Page 58 of Moonlit Choosing Ritual

My excitement crumbled when his eyes met mine. “You connived with Liam to attack him, didn’t you?”

“No,” he said, his demeanor turning stiff. “I don’t know Liam.”

Doubt manifested on my face as a crease between my forehead. “Oh, so it was Jackie.” I wanted to kill her, like now. “Where is she?” I asked, peeling my lips from my teeth.

“No, it wasn’t Jackie either.” He sauntered to the other side of the room and looked outside the window.

“It was Jackie. She told Liam. How else would he know where we were? She was with Kirk, and he’s connected to Liam,” I insisted.

Vandil took a deep breath in as he stared at a room across the garden from mine. “Jackie didn’t tell Liam. In fact, Jackie rejected Kirk a few hours before she left with you.”

My mouth dropped to the floor as I stared at him incredulously. “Jackie rejected Kirk?”

Vandil nodded. “He threatened to kill her if she didn’t become Alpha Liam’s spy. She had no choice but to reject him.”

“Then why didn’t she tell me about it?” I asked, still unable to believe the story he was weaving.

“I don’t know,” he said. “That’s her story to tell, but the moment I came to the meeting point with Talon, I smelled Jackie as my mate.”

I slapped my hand to my mouth, gasping as my eyes widened.

Vandil turned his head over his shoulder and chuckled. “Yes, Jackie’s my mate. When I smelled you on her, I sensed a weak thread of something binding us together. And when I saw you, I knew you were my sister, who we’ve been searching for these last sixteen years.”

I let out a rough exhale. “I’m not your sister.”

“You can believe it or not,” Vandil replied. “But that’s the truth and no one can deny it.”

“Then why wasn’t I protected like you were?” I seethed. “You’re clearly older than me. Why didn’t Ayla kidnap you? Why me?”

He turned to me and said, “It’s an ugly story, Ylva. Our parents have been living in it since the day you disappeared. Give them a chance to explain. But you can’t deny the fact that we’ve only been in this country for the pasteighteen [DH1]years so we could find you. Do you know how our father longs to go back? He’s holding it all inside him. Do you know how many years it took to establish ourselves in this country? Talon’s been trying to take us over for as long as I can remember. He’s our number one enemy, and imagine our shock when we found out he’s your mate and husband.”

I caught my head between my hands. “I don’t know!” I cried. “This is all fucked up.”

Vandil sat beside me. “I know it’s a lot to handle, and I’m not saying our shock is worse than yours. But—” He curled his finger and thumb beneath my chin and lifted my face. “Give Father and Mother a chance to explain themselves. I know your heart’s filled with hatred and Ayla treated you awfully, but you will always stay bitter if you don’t accept this reality. We all need closure at some point. I strongly urge you to do that with Mom and Dad. Who knows whether we’ll return to our land oncethey’ve found their closure?” He let go of my face, sighing. “I miss my country…”

Vandil got up and walked out. Before he closed the door, he said, “Don’t blame Jackie. She’s my mate and I’d hate to see you think badly of her. But do talk to our parents. They’ve been waiting for this day… I hope you understand.” Saying that, he closed the door, leaving me alone with my turbulent thoughts.

Something inside me pulsed, throbbed, kind of slammed in my chest. Bile rose in my throat. I turned my face away, pushing the bile down and rubbing my chest.

Chapter 33

Kimble

Missing Talon was like walking through a fog—everything felt hazy, and I couldn’t seem to find my way until I was back with him.

At the same time, I contemplated Vandil’s words. I had known Ayla as my abusive mother all my life, and I was used to that kind of treatment. Survival was the first instinct I developed. Taking a deep breath in, I got out of the bed. I needed to refresh myself. Splashing water on my face helped. When I returned to the room, a young maid came in and smiled nervously at me.

“Luna Thyra was hoping you’d eat something,” she said, placing a tray of food on the side table.

“Thank you,” I said.

She didn’t leave and stood next to the table. “Ylva,” she said softly. “Do you remember me?” She looked curiously at me with her dark eyes.

“No…”

She chuckled. “I’m Hira, and we used to play together all the time!”

I opened my mouth to say something, straining my mind to remember her, but nothing surfaced. “No…” I murmured.

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