The King’s Tainted Mate
Chapter 51

A word my king."

I tensed. Was there no end to their shameless behaviour? I'd just helped Shyla sit comfortably in the carriage when the timid request came from behind me. Both her parents stood heads bowed in submission. The very sight of them roused the anger I had swallowed for my mate's sake since we've been here.

"We promise to take as little of your time as possible." The father insisted and despite my own desire to punish them as they deserved for what they'd done to my mate, I nodded. Because as strange as it would seem, I had had every intention to pay them a visit once I got Shyla back safely to the palace. While she may have declared that she'd heard enough, the anguish in her heart that I'd felt as though it were my own had been the one to speak. Not her. I knew she'd merely shied away from facing the ugly truth. I couldn't blame her for it either. Because, what was the point of facing anything that would change nothing of your circumstances but only make them worse? What was the point of getting your heart broken all over again by things one could not change?

I on the other hand had countless questions. Because while the truth still remained, it did not explain anything of their actions. Besides, something told me there was more than met the eye. And if by any chance it had anything to do with the hell looming over Xatis, I couldn't let this moment pass.

My decision made, my gaze found my mate. Shyla sat quietly, a far away look in her eyes that intensified the ache in my heart and highlighted my own inadequacies. I was failing her still. While I was doing everything I could to protect her from the trouble that threatened to take her away from me, I couldn't shield her from the monster that was heart break. The beast had dug its claws in so deep that every attempt to make it let go would result in more heart break.

It pained me to know that I had been the one to give the vicious monster life in the first place. I'd tried to vanquish it the besy way I knew how, but that had barely made a scratch on its hide.

"I'll keep her safe." Rakon's mind link drew my attention.

"Keep your eyes open." I repeated the words that had become our mutual way of parting from one another since my attack. The wounds inflicted may have healed, but that did not exactly mean the danger had been averted. If anything, everything was only beginning. That much I knew and the events that had sprung up all around Xatis and kept me awake and on my toes in the recent days were evidence of it.

Rakon nodded, eyes full of promise. It was the only way I could step away from them even right now. I gave her one last glance, taking in the motherly figure that was slowly taking over her maiden body. She was beautiful, but also very very broken. "Lead the way." I all but growled at the couple.

"Most certainly, your majesty." They led me back into their tiny home and there lay my very first question, but I was not about to get into it yet.

"If you think I will go against her wishes, then you can think again." I had noted the longing in their eyes when they noticed my mate's bulging belly. They couldn't even hide it when they shamelessly asked to be invited to the banquet. She'd said no. That had caught me by surprise but I understood her regardless.

"We wouldn't dare conceive such a thought, your majesty. We have hurt her enough." I only snorted to that. "You have to believe us when we say it was not our intention to hurt her." They both bowed lower than necessary and it only served to annoy me. "Tell me in what realm that makes even the remotest sense."

They both stared at each other before their gazes dropped to the floor. "Perhaps if my king would listen to our side of the story."

"Your side of the story?" I arched a brow. "Tell me why I should bother to listen to criminals like you. Do you perhaps hope to sway the sorry image of parents you've painted of yourselves by your actions?"

"Of course not, your majesty. We are aware that no amount of words could ever erase that."

"Then why bother?! Why would you do this to your own flesh and blood?!" I had thought nothing of it the time I rejected Shyla. Blinded by my own rage, I had not cared for their actions. When they had emerged from their little home and offered their congratulations to Myrna and I. Not even when Rakon had pointed it out.

"A chance at a better life, my king."

"A chance at a better life?!" Not that I thought there was ever going to be a fitting answer to their regrattable actions, but- "You sold your own flesh and blood as livestock at the capital's open market and for what?! A chance to eat warm bread?!"

They flinched at my tone. "We did not say we were proud of it, my king." Their heads hung lower, but it was not enough to avert my growing rage. "Why don't you tell me how exactly you meant to accomplish that?" I growled. I'd been aware of only bits of it from what had been exchanged between my chosen mate and mate.

"It was always meant to be something to benefit us all." Shyla's father began and the more he spoke the more I realized that referring to them as sorry parents was a compliment they did not deserve. "You have to know that it was always Shyla's choice. If only she'd said no-"

"You preyed on her love for her sister, her love for you! Does that speak of choice to you?!" Silence remained their answer. "You asked to have a word, what is it you seek from me?" Annoyance prickled. "A king's protection."

Curiosity replaced my annoyance. "Why would you need that and who from?"

"Your queen?"

Myrna? "She's your daughter."

"And yet here we are." I studied their faces, searching for any indication that he was not serious about it. There was none.

"Not here. And whether you get my protection or not depends on what you have to say." They had my protection. I'd already decided that. By virtue of my mate's love for them that I knew had not faded. It was bruised, but it was still there. For her sake I would protect them, but I wasn't about to tell them of that yet.

"I do not know if this is of any significance." Something lit up in the man's eyes. I refused to acknowledge it and kept walking. "There is a reason we call her our moonlight." I could have walked out, but the mention of my mate made me stop and face her father. "The night she was born, a terrible storm was raging and unfortunately she'd needed the attention of a physician if she was to survive the night or survive at all. The roads were treacherous, but having no choice, we braved the bad weather and journeyed for the closest district to the forgotten village. We'd barely stepped out of the boundaries of our village when my wife could not go on any longer. The birth, it turned out, had taken a toll on her and her wolf healing was not working fast enough so we searched for shelter. Just something to shield them from the storm while I proceeded to get the physician. Miraculously, there was an empty cottage nearby. But that would not be the only miracle to be had that night. When I did finally return with the physician, the storm had ceased, the moon was shining and right there in the moonlight, lay my wife peacefully, our daughter in her arms and in need of no medical attention at all.

"It was a miracle we've always been grateful for. Until now."

I could have easily dismissed his words as coming from someone grasping at straws while they sought to escape the burden of their actions, but I couldn't. Because whatever he'd said held a hint of significance. Whether it was actually significant I did not know.