Chapter 55.Lycan's Blood

**55. Lycan's Blood**

***Rafael's POV:***

"Rafael, how did you do that, and what's happening with this letter?" Astrid asked, her eyes wide with bewilderment. "What do you mean that you are Azael?" She asked.
"Indeed, Little Dove. I am Azael," I said.
"And how do you know that?" she said, raising her brow.
"Okay, hear me out; I'm not sure how that's possible or why I hadn't realized it all along, but when I passed out, or should I say died there, something happened to me. I was transported to a location with nothing but pitch-black nothingness around me. Someone certainly addressed me as Azael there. The voice was distant, but you know what surprised me?" I inquired, but I asked that of myself. "I was reacting to that voice and felt natural, like that's me, which increased the possibility that I am the Azael my mother was referring to, and here we are," I said to her.
"But, Rafael, why do you seem so calm about everything?" she asked.
"No, my love, I'm not surprised because I saw it coming. You know, I told you that my mom always used to tell me that I was something unique and that I would know about it when the time is right. Maybe Azael is the name she gave me." I expressed my reservations to her.
"Perhaps, but how do you know we'll discover all our answers in this letter?" she wondered.
"During the earlier described time, it felt like a dream where I was racing about seeking answers, and no matter where I went, I would find myself in front of the letter. There was a voice that stated I could find all my answers there; so, I am confident and see it worked," I remarked, pointing to the letter. "I was certain my mother would not have left anything crucial in the hands of an unknown person, and while I still need to discover answers about many things, I am confident this letter has it all," I grinned.
"Okay, even if everything is running through my thoughts, I trust you, and let's see where this takes us; maybe after seeing the content, I'll understand things better," Astrid groaned.
When I opened the letter, I was met with my mother's handwriting. "Mom." Tears welled up in my eyes when I read her letter after all these years.
Astrid grasped my hand and ran her thumb across it, soothing me.
"We must read it; we have to uncover the answers; we can't delay any longer; we're already in a precarious situation," Astrid explained.
"All right, I'll start reading it," I said.
The letter was concise but held vital information.
'Dear Rafael, if you are reading this letter, it means that I am no longer in this world. Please know that my spirit will always be with you. Although I intended to share this information with you personally, the uncertainty of the future led me to confide in only one person. This is knowledge I can only trust one person with. Cindy is a witch, and you can locate her by following the link below, which will lead you to her current location. Don't worry too much about it; we should have sealed it with magic, so she drew the map with her own blood. I hope you've found your mate now that you've opened the letter, which makes sense. I know she is stunning, but I also believe that you were predestined and that everything occurred for a purpose. My blessing will always be with you both, and I look forward to seeing you together wherever you go. I love you. Fiona, your dearest mommy'
I sniffed at the end of the letter. "She loved you even before we met," I told Astrid.
"I know, and she's happy too; it would have been an honor to meet her in person," Astrid said, touching my cheeks and tenderly kissing them.
"How could she know I'd found my mate by the time?" I frowned.
"Now we only need to find Cindy, and we'll have all of our answers." She suggested looking at the back of the letter, which is where the route appeared, showing everything and including ourselves in the form of an atlas and two different colored dots representing me and Astrid, with another golden 'C' illuminating at a distance, and I recognized the location to be in human territory, where I am sure I can find Cindy.
"Rafael, see, it says you shouldn't use your powers to find her," Astrid pointed out, and she was right. I assume I shouldn't utilize teleportation or any of my other abilities, and it also says I should bring Astrid with me.
"Yes, when are we leaving?" I asked.
"Today has been an extraordinarily challenging day for us. I know we need to find answers, but can we go first thing tomorrow morning? I don't know why, but I feel so fatigued," she said, and I could tell she had woken up weak.
"Yeah, I think so too." I pushed the letter aside and reached for Astrid's hand, drawing her towards me. I embraced her. She was perplexed, but as I confessed, she let go of her feelings. "I missed you so much; you shouldn't have come up there," I whispered as I inhaled her perfume to soothe my emotions.
"But nothing happened," she moaned, her voice tinged with melancholy. She regretted it, just as she stated.
I gently brushed her hair away from her neck, grazing it lightly with my fingertips. "You know I had enough guilt to deal with, and if something had happened to you, I'm not sure what I would have done," I said.
