78. Rain

**Rain**

Ruth looks at me, and I can see the shock on her face. I am sure she did not expect to find Caleb and me in the Werewolf Palace. My aunt looks at me with hatred, I think. I study them for a few seconds, and I must admit that Ruth is very beautiful. So is my aunt, but there is something about them that tells me they are not quite the nicest people in the world. It might be their cold blue eyes or how they look at me as if I am a disgusting bug.

Ruth looks at my Theta Knights, and I am sure she is wondering what three armed werewolves are doing in the middle of an Alphas and Lunas meeting.

Caleb growls loudly, and Ruth turns pale and takes a step backward. Her scent of fear is heavy in the air. Caleb still has his arm around my waist. I cover his hand with my palm, and he stops making any sounds and appears to have calmed down, but I can feel how angry he is.

The Royal Enforcers take Elder Adam away. His shoulders are dropped, and I can tell he is still trying to come to terms with what he did to his own son. I know Caleb will neither forgive nor forget; frankly, I don’t want him to. It is funny how I did not realize Elder Adam was Caleb’s father because of my face blindness. Despite all the hate Elder Adam had for Caleb, he was the one to officiate our mating ceremony. No wonder Caleb was so upset when Elder Adam came to the Rogue Village that day.

“Ruth, Martha, welcome!” Tatiana says sarcastically.

I can’t even express how much I love this witch. I still remember when I asked Caleb if she had been his ex-girlfriend, he laughed as if I had said the silliest thing in the world. While I enjoy teasing Caleb, I realize that Tatiana would have chewed Caleb up and then spit his bones in a deep pit. If she ever finds her soulmate, it will be fun to see how their relationship progresses.

“Could I know why I have been summoned to the palace?” my aunt asks. “I have been told it was very important.” She looks at the Alphas and the Lunas and frowns. I am sure she wonders what she is doing here.

“Oh, but it is,” Naomi replies calmly. “Alpha Supreme Caleb has asked for your presence here.”

Ruth blinks a few times as if she didn’t hear correctly. “Alpha Supreme?” she croaks. “But there hasn’t been an Alpha and Luna Supreme in a hundred years!”

“The Moon Goddess doesn’t always choose a pair of soulmates to be the rulers of all the werewolves. It mostly happens when her children are in danger. As a new menace arose, the Goddess saw fit to call Caleb and Rain Black as Alpha and Luna Supreme,” Tatiana explains.

The blood drains from Ruth’s face, and she is so pale I can almost see through her. My aunt looks at me as if she can’t quite believe what she hears. “You are telling me that Selene chose the killer of my brother and sister-in-law as Luna Supreme?” my aunt asks in a shocked tone.

“You know that is not true,” Naomi replies. “Rain never killed her parents,” she says, and I suck in a breath.

“Of course she did it! Everyone from the Crescent Moon Pack knows it!” my aunt protests.

Naomi flicks her wrist, and like in an SF movie, holograms appear in the middle of the Ball Room. A young blond male and a brunette female—both are werewolves—are in the middle of a living room fighting black witches and vampires. On a sofa is a small female child with black hair, crying. She looks at the werewolves and calls them mother and father. When a vampire tries to grab the child, the father jumps between the vampire and the sofa. The father can use telekinesis, but his magic isn’t very strong, and he can’t lift heavy objects, while the mother uses her sharp canines and strong claws to send a black witch to Hades. While the werewolf couple is strong, the fight lasts for only a few minutes and ends when they are badly injured by an evil spell and can’t fight anymore. The child cries harder and keeps asking her father and mother to help her. A black witch picks up the child, and the mother tries to help, but she has lost a lot of blood and can barely move. The black witch hits the mother with another spell, killing her. The father gets up from the floor and tries to take the child from the black witch, but a vampire hits him so hard that he sends the father flying across the room.

The remaining black witches and vampires are about to leave with the child when a portal opens, and Naomi and a younger version of my aunt come out of it. Naomi quickly kills the enemies, gives the child to my aunt, and checks the mother before seeing how the father is doing. He is barely alive, and perhaps Naomi can save his life, but from the look in his eyes, I can tell he no longer wishes to live. The father asks Naomi to make his passing easier and begs the Oracle to protect his daughter from the enemies. My aunt argues with him and tells him he should live, but he shakes his head and says that wherever his soulmate goes, he follows. I blink away a few tears because Caleb told me the same thing. He asks Naomi and my aunt to take care of the child. My aunt argues with him before she begs him not to leave her, but he stands firm by his decision and asks to see his child for one last time. He kisses her cheeks and begs my aunt to raise his daughter as if she was her own child. My aunt nods, and he says his goodbyes before Naomi helps him pass away.

