CHAPTER EIGHT

“I’m glad you will. I will do some digging up and maybe give you a lead to chase. Thank you” Cassie said.

“You are welcome, Cass. Are you sure you can’t stay?” Damian asked again, wondering why she was in such a haste to get back home.

“I really can’t. I can always drop by to come see you once in a while but I have a lot to do. I’m really sorry” She apologized as she hugged him.

“It’s fine, I guess. Thank you for coming once again” Damian said, hugging her back.

“Say goodbye to the rest for me and before I forget, tell Anna to be careful. She would have a lot of enemies by the next full moon. It’s just eight days away. When she becomes a wolf, this hunger would leave her and she would have more control over her vampire side but people would come for her and they wouldn’t stop till she’s dead. So take care of her”

Cassie said as she snapped her fingers and she disappeared. Damian was never going to get used to that. He walked back to where the rest were.

“Where is Cassie?” Justin asked.

“She left already. She asked me to say goodbye to everyone and she’s sorry she couldn’t stay” Damian said.

“So what now?” Arielle asked.

“Now we find the witch that did this” Damian said

“And we end her once and for all” Alex said, completing Damian’s sentence.

Damian and Justin headed home a few hours later. The last thing he wanted was the principal calling his parents that he had skipped school twice so they decided to go to school the next morning, which was a Tuesday. They pulled up at the parking lot and something felt off. They decided not to bother about it even after Justin spoke up.

“Is it just me or something doesn’t feel right in this place?” Justin said as Damian pulled up in the parking lot.

“I noticed too but this is a school for everybody. It could be someone messing with something but one thing is for sure. Something definitely doesn’t feel right. Exams are coming up in two months. After that, we can get the hell out of this place and head back to Cordina” Damian said, reassuring him.

“And what do you plan on doing about your old wife and probably the new one?” Justin asked.

“I told you already. Mom married Isabelle, not me!” Damian said.

When he turned eighteen back at Cordina, his mom picked a suitor for him because she never thought it was possible to find happiness with the person you were destined to be with. She had married Phillip because she thought that she was going to be happy and well, he was her mate but she was wrong. Phillip was one selfish vampire and he literally married her because of her position, power and wealth. The first few years of the marriage was adorable and she was truly happy but in the seventh year, things changed. He was different. He started to find faults in her and in everything she did. He started to turn her son against her and she wasn’t going to sit back and watch him do the same to her people.

She decided to fight him the exact same way he fought her. Sometimes, things went physical. It was only a matter of time before he started drinking and womanizing. That was one of the major reasons she opted for Damian to school far away from Cordina so she wouldn’t have to deal with Damian growing up, following in the footsteps of his father. When he turned eighteen, she had handpicked a woman for him. He was supposed to get married to her but Damian never agreed to marrying Isabelle. He didn’t feel anything for her and she didn’t feel anything for him but she stayed in the palace with him. Damian never spoke to her except it was necessary.

He stayed far away from her and abstained from touching her because deep down, he did believe in finding love in your mate. His dad was the perfect definition of an asshole and he knew but he wasn’t going to let that be a reason for him to make a mistake. He wasn’t going to live his life the way his mom wanted and he wasn’t going to marry Isabelle.

“So what are you going to do about Isabelle?” Justin asked.

“I don’t know okay, I don’t but I’m going to call mom and tell her that she can send Isabelle back to where she picked her from” Damian replied him.

“So what happens to Anna? Would you take her to Cordina?

“I don’t know yet but it’s still two months or three if we stay for the one class free month. A lot can happen in between that time. I mean, I can get to know her and we can maybe start to go out and things like that. Let’s just let life lead. If she needs a break off this place, she could come to Cordina with us. She and her brother and his girlfriend if she wants too. The palace can accommodate all of us” Damian said.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I know you hate hearing this but your dad might not want to see them”

“Don’t say that. My dad doesn’t have a personal beef with them. I am sure of that. Darius was a random selected person in an unfortunate circumstance” Damian said.

“Do you really believe that? I mean, Helen is your mom’s best friend and Darius’ wife. Do you really think your dad didn’t know who he was?” Justin questioned his best friend.

“I don’t think, Justin. It was what I’m certain off. We should get to class” Damian said as he left the car and headed for class.

