บททั้งหมดของ MY FATHER'S DRIVER IS MY ALPHAMATE : บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

I couldn't sleep.I tried.God, I tried.But every time I closed my eyes, I saw her.My mother.Not the mother I remembered from childhood photographs.Not the woman whose face had slowly faded from my memories.The woman from the vision.Alive.Crying.Holding me as a baby.Looking at me as though she already knew she might never see me again.I'm sorry.Those two words wouldn't leave me alone.I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the moonlight spilling across the floor.For eighteen years, I had believed my mother was gone.I had mourned her without knowing exactly what I was mourning.Now I had hope.And somehow, hope hurt more than grief.Because grief had allowed me to accept that she was gone.Hope made me wonder if she had been somewhere all this time, waiting for me.And if she was waiting...Why hadn't she come home?A tear slipped down my cheek.I wiped it away angrily."Stop crying."My voice sounded small in the empty room.I laughed bitterly."You're the future queen o

I couldn't sleep.Again.Apparently, sleep had become a luxury I could no longer afford.I sat by the window, holding my mother's pendant in both hands.It was small.Simple.A silver crescent with a tiny moonstone in the center.I'd seen it in photographs.I'd seen my mother wearing it when I was a child.But I'd never understood its importance.Now it felt heavier than a crown.Come home.Her voice still echoed in my mind.I had heard her.Not imagined her.Not remembered her.Heard her.My mother was alive.Somewhere beyond the Blackthorn mountains.Waiting for me.A soft knock came at the door.I knew who it was before he entered."Alexander."He stepped inside."You should sleep."I laughed softly."So should you."He closed the door."Are you all right?""No."He nodded.At least he wasn't pretending I should be.He sat beside me.For several moments, neither of us spoke.Then I held out the pendant."Do you think he's telling the truth?""I don't know.""Do you believe my mothe

The journey to the Blackthorn Mountains began before sunrise.Moonfang was still asleep when Alexander and I rode through the eastern gates.The sky was a deep shade of blue, caught somewhere between night and morning.For the first time since arriving at Moonfang, I felt something close to peace.Maybe it was because Ethan was gone.Maybe it was because we finally had a direction.Or maybe it was because Alexander's hand was wrapped around mine as we rode.Whatever the reason, I held onto it.I needed something good.Something simple.Because I had a feeling the moment we reached the mountains, nothing would be simple anymore.We stopped just before noon.Marcus and the guards went ahead to scout the road.Alexander remained with me beneath a cluster of trees.I sat on a fallen log while he checked the horses."You've been quiet," he said."I'm thinking.""About Ethan?"I looked at him."About my mother."He nodded."I know."I looked down at the pendant around my neck."Do you think

Ronan died before he could tell us who the traitor was.I couldn't stop hearing his unfinished sentence.He's already...Already what?Inside Moonfang?Inside the camp?Inside my life?The questions followed me through the night.I sat awake beside the dying fire, staring at the piece of black cloth I'd found beside Ronan's body.The silver ring.The crescent moon.Two symbols stitched together.Two enemies that should never have belonged on the same piece of fabric.Alexander sat several feet away, speaking quietly with Marcus.His face was hard.Too hard.I knew that expression.He was blaming himself.Again.When Marcus left, I looked at him."Come here."Alexander didn't move."I need to think.""You've been thinking for hours.""I'm trying to figure out who killed Ronan.""You couldn't have stopped the arrow.""I should have.""Alexander."He looked at me.There was pain in his eyes."I was standing right there.""So was I.""I should have sensed the assassin.""You can't protect

I stared at the black ring in Seraphina's palm.For several seconds, I couldn't speak.The garden suddenly felt colder."You found this in your father's room?"She nodded."Hidden beneath a loose floorboard.""Does he know you found it?""No.""Why haven't you confronted him?"Seraphina gave a bitter laugh."Because I'm not stupid."Despite everything, I almost smiled."Fair enough."She closed her fingers around the ring."I don't trust my father.""Why?""Because he's been acting strangely since the Council discovered you.""How?""He keeps asking about your powers. Your dreams. Your mother."My heart tightened."Why would a Council elder care about my mother?""That's what I want to know."A cold breeze moved through the garden.I wrapped my arms around myself."Seraphina...""Yes?""Do you want Alexander?"She looked at me for a long moment.Then she shook her head."No.""Not even a little?""No.""Why?"She smiled sadly."Because I'm already in love with someone else."I blinked