The Oracle changes the hair color of the child from black to red and has my aunt promise to not only keep her safe but to make sure the vampires never find her. My aunt agrees, and Naomi removes the bodies of the vampires and the black witches. As soon as Naomi leaves, my aunt throws the child on the sofa and tells her it’s all her fault her twin and sister-in-law died and picks up a pillow and covers the child’s face with it. Fire erupts from the child’s hands, burning the sofa and injuring my aunt, and she moves away from it. The fire spreads fast, engulfing the entire living room, and my aunt runs to the door. Before she leaves, she looks over her shoulder at the child—who removed the pillow from her face and now looks at the fire with fascination—and says, “I hope you suffer a lot before you die!” The malice in her tone gives me chills.

The house burns down, but the fire never harms the child but protects her from harm. When the child is found in what is left of the burned house, my aunt is there, and she is the first to point her finger and call the child cursed and a murderer.

The memory stops, and my eyes go to my aunt, and I don’t know what to say to her. She knew the truth all this time and yet she let everyone believe I was the cause of my parents death. I am glad to finally know the truth and to see how much my parents loved me, but I am so furious with my aunt. She is such a lying bitch!

Behind me I hear Kevin and Katherine swearing while Elton inhales deeply.

Ruth looks at her mother as if it is the first time she sees her. The Alphas and the Lunas stare at my aunt as if she is a monster.

“And I thought only my parents were evil!” Caleb comments, looking at my aunt. “But you are just as bad as them! You tried to kill a child!”``

I half expect my aunt to try to escape, but she doesn’t move an inch while she looks at me with hate. “If it weren’t for you, my brother would still be here! You are the only reason why they died!”

“You are wrong,” Naomi says. “Her parents died trying to protect Rain.”

“But my twin!” my aunt protests.

“Your brother was in excruciating pain, and losing his soulmate broke him in a way you will never understand,” Naomi says. “You agreed to look after Rain, and you broke not only the promise you made to me but also the one you made to your brother!” the Oracle accuses her.

“I lost my husband, and I never wished to leave Ruth without a mother!” my aunt protests. “Rain was never my responsibility! In my eyes, she is the murderer of my beloved brother and sister-in-law. If not for her—!”

Naomi hits the floor with her staff. “They would have still come because you and your brother are descendants of Fiona. While you and Ruth did not inherit any magic powers, your brother did. And so did Rain. Your brother kept his powers hidden because he knew you didn’t like it. But it wasn’t true that you disliked magic. You were jealous because you didn’t have any, and when you saw Rain not only had magic but also survived the fire, you turned everyone against her. What you failed to understand is that the Vampire Queen became interested in your brother and niece because of their powers. Your brother came to me and asked me to go with him to a meeting with the Vampire Queen. He was ready to let the Queen take him to the Palace if she agreed to forget about you. They even made a contract, but I convinced your brother not to sign at the last minute because I knew she was lying.”

“You made me hate Rain all this time, claiming she was evil and my uncle and aunt died because of her, I have hated my cousin all my life!” Ruth says to her mother loudly. She turns her attention to me. “Rain, I—”

“You did a lot of cruel things to me. It might be true that my aunt taught you to hate me, but I don’t think she told you to bully me for years. Not to mention that time you tried to kill me! And don’t forget the night of my eighteenth birthday! My aunt did not come out of her room, but you were there. You not only knew what happened behind closed doors, but you chose to lie to Jordan out of spite! Not only that, but in Sinaia, you called Elder Adam, and who knows what lies you spilled over the phone. You will never understand the pain you caused Caleb and me with your hatred. I wish you could feel what I felt back then!” I say harshly. Safia paces around and lets me know she can put inside Ruth’s mind the pain Caleb and I felt back then. I think it is excellent. “You and my aunt will be punished for all the heartache you caused me!”

“But we are family!” Ruth protests.

“Having the same blood does not make us family!” I snap. “Caleb and my daughter are my family! Black Ruby Pack is my family! You and my aunt are nothing to me! Take them to a cell!” I say to the Royal Enforcers.

Ruth tries to leave, but Tatiana blocks her path.

“Time to crown our Alpha and Luna Supreme!” Elder Riad says while four Royal Enforcers take my aunt and Ruth away.

After the coronation, I will have to make a little visit to the Royal Dungeons and let Let Safia put all the bad memories and pain they cause us inside the minds of Elder Adam, my aunt, and Ruth.