Forbidden Mate: Awakening

Adrian looked around, maintaining his calm, “I had only shown the same disgust and bewilderment of seeing a vampire as the rest of the others did that evening, sir. There was nothing more to it.”

Poor Adrian. I wondered how he felt calling his own people disgusting…

The room was tense, and I could feel the heavy weight of the accusations hanging over Adrian. I held onto Sarah’s hand, unable to look away from the unfolding scene.

“But why was he particularly looking at you?”

“I didn’t notice that, sir. I have never seen that creature before.”

With each denial from Adrian, my father’s anger and suspicion grew stronger.

As the interrogation went on, I could see the frustration and helplessness on Adrian’s face. He tried to remain composed, desperately trying to prove his innocence to my father. But it was clear that my father had already made up his mind and believed that Adrian had a role in the vampire’s escape.

“Where were you last night?”

“In my chambers, sir.”

“And who can attest to this?”

“My roommate, sir.”

I remembered Adrian had recently started living with a fellow worker and warrior. The man stepped out and gave his attestation, “I, sir.”

“And who are you?”

“I’m Theo, sir. A frontier hunter and Adrian’s roommate.”

“Okay…”

“Last night, I came in later than Adrian around 2am and I did meet him asleep sir.’

I almost sighed too loudly.

The room fell silent as my father contemplated on his final decision.

“I shall give my final verdict now.” I held my breath. “Because of suspicion of character, you will be held in custody until the vampire is found and brought back. Meeting adjourned.” My father stood up.

Those words hung heavily in the air. Adrian’s eyes briefly met mine, silently pleading for support but he realized the reality of things and looked away.

The respect I had for my father lessened by the day. What he was doing was unfair. What just happened was an unfair trial. Why single him out as a suspect just because the vampire glanced at him? It was very obvious he was using his personal malice to abuse his authority. There, I said it.

The anguish inside me grew.

As my father gave orders to another search party batch to find Ethan, I could see the determination in my father’s eyes. He was determined to restore order and bring justice to our pack. But he was blaming innocent people in the process and not thoroughly thinking things through.

I glanced at Jaxon, our eyes briefly meeting. There was something in his gaze-concern and guilt-that made me question his involvement. What had driven him to help Ethan escape? Was there a deeper reason behind his actions? If there was, why didn’t he tell me and stop father from jailing Adrian?

“Babes, what your father did isn’t right. He has no evidence to hold Adrian as a suspect.” Sarah confirmed my thoughts.

“But he has the power to do so.”

“Bullcrap.” She murmured.

As the room emptied and I found myself alone with Sarah, a plethora of thoughts and emotions overwhelmed me. I knew I couldn’t stand by while Adrian suffered under my father’s hand of judgement.

I turned to her and said, “Sarah, we have to do something about it.’

••••••••••

I couldn’t ignore the nagging suspicion in my gut any longer. Jaxon needed to explain himself. The image of him freeing Ethan couldn’t leave my head. I needed to talk to him about it and he had better give me the answers I wanted.

I looked for Jaxon and found him in a quiet corner on the training grounds. He seemed cautious as I approached.

“Jaxon,” I called out, my voice filled with concern. “We need to talk.”

He turned to face me, his eyes showing a hint of unease. “What’s on your mind, Lily?” he asked, pretending not to know.

I took a deep breath, organizing my thoughts before speaking. “I know what you did,” I said, looking directly at him. “You helped the vampire escape.”

Jaxon’s eyes widened briefly, surprise crossing his face before he quickly denied it. “Lily, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Why the hell would you even say that?” He said, defensively.

“Don’t lie to me, Jaxon,” I pleaded. “I saw you that night. You were helping him get away.”

His brows furrowed, and he vigorously shook his head. “No, Lily. Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?” He covered his shaky tone with a chuckle.

“I saw what I saw. You helped him.”

His voice became firm, “I would never do something like that.”

I searched his eyes, hoping to find some truth, but all I saw was the mask he wore to hide it. My heart sank as I realized I might have misplaced my trust in him. The weight of betrayal crushed me, threatening to break my spirit.

“Jaxon, please,” I begged as my voice was shaking. “Tell me the truth. Why did you help him? What are you hiding?”

“Lily, I don’t know what’s wrong with you today. What would make you think I would help a vampire?” He stubbornly denied.

He refused to reveal his real intentions. We reached a standstill, and silence settled between us, blocking any chance of resolution.

With a deep sigh, Jaxon stepped back, his eyes filled with regret. “I can’t make you believe something I didn’t do, Lily,” he said, sounding a bit sad. “You have to believe what you want.”

And with those words, he turned away, leaving me standing there, overwhelmed by a mix of emotions. As I watched Jaxon walk away, confusion, hurt and a profound sense of loss washed over me.

As he left, I found myself wandering. They were so many questions I had for him to answer. The way he continued denying it when I had seen him with my own eyes.

Why, Jax?

What were you doing?

What’s going on with you?

Now, I had to continue on this difficult path ahead, unsure of who to trust and what lay ahead. Sarah and Adrian seemed to be the only people I could call friends. But Adrian was severely disadvantaged and Sarah, was Sarah.

I felt hurt and betrayed by Jaxon’s refusal to tell me the truth. It was like a sharp pain in my heart. I couldn’t understand why he would keep important information from me, leaving me feeling vulnerable and confused. Our friendship felt tainted, and I started doubting if it was genuine. Memories of our past interactions played over and over in my head, as I was trying to find any hints I might have overlooked. The silence he maintained a few minutes back hurt me deeply, and it made me question who I could really trust. His secret weighed so heavily that it made me feel burdened and unsure.

I couldn’t just wrap my head around why Jaxon chose to do what he did.

With a heavy heart, I stood up and made my way back in indoors.

Little did I know about all the challenges and shocking revelations that were gonna come my way on this tough journey I called fate.NôvelDrama.Org exclusive content.

Yet, the questions that rang in my head remained.

Why did Jaxon help the vampire escape?

And why is he denying it to my face?