My Unwanted Mate

Chapter 8. Geneva's secrets

Veronica

I stare out the window as Dragon sneaks out of the property, his outline getting thinner and thinner until he climbs the stone wall and I can’t see him anymore behind the shadows. I let out a heavy sigh of relief and lock the window finally. I can’t seem to shake off the feeling he brought with his presence. One thing is sure - I have never seen someone with his presence before. He radiates strength and cockiness in equal amounts, and that annoying smirk on his lips makes me want to punch him, but there is something else about him too. I am not sure what it is and I am so tired and hungry I can’t really focus on it but it still buzzes at the back of my mind nonetheless.

So, he is the reason Geneva owes money to this guy, Jared, and if I am right, he is the Moretti kid who everyone is going crazy about. Genevieve and Adrien, even Victor made it seem like such a big deal, that I can’t help but wonder what his deal really is. He does seem like trouble. That amount of attractiveness can’t be healthy, and there is definitely something dangerous in the way he looks. It’s not even the fading bruises on his face, or the cut on his lower lip.

Pacing nervously around the room, I don’t know what to think. I spot the laptop on the elegant desk near the window and head towards it with new resolve as another sigh, this one coming out of gratitude, leaves my dry lips. The air in the room lingers with the faint scent of Dragon’s perfume, but I ignore it as I take the laptop and head towards the perfectly arranged bed.

My fingers tremble as I open the computer and a screensaver showing a picture of Geneva with her family pops up. I ignore the sting of pain and guilt that immediately pierces my chest and focus on unlocking it. Thankfully, the face recognition works in my favor again and soon I am staring at the desktop. Genevieve took her phone, but she is logged on to her social media on the laptop again.

I take my time going through everything - events, people, tags. I even check her friends profiles, trying to remember them. I find the hot blonde guy who called earlier to remind my sister she owed him money. The money she gave to Dragon in exchange of his help to find mom’s last address and provide her with a fake ID to check in the hotel and buy a ticket to visit me. I feel like s*hit again, and the tears are back in my eyes, but I blink them away. It is too damn late to go back and fix everything. I should’ve listened to my consciousness then, no matter how sorry I am there is no way back.

I wipe the single tear away angrily and focus on my research. Jared’s bright golden brown eyes stare at me from his pictures and I can’t help but sigh with relief when I realise he is not Geneva’s boyfriend. They do have a few photos and tags together but seem more like distant friends or family. So, whatever chosen mates means, it couldn’t be this bad, right? I am somewhat thankful that he is visiting a different school than Geneva - a school that forces him to wear a strict uniform and there are only guys there.

Not focusing on him anymore, I fix my attention back to Geneva’s profile. I know the names and faces of her friends, but for some reason I don’t see them as friends, more like acquaintances. I can’t wrap my mind around why that is, but the feeling is there, and I just can’t shake it. It is only Ian who seems closer but even with him she looks like she is keeping distance - it is in her body language on the pictures. It’s not like I know much about friendships, god knows I’ve never had a real friend my entire life, but… it just doesn’t look like there is a real connection.

A knock on the door makes me jump and I hurry to hide the laptop beneath the bed, scared that Genevieve might take it too, and I can’t afford it - I need to learn as much as possible. As I lean down, I see the edge of a thick notebook with leader binding peak between the mattress and the bed frame. A diary? My heart speeds in my chest, but there is no time to check as the knocking on the door repeats.

“Yeah, enter,” I shout as I lean back against the bed frame.

Victor walks into the large elegant room. He has changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants, and looks so much younger without his official attire.

He sits at the edge of the bed and fishes out Geneva’s phone out of his pocket.

“I believe this is yours,” he tells me with a sad smile and gently tosses it to me. “Grams was just worried…”

I take the phone and leave it on the night stand next to me.

“Thanks,” I say drily again frustrated for Geneva’s sake.

Victor hesitates a little, then looks me straight in the eyes. “I explained everything to Genevieve. She understands you are confused and scared before your first turning. But everything will start making sense tomorrow, I promise.” He tells me with a sigh on his own. “Once your eighteenth birthday comes and goes and your wolf comes to you everything will change. And you will understand why we do the things the way we do them.”

I stare back, taken by surprise by the regret in his voice. He maybe a stranger, but he is the first person besides Geneva who after my mom’s death treats me like I am a normal human being. Which is stupid, because his words are not pointed towards the real me. I still appreciate them, though.

“Is it… is it how it happened to you?” I wince at the words coming out of my mind. “Like… did you know what was going on?”

“I had dad to guide me through it. Goddess, I wish you had him too…”

The tears well back in my eyes. “Will you guide me?” I ask gently and reach to cover his hand with mine. I have no idea what I am doing, I am not even sure what the big deal is, but I have to play the part. And somehow I know it is something which was important for my sister.

“Of course I will. You are the most important person in my life, Genie.”

I swallow through the lump in my throat. I realise I am an emotional mess and my nerves are on the verge of snapping, but his words make me even sadder and more lonely than ever. I ignore the sting of jealousy, reminding myself that it is not his fault. Still, I can’t stop my next words. “Tell me about my mom.”

Victor stares at me. “Your mom?” He repeats blankly and I can feel his hand go cold under my palm. When he speaks again he avoids my eyes. “Well, I don’t know much. Dad met her after my mother’s death. They had an affair and you were born. I don’t know much honestly. One day dad just brought you home and you changed our lives. That’s all I know.”

