He was shaking.

I was shaking.

His was anger.

Mine was resurfacing pain and agony.

He was pacing, it being clear that his wolf wanting to come out. I wanted to console him, I wanted to tell him that it was fine, that it was in the past but I couldn't work up the courage to say so yet. Tears threatened to spill out, but I tried to contain them as much as I could.

I leaned back in the Victorian couch and stared ahead.

"How could they do that to you?!" Thadus asked angerly. "Your own brothers."

Even with my state, I still got chills with hearing his voice, it was undeniable. The way his voice was deep and held so much base. If it wasn't for him being my mate, I would probably quiver in fear.

With the given situation, Lilly had disappeared again, to whatever place she cowered in for those three years.

He growled and at that point, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I whimpered as the tears finally fell. I never truly gave myself a time to grieve all the mess I had went through in that room for those three years. I had a breakdown in front of Maximus when he had pushed me too hard at one training. Obviously, it wasn't truly him, it was just the way he was barking orders that took me back to that time.

Having heard my whimper, he instantly came in front of me, settling himself on his knees in between my legs. His eyes were flashing red, knowing that Thadus was still in control, but even with him being present, he still worried about me. His callous hands made their way to my wet cheeks and wiped the tears away.

"Oh, mon chéri," he says.

My heart was racing. I was finding it hard to breathe. "I'm sorry," I said. "I'm really... I..." I gasped. He brought me into him, picking me up and sitting where I was. Settling me in his lap, he rocked me like I was a baby and the cries racked through my chest. My heart was pounding, my mind was reeling. I was in overdrive.

"I hate what they did to you," he said, still angry but now trying to suppress it. "You're own flesh and blood."

"I don't... I don't know why they hated me so much," I say defenseless.

"How long did it go on for?" he questioned, on edge for my answer. I knew that memory reel was too quick to catch how long it lasted, I was too scared to reveal it to him, in fear that would send him over the edge. Sensing my hesitation, he repeated himself. "How long?"

"Nine years," I whisper. His grip on me tightened. I continued. "My body never fully healed, my wolf never made a presence in the three years of having her. My body succumbed to wounds and I eventually died, to only be reborn."

It was then that I knew he had questions. "Why were you reborn?" he questioned, meeting my eyes. I got hypnotized by his red orbs that held so much power.

"To fulfill a prophecy," I say softly.

His face held confusion. "What prophecy?" he questioned.

"I don't know, and that's the truth." I wasn't aware of when I was no longer crying and was able to form full sentences. "I just know that there's one to fulfill, and I'm supposed to fulfill it... I don't know how or what it is."

"How do you know about it?"

I chuckled. If he didn't think I was crazy yet, he surely would now. "I was told."

"By who?"

"Selíni and Afrodíti," I say softly, knowing he heard me. I didn't meet his eye at first, too afraid of him not believing me. But his silence was killing me and eventually I met his changing eyes. They battled from red to green. Garret was fighting for dominance but Thadus wasn't having it, I knew that for certain. "Thadus," I say softly. "May I talk to Garret please?"

"What for?" he barks. "I'm here, I can take care of you."

"Thadus," I say again, pleading.

He looks at me, his eyes holding confliction of not truly wanting to go back into Garret but knowing that I needed Garret. I knew that Garret was angry, the reason for why it was so easy for Thadus to make a presence. But I needed the logical person right now, the person who I could explain this to, even if it did sound crazy.

He closed his eyes and when he opened them, they were green. And they held so much pity and sorrow. And that made this start all over again. I didn't want him to feel sorry for me. I knew what I had encountered was hard, and no person should ever go through it, but I had and had gotten out.

"Please," I whisper. "Don't look at me like that."

"Baby-"

"When I died," I interrupted. "I thought it was over. I thought I could finally just... breathe. You know? I didn't care about the stereotypical walk of a she-wolf. My story was already not normal starting from when I was born so why even bother, right?

Right. So I welcomed death. I dreamed and wanted it so bad that I felt... I felt like I deserved it. And then I got it. I saw a white light, heard my name being called. I thought it was my mom. My parents were the only people I wanted to see ever since they were taken from me. But it wasn't. It was Afrodíti. She's gorgeous you know, not at all like the stories you hear. And then there was Selíni who is just as beautiful...

And they told me I couldn't die. Not yet. That I had a journey to fulfill and that I was meant to do something. They couldn't be any vaguer than that," I chuckle. "I meet with them often. At least once a month, sometimes more than that if I'm lucky. You'd think with all the visits we have I would know more about what this 'prophecy' is. But I don't... I just know that I must be doing something right because I'm still here."

"What do you mean?" he questions softly, pulling me into him and having us lay down on the couch. I fit in it perfectly so I knew he was uncomfortable. But still, we somehow managed to fit comfortably against one another. I felt safe.

"When you first entered the diner with your dad, I figured that was it. That it was time for me to go. And when I was packing my things, another meeting with them happened. And I was told to stay. That nothing bad would happen to me..." I looked up at him, his eyes already overlooking my face. "And they were right."