Chapter 32

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height




LORENZO


I watched as Mia backed away from me, her hands shaking and eyes wide, instantly filling with tears.

"Mia, sweetheart, I know that it's-"

"She's not dead," whispered my mate, shaking her head, her face contorting in shock. Her expression suddenly appeared exasperated, her eyebrows knitted together in fury. "She's not dead!"

I made my way over to her as she slid her back down against the office wall, hitting the cold floor, her legs splayed out in front of her. Crouching in front of her, I sighed, my heart burning at the sight of my crying mate, looking far too vulnerable for my liking. Her eyes pleaded with me to admit to lying to her.

"I saw her in my visions, Lorenzo," Mia muttered, wiping at her eyes, tears dribbling down her chin. "She was alive. She can't be dead."

"I know baby," I said, grabbing one of her hands, giving it a gentle squeeze, allowing Mia some space. The last thing she needed was me smothering her when she was trying to come to terms with the fact that her biological mother had just been found dead.

"Are you sure it's her? It could be someone else," cried Mia, shaking her head, hugging her knees to her chest, causing me to curse under my breath. I felt a wave of intense guilt for springing the news on her so suddenly.

"Caspian said she was wearing this," I spoke coldly, passing my mate the delicate locket. Mia clutched it to her chest after looking at the photo that was inside, crying harder, her breathing becoming laboured.

"Shh, I know," I said, scooting closer to her and wrapping my arms around her, allowing her to fully relax and sob into my chest. She muttered incoherent sentences to herself, but I decided against asking what she was saying. She just needed to let her emotions take control right now, and I needed to be here for support. "It's okay, I've got you."

After a few more minutes of crying into my chest, Mia pushed at me gently, nudging me away from her as she fiddled with the locket in her hands. She gazed at it sadly, silent tears now falling from her eyes, her nose running.

"Where was she?"

"Mia, do you want to get a hot drink or take a bath first? It might help you calm down," I suggested, and I could hear my Italian accent becoming thicker as I strained my voice, imagining Mia breaking down yet again in front of me.

I didn't want to stress her out too much, being unsure if she could handle all of the information at once. She needed a break.

"A bath isn't going to help," pushed Mia, clearly frustrated with me, and I nodded, pursing my lips, sighing.

"We found her inside the cavern," I said, blinking a few times, cocking my head. "Actually, Martina found her. Ophelia kept her protected from the curse, so she was the only one who could go past the boundary."

"You asked Martina for help?" questioned Mia, looking confused, and I quickly shook my head, holding my hands up defensively. Although I knew that Mia had forgiven Martina for what she had done to her when they first met, I still hadn't.

In my opinion, my mate was too empathetic, and it would be her biggest downfall as well as one of her biggest strengths. As much as I wanted to be like her, I couldn't. I just couldn't let go of the past. I couldn't forgive Martina for what she had done.

"No, no, I didn't ask for Martina's help," I assured her. "My sister has left her pack because of Adam's cheating, so she has nowhere to go. She heard us in the woods and decided to help."

"Where's my mother's body now?"

"She's back in the cavern," I said regretfully, worried about coming across as insensitive, throwing Mia's mother back into the environment where she was murdered. "I wanted to preserve her body until we were sure of her identity."

"I never got to tell her that I loved her and I was sorry for being a troublesome child," Mia cried, recoiling back, leaning her head against the wall. She stared up at the ceiling and allowed more tears to fall, my heart cracking from the sight.

"You didn't need to apologise, Mia," I whispered, wiping the pad of my thumb against her cheek, shooing the leaking tears away. "What happened to her wasn't your fault."

"I want my Dad," she sobbed, and I nodded, wrapping my arms around her. I rubbed up and down her back soothingly, muttering calming words into her neck.

"I will find him for you, I promise, amore mio."

A huge part of me felt guilty for promising Mia that I would find her father, because the whole time she had been here, I had been actively searching for her parents, and had come up empty handed. I was unsure how I expected myself to locate him.

