FURY, VENGEANCE, GRIEF.
In her mind, she couldn't quite put her crumbling world back together, she felt helpless and her heart only howled "Betrayal".
"What is it with you? I am currently at a point in my life where nothing makes sense! And I trust you enough to tell me the truth yet you show me what you want me to see. You tell me a half-truth!" Tara vented.
"I couldn't let you die, we couldn't let you die. You were so little, so innocent, and despite the issues surrounding my relationship with your mother, I just felt the need to protect you and how could I bring myself to letting you know I was your aunt? You would have asked for your mother, lying to you was inevitable." Ma explained with teary eyes.
"But–how?" Tara's mind found it hard to comprehend the situation.
"I know you are confused and understand how you feel but I had to protect you. I never meant to lie to you. If you had known about your mother, you would go looking for her and it would have risked your life. I couldn't take it. Charles and I agreed to keep it a secret, it was all for your good." Ma responded.
With a spinning head, Tara struggled to get to the bed. She sat at the bottom of it gently and Ma followed, kneeling before her.
"We are born of the same mother. My father was the love of her life but he had died while we tried to flee our land. We were under attack that night. He sacrificed his life for us to be safe. It was hard. Two females in a strange land, you can tell how it was for us. The Alpha took interest in her. He was just a greedy man. His Luna had died in battle and now he had found the perfect replacement. He took her by force, she had to submit, it was how your mother was conceived. She is exactly like him." Ma narrated.
"A witch and a werewolf?" Tara inquired.
"Our father was the werewolf, our mother was the one with both the powers of a witch and a werewolf. She had gotten it from her mother and knew better to keep it a secret from the people and the alpha himself. Even when she had the powers to save my father, she couldn't, he wouldn't let her." Ma said,
"So you got to be the witch," Tara said,
"And your mother got to be the werewolf." Ma said,
"And where do I fall into?" Tara asked.
"A werewolf," Ma responded reluctantly as she sprung up on her feet.
"Really? Is it so? Do not lie to me one more time." Tara said, looking up at her.
"It is the truth," Ma responded as she turned slowly away from her. "I would have wished you were just a normal girl or even a witch, it's harder being a wolf" she added.
"And Alicia?" Tara asked.
"I don't know," Ma responded.
"You could if you wanted to," Tara said,
"You were my concern." Ma said,
"So what did you do to me? How haven't I transformed?" Tara inquired.
"You haven't killed anyone yet. I made sure of that." Ma turned to her.
"Blood and transformation.' Tara said,
" yes," Ma affirmed.
Tara exhaled. She rolled her eyes from side to side while she did.
"This is exhausting. The truth, it's exhausting." Tara said,
"You can still walk away from all of this Tara, you don't have to give yourself a cross to carry," Ma told her.
"This cross has been mine since the day I was born. I just didn't know about it until now. " Tara responded and then got on her feet.
"Where are you going?" Ma asked her.
"There is so much I am yet to unravel, I have to start from the top." She replied and turned towards the door.
"Do you hate me?"
Tara paused before the door.
"Don't give me any further reasons to," Tara responded.
————
"Wow, you keep showing up unannounced," Stark said once he opened the door to see Tara.
"Need to be sure I am not about to be married to a community penis," Tara said, walking in confidently.
Stark sneered, shutting the door and turning towards her with both his hands sliding into his trouser pockets.
"Since when did you become so insecure?" He asked her.
"I'm never insecure. Only being careful." Tara said, from the couch she had sat on with her legs crossed.
Stark took his seat on the opposite couch and fixed his eyes on her.
"What happened to you?" He asked her.
"What do you mean?" Tara asked.
"I don't know. You–there's something different about you. I can't quite place it." He answered.
"How so?" She questioned.
"It's just–you used to be so concealing, talked less, smiled more, passive– you weren't so comfortable around me." He replied.
"You sound like I wasn't the kind of girl you would want as a wife." She told him.
"In life, we don't always get what we want." He answered her. "Wine?" He asked, making a move to get on his feet.
"No. I'm good." She said.
"You still think I could poison you?" He asked.
"If I ever thought about that, then you must be a terrible person." She told him.
"See that?" He asked.
"What?" She retorted.
"That right there," he said. "You sound like you weren't Alicia. Like you were someone else in her body." He said.
"That's because I am still recuperating from the accident." She told him.
"Am sorry for not showing much interest in your health." He said,
"I already believe you don't care. You are all about the wedding." She said,
"Oh, that. It's why you are here again isn't it?" He asked.
"How would you f*ck someone you do not care about?" She asked him.
"Why do you believe I do not care about you?" He asked her.
"Well, if you do then I must say you are terrible at showing it." She told him.
"I do care about you." He told her.
"Still hard to believe." She said,
"Then it doesn't matter. Perhaps, you would feel it in my touch." He said,
"You are disgusting." She told him. "And quit doing that thing you do with your eyes." She said,
"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said,
"You are trying so hard to be seductive. I can tell those dark eyes are fake." She said,
"But they aren't." He said, "you should stop trying this hard to change my mind. I'm stubborn." He assured her.
"Are you?" She responded. "Anyways, I'm here with a proposal." She said,
"A proposal." He repeated.
"Yes." She said almost immediately.
"I'm all ears." He said, getting comfortable in his seat.
"We do the damn ritual. Say the words, act the part but when we get into the garden of pleasure, we fake it." She said,
"Fake it?" He scoffed.
"Yes. No sex." She answered.
"Are you a virgin or what?" He inquired.
"That's none of your business. I'm not f*cking you until I am sure you are even worth seeing me nude." She told him.
"Ah. I see." He said, "you make it sound like you predict in your heart of hearts that I am terrible in bed." He said,
"Well, you are terrible at caring and using words on a woman." She said,
"It's fine. I accept. As long as you are my wife." He told her.
"Almost like I was a trophy you must win." She said,
"You are a trophy I must win." He told her.
"Whatever, let this be confidential." She said,
"As you wish." He told her. She had gotten on her feet in a bid to leave. "When you're not f*cking me, will you be f*cking her?" He asked with a straight face.
She paused her steps. Her mind tried hard to generate the perfect response.
"Thinking about it?" He asked further. She rolled her eyes.
"I thought we were over this distrust?" She responded.
"I guess that makes the two of us." He told her.
"If I am completely honest with you. After the accident, I do not even remember this other woman you keep talking about." She said to him.
"And I should believe you." He said,
"I already gave you my word." She said,
He smiled to himself as he got up on his feet, moving closer to where she stood. He peered into her eyes without a blink, something she found very uncomfortable.
"I'm a man that will take many things, forgive many things but never take me for a fool." He said to her.
"A threat?" She asked.
"A warning." He replied.
She got closer to him, with the tip of her nose almost pressing against his.
"Well neither do I tolerate egoistic men." She responded. He remained silent and so did she. They peered into each other's eyes so fearlessly till she walked out of the apartment.