The Tribrid Heir's Orphaned Mate

Secret Family Curse

Warrick's P.O.V.

I sit to my dad's right, as he sits at the head of the table. We just finished supper not long ago, and now it's time to get this done and over with, time to tell them everything that has happened since I ran out of my birthday party that day. The ache in my chest has subsided a bit, and honestly, I'm kind of scared about it. Is it because I'm further away from Elizabeth now? Is it because she's pushing the mate-bond away? I don't know, and I'm not really sure I want to know the answer, because I don't know if I could live with it.

My father clears his throat as my mother sits down beside him, while placing the platter of cookies on the table in front of everyone. The meal that she made was delicious, and it calmed my nerves a little bit to have one of her home-cooked meals. From the looks of it, it calmed down Zeke and Delilah a little as well, seeing as they dug into their food without a care in the world, like they were starved animals. It makes me wonder how much they were actually getting fed while being locked up. I had noticed that Zeke had lost a little weight within those six days, but at the time, I didn't think anything of it. Now that I look at him, I realize that it must've been bad, seeing as six days isn't really that long of a time to start losing weight. My heart tugs a little in my chest as I stare at him, thinking about Elizabeth still stuck there, no telling what type of torment they're putting her through.

My mother reaches across the table and gently clasps her hands around mine, as if she's reading my mind, "She's fine for now, Warrick. If something was happening to her, you would feel it."

Zeke pops his head up and looks at my mom with skepticism in his eyes, "How would he feel it? They haven't mated or marked each other yet."

My mother looks over at him and gives him a gentle smile, "Our bloodline isn't anything like an average werewolf bloodline. With all of the strength and abilities that we have, we also have stronger weaknesses, our mates being the main one. Tribrids are able to feel the connection with their mate a lot stronger than normal, and a lot quicker. We're able to feel the mate-bond immediately without being marked, and we can feel the mate-bond long before our eighteenth birthday. That's why Warrick was feeling the connection before he even turned eighteen, because his counterparts knew that Elizabeth was around the pack territory, hiding in the woods and surveying our pack. He would be able to tell if something was happening to her, even without being mated or marked. When they are mated and marked to one another, their bodies will be completely connected to each other. If Elizabeth gets wounded, that same wound will happen to Warrick, and vice versa."

"I'm a lot calmer now and feel less pain in my chest than I was when I first arrived back to Silver Crescent, like she's pulling away from me or something. It's starting to scare me." I confess to her.

My mother looks back at me and softly shakes her head, "She's not pulling away from you, Warrick. The pain would get stronger if she was pulling away from the mate-bond and wanting to reject you. It's probably the opposite actually, she's more than likely giving into the mate-bond more. For now, she seems safe, or you'd be able to feel her pain."

My father looks over at me after letting my mom talk, before firmly gripping onto my shoulder, "I know that it's going to be hard to talk about everything that has happened, but we all need to know. I need you to get through this and explain to us what is going on so we can form a plan."

I nod my head at him and stand up, before looking at everyone around the table, "The pack that Zeke, Delilah and Elizabeth are from, is made up of a bunch of orphaned teenagers. Their parents were killed as a result of the supernatural war that took place years ago. Their fathers died that day, but their mothers were pregnant with all of them at the time and didn't attend the battle. Even then, though, because they were a part of the plan to attack our pack, they lost their wolves or their magic, depending on if they were a werewolf or a witch. Once all of the orphans gained their wolves at shifting age, or their magic at transitioning age, their mothers turned into dust in front of them, just like everyone else did the day of the war." I tell the table, as my eyes land on Zeke and Delilah to see their reaction, only to notice them giving me a look of understanding, before they both nod at me to continue.

"All of these teenagers were told lies by their mothers. They were told that my dad and mom were both power-hungry and wanting to take over the supernatural world, that they were the villains in the story, even though we all know that isn't true. Selene spoke through me to Zeke and Elizabeth, explaining what had actually happened. Even Elizabeth's mom, Victoria, was able to speak through me to Elizabeth, seeing as she is now with The Moon Goddess herself, finally being able to confess to the lies that she told Elizabeth when she was younger." I say, before looking over at my dad.

My dad flinches at hearing this, before he rubs his hand over his face and lets out a small sigh, "Victoria is dead?"

