Triton's Oath - His Hybrid Princess

10 - That's enough!

Ava

I stand with my hand in Triton’s as I breathe in the fresh air of Lykos. It feels like forever since I was home rather than just a day.

I have a mate!

Some would say I’m stupid for believing everything Triton told me. But I don’t care what others think or will say. Everything Triton told me began to make sense. Besides, I could feel the truth of his words. I don’t doubt that Triton is my mate, even without the mate bond.

The moment I laid my hand on Triton’s chest, I felt the sparks of our hidden mate bond. Triton may have hidden my ability to feel the bond, but it was so strong between us that it was undeniable. There is no way it was a trick; it felt too real.

I don’t care what anyone says; the man beside me is my mate. I feel safe with him. My Wolf and Dragon do, too, and that has to count for something. When we find the locket and open it, the bond will come to me, and I can hardly wait!

I’m not dumb. I know Triton, like many Gods, has probably done bad, if not terrible, things in his lifetime. But I won’t judge him on his past because that wouldn’t be fair. Whatever Triton did in the past, as long as he regrets most of it and is not going to act that way again, I won’t bring it up. The past is the past for a reason and should be left there—well, most of the time.

The point is that I will not allow anyone to use Triton’s past to try to turn me against him. This is my decision and mine alone. I will not let anyone influence me.

“Ready to go in?” I nod at Triton. He winks at me, and we walk toward the castle hand in hand.

We didn’t go to my house because I knew my parents would be with Thane. They will either be figuring out how to find me or out there searching. I hope they’re still here.

The castle guards barely spare us a glance. Hmm. Okay, it’s not strange that they wouldn’t bother me, but I’m with someone they’re not familiar with. They should, at least, for security reasons, ask me who the man beside me is.

“When I was here earlier, I may have put them to sleep and slammed a few others against the wall,” Triton tells me as if reading my mind. “They refused me entry, and nothing would have stopped me from getting to you. I’m sorry.”

I smile. “Don’t be sorry. It’s not like you killed anyone. You didn’t, right?”

Triton chuckles. “No. I did not kill anyone. They gave me no reason to kill them.”

Thank the Gods for that! I don’t know how I would have felt if Triton had come here and killed people. Some people deserve death, but not those merely doing their job to protect the Royal Family and the people of Lykos.

Triton and I walk into the castle, and people stare at us with open mouths. I raise my eyebrow, and the staff turn away, shame clear on their faces.

“Mom! Dad! Are you here!?” I yell loud enough to wake the dead. I open my mouth to call for Thane when my mother runs into the hallway.

“Ava!” I laugh as she grabs me and wraps me tight in her arms.

I wrap my arms around her back and close my eyes. I love my mother, and I missed her so much. From what Triton told me, my mother lied to me all these years. But I understand why she did. My mom loves me, and she was afraid to lose me, so she did what she thought was right.

How can I be mad at that?

“My baby,” Mom calls all of her children that. “I was so worried about you.”

“I’m okay, Mom.” I smile at my dad as he pulls me away from Mom. He hugs me and kisses my head, though he says nothing.

I laugh as my siblings come out of nowhere, hug me, and say they missed me. Alice and Alivia wrap their arms around me, holding me tightly between them. I laugh, and let me hug me.

“So,” Alice smiles. “This is Triton?”

“Yes,” I smile without taking my eyes off Triton. “This is my mate.”

“You opened the locket already!?” Dad yells so loudly my younger siblings run to our mother out of fear. They’re not used to Dad yelling in front of them. Dad pins Triton with a hard stare before looking at me. “You know everything, yet you still chose to be with him?”

I sigh as my sisters move away from me. “We haven’t opened the locket because I lost it. Thanks for keeping it from me all these years, by the way.” I groan because I didn’t mean to say that!

“We did it for you!” Mark growls. “How do you even know we kept anything from you if you haven’t opened the locket?”

I look at Mark, but it’s Triton who answers. “Because I told Ava everything.”

“Everything?” Dad asks in disbelief.

“Everything,” Triton replies.

Dad looks at me. “And it doesn’t bother you, everything he’s done?”

I step toward my father and take his hands in mine. “I love you, Daddy.” He blinks down at me. “I know why you kept the truth from me. Triton explained what I did when I was sixteen.”

Dad blinks again, his face softening.

“I just cannot imagine what that did to you and Mom, not to mention everyone else. I am so sorry that I hurt you. I know everything you’ve done since I was sixteen was to protect me from everything you believed might hurt me. But I’m a grown woman now. I don’t need to be sheltered from the past.