“Have you met her?”

“No, never. He never spoke about her after the day he brought you home. Did you find her?”

It’s my turn to flinch. I want to believe him. If what he says is true maybe neither him nor Genevieve or the rest of the people in this house knew about me. But I don’t know any of these people. Then how did Geneva find me?

“No, I didn’t find her,” I shrug looking away. It is not even a lie but the guilt is still there nonetheless. It doesn’t stop me from saying the next lie though. “I just wasted my time and got grounded for it.”

“You didn’t get grounded for looking for your mother, Genie, and you know it,” Victor says flatly. “You got grounded for using Luca Moretti’s help for that.”

Luca Moretti. For some stupid reason my mind drifts to the olive skinned green-eyed guy and I think it actually suits him. The name sounds foreign and exotic just the way he looks.

“Werewolves can’t know about your weaknesses. They will use everything against us, and…”

I roll my eyes. “I know,” I reply with a sigh, even though I don’t know. I just don’t want to see him frustrated, and I definitely don’t want to delve into that bag of wasps. “It was stupid, I am sorry.”

“So, as you are grounded, rightfully,” Victor emphasises, grinning at me, “what do you want to do for your birthday? Party is out of the question unless we want grams to kill us both.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be like the alpha male in this house or something?” I murmur, teasingly and lower my eyes.

“That doesn’t count in front of her majesty though,” Victor chuckles.

We stay silent for a moment, before I sigh again and bore my eyes into him.

“No party,” I repeat. “I don’t know what to expect and I don’t want to be the laughing stock for everyone. Just family, okay?”

He promises me a picnic near some lake on the property and I agree, even though I can’t imagine how it is possible to own a lake. My city mind connects lakes to forests and parks and mountains, not someones estate. I keep my opinion to myself and Victor soon leaves, the same exhaustion I feel written all over his face.

Left finally alone, I fish Geneva’s notebook out and stare at it. I might be stupid, and with the lowest morale ever, but I still hesitate to open it. I know what it is and it feels wrong to violate her privacy like that. But as I stare at the time on the screen of her phone, I sigh and do it - it is not like I have much of a choice.

Geneva’s diary seems neat and arranged perfectly. I go through the pages wondering how different her handwriting is to mine. This is a problem, I realise, but I just can’t deal with it right now. My eyes are glued to the last entries, and my heart skips a beat as I read though her words, the breath barely escaping my throat around the large lump I feel there.

Friday, 10th July

I feel like my whole life is a lie. Everything that I am will change in just a few weeks and even though everyone says it is for the best, I am not so sure. I’ve always been proud to be a lycan, to stand next to my dad, and then my brother after Victor inherited him a few years ago when dad passed away. Still, the closer I get to my birthday and my own transformation is just around the corner, I am not that sure I want it at all. I want to be normal. I want to graduate and go to college, not to be forced to marry Jared just because it is politically correct and decided when I was born.

Often these days I think of my mom. I’ve never met her, I don’t even know her name. Did she look like me? Did she love me? I feel like if she was here with me it would be easier to accept the change. If she was here would she allow my family to chose my life for me? Or she’d refuse this stupid marriage and let me live the way I want?

Goddess, Jared is a creep.

Sometimes I wonder what would it be if I met my real mate? I know chances are slim but it happens. Victor his waits for his mate and no one bats an eye at that. Why can’t I?

My heart beats like a drum in my chest. A forced marriage? What did I get myself into? I flip the page.

Tuesday, 14th July

I know her name - Kristine Birnam. She is not dead. Why did dad say that my mom died? I had to sneak in his old study and found an old birth certificate with my name on it, but unlike the one I have now, which says mother unknown, this one has a name for her. I have to find her now. I can’t live like this anymore. I can’t just pretend I am Ian’s friend when all I am doing is use him to keep him and his family at bay. I can’t deal with not be able to have even one real friend. My birthday is in a little more than a month and I need to figure my s**t out by then.

Ps: I think I messed up with the BS. Help?

I go through many other pages where she shares similar thoughts and frustrations. It hurts me to read her words when she is not here to defend herself, to give context, to really share all this. We met briefly and talked a few more weeks before that. Geneva always came as this happy, carefree princess, who had the perfect life. Her diary paints a different picture. A lonely, scared girl peaks through the pages. A girl who is trapped between the bars of her own gilded cage and fights to the bone to change her fate. Our father gave her hand to someone in marriage, someone she didn’t want. For money and power, I am sure of it. Why Victor doesn’t do anything to change it, why he never even mentions it and still talks about this fated soulmate she’d find some day is beyond me. Why they forced her to be friends with Ian for strategical leverage over his family seems cruel. Yeah, I’ve had my fair share of family trauma, but this… this doesn’t seem right either. Actually, no. It feels messed up on an entirely different level. Like, who would force their kid to any of that? I don’t care if they, we, are this lycan people or not. It is not right.

I leave the diary at around midnight. I’ve gone through most of it and my eyes close are already closing with exhaustion. I have more than enough information anyway, and what I couldn’t remember I will do my best to memorise tomorrow.

As I change into some pajamas I found in the built in enormous wardrobe, I barely register the fact that it is another day now. My birthday. Fear creeps around my heart and I stay frozen by the bed. I am finally eighteen. Does that mean that now I will turn into a werewolf even though I don’t want any part in this bull s*hit?