I nod at him, "Victoria and Marco are both dead, but have been rejoined and are happy together in The Moon Goddess' realm."

"Ashley is going to be beside herself. She's been looking for her for years." my dad says, before looking down at the table and shaking his head.

My mom gently grabs his arm and squeezes it, "Did you hear what Warrick just said, Callan? She's happy with Marco now. They found each other in the other realm, just like my parents did. It's a beautiful place to be. No worries, no pain. Just warmth and sunshine all of the time. It'll give Ashley comfort to know that. It'll finally give her closure."

My dad looks up at my mom and nods his head in understanding, before looking back at me, "Please continue, son. I'm sorry, you just caught me off-guard."

"It's okay, dad. It's a lot to take in." I tell him, before addressing the rest of the table, "Zeke and Delilah know where the apartment is that the orphans live in. They have average daily jobs in the city that it's located in, letting me know that where they're at is heavily human populated. The cell that they had me in is strongly reinforced with wolfsbane, silver, and vervain, along with having a very strong barrier spell that their witches put up. It's the perfect cell for a tribrid to be captured in. I'm not sure who thought of it, but it's genius."

Zeke starts to chuckle, drawing my attention towards him and cutting me off, he says, "That was your lovely mate who thought of that. Didn't take her long, either. She does a lot of research and plans things out that none of us would've ever thought of."

My dad chuckles beside me as he stares at Zeke, before looking up at me, "Sounds a lot like your mother. If that's the case, you're definitely going to have your hands full." he says, which earns him a swat on the shoulder from my mom.

I shake my head and continue with what I'm saying, "Elizabeth tried to reject me at first, but didn't know how to properly reject me, thankfully. She has started to feel the mate-bond, and I'm sure that she's having second thoughts about her rejection now, seeing as she knows the proper way to do it after I gave a direct order to her Beta, Carter, but she hasn't used it yet. Carter was supposed to be Elizabeth's chosen mate, and when she didn't reject me right away after finding out how to properly do it, he became enraged and started taking his anger out on her, Zeke and Delilah. He told some lies about them to the rest of their pack, and they all turned against them and locked them in a room, putting a barrier spell on the door so they couldn't get out."

"What lies did he tell about you?" my mother asks as she turns towards Zeke and Delilah.

Delilah looks over at my mom as she purses her lips, before answering her question, "He told the pack that Elizabeth had accepted Warrick as her mate, even though she hadn't yet. Then he told them that Zeke and I were helping her form a plan to help Warrick escape. Carter was becoming angrier by the second that she hadn't rejected him yet. Him and Elizabeth shared a room together, and when I saw how violent he was acting towards her, I told her to come and stay in mine and Zeke's room with us. I was just trying to help my best friend get out of a confrontational situation, trying to give both of them some time to cool off and collect their thoughts. When Elizabeth was moving out of their room and into ours, he was being too calm and something just didn't feel right about it, but I didn't think anything of it at the time. Next thing we know, we're being locked up in mine and Zeke's room, and only being fed one meal every other day."

"One meal every other day?! That's less than they were feeding me!" I yell out, anger suddenly taking over every inch of my body.

Delilah nods her head at me, "You were being fed more because Elizabeth was in charge at the time, and knowing Carter, he probably kept up with your meal schedule after locking us away, because he didn't want you to notice that anything was off. However, Carter wasn't feeding us hardly anything, only enough to get us by. He's very sadistic when he feels like he's been betrayed, always has been."

I grit my teeth in rage, before slamming my fists down on the table, "I'm going to kill that bastard!"

"Warrick." Delilah softly says, gaining my attention again, "Elizabeth is going to want all of our pack members to have a chance to right their wrongs, even Carter. You need to keep that in mind and cling onto that. They've been best friends since they were kids, just like you and Sylvia. They're all each other has had throughout the years. Think about how you would feel if Sylvia was acting this way right now. Would you be more forgiving of her, if the roles were reversed and she was acting this way?"

