*Isla*
I think I know what I need to do.
It won’t be easy. He won’t let me go, but I need to.
I need to leave the castle.
Everything that Trinity has said solidifies in my mind that Maddox is not considering my needs one bit, and the fact that I am carrying his child doesn’t even seem to mean anything to him.
“I think… I need to go,” I say to Trinity and Ben as we are still sitting in the garden.
“Oh, all right,” Trinity says. “To your room?”
I stand, my legs still slightly wobbly from everything that has been going on. Ben reaches out to steady me, but I recover before I can fall over or even need to grab him.
“No, actually,” I tell her. “I mean, I think I need to go home. Back to my pack. Away from Maddox. And… all of this.”
Trinity stands, too. “Isla, I don’t recommend that,” she says, and her voice is still low but stern. “I think that Maddox is going to end up getting himself into a lot of trouble with the other packs if he doesn’t go through with this, but he’s clever enough to find a way to choose you—if you’re here and part of it.”
I hear her, but I’m not in any mood to entertain whether or not Maddox could have gotten by without having done this in the first place. He’s already done it, after all.
“Thank you for your help, Trinity. You’ve made everything much clearer for me.” I manage a tight smile before I walk past her to the house. Ben follows me.
After about five steps, I pause and turn to face her. Trinity still hasn’t moved, and she looks stunned. “Oh, and please don’t tell him what’s going on. If he isn’t concerned that this is a possibility, he probably doesn’t deserve to be given a head’s up.”
Trinity’s mouth moves up and down, but ultimately, she just nods at me.
I turn around and walk back toward the castle.
“Are you sure about this?” Ben asks me. “What if what she’s saying is true, and this is a matter of self-preservation for him?”
I don’t really have a response for that. It must be nice to be as selfish as you see fit in order to get whatever you want without having to consider anyone else. Never in my life have I been in that situation, and I’m not now. I have to think about my baby.
Would my child be better off raised here in the castle by a discarded mother, by a nanny after I’m kicked out, or as a bastard who isn’t actually even considered as heir? Or would my child be better off being raised by me in my parents’ home, even without his father, knowing that he is loved?
I think I already have the answer.
In my room, I grab a suitcase from the closet as Ben stands back with his arms folded, watching me. Without thinking, I grab items from the closet and toss them in. They’re all outfits that will work back in my home pack, not outfits that are too fancy, though my father is an Alpha now.
The first bag is about full when the bedroom door opens. Since no one knocked, fear pulses through me, but then I look up to see my mother’s concerned eyes and go back to packing.
“Isla, darling, what are you doing?” she asks me.
A couple of more shirts go into the bag, followed by some pants and socks. “I’m packing.”
“Why?” Mom asks me. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Home.” I throw a pair of shoes in on top of the second bag and decide it’s full. I don’t want to take more than three bags. When I came here, I had one disposable bag with next to nothing in it, so why would I need to take so much more back with me?
“You are home, Isla,” Mom says, causing me to pause before I go to the closet to get another bag for my items that are currently located in the bathroom. “This is your home. This is where you belong.”
Turning to face her, I see that she is quite serious. “What are you talking about, Mom? No, it’s not. If it was my home, I wouldn’t be made to feel like I don’t belong here.”
Mom sighs and comes over to me, taking me by the hands. “I understand, darling. I really do. But you can’t leave now. You can’t just run off and take all of this away from your child. He or she is meant to be here. They are the heir to the throne. If you leave now, you’ll never know what could’ve been.”
My eyes open wide as I think through the hypocrisy of her words. Is my mother, who fled our homeland with her children, abandoning a throne that belonged to her, to come to a new land to take a job in a factory, really lecturing me on leaving my life behind to start over when I’m doing so because I think it’s what’s best for my unborn child?
“Mom, I cannot stay here,” I tell her. “Did you see what he’s doing? All of those women—one that looks like his dead wife? How in the world am I supposed to stay here and put up with all of this shit?”
