SWNOVELS Chapter Betrayal 105
10 What Could Be Lily POV
"Lily, wake up brave girl." Ariel's voice pulls me from sleep. My eyes flutter open, but I must still be dreaming. I've never seen this place before. Why would I dream about a place I've never been? If I had to guess, I would say it's a castle like you see in horror movies. Great, now I'm going to have a nightmare on top of everything else.
A giggle has me turning toward the sound. I close my eyes and open them again before I pinch myself. "This isn't a dream, Lily," Ariel says. Her voice is still in my head, but my wolf is sitting on her haunches in front of me. So close I can reach out and touch her. "It has to be a dream, or you wouldn't be sitting in front of me."
"She's right, my child. This isn't a dream. This is your opportunity to speak with me," a feminine voice says from behind me. I turn and my eyes land on the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. She doesn't look much older than me, but I know that can't be true. Her long red hair lands just at her waist. Her emerald green eyes remind me of my mother's. "Moon Goddess" I whisper.
"Yes, my child. You have grown into a beautiful young woman. So strong and kind, just as I knew you would be. Now I can't keep you here for too long because you have things you need to handle tomorrow. I know you're angry at me, but I won't apologize for the way things needed to be handled. I hate that you or your mother had to suffer a moment's pain, but I promise you
a moment is far better than a lifetime."
"Why do we have to suffer at all? Why can't good people just be given happiness and bad people suffer?"""I know you are still young, my child, but real life is not a Disney movie. Pain and suffering is something that all of my children must endure because they have free will. Now to help you understand how different things would have been, I brought you here to show you the future that you, your mother, and your true mate would have had if not for my meddling," she says.
She leads me down a long hallway to the first door on the right. Ariel nudges me and I reach for the door nob. When I push the door open, I step into a room I've been in many times. It's the Alpha wing of the Black Rose. I hear noises I really don't want to hear before my mother, who looks like she has been crying, steps into the room. Her belly is very round with a pup.
She sits down on the couch and curls herself into a ball. Her sobs make my chest ache. I'm not sure how much time passes when Uncle Reese and a man I've never seen before step into the room. The a**hat with Reese rolls his eyes when he sees my mother. "For goddess's sake,
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Rosie stop acting like a f**king baby. He is mine as much as he is yours" the pr*ck says. Reese moves to sit next to my mom.
He reaches out to touch her, but she shakes his hand off. "I don't understand why you keep doing this to yourself, Rosie. I love you and Bryce. Why do you have to keep acting so selfish? I told you once you got pregnant that I would start sharing my body with Bryce again, but that
doesn't mean I love you any less. I still want to touch you Rosie. You are my mate. You are having my pup and the next heir to the pack. You are just as important to me," Reese says. Bile rises in my throat as I listen to his words. He reaches out, laying his hand on her stomach, and this time she doesn't stop him. His eyes light up, and I realize the pup must have kicked. "Bryce come feel our pup," Reese says. Bryce makes a move toward my mother, and she quickly gets to her feet. "My pup is not his. If you want to have a pup with him, f**k one of the pack sl*ts" she says with all the venom she can muster.
I smile at her strength, but it quickly fades when her brother grabs her roughly by the arm. His eyes darken and fear flashes in her eyes. "Bryce let her go. She is just hormonal. She didn't mean what she just said. Rosie knows that the pup will belong to the three of us, right Rosie?" I turn to the goddess with tears streaming down my cheeks. "Please," I say, needing to get out of this place. She leads me back out of the room.
She leads me to the second door. I take a deep breath before I wipe the tears from my eyes
and open the door. This time we are in the Blue Crescent pack house. "This is four months
after Colton claimed you. You never caught him with that classless girl the night of his birthday," she says. Colton presses a kiss on my lips before I head out of the pack house. I
follow him up the stairs to his room. When I step inside, he heads into the bathroom.