“Triton is my mate. Even without the locket, I believe that. Triton told me how and when we met, what he tried to do to Levi and Auroa, and how he tried to take it back. I understand why everyone is wary of Triton,”

My eyes flick to Thane. He and Lyric just arrived, and Lyric is sneering at my mate. I don’t know what that’s about, and I don’t have time to care.

“But,” I continue as I look at my dad. “Triton is my mate, and I hope you will at least try to be civil, just as you are with everyone else’s mates.”

“For fuck.s sake!”

I sigh for what feels like the hundredth time and turn to Michael. “What is it, Michael?”

My brother stands with his arms folded over his big chest, staring at me. “Where’s your locket, Ava? You said you haven’t opened it yet but believed Triton just like that? You’re in for a massive shock when you open that damn locket. You think you know this man? You don’t know the half of it!”

“I know enough!” I yell. “Triton didn’t have to tell me anything, Michael. But he respected me enough to be honest with me. Not only so I could make sense of what happened when Ares kidnapped me, but…”

“Ares kidnapped you!?!” Too many people scream at the same time that it hurts my damn ears!

“I’ll get to that in a minute!” I turn back to my brother. “It wasn’t easy for me to hear that I tried to unalive myself, Michael. But it happened. Didn’t it?”

Michael’s eyes soften and fill with past sadness before he nods once.

I bite the inside of my lower lip. Of course, I believed Triton when he told me what really happened when I was sixteen. But having a family member confirm it hit harder, making the reality hurt so much more.

“Triton hasn’t lied to me, Michael. Regardless of what happened in the past, Triton cares about me. With or without my memories, with or without the mate bond, Triton is my mate, and I want to be with him.”

I look around at my family.

“I’m not asking anyone to forgive or forget, nor is Triton. He knows what he did was wrong, but he tried to fix things. He has spent ten years locked away for what he did. Now, it’s time to move on. Try to remember that everyone has a past, especially the Gods mated to family members. Not one person is perfect, and they’ve all done terrible things. Forget about the cock.y attitudes, the arrogance, the self-worth, and their belief that they can and do kill anyone who pisses them off. They love their mates with an undeniable passion.

“I’m not asking for anyone’s permission to be with Triton because that decision is mine and mine alone. But if you have any respect for me, you’ll treat my mate as you would anyone else’s.”

My mom smiles at me with pride in her eyes. I smile because Mom will keep everybody in line. She’s a sucker for romance, and this right here, she finds romantic.

I take a deep breath. “Triton told me that you know what Philip and Yolanda did to me.”

“We’re so sorry,” Alice rubs my arm. “Yolanda told Alivia and me that she was walking you home. We never thought she would…” She shakes her head.

“We should have sensed something off.” Alivia mumbles.

I shake my head. “Don’t do that to yourselves. It wasn’t your fault. But one of them either took my locket or I lost it in the woods. I need to find it. Triton thought Ares had it, but I lost it before he kidnapped me.”

Mark huffs. “And do you plan on telling us how he managed to do that?”

“He found me at the beach. He took me because he wanted to punish Triton. But my mate found me and saved me. He brought me home as soon as he could.”

“And you think that will be the end of it?” Thane scoffs. Ares took you out of revenge. I bet he almost killed you, didn’t he?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it matters!” Thane yells at me.

I open my mouth to reply, but Triton growls, causing everyone to turn and look at my mate. Triton had kept quiet until now.

His hand reaches toward me, grabbing my arm and gently pulling me toward him. I go willingly and proudly stand beside him, his arm around my shoulder and mine around his waist—well, as far as my small arms will reach around him.

“Do not raise your voice to my mate, Lycan King. I can put up with a lot, but when it comes to Ava, I have no patience if you should upset her.”

I shouldn’t smile, but I can’t help myself. Triton is already protective of me, and I like it more than I should.

“I care not what you think of me. But you will respect Ava just as she respects you. I brought Ava home to deal with those who harmed her and to find the locket. I did not bring her home so you could all speak to her with such disrespect!”

“And what about Ares?” Dad snaps. “What the hell did he put my daughter through before you rescued her!?”

This is getting us nowhere!

“What happens when Ares returns to finish what he started?” Dad continues without waiting for an answer to his previous question.

“Whether Ares does or does not come looking for revenge again, he will not get close to Ava.”

“Bullshit!” Mark snaps at Triton. “If anything else should happen to my sister…”

“Enough!” I bellow. “That’s enough, all of you! We’re not doing this any longer. None of you can just be happy for me! All these years, I thought I was losing my mind. But I wasn’t because even without my memories, somewhere in my heart and mind, I remembered Triton. Nothing anyone says will have me turning away from him. I love you all, but I will not live my life for you. Come, Triton, we have assholes to deal with.”

I’m done with this conversation. I have bigger things to deal with, like killing Philip and Yolanda right now!