Chapter 70: Chapter 70

DIMITRIS POV I watched as my sister ran to her newfound mate, jumping into his arms. I let out a harsh, loud growl that had them both freezing.

“Dimitri!” Lily scolded beside me.

I couldn’t help it. The bond I felt with my sister, my family, urged me to protect her. Killian was a good friend, an ally; Still all I saw was his arms around my sister. Thara was all I had left, now she was leaving me too.

“Easy Dimitri. I’m not going to hurt her.” Killian said gently.

“Dimitri, he’s my mate. It’s fine. I’m okay.”

“We can’t let her leave! She’s the only family we have left!” Ajax howled in my head.

I stood, using my Alpha speed to grab my sister out of Killians arms. She looked at me with anger and shock, but Killian growled fiercly, his eyes changing colour.

“Give me my mate!” His wolf snarled.

“Dimitri, stop. What are you doing?” Lily asked nervously.

“I can’t let her leave. I can’t.” I turned to Thara. “I can’t lose you too.”

Her face softened; She looked like Mom right now. “You’re not losing me. Ever. Please Dimitri, I didn’t think I’d ever get this chance again. Please, don’t take this away from me.” She begged. My heart rippled in my chest.

“What if-“

“He won’t. Can’t you see how much he wants me?”

Killian had inched closer, the urge to be near his mate overwhelming him. He placed a hand on my shoulder, his wolf at bay now.

“We will make this work. I would never take her away from you. I’ve waited so long to find her, please.”

I met his eyes, my Alpha aura seeping out around us. “Don’t hurt her.” I commanded. Even though I knew it wouldn’t effect him, I needed him to know how serious I was. Friend or not, I would remove his soul from his body if he hurt my sister.

“Never.” He promised. Killian held out his arms, and Thara walked around me into them. “I am taking her tonight though. Not to my pack, we will stay here. We can figure this out in the morning.”

Everyone looked at me, so I nodded. I needed time to process. Thara gave me a big hug before they left together, leaving my mate gazing at me questioningly.

“What the Hell was that all about?” Lily demanded.

“Thara never told you.” It wasn’t really a question.

“Tell me what?”

“It’s not really for me to say.”

“Damnit Dimitri! You can’t say something like that and not tell me!”

I sighed, sitting heavily on the edge of the bed. “Fine, but if she gets mad, you forced me to tell you.”

“I am forcing you. Now explain.”

No point in beating around the bush. “Killian is Tharas second chance mate.”

Lilys jaw dropped. “She had a mate before?”

I nodded. “He rejected her.”

“What?!”

I leant forward, my hands cupping my chin. I hated talking about this, albiet, not as much as Thara. It was hard controlling my anger when I thought about her first ‘mate’.

“When she turned eighteen, our parents threw a big party. They invited all the neighbouring packs. My Mom was good friends with the Luna of Cresent Moon; She had a son, William.” I said his name like a curse. “William was Tharas first mate. Luna Sarah brought him along, and that was that.”

“What happened?” Lily asked. She had tears in her eyes; She loved Thara as much as I did.

I threw myself onto my back staring angrily at the cieling above. “They accepted each other. The plan was for Thara to go live at Cresent Moon, become the future Luna. But as soon as that bastard got what he wanted from her, he rejected her. He didn’t even mark her.”

“What the f**k?!”

“Thara was heartbroken. Luna Sarah apologized for her son, but I could tell she didn’t really mean it. I still believe that she never intended to give up her position; She seemed happy that she would remain Luna. William, on the other hand, he didn’t apologize. He took my sisters virginity, and then threw her away like garbage. It took months for Thara to even come out of her bedroom after that. She wouldn’t eat, she wasn’t sleeping. She wasn’t living.”

“Killian would never do that.” She sounded confident.

“How can I be sure?”

“I didn’t feel any ill intent towards Thara from him. He just wants his mate.”

My head rolled so I could meet her eyes. “I thought you had to be touching someone to feel their intentions?”