“You show them this is where you belong, and if anyone is going to become the next Luna Queen, it will be you.” My mother’s look is determined. “Listen, Isla, I know I have no room to talk, but you have to understand, we weren’t just fleeing war. The island was falling in on itself. There were earthquakes, fires, and hurricanes. It was terrible. We didn’t think it was safe for you and your sisters to stay there. It wasn’t as if there was a throne left for us to hold on to.”
“But I don’t understand why you couldn’t just talk to Aunt Mary and tell her to reverse the curse!” I say. “Weren’t the two of you close? Why wouldn’t she listen to you? She might’ve been mad at Uncle Tony, but she should’ve thought twice about punishing the people of Maatua, even if she wasn’t a native to the island herself.”
The look on my mother’s face goes from stern to confused. “Wh-what are you talking about? Mary didn’t cast a curse. There’s no curse. That’s just a rumor. It was just a lot of natural disasters at the same time as the war.”
I stare at her, long and hard, just like she’s staring at me. I have said too much, and I don’t know how I can get out of it without telling her the truth. “Tony came here,” I tell her. “Looking for me. He said that his mother cursed the island and if I didn’t come there with him to reverse the curse, then the island would be completely destroyed. He said the only way I can do that is to kill his mother. Or she’ll kill me,” I explain.
Mom’s face still doesn’t move for a long moment. Eventually, she shakes her head. “He wants you to go back there with him because he wants to be king, Isla. He’s just like his father.”
I shrug. I have no idea. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not going. But I can’t stay here.” Perhaps if I threaten my mother that I’ll go to Maatua if he doesn’t let me come home with her, she’ll cave. But no. She could just tell Maddox my plan, and that would shut it down right away.
She sucks in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “We received a letter a few weeks ago. I put it away. I didn’t open it. It’s addressed to you. I should get it for you.”
My forehead puckers. “A letter?” Her head rocks back and forth. “A letter from who?”
“From your aunt,” she says with a shrug, like that’s not a shock. “Maybe she will better explain herself.”
“But… how would she know where to find any of us? And… how do you know it’s from her?” I can’t get past the confusion that is overwhelming me.
“I recognize her handwriting, baby,” Mom says. “We were friends for a long time, as you mentioned. Everything changed when Tony killed her, though. I… didn’t even realize Antony had survived the earthquake. Are you sure it’s him?”
“He has yellow eyes,” I tell her.
“Yeah, that’s him.” Mom looks as bewildered as I feel. “Isla, I need you to stay here. I’ll get you the letter. Maybe you can write her back. But… trust me, running away from this situation is not the answer. It’s not what’s best for you or the baby. I’m certain your father is speaking to Maddox right now, making sure he understands no title is going to save his ass if he mistreats you.”
I can’t help but snicker at that. My father isn’t the same mild-mannered, meek man he was when he worked in the factory. No, he’s much more assertive, as he should be. Not only is he an Alpha, but he’s also a king. He might be displaced at the moment, but he’s still royalty, the same as Maddox.
I look at my mom and then around the room. She’s right. I shouldn’t leave. I just panicked and wanted to get away from my problems. “Fine, Mom. I’ll stay,” I tell her. She opens her arms, and I let her wrap me up in a hug.
“Thank you for listening to me, Isla. I have learned a thing or two over the years, and even though I know I’m telling you to do as I say and not as I have done, I promise, leaving will only make things worse in your situation. It won’t be easy to stay here, but you will regret it if you walk away and leave Maddox to his own devices.”
“You’re right, Mom. I’m just confused and scared. But I’ll stay here and figure things out,” I tell her. I catch Ben’s eyes, and he seems unsure about what we are discussing, but he says nothing.
I’m still cradled in my mom’s arms when the door opens again. Maddox is furious. “What the hell is going on here? Constance, if you think you’re taking my baby away from me, you’re insane!”
I stare up at him, anger and hurt in my eyes. My father stands behind him, confused. Maddox looks like he’s about to fly off the handle—again.
When Maddox says baby, I don’t think he means me.