Mated To My Boyfriend's Dad

Chapter 48: _ Peculiar Pet

Rhett watched Cora’s tears fall, a twinge of sympathy battling with the frustration simmered within him. He wasn’t proud of his outburst, but the gravity of the situation weighed heavily. Cora wanted to play games and somebody needed to remind her that this wasn’t the fairy realm.

"Cora," he began, his voice softer this time, "tell me everything. From the beginning. And this time, don’t twist things."

Cora took a shuddering breath, wiping her tears with shaking hands. "It started with Aella’s disappearance," she confessed. "She and her two daughters vanished without a trace, leaving only fear and confusion in their wake. I noticed and confronted Aella’s husband about it. And then, he told me. Told me they were abducted. He confided in me and I wanted to report it. But..." she hesitated, her gaze flickering to the floor.

"But what, Cora?" Farkas prompted, his curiosity was now piqued.

Rhett knew Farkas understood the reason behind his outburst now.

"He warned me," Cora continued, her voice trembling. "He said reporting it would only put them in more danger. He revealed a terrifying truth - vampires held Aella and the girls hostage, threatening their lives if he dared not help them lift the veil. They would kill them at a go should we try to inform others. According to them, they had people in the pack watching him."

That could be a dry threat or there really could be others in the pack working for the vampires. Rhett didn’t know what to believe but he did know that people were unpredictable. They could do anything – just anything to protect their interests.

Rhett’s brow furrowed. "But how? The veil was up, wasn’t it? How did the vampires come into the veil, kidnap Aella and her daughters, and threaten her husband with them when the veil was up still?"

"Your story doesn’t add up, Cora," Farkas added.

Cora nodded hesitantly. "Yes, but Aella had a peculiar pet, a creature called a Lumina, a small, winged being that is common in our fairy realm. A pixiewing to be precise."

Why the intense detail about a pet?

"Yes, Cora. We know what a peculiar is." Farkas whistled.

"It went missing, and Aella, unable to bear the thought of losing it, crossed the veil to search for it with her family. They all loved that pet. They’ve been going over the veil to search for it since we arrived here and nothing has ever gone wrong. How were they to know that – they would be ambushed there? Captured by the very vampires they sought to avoid."

Rhett was familiar with these kinds of stories. The mystery of who lifted the veil was already solved.

"So, the husband lifted the veil to save his family." He finished for her and sighed.

Cora only shook her head, her shame palpable. "They never wanted to lift the veil," she insisted. "When her husband told me about it and I insisted that we report it, he said we could handle it ourselves. We have magic. Since we weren’t sure if we were being watched or not, we couldn’t take chances and come report. We planned a counterattack. Aella’s husband, her son Reed, and myself. But our plans crumbled when her husband vanished, leaving a note about not wanting to endanger us. He wanted to go solo on the mission." She drew in a long sniff. "The veil was lifted a few days later, and then – the attacks began."

Silence descended upon the room right after. Rhett’s deduction was that the husband’s plan failed, and he got captured. The vampires probably killed one of his family as a demonstration of their dominance. Wanting to save the rest, he helped lift the veil.

How stupid of them to think they could take down the vampire themselves.

"So, after the veil was lifted and the attacks, why didn’t you come report then?" Rhett tilted his head.

Cora nodded. "We knew we were knee-deep in this trouble – Reed and I. We couldn’t bring ourselves to. We’d already failed everyone. What came to our mind was to fix this mess – ourselves."

"Good Lord. So what stupid move did you make again?" Farkas hissed out.

Cora glanced briefly at him, and then back to her fingers. "I and Reed set out to find Aella and the others if they were alive. Since we heard the vampires had been apprehended, we became less scared. We ventured into the woods first but had to separate to expand our prospects. I found nothing in the woods and was waiting for Reed so that we could commence with the rest of the plan which was to go over the veil but he never came."

"You said you saw him with a boy. Him." Farkas countered, raising the sketch of Liam. "Was that a lie?"

Vigorously shaking her head, "No, no, it wasn’t. When Reed didn’t show up, I panicked. I decided to go back home – think of what to do - maybe report too." She shrugged. "And that was when I found him. He..."

"He what?" Rhett clenched his jaw, hating that she had almost swerved their investigation in the wrong way had he not been smart.

She looked up at him, eyes glossy with tears. "We fairies wear white garments. Elves wear black but it’s always garments too. Reed, however, was wearing a strange leathered jacket and pants which were oversized when I saw him with that boy. I mean... we left together and I saw just well what he wore previously. I..." She began to sob again. "I didn’t know where he got those clothes from but that wasn’t the only thing."

Rhett sighed to himself; this was getting more complicated by the minute.What was this twist about Reed’s strange attire?

"After what you’ve done, leaving us hanging is just devilish. What else is there?" Rhett asked between gritted teeth.

"Blood." Cora blurted. "His clothes were covered in blood and he was holding that little boy. But I spoke to him..."