Lily bit her l*p, looking away from me, at the wall. “I’ve uh, been practicing. With Hazel. And sometimes Clint too. It’s not perfect, but I can kind of reach out with my mind… or maybe my aura? I don’t know. It’s hard to do, and it tires me out. But I’m getting better.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“I can that’s a lie even without your gifts darling.”

Lily blushed softly. “Okay, fine. It’s just… I don’t know how you feel, being mated to me. No offense, but we both know I’m more powerful than you. And then I have powers on top of that… I didn’t know if you’d feel bad, or start resenting me. So I kept it quiet.”

I guess it made sense. Sort of. If I thought about it from her perspective; And there were many Alphas who would feel that way. I could actually name a few off the top of my head. However, I wasn’t one of them, and she needed to know that.

“Lily, I’m proud that you’re learning to control your gifts. Proud that you’re taking the inititave to do so. Maybe other men would feel immasculated, but not me. If anything, it just adds to who you are.”

“Are you just saying that?”

“No, I’m not. Here, try it on me. I can help you with this training too.”

“You sure?”

I nodded. “Go ahead. I’m ready.”

She gave me her loving smile before closing her eyes. I waited, trying to prepare myself for that tidal wave feeling like the first time. This time though, it wasn’t as strong. It still left me somewhat breathless, but I could focus around it. After a minute, Lily opened her eyes, the feeling abaiting when she did. She was also breathing harder, her hand coming up to rub her forehead. Despite that, she was smiling.

“You really do love me.” She said.

“Of course I do, silly girl.”

“Thank you.”

“For loving you?” I laughed.

She shook her head. “For loving all of me. For accepting me for who I am.”

I sat up, scooting closer. “You don’t need to thank me for that. I love you, all three of you.” I rubbed her belly.

Before she could reply, I was hit with a mind-link.

“Dimitri!” Ben shouted in my head.

“What?”

“You need to get down here! Now!”

“What’s going on?”

“Oh my Goddess!”

Those words came from my mate. She was out of bed before I knew what was happening, running to the door. I followed as fast as I could, but she was already running down the hall.

“Lily! Wait!”

I scambled after her, my heart racing as she jumped down the stairs. I nearly collided with Luke on my way down after her. At the bottom I caught sight of Ben and Clara. They were standing with Gideon in the entrance hall, all three facing the door. Miguel came running in from the hall to the kitchens, and Killian and Thara peered over the bannister on the floor above me. Lily stopped beside my Beta, clutching his arm tightly. Nobody said a word, though I was screaming inside for someone to tell me what was happening.

When I finally reached the bottom step, an unfamiliar scent hit me. I was positive I’d never smelled it before, but it reminded me faintly of Lilys wildflower and citrus smell. My eyes travelled until I found the source; A woman stood before us, her face caked in dirt and her hair unwashed and greasy. She was skin and bone, wearing an equally dirty dress that I thought was once white. Despite never seeing her before, not in person, I knew exactly who she was.

“Rosalie.” Gideon sobbed.

Lilys mother looked at her mate, tears welling and spilling over. She gave him a small smile before looking to Lily.

“Lily.” Rosalie held out her arms. Alarm bells went off in my head. But I was too late; my mate ran into her Mothers arms, nearly tackling her to the floor. They embraced, crying together. And then she spoke.

“I’m so sorry.”

I blinked, and they were gone. Just gone. I blinked again. And again. I must have looked half an i***t the way I stood compltely still, not breathing, just blinking. Maybe if I repeated the action enough times, she would reappear.

But she didn’t.

Ajax roared in my head at the same time my muscles unlocked. I was across the room and out the door in seconds, eyes scanning every inch of the grounds, looking for my mate.

“LILY!”

She couldn’t be gone. Not her; Not our pups!

Reality came crashing down hard; I felt myself falling. My clothes shredded as I shifted, bones snapping. Distantly, I heard the others calling to me, but I couldn’t listen. I had to find them. I had to find my family.