I wasn't going to give up though, because I knew that Mia wouldn't if it was me in her situation. I didn't know how I was going to find him, but I was, and I was going to reunite him and his daughter, no matter how long it took me.

"Do you think all these visions were real then? All the times I was seeing her being tortured, it was actually happening?"

I waited a few seconds, before nodding once, not wanting to lie to Mia.

The fact that her visions stopped when we suspected her mother had died, indicated that the torturous scenes Mia was seeing were actually real. But I wasn't sure whether it was Mia's mother's way of reaching out for help, or if the witches were making Mia see them to try and hurt me for not sticking to Martina's past deal.

"We suspect the witches killed her," I said quietly, watching as my mate nodded, wiping at her eyes again. Her bottom lip trembled, hands shaking as she clutched the locket to her heaving chest.

I knew that Mia wasn't the closest with her parents, but after seeing her mother be continuously tortured, I wasn't surprised at how distraught she was. I never wanted it to end like this, and I was hoping that the visions were just the witches teasing, however, that idea was clearly too good to be true.

They had gone too far, and I wasn't going to let this go. Ophelia would die. I would make sure of it.

"Can I see her?" asked Mia, standing up, pushing back her messy dirty blonde hair from her face, gazing up at me pleadingly.

The question shocked me, and I hadn't expected her to ask to see the corpse of her dead mother, but if it was what she wanted, then I would agree. However, I was worried she was speaking from pure raw emotion, and seeing her mother would scar her for life.

The sight wasn't for sore eyes and I wanted to make sure she had thought the idea through before committing.

"Are you sure?"

Mia nodded, and I sighed, nodding my head also and planting a lingering kiss on her forehead. "Okay, if that's what you want."

I made a mental note to myself to ask Caspian to clean Mia's mother up a little bit beforehand, not wanting Mia to see the amount of crimson blood covering her pale and grey body.

"You said Martina helped find her?" asked my mate, and I hesitantly nodded, worried about what she was going to request.

"Yes, and I'll need her to get your mother out of the cavern again if you want to see her," I stated, swallowing harshly. "Then we can have a funeral for her."

"And Martina has nowhere else to stay?"

Fuck. I knew where this was going.

I shook my head, dropping eye contact, sighing heavily.

"Lorenzo, just let her stay here," spoke Mia, and I cursed under my breath, clenching my fists, frustrated.

Mia knew I didn't have the strength to say 'no' to her, especially in these circumstances, but the idea of allowing my sister to stay here caused me great anxiety. I wouldn't be able to sleep a wink knowing she was near my loved ones.

"Even after everything she did? She had connections with the witches, Mia. I don't trust her," I stated, making my way over to my desk and leaning against it, running my hand down my face, groaning quietly.

"But she's helping now," spoke Mia, and I shook my head, growing aggravated.

"I don't know her true intentions though sweetheart," I said with gritted teeth. "Who knows? She could have known that your mother was there the whole time. Or even worse, she could have helped the witches kill her. I don't want her near you or the pack."

Mia gulped, making her way over to the couch, plopping herself down on it, rubbing at her tearful eyes, and I felt instantly guilty that I had dismissed her suggestion. But I needed to keep her safe.

I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to her because I allowed Martina access to the pack grounds. She was far too untrustworthy.

"I know, I just don't want you to lose your family like I lost mine," Mia spoke, and I made my way over to her, crouching down in front of her. I placed my large hands on her thighs, massaging them with my thumbs.

"You're all the family I need," I whispered, offering her a small smile, it definitely not reaching my eyes. "Come on, I'll run you a hot bath."

•••

Thank you for reading!

Please don't forget to vote if you enjoyed it.

Do you think Lorenzo should let Martina back into the pack?

What do you think of Lorenzo's idea to kill Ophelia?

Also, if you haven't already, please check out my book 'The Hunt' on my profile! I'm super excited about it and I hope you all enjoy it! Your support means the world!


You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net