Mated To My Boyfriend's Dad

Chapter 135: _ Error Chapter!

Chapter 27

Annemarie sat down on the bed beside River, touching her gently. "It must be hard, dear. Knowing your sister, the one who took your betrothed and made you run away is close."

River let out a humorless chuckle. "Even you know that story, Annemarie?"

Annemarie gave her a sad smile. "It’s a tale told for years in the pack. It is a sad story, I must say. And it’s painful how they didn’t see the true you, the strong and gifted woman you are. They laughed at you instead. But River, you are bigger than any one of us could comprehend. I’m sure you know that already."

Her mother’s letter did say the same but it all didn’t make sense to her. However, her mother’s letter also told her not to trust anyone with her secret. So, for all she knew, Annemarie might not even know anything about the content of the letter apart from what Finn had told her about.

’Witchery’. Therefore, she wouldn’t just blurt it out but act oblivious until she was sure.

"Just how much do you know, Annemarie? What do you mean, ’gifted woman’?"

Annemarie’s smile deepened. "River," she began, "perhaps it’s time we talked about that letter."

Good. It was high time they talked about it.

"I have indeed read the letter but whatever meaning it has eludes me, Annemarie. Perhaps, since you know about it, you can help me shed more light on it." She said.

Annemarie nodded and stared at the empty space in front of her. "I will tell you a story today. I want you to listen carefully because this story entails how you came to be."

"Oh, Annemarie. I am more than eager to hear this story." River urged pm the old woman whose grey hair was packed in an underhead bun today.

"Your mother, the Luna of Ironclaw Pack was once the daughter of the leader of the Azure coven. The Azure Coven is one of the most powerful witch covens there is." Annemarie clarified, "She married your father because they were mates, yes. But the timing couldn’t have been worse. The pack needed a Luna quickly because the Alpha could not be coronated without a Luna, and your mother, with her strength and her status as your father’s mate, fit the bill."

River wanted to nod in understanding but all she could feel at the moment was confusion. "But something doesn’t add up," she said, frowning. "Everyone always talked about my mother being a strong wolf."

Annemarie’s smile turned wistful. "Here’s where the truth gets complicated, dear. Your mother wasn’t a wolf."

River’s breath seized. "Not a wolf? That’s— that’s impossible. I saw her fight, shift, and everything. She was a strong Luna."

It didn’t make any sense at all, making River wonder if this was just a sham. Who on earth was this family anyway?

Annemarie smiled sadly. "Calm yourself, dear. Listen closely. Your mother was a witch, a powerful one at that. And because of that, it took the pack years to fully accept her. Since she’s served her purpose and had been used to coronate the Alpha, she was literally slyed."

If the Ironclaw pack had slyed her mother, then it wasn’t hard to believe since all they had done was make her who was the daughter feel less of herself all her life while she lived there.

"So mum was a witch? How can she shift into a wolf then?"

"Yes," Annemarie confirmed. "I’ll get there. Patience, River. So because of she is a witch, it took the pack years to fully accept her like I said. Some never did. They feared her power, considered it unnatural and a taboo to have the wolf’s blood mixed with that of a witch’s since witches were seen as nothing but creatures of darkness in this pack. When word spread that the Luna was a witch, whispers turned to threats."

A cold dread settled in River’s stomach. Her mother told her she could perform witchery and she did. She conjured that Teleportation spell. If her mother was a witch and was threatened by the pack, what fate lay for her who could craft spells too?

"Threats?" She swallowed.

"They didn’t want their future Lycan to be... tainted," Annemarie explained delicately. "So, the council pressured the Alpha. They wanted a wolf to bear his children. They arranged for a concubine– another woman, to bear him a child."

River frowned. "A concubine?"

"Yes," Annemarie nodded, picking at nothing in her teeth. It must be a habit; River decided.

"The concubine became pregnant and gave birth to a girl. She ruled the pack alongside the Alpha while your mother, your father’s true mate, remained the unwanted Luna."

"But— but what about the girl, the Alpha’s daughter?" River interjected as a horrifying realization dawned on her which she didn’t want to believe was true.

"The concubine died when the girl, Echo, was just eight," Annemarie revealed.

By the moon, Echo wasn’t her full sister?!

River’s breath accelerated. "Echo?" she whispered, a gasp escaping her lips.

Annemarie nodded. "Yes, Echo."

The weight of the revelation pressed down on River and crushed her with its implications too . Echo was like her childhood nemesis. She was the woman who’d stolen her betrothed and now, she wasn’t just her sister – she was the daughter of a concubine, not that of the true Luna of the pack.

Interesting. Somehow, finding out Echo wasn’t entirely her sister made bearing the betrayal easier. It caused River such a relief that she finally was able to discover where the source of betrayal emanated from.

Echo probably knew that they weren’t full sisters and was able to betray her.

"But then, after the concubine died, wouldn’t they have accepted my mother then?" River asked in wonder.

"One would think," Annemarie sighed. "But no. Her being a witch resurfaced. The pack members were fueled by grief and suspicion, and accused your mother of using witchcraft to kill the concubine. They demanded her banishment."

River felt a tear slip down her cheek. Her mother, just like her was ostracized, accused... all because of her heritage. It seemed history was repeating itself all over again.

"But the Alpha," Annemarie continued, "had fallen deeply in love with your mother. By then, she was already pregnant with you. He couldn’t bear to lose her and wouldn’t let them banish her."

That caused warmth to bloom in River’s chest. She felt gratitude for her father’s love for her mother. Perhaps, history was different in that aspect as she didn’t have a man by her side, unlike her mother.

River squinted her eyes. "So why was my mother not banished? How did they do it? They did something, right?" _{𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑝𝘶𝘣.𝑐𝘰𝘮}

Annemarie’s eyes met hers, filled with a deep sadness. "They did. In desperation, your parents performed a forbidden ritual. A ritual that would pour all of your mother’s witch power into you while she took your inner wolf in exchange."

The room seemed to spin. River felt like she was drowning in a sea of revelations.