Justin sighed as he locked up and headed for his class. They barely said anything to each other during the day. Justin understood that Damian was upset but Justin also knew that he was blind to the truth. Damian wasn’t ready or willing to see his father as the monster that he truly was. This wasn’t the first or the second time they had argued about this topic and it wouldn’t be the last. The school came to a close sooner than expected and they headed back to the parking lot together. They found Alex there with Arielle.

“Hey, I didn’t expect to see you around. What’s going on? How is Anna?” Damian asked as he walked up to them.

“She woke up this morning but she’s not talking to anybody. I called my mom over to look after her while I was gone” Alex replied him.

“Is that a good idea? I thought she was mad at your mom?” Damian said.

“She is but I couldn’t leave her on her own either and mom has been worried sick about her. She didn’t talk to me or Arielle but maybe she would talk to Mom and they would settle their differences” Alex said.

“She wouldn’t and no, they wouldn’t” Justin said.

“What do you mean by she wouldn’t?” Alex asked.

“You don’t know what it’s like to be trapped in your own body. That kind of trauma, you don’t heal from it in days or weeks even. One time a witch cursed me. She trapped me in my wolf form for life. I stayed a wolf for almost six months, not being able to transform. My parents died in that six months and I still couldn’t attend their burial as their child because I was stuck. I had to get linked to Damian and that’s why I can transform as I wish. Even after that, transforming back into my wolf form became difficult, not because I was having issues with transformation, no. It was because I was scared and scarred. I was in control but I was still trapped. Now, imagine being trapped and not being in control. It’s not something you can heal from immediately. Give her the time she needs” Justin said.

He got into the car and waited for Damian. That was why he would rather do things on his own than ask for the help of a witch. He hated witches but then he found out his cousin was one. There was nothing he could do about that. He just had to live with it. Damian got into the car and they drove off in silence. The silence was starting to get really discomforting for Justin so he broke it .

“Look man, I’m sorry for coming at your father like that. I just don’t want to be closed to any truth because I’m scared of it. I once turned a blind eye to the obvious and you know where that got me. I really don’t want that for you. If I came at your dad that way, it’s because I have to look at it from every angle. I am your best friend. I’m supposed to look where your feelings and emotions wouldn’t let you look”

“I know and I’m not mad at you or something. You’re right, something here doesn’t add up but the only way we can find out is if we ask him. My father is a lot of things but he wouldn’t lie. If he knew that Darius was Helen’s husband then he will say it straight to our faces”

“Let’s hope you’re right then”

“Yeah, and let’s hope he doesn’t know because if he does, then he has lost me for good” Damian said.

He dropped Justin at home and decided to drop by at Alex’s to see Annabelle. As he pulled up into the compound, he was enveloped with fear. He could tell that it was her feeling this way. He grabbed the box of chocolates he had picked from the mall and he went in. He heard Helen’s voice and his heart rose to his throat. She was here. He hadn’t seen her in so long. He rang the doorbell and Alex came to answer the door.

“Come on in, hopefully she would see you or talk to you because she’s been breaking stuffs and crying since. I already ran out of stuffs for her to break. Let’s pray she doesn’t break you too” Alex said

They both had a nice laugh over that.

“Alex honey, who is that?” his mom asked and she came out of the hall way.

Their eyes met and Damian didn’t know what to think. Was she mad at him? Was she upset? Did she hate him?

“Oh good Lord. You have grown so big” Helen said as she pulled him in for a hug.

That surprised him. She didn’t hate him. A tear slipped from his eyes before he broke down. He had carried that guilt about for years. He thought she was dead so he had marked himself and said there was no redemption for him.

“Oh honey, there’s no need to cry. I mean, I should be mad at Valerie for not telling me you’ve gotten so big during our last conversation. I know you didn’t mean to kill Darius. I’m not angry that you did. You were just a child. How could you have possibly known? Oh poor child. You’ve carried this guilt for so long. Did Valerie do that just to punish you. She is the real definition of silly. I will tell her that during our next call” Helen said.

“My mother knows you’re alive?” Damian asked.

“Of course she does. She brought me here. We have talked every week for the past sixteen years. You don’t have to feel guilty anymore. Besides, I hear you’re mated to Anna. You’re part of the family already. You should stop punishing yourself”

Helen said and Damian nodded. She kissed his forehead. To him, she wass just another mother that he was blessed with and he was grateful.