I entered the room, listening to Kaid's voice laced with exhaustion and Siona's voice sounded heavy. I stayed by the door frame, hesitating to actually step inside.
"She could have told me, Siona, no need to hire a private investigator to look into witches and curses."
"She has every right to learn about her past, Kaid. The nightmares and visions had been bothering her," Siona defended me.
"I can easily find that old witch and kill her myself."
"Killing is not how you break a curse, my King, it's only going to mess it up."
"Okay, okay, I got it. I just didn't approve of that Jeremiah Kingsley. What kind of private investigator looking so dandy dan being so handsy!" He retorted.
"You are jealous, my King," Siona sneered.
"Indeed, I am!! She cannot go around kissing and sleeping with another man!"
"Why couldn't she be with a man who dote on her, Kaid, unless you mark her as yours," Siona calmly replied.
"You really don't mince your words anymore, do you!?" Kaid grunted.
I have heard enough. I was going to leave for my room when Siona greeted me, "My darling Trinity, you have arrived."
Kaid exhaled. "There you are. I have plenty to talk to you about."
I smoothed my dress, and sat on the sofa opposite Kaid. I tuned into my official work-smile: a Lady Companion.
"Firstly," Kaid started, not wasting anymore time, "I would need you on Monday, Trin, as my Lady Companion, when we announce our political standing." I nodded.
"Secondly, for the time being, business matters must be tended by phone, or emails, or anything that doesn't require you to fly. You can have an office here and conduct business meetings, if necessary. You can also have your secretary work here."
"Thirdly, you do know that any political meetings regarding the alliance would be handled by Lord Sterling, but at some point we will have to