who have given all their lives to this pack would turn on it out of the blue?” I fired back, “what could they possibly want? They had it all, Hadrian! Why would they turn their backs on this pack? Why would they subject this pack to such pain?”

“And what could they possibly be protecting this pack from? All was well till they attacked. You cannot continue to believe otherwise just because they are your parents.”

He reached into his pocket and brought out something. “You don't even think for once that they could be guilty?”

The image of my mother that night, teary and scared with my father standing behind staring at me like he was engraving my face to his mind, flashed before my eyes and I tried to swallow past the lump in my throat.

“Yes. They gave all they had to this pack, even their lives.”

He threw what he brought out from his pocket to my lap, and my heart sank into my stomach. The emerald necklace my mum was wearing that night nestled on my lap.

“This was recovered by the border. Are you still sure?”

My mind turned into a whirlwind. The impossible was happening right before my eyes.

“This is impossible. My parents are skilled,  they spent their lives training. My mother wouldn't leave such a vital piece of evidence. You are lying.”

He stood there, staring at me with narrowed eyes just for a moment then I felt a crack from the bond, but before I could place a finger on what it was, it felt like a wall was instantly put up.

Then he walked away. Leaving the necklace with me.