I look over at Sylvia, realizing that I would be more forgiving if the roles were reversed, but Sylvia isn't looking at me, she's glaring at Delilah, "I would NEVER treat Warrick the way that Carter is treating Elizabeth. Even if I was in love with him and had thought he was going to be my chosen mate, I would've been happy that he found his fated mate and stood by him as a best friend. It's better to have him in my life a little, than not at all." Sylvia says through gritted teeth.

Delilah looks at Sylvia with determination in her eyes, "But from what Warrick has told me, you have never been in love with him, only seeing him as a best friend growing up. Not to mention, you two have a huge family surrounding you. It's never been just the two of you depending on one another, clinging to each other like it's your last shred of sanity. Carter and Elizabeth, they only had each other before finding the rest of us. They were each other's home and safety. That's hard to let go of when you've been through what we've been through." Delilah says to Sylv, before looking around the table, "I'm not trying to place blame on anyone. Zeke and I have come to the realization that what happened to our parents was their own fault. We know that Athena and Callan did what they had to do, that it was The Moon Goddess' plan and that our parents made their own choices that led them to their deaths. However, we never asked for the lives that we were born into. We never asked for all of the heartache and pain we have endured. When you're like us and find someone who makes your world feel a little less lonely, who causes the pain to evaporate for little while, you hold onto them tight. It's hard not to cling to them. They're like a life raft saving you from drowning in the ocean." she says to everyone, before looking over at Zeke with a soft smile and gently taking his hand into hers.

Sylvia looks up at me with teary eyes, making me smile down at her, knowing that she suddenly understands without her having to say anything, "They all deserve a new life, Sylv. You know it just as much as I do. It's our job as their future Alpha and Beta to bring their family home to Silver Crescent, where they can feel that happiness again. That's what they are, a family, just like ours sitting around this table right now with us. What would you do if you felt betrayed by one of us at this table? Would you act like Carter? Probably not as bad, but you'd lash out, I know you would. What would you do if you knew the truth and your family didn't, if we all turned against you because we thought everything you were saying was a lie? You'd try your hardest to save us all, to make us see the light, just like Elizabeth is. You wouldn't give up on us, and you shouldn't give up on them either. It's your future Luna's family, it's our future family. They're part of our pack, even if they haven't accepted it yet."

Sylvia nods her head in agreement without saying anything, before I turn to look back at my dad, "We don't want to fight them. We want them to join our pack, which means we can't have any casualties."

Uncle Gavin snorts from across the table, "Baby Boy Warrick, if you think that you're going to go into this without any casualties, you're sadly mistaken. Your family curse makes sure of that."

"What curse?" I ask as I furrow my brows at him in confusion.

He stares at me for a few seconds, before looking at my mom, "You haven't told him yet?"

I look over my mom as she continues to stare at Uncle Gavin, while her jaw twitches, "I never thought it was necessary. We've lived in peace for eighteen years, Gavin. What's the point of him knowing about that?"

"Geeze, Athena! What would've happened if Warrick would've accidentally killed a pack member during training, or his magic got out of control through his teenage years?! You should've told him about that so he would've been more aware! Look at Theo! He's got more testosterone pulsing through him than any of the men do sitting at this table! Warrick might be like you, but Theo takes after Callan! Theo has no control over his anger, just like Callan was when he was younger! Does THEO at least know?!" Gavin yells at her, his face becoming redder with anger every second.

My mom nervously shakes her head as she slowly inhales through her nose, "Callan and I decided long ago that we wouldn't tell the kids. We didn't want them walking on eggshells their entire lives."

Uncle Gavin scoffs and shakes his head, "Whatever, they aren't my kids to raise, so that's your guys' decision to make, but you should've told them in my opinion. It's dangerous for them not to know! What would've happened if Warrick would've decided, against his better judgement, to go right back to Elizabeth and tear her whole pack to shreds just to save her?! He would've been dead in an instant."

"What is he talking about, mom?" I ask my mother, as I turn to her and cross my arms over my chest.

My mother massages her forehead as she lets out a defeated sigh, before looking up at me, "We never told you how Conrad died. There were covens fighting against each other long ago, when your Great-grandmother Rosemary was a teenager. Conrad grew tired of it and sacrificed himself during a spell that he cast over the two covens. If one were to try and kill the other, they'd kill themselves instead, and vice versa. The Moon Goddess also made this a part of us to ensure that we couldn't harm anyone and become power hungry, made it a part of us to ensure that our motives were from the heart and not selfish. We cannot kill anyone without killing ourselves, and they cannot kill us without killing themselves. But it's not just The Moon Goddess, because the curse DOES run in our bloodline, since Grandma Rosemary is from that coven."

"Is that true, mom?! You're from that coven!" Sylvia yells out, suddenly bolting up from her chair as she stares daggers at Aunt Lillith.

Aunt Lillith slowly nods her head with tears forming in her eyes, "We all decided not to tell you guys about it long ago. We just wanted you to grow up with normal lives. We knew there were no more threats and knew you'd be safe."

"MOM! YOU GUYS SHOULD HAVE TOLD US! HOW WERE YOU EVEN CONSIDERED A DARK WITCH IF YOU NEVER KILLED ANYONE, ANYWAY? HOW DID THE CURSE NOT AFFECT YOU?!" Sylvia yells at her.

Aunt Lillith flinches at Sylvia's question, like the thought Sylvia believing she's killed someone her whole life pains her, "I've never killed anyone in my life, just used dark magic to get my way and put certain curses on them. I'm sorry that we never told you, honey. All four of us should've told you when you turned thirteen, but we just couldn't bring ourselves to do it. Like Athena said, everything has been peaceful, we didn't see the need to." Aunt Lillith says as tears run down her face.

Sylvia rolls her eyes and looks back at my mom, "I agree with Uncle Gavin, Aunt Athena. You need to tell Theo, right now. I love the kid, but he's like a ticking time-bomb."

My mom nods her head, before looking back up at me, "I'll go talk to Theo, while you guys all form a plan. He needs to hear it from me before he hears it from anyone else. Just be aware of what I said when making this plan. If any of Elizabeth's pack members try to kill you, they'll end up just killing themselves instead."

"Son." my dad says, pulling my attention to him, as my mother stands up and leaves the room, "The only way you're going to be able to do this is if you find your tribrid alpha aura. You'll have to command all of them to not try and harm you, and to listen to what you have to say. Whatever they decide to do after the command, that is their decision to make and their consequences to bear."

"I've never used a strong enough aura to be able to command that many people, though. I've tried during training before. I've only been able to use it on one person at a time." I tell him.

My dad nods his head in understanding, "It's time to find it. Once you're able to use it on your mother, you'll be ready. She's the only one who's ever had a strong aura like that. Once you're able to overpower her, you'll know you've succeeded. You just have to focus on something that's worth using it for. Focus on your mate and protecting her, not only physically, but emotionally. Your mother has only used it a few times, one of the times being when she was trying to protect me. Focusing on Elizabeth and what she wants for her pack, that'll help you find it. Trust me, the mate-bond makes us do powerful things we didn't know we were capable of. I know you have it in you, son, because you're a direct link to The Moon Goddess and more powerful than both your mother and me."

"I don't have time to try and find my tribrid aura. I need to get Elizabeth, now." I tell him, the ache in my chest suddenly coming back as hopelessness fills me.

"Callan." Uncle Sean says, pulling my dad's attention towards him, "Do you remember Athena's Luna coronation? How our entire pack reacted to her once she took her title? Maybe it's time for Warrick to have his coronation. It might solidify things and open up more abilities from him that we don't even know he has."

"Sean, he just turned eighteen a couple of weeks ago. Not to mention that Sylvia isn't even eighteen yet to take on her Beta title, and she hasn't found her mate yet. Elizabeth isn't here to take her Luna title either." my dad says to him.

Uncle Sean shakes his head in disagreement as he chuckles, "You hadn't found Athena yet when you took on your alpha title, so that reasoning makes no sense. Gavin became Athena's Beta before he turned eighteen, so that reasoning is out of the window too. Warrick's ready, Callan, you just have to trust in him to lead the pack like we all know he can."

"Yeah, not to mention, it's time for all of us old men to retire, Callan. I'm ready to have days that we're able to go fishing without having to worry about pack duties." Uncle Damon says jokingly.

My dad lets out a small sigh as he rubs his fingers against his lips in thought, but Sylvia cuts him off, "Um...actually...I haven't told anyone yet, but I've already found my mate. Sooo...that reasoning isn't applicable either."