A few minutes later the door to the room opens and that b**ch Camille steps inside. Despite knowing this isn't really happening, anger flows through me and I fight the urge to grab a hold of the b**ch. She opens the door and Colton whirls toward the sound. "What the f**k are you doing in here," he growls. A moment of hope rises in me before it completely dies. "I told you I would meet you at the cottage. If Lily catches you here, I will snap your neck. I won't lose my mate over a piece of a*** he says.
"Come on, Colty. You know you could never wait two years to f**k. Besides you love my p**sy. Even after you mate with that basic little b**ch, I will still let you f**k me as rough as you want to." "You know that can't happen after we mate, she will feel the pain of my betrayal" he says. "Fine, then just f**k me till you mark the pack princess" she says. He starts to stroke himself, and she moves toward the shower. I run from the room, not needing to see a repeat of them together.
Once I'm back in the hallway, I place my hands on my knees and try to bring air into my lungs.
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I feel like I can't breathe. A soft hand on my back immediately soothes away the raging sadness and pain that's stealing my breath. "I can't take it all away, but I can give you peace in the knowledge that this is no longer your future. You are destined for great things with your true mate," she says. She leads me to the last door.
I'm not sure what I expected, but seeing a small child who looks to be around five years old isn't it. A beautiful woman and handsome man join the scene in what looks like a large garden. I watch as the woman peppers the small boy's face with kisses. The scene quickly shifts to a car accident. Dead rogues litter the ground and the same small boy cries for his parents. The woman opens her eyes desperately trying to wake up who I assume is her mate.
Relief floods me when two men step out of what I'm sure is some type of portal. I watch as one of the men that shares the same features with the injured man approaches the car. I scream as he kills the woman and then the man while the boy looks on. When he moves towards the boy, I scream. Pain ripples through me as he grabs the boy around the neck.
The scene quickly changes to the boy, but he is a little older. I watch as the same man whips him relentlessly. He screams, but no sound will come out. Tears stream down his cheeks before he finally drops to the floor. The man leaves the room, but not long after, a beautiful woman with raven-colored hair steps inside. She tends to his wounds before she holds him close singing softly to him.
The vision shifts again and this time he is no longer a boy, but a man. His face is obscured, but his bare chest is exposed as blood runs down his front. His hands are restrained above his head.
"Now that there is no chance of the prophecy being fulfilled, I can finally be rid of you" the man says. He walks closer to my mate with a dagger in his hand. He pulls back, and again I scream, feeling my mate's pain as the knife pierces his skin. I fall to my knees with the overwhelming feeling of loss. This feeling is a hundred times worse than the pain of Colton's betrayal.
Everything fades and we stand in a meadow. The goddess comes to stand in front of me with Ariel at her side. She places her hand on my head and the same feeling of peace from earlier washes over me. Tears stream down my cheeks with relief that the things the goddess showed me never came to pass.
"The things I've shown you are not because I'm trying to lessen your pain about what has already happened, Lily. It was purely to show you why your mother had to leave and refuse her bond with Reese. Why you had to find Colton with that disgusting she-wolf. Why you have to help your true mate to fulfill his density so you can fulfill yours."
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"I'm sorry I was so angry with you." She raises her hand to stop me. "You will not apologize for
the feelings that you had every right to have. Believe me, when I say I wish I could protect
every one of my children from suffering, but I expect anger when it does happen. I shoulder that burden gladly."
"One day when you have a pup of your own you will understand. Sometimes you have to let them get hurt to learn the lesson you have already learned, and sometimes you will be able to protect them. The wisdom is knowing which is the right answer at the right time," she says.
"Now, it's time for you to head back. Mindy has a gift that will help to keep you and Liam safe when you leave the pack." Before I can ask her what gift and where we are going, she leans forward, pressing a kiss on my forehead. Warmth spreads through my body and my eyes flutter closed. "I love you Lily. You are strong, and I have faith in you," she whispers.