When I awoke on the ground, I felt Astrid's hand in mine, and when I saw her next to me, I was scared. Eva told me what had occurred, and I was terrified because she was certain that we had all died, and I had seen a few dead strewn on the ground, including Bryan. I was the first to reclaim my life, and I saw them all come back to life in front of my eyes. Whatever it was, it was nothing short of a miracle.
I only drew a sigh of relief when I felt Astrid's pulses, which meant she had simply passed out, but Eva wouldn't allow me to stay with her, claiming she needed doctors' attention and so did I, so I let her leave and waited anxiously for her to return.
Just another day; we'll get our answers tomorrow, and with that hope, I was looking forward to tomorrow.
"If nothing can kill you, how did you end up dead previously?" Astrid asked, and I had anticipated the question, but much earlier.
"I told you, little dove, my arrogance got the best of me," I murmured. "Remember how I said only a special knife dipped in my mate's blood could kill me?" I asked.
"Yes, and you said nobody could locate that dagger," she said, rolling her eyes, "but your father did."
I grinned. "Yes, I thought so, but there's something more I should tell you since you know a knife smeared in our vampire mate's blood might lead to our destruction. Because a regular dagger containing your blood couldn't have killed me, my father was left with just one weapon: the dagger he used to kill me. Even if it was the only weapon capable of killing me, I knew it wouldn't have been enough. That dagger asked for a special item to operate, which I thought no one would ever locate," I sighed. She furrowed her brow.
"The blood of Lycan. It needs Lycan's blood to be combined with yours, but because this Lycan is my mate," I brushed her hair. "Your blood is my death," I said.
"What! You're not serious." Her pupils dilated.
"Yes, that's why I used to think nothing could kill me since I thought Lycans were extinct, and then when we discovered about Scarlet, I was constantly trying not to leak the knowledge, but I'm not sure how Father came to know about everything, but we'll find out," I finished.
"Is there anything else I should be cautious of?" she asked.
"Not that I'm aware of; there was only one dagger of its sort, and since Elliot used it up, that makes me immortal again." I chuckled, feeling as though something else was waiting for me.
"Don't get too worked up; you said the same thing before; alright, that's a good thing that weapon got used up," she said.
"Come on, that's enough for your mind to ponder. sleep now." I drew her beside me and cuddled her close to my chest, my cheek resting on her head.
I still harbored a sense of fear about getting too close to her, the wound serving as a stark reminder to temper my hunger. Perhaps tomorrow will bring a fresh start and the answers we sought. Astrid was fast asleep in my arms, and I slept off while staring at her beautiful face.
"Bryan, we'll return either tonight or tomorrow morning," I announced as I prepared to depart.
We had packed our suitcases and kept some basics that we could require on our trip.
"Yes, sir," he said.
I took Astrid's hand in mine and began walking away. "Aww. They're so cute, aren't they?" Behind us, Eva cooed.
"Yes, I wish I had met my mate so I could have those times with her and she would love me as much as Astrid," Bryan said.
Yes, Astrid had asked that he call her by her name because he is like a brother to her, and I, too, wish Bryan and Eva had mates.
"And Bryan, you may call me by my name when we're alone," I said in one go.
"What!" Bryan, the theatrical one, gripped me fiercely, as if his life depended on it.
We said our goodbyes and went for a walk in the woods. We decided to use my car, and we had to cross the woods and then shifters realm, and then attached to it is a tiny human village where I think I had visited on a project some years ago, and that's where Cindy's location was displayed.
"I was there for construction once," I said, clutching Astrid's hand, my attention set on the road.
"Then we can simply navigate our way," she said with a smile.
"Yes, but I was thinking it would be amazing if you could join me as an assistant architect," I joked. "I know you have a lot of promise in it, and I think we'd make an excellent team," I said.
To say she was surprised today would be an understatement.
Her surprise was evident. "Did you review my work?" she asked.
"Say I was curious about all the doodling my mate was doing, so I had a look at your work, and I was more than pleased you only needed a little direction and you would master the art easily," I explained. Her work was outstanding; she just required minor assistance.
"Yay!!!" She kissed my cheek and shrieked. "Thank you, thank you," I murmured. "If I had known this was going to make you so happy, I would have done it a long time ago." I chuckled.
Our journey continued with our usual banter, which I cherished, and soon we arrived at our destination. Walking into what seemed like a forest, as predicted, we found a large home secluded from the town by shrubs and trees. A gothic-style villa stood in front of us, embraced by the freshness of the surrounding air.
I double-checked the letter to be sure we were at the proper place.
The letter 'C' indicated that she was on the inside.
"Let's go," Astrid replied, connecting our hands as we pushed open the massive gates.
The scene before us was wholly unexpected.
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