Chapter 79

I stared at my mate in shock, and Leon shared my expression. To my surprise, Ethan wasn’t shocked which for some reason gave more validity to Rhys’ words to me.

“Why would you think that?” I asked when I finally found my voice.

“Well, I guess I’ve been kind of thinking it for a while, but Kinsley and Adrian are childless, and have been for a while, right?” Rhys questioned.

I looked at him not exactly sure where this was going, but I squeaked out a yes all the same.

“That’s what I thought.” Rhys nodded to himself. “That part sort of adds up. I’m not sure Kinsley knew or was a part of completely. But we know that as much as they despised you, they also feared you. As everyone here knows, a child is crucial to securing an Alpha’s position. Your powers, Grace, surpass Kinsley’s and they know it. I even think Adrian may have gone as far as putting that mark I replaced on your neck there in an attempt to use you later for this purpose.”

I touched my neck subconsciously. Adrian and Kinsley were cruel, but would they have gone that far? Would they really have forced me to bear Adrian’s kids? Deep down I knew the answer, but I didn’t want to believe it at all.

“But why wait?” Leon asked with disgust in his voice which I appreciated. “If that was their plan, Grace unfortunately has been at the perfect age for several years now. Why not take advantage of her then and start producing heirs?”

I wondered the same thing. Parts of this were adding up while others weren’t.

“Well, my guess is, Adrian tried one night, Grace fought back, and he got scared to try again,” Rhys shrugged. “But I’m fairly sure at this point he’s the one who forced his mark on Grace - I just need a confession – he threw his beta at us far too quickly as if that was his plan the whole time if he ever got caught. “

The made sense. The day of the tea incident hadn’t sat well with me then and it still hadn’t made sense to me after all this time either. It had felt like the Beta was a scapegoat then, but I hadn’t realized for who.

“Makes sense,” I grumbled, feeling a little sick from this new information.

“It’s just a theory,” Rhys shrugged again, and moved to stand behind me, gently placing his hands on my shoulders.

“Do you think Kinsley and Adrian were the ones behind my binds then?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“I think at the very least they organized them, yes, and probably from a fairly young age.” Leon said, his face showing he was lost in his thoughts. “They probably couldn’t do it themselves, unless they got a witch to teach them how, which I sort of doubt. Very few people I think would do what they were doing, and I think anyone who helped them would have a high price, but depending what Adrian and Kinsley offered them, it might be possible.”

I nodded and leaned back against Rhys. I didn’t know what felt far-fetched and what felt real anymore.

“My guess is that they were both Kinsley’s idea. It would be her way of trying to keep the truth from getting out, and still stay in power. She valued her Luna rule more than anything. She would do anything to keep it, and a child would secure that position.” Ethan added in, his voice also holding a level of disgust directed at Kinsley and Adrian.

“If were simply theorizing,” Rhys added, squeezing my shoulders gently. “Especially if say, Kinsley and Adrian had more of a hand in the bindings than we originally thought, Grace, your blood connection with Kinsley might have held some good. It might have protected you somehow, like she couldn’t hurt you or something along those lines. It wouldn’t have been on a conscious level by either of you, but your subconscious.”

“That makes sense,” Ethan nodded in agreement, and I found myself also agreeing.

“Okay, so we have some potential, ‘motives’ and scenarios,” Leon said slowly, “But now we have to find a way to stop whatever else they had planned because I think we’re only scratching the surface of what their capable of.”

The made me freeze... I had already known they were capable of terrible things, but everything we had discussed tonight was next level... What would happen if they found me? What would they do to me? Bind me again? Use me for their own army? Force me to give them a child?

I didn’t want to imagine the horrors that were playing through my mind, but I needed to know...

“So, I guess it’s safe to assume that they will come after me again?” There was no emotion in my voice, and I knew that scared Rhys when worry flooded through our bond, but it was simply the truth and there was nothing I could do about it.

“Almost guaranteed.” Ethan said sadly, and my heart lurched for him. He hadn’t asked for any of this either. We were both just thrown into this awful situation. I could tell how bad it hurt him to be stuck down here, while I was free but not safe.

“Don’t worry, Gracie,” Rhys gave me a small smile as he looked down at me. “I will do everything in my power to protect you. We will figure this out together...”

“If you guys let me out, I’d be happy to help. We could set up a rotation or something for guards for Grace.” Ethan tried, looking at Rhys and I hopefully. “I promise, I will help in any way I can.”

I felt my face redden, my palms go sweaty, and my heart began to hammer again when Rhys made the simple statement, that put all the pressure on me...

“I’m not making that decision. It’s up to Grace.”