Chapter 182

[ 1,107 words ]

Arabella:

“Mom! Please, help me!” Vanessa’s terrified scream came through the phone, making me flinch.

What the hell was Bradley doing?

I’d only asked him to keep Vanessa occupied while I dealt with her mother. But judging by what I could see on the phone screen, he’d taken his assignment a little too seriously. Vanessa was strapped to a stretcher, screaming for her mother to save her.”

I made a mental note to talk to him later.

“Vanessa?” Vikki practically threw herself toward the phone. “That’s my daughter! Give me the phone!” I stepped aside before she could snatch it.

“Mom, please! I don’t know what they’re going to do to me!”

“Sweetheart, listen to me!” Vikki shouted, desperately trying to make herself heard. “I’m here! Nothing’s going to happen to you!” I almost laughed at that.

She had absolutely no idea where Vanessa was, or what Bradley was doing to her.

“Arabella, please.” Vikki looked at me, quitting her attempt to grab the phone. “She’s pregnant. I don’t know what you’re planning, but please don’t do it. That baby is innocent!”

“What about me? Wasn’t I innocent?” I asked, enjoying her pain. She went quiet. I tilted my head, waiting for an answer, but she only began crying harder.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry for everything I did to you. You can punish me however you want. Kill me if that’s what it takes, but please let Vanessa go!”

Now that was something I never thought I’d hear from Vikki Toussaint.

The same woman who used to enjoy watching me suffer was standing in front of me, begging for mercy. I wondered whether she remembered all those times I’d begged her to stop.

Probably not.

People like her had a wonderful habit of forgetting things they’d done to others.

“Please,” she whispered, dropping to her knees. “She’s my daughter, Arabella. My only daughter.”

I looked down at her. For a moment, I enjoyed the sight of her kneeling before me. After everything she’d put me through, I thought I deserved a few seconds of satisfaction. I crouched in front of her. “Get up, dear mommy. You’re going to ruin your dress.”

She shook her head. “Not until you promise me Vanessa will be safe.”

“Oh, she’ll be perfectly fine.” I offered her my hand, but she didn’t want to take it. “That depends on how cooperative you’re willing to be.”

She stopped crying when she heard that. “Wh… what do you want, Arabella? Is it still about your mother?”

I got up. “Let’s make a deal. You tell me everything you know about my mother. And when I say everything , I mean every little detail you’ve been hiding from me. Do that, and Vanessa gets to go home. Safe and sound. In one piece.” Even I barely recognized myself as those words left my mouth. I’d never been this cruel before.

“Oh, come on,” Astraea rolled her eyes, “A few harsh words and you consider yourself cruel?”

Vikki wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Y…your mother?” she repeated as if she was buying time. But today I wouldn’t accept any excuses.

I needed to know what happened to my mother and why everyone had branded her a whore.

“Yes, Vikki. My mother. Surely you haven’t forgotten her.”

“Arabella. Believe me. I don’t—”

“Careful,” I interrupted. “I’d think before finishing that sentence.” She looked at the phone screen again, then back at me.

“And if… if I don’t tell you?” She wiped the back of her hand over her nose.

I shrugged. “Well, otherwise…” I leaned closer, lowering my voice. “Bradley has a rather unusual talent, you know. The royal beta can perform a C-section without anesthesia. Do you know that?”

Vikki’s mouth fell open, and I smiled sweetly. “So, shall we start talking about my mother?”

***

Vikki sat in the chair across from me, her face still red and puffy from all the crying she’d done. I was sitting on the bench with one leg crossed over the other, waiting for her to begin.

“Angela Westwood,” Vikki finally said, looking somewhere past my shoulder. “That was your mother’s name. She was the daughter of an Alpha, and her fated mate was Alpha Chris.”

I gasped. “Alpha Chris? Dante’s father?”

Vikki nodded.

For a moment, I couldn’t think of anything to say. I’d known Alpha Chris my entire life but could never guess that he was my mother’s fated mate.

“But she married my father,” I pointed out.

“I’m getting to that.” Vikki rubbed her swollen eyes before continuing. “Your mother married Alpha Chris. At the gala night, they discovered they were fated mates, and everyone expected their mating ceremony to take place soon after.”

She seemed lost in her memories. “Your grandfather was the Alpha back then. He had a son who was supposed to inherit the title, but the boy died when he was only fourteen.”

“My mother had a brother?”

“Yes. His death changed everything for the Westwood family.” I leaned forward a little. “Your grandfather had no other sons,” Vikki explained. “And since Angela was the only child left, it was decided that the man she married would become the next Alpha.”

I took a moment to absorb that.

“Chris was delighted when he discovered Angela was his mate,” Vikki continued. “He’d always wanted to become Alpha, and suddenly everything was falling into place for him. He had the Alpha’s daughter as his fated mate, and marrying her would give him the position he’d wanted.”

“And Rick?” Vikki gave a humorless little laugh.

“Rick was in love with Angela. Secretly, of course. He’d been hoping she’d choose him, even though he knew there was a chance she’d find her fated mate.”

I frowned. “Did my mother know?”

“I don’t know how much she knew about his feelings. But Rick certainly made no secret of his disappointment after the mating announcement.”

Vikki shifted in her chair. “The night everyone found out Angela and Chris were mates, Rick completely lost control. He went back to his room and smashed practically everything he could get his hands on. Furniture, mirrors, whatever was within reach… because that mate wasn’t him,” Vikki sighed. “Rick couldn’t bear the thought of Angela belonging to another man. And to make matters worse, that man was about to become the pack Alpha.”

I looked at her for a long moment. There was something else I couldn’t understand. “How do you know this much about them?”

Vikki swallowed hard when she heard that question. “B… because… because I was an Omega who used to serve your mother before she got married.”

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