Chapter 41

I knew my little ward would be hungry by now but I had run out of dried fruits to feed her. I spotted a market nearby and hurried in that direction to buy food.
The east was buzzing with people and activities like Apex Woods, but life was more relaxed here. I wondered which of these people here were Lycans and which ones among them were other breeds of wolves.
I bought bread and cheese, a bunch of bananas and a flask of water. That basically took all of the money I had with me but I was sure that we would locate Hycinth and his pack before we got hungry again.
We settled under a tree that shaded us from the sun and I began to feed Mariah. She ate hungrily and messed up her scarf nappy again.
I had to sacrifice my headscarf to replace the soiled one. As soon as I exposed my hair, a man approached us, smiling widely.
“What’s a beauty like you doing here under this hot sun?” He asked. “Come and sit in my stall and relax with your daughter.”
“She’s not my – “
“Leave the poor woman alone,” a woman said near us, cutting me off.
She was dressed scantily in a chiffon outfit that reminded me of my first day in the Highlands as a sex slave. Her black hair was messy and all over the place.
“Mind your business,” the man hissed at her.
“Does your greed have no limit?” She chided him. “Do you plan on recruiting a mother and her baby daughter into your brothel, Sahid?”
“I said, shut up!” Sahid barked at the woman, revealing large fangs in his mouth.
I knew then that he was a Lycan and he might be very dangerous.
“I’m waiting for my mate here,” I said to him when he looked at me again.
He laughed. “What mate? I saw you when you came down from the south wagon. You don’t have a mate here.”
“But she does,” said a male voice behind Sahid.
We all looked in the direction of the newcomer and my breath caught in my lungs when I recognized him.
“Hycinth!” I exclaimed. “You found us!”
The Lycan quietly slipped away like a serpent. He clearly didn’t have the balls to challenge Hycinth.
“Jade, you’re here!” He gushed happily, coming to join us under the tree. When he saw Mariah, he paused. “Where did you find her?”
“In the Highlands palace,” I replied, letting him carry Mariah.
She had recognized him and now clung to her father like a leech. It was a heartwarming sight and I smiled happily.
“Is Lola here too?” He asked, glancing around.
“No,” I said sadly. “She died, Hycinth. She died in the Highlands.”
He stared at me in shock. “You killed her?”
I was horrified. “No! Why would I do that?”
“You killed Lola and brought her child here to me,” he insisted. “Did you think this would win my heart?”
I became confused. “What are you talking about?”
“Where have you been and how did you know where to find us?”
I robbed my temples with the tips of my fingers. Why was this happening again? Why was I always being accused of something that I wasn’t guilty of?
“It’s a long story, Hycinth. Let’s go home and talk about it,” I said tiredly.
“You’re not going anywhere with me,” he said sternly. “Tell me what you did to Lola right now or else, the same thing that happened to her will happen to you now!”
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I couldn’t believe my ears. The same Hycinth that should be thanking me was instead accusing me of murder. How? Why?
Since he had decided to act like an idiot, I took a deep breath and slowly told him how I got to know about the Gypsy Pack situation from an old friend in the village. I narrated how I entered the Highlands in disguise and my meeting with the Gypsy maids who gave me access to Mariah.
When I was done talking, his mouth was hanging open in awe.
“You did all of that for me?” He asked softly. “After how badly I treated you?”
I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t do it for you, Hycinth. I did it for Lola and Mariah here. What you did to her mother was wrong and you should be ashamed of yourself.”
He hung his head in embarrassment. “I know,” he said quietly.
“Then why did you do it?” I asked. “And please, don’t tell me that your mother made you do it. You only listen to her when it favours you.”
“You’re right,” he admitted. “I was angry. When you left, I thought that I had failed you. And then I discovered that my mother was behind everything.”
“What do you mean?”
“She was the one that gave Lola the brilliant idea to seduce me.”
“I don’t believe it…”
“It’s true, Jade. I overheard them arguing one evening and my mother told Lola that if it wasn’t for her, she wouldn’t have ever become the Gypsy Pack Luna. I was livid. I confronted them and they confessed.”
“Wow.”
“I felt used, deceived, betrayed. I went to look for you but those bastards in Apex Woods tried to imprison me instead. My warriors and I managed to escape but I was never the same.”
“You went looking for me but just a few minutes ago, you were threatening to kill me because you thought I had murdered your beloved Lola.”
He sighed. “I’m so sorry, Jade. My mind has been so messed up since the pack divided. I don’t even know who to trust anymore.”
“Your mother is number one on that list,” I said dryly.
He gave me a sharp look. “Don’t say that.”
“You know it’s true. Gertrude is ruling the Gypsy Pack through you. She is the real Alpha and you are the figurehead.”
I expected him to lash out at me for insulting him like that but he didn’t. He was quiet for a while, stroking Mariah’s hair lovingly.
“You’re right,” he finally said.
“About what?” I asked. I wanted to be sure that we were on the same page with this delicate conversation.
“My mother has been the one ruling the pack even when my father was alive,” he said with a distant look in his eyes. “It was part of the reasons why I left. I wanted to be independent and not have to live under her thumb as my father did.”
“Well, you haven’t been quite successful with that, have you?”
“No,” he agreed. “I have become like my father, living in my mother’s shadow. She continues to pull the strings and make me feel as if I was the one making the rules.”
“I’m glad you finally see the truth.”
“If it wasn’t for her, Lola would still be alive,” he said bitterly. “He accused her falsely and I fell for it. I was such a fool.”
His remorse touched me. “It’s ok, Hycinth. That wasn’t your fault. Your love for your mother blinded you to a lot of things.”
“But no more,” he said passionately. “All of her manipulations will end today. I need to show her that I am the Alpha and I am in charge.”
I smiled. “I like the sound of that,” I said.
“Will you help me?”