Guardian Of The Betas Heir

13 - Talk!

Elenor

“Wait,” Michael yells after me. But I don’t wait. I’m not interested in anything Von has to say right now. “Elenor!” Michael grabs my arm and swings me around. “Where the hell are you going?”

“To see Sylva. She must be terrified that I’m not coming back.”

“You need to hear Von out, and I want to know the truth of what the hell has been going on.”

I sigh. “I’m not interested. To be honest, it’s none of your business, Michael.”

“Then we’ll see what the Dragon King has to say. Because it seems you and your brother have been lying about who and what you are.”

I snatch my arm out of his grip. “You’re blackmailing me?”

Michael shakes his head. “I don’t do blackmail, Elenor, or whatever your real name is. But you are on my great-grandfather’s land, parading around as something you’re not, and I think he has the right to know. You told my great-grandparents that you were part Siren. But that’s not true. You’re a tribrid, the daughter of a Vampire Lord. Why didn’t you just tell the truth, Elenor?”

I sigh because he has a point. “I was scared, Michael. You have no idea of the things Edmund and I had to endure before we came here. We never would have come here if our dad had answered our calls. We’d be in Vampire Country, safe with our father and brother. But that didn’t happen. The only other place I could think of was here. No one would question us because we are Dragons, or our mother is a full Dragon, at least.

“I know you have many questions to ask. But I’m not sure I can give you the answers you seek yet. There is so much going on, and I don’t know how to cope with it all.”

The prince sighs while running his hand through his hair. “I understand that. But you can’t just leave without speaking to Von.”

He’s right, I do need to speak with my brother. I need to know why he did this. I need to know if my father is alive and where he is. I cannot go to Lykos until I understand why Von lied to me.

“Okay,” I sigh and shrug. I’m tired and I really need to sleep. But I can’t until I’ve seen Sylva. I am so worried about that baby girl and how she must be feeling right now. “I’ll hear him out, but then I want to leave. Sylva will be wondering what’s happening and where we are.”

Michael smiles but pulls it back. I roll my eyes and follow him back to my house.

In the dimly lit living room, my brothers sit side by side on my couch, tension thick between them like a fog. They look up as Michael and I enter, and Edmund’s gaze immediately lands on Michael’s hand on my arm.

Michael isn’t holding me tightly, and I didn’t even realize he’d taken my arm again. It’s not like he’s dragging me, more like guiding me. But Edmund does not look happy. He would stand up to the prince for me. It makes me smile.

Edmund’s eyes narrow. “What’s going on? Why are you holding onto my sister like that?!” He demands, his voice low and menacing.

I furrow my brow as Michael smirks at Edmund, who clenches his teeth. Men. They’re so ridiculous.

Do they ever grow up?

Or do they always act like petulant little boys?

Must everything be a cockfight?

Pathetic!

Von remains still, his eyes flicking from Michael’s face to mine before settling back on Michael. “Let go of her.” He says calmly, his voice carrying the weight of hidden pain.

I sigh because I don’t need this right now. I do not want Von acting like the doting big brother when he is anything but!

I yank my arm away from Michael and stare Von down. I fold my arms around my chest. “What do you want, Von?”

“We need to talk.” He says as his eyes never leave mine.

“Then talk. Tell us why you did this, Von. Why would you hide from Edmund and me? Do we mean nothing to you?”

Von gets to his feet and faces me. “Dacia,”

My eyes flash. Edmund groans and grabs Von’s arm.

“Are you stupid!?” I yell. “Don’t call me that!”

“Dacia?” I look at Michael, and I can see how confused he is. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t.

I groan and scrub my hands over my face. Dacia is my real name, but I buried her when I ran from the institution. I will not be her again.

I ignore Michael and look at Von. “I said talk. I have places to be. It’s been a long day, and I want it to be over already.”

Von stares at me but nods once. “I didn’t expect to run into you that day back in England. It was incredible that it was you I saw because I thought I had lost you.”

“I don’t give a damn about that, Von! I want to know why you didn’t show yourself when we needed you!”

Von looks down at his hands, then back up at me, his eyes filled with regret. “At first, I was exhausted. It wasn’t an excuse, but I planned to transform and show myself as soon as you and Edmund were settled.”

“Then, why didn’t you?” Edmund asks the question I was about to ask.

“I heard what you both said,” He sighs, his voice thick. “How much you hated me for not being there for you. How you hoped to never see me again because it was all my fault you ended up in that horrible place.”

My face drops and my heart sinks. I did say those things, and so did Edmund. We hadn’t been here long. We were still with Steven and Josie, and we were angry and scared. Dad would not answer our calls, and Von was nowhere to be found. We were just hitting out, but we didn’t mean what we said.

But how could Von think anything else when we never took the words back?

“I didn’t want to lose you both, so I waited, hoping I could find Father without you knowing. I knew that’s what you desperately wanted.”

The room is silent except for the crackling fireplace and the soft tick of the clock on the wall. Edmund walks toward me, his hand finding mine, and squeezes it, his eyes never leaving Von.

“How could you have done that when you were in dog form? When would you have even had the chance to try?” He prompts.

Von takes a deep breath. “Every month, when Elena was gone, while Sylva was with Michael, I would try to reach out to him telepathically,” He admits. “I would run off into the woods, transform, and try to reach out to him with all my might. But I never found him. And every time, I would wonder if he was even alive.”

“That’s where you went the day I found my mate.” I scoff under my breath while shaking my head.

I hear Von sigh, but I don’t let him say anything because I don’t care.

My eyes search Von’s, looking for any sign of deceit. “Is Dad alive?” My heart is beating out of my chest.

Von shrugs. “I don’t know, Elenor. I’m sorry. I just don’t know. I would have shown myself before now if he was. Besides, if I had been able to contact him, he would have been here by now.”

I knew that. Deep down, I know my daddy is gone. I can no longer feel him within me, nor can Edmund. If Von couldn’t reach him, Dad would no longer be living.

A Vampire-Demon hybrid as old as my father could not be so easily killed. Which means my father died of a broken heart. His body would have turned to dust, so there would not be a body for us to find and bury. I will never see my daddy again, and I don’t know how to feel about that.

Finally, Edmund speaks. “I can’t believe you didn’t trust us.” He says, his voice tight. “We’ve been through hell, and you were right here the whole time. Regardless of what Elenor and I said about you, you should have been a man and faced it.”

Von’s eyes met Edmund’s, and the unspoken words between them seem to hang in the air. "I know,” He says softly. “I was just as scared of losing you as you were of losing me. I didn’t know how to come back right away without putting you both in danger.”

“What are you talking about?” I grit between my teeth.

Von rolls his neck. “How do you think you got out of that place so easily?”

I narrow my eyes, and Edmund shifts beside me.

Von sighs. “Look, I’ll get right to the point. When I arrived to collect you, Donny said you were gone. He said you had already left for America, but I knew he was lying. I used my Vampiric power to get the truth from him. He told me where you were and who had taken you. Then I killed him.”

My eyes widen, and I swallow hard. My heart bangs harder in my chest, and I’m not sure I won’t throw up.

Von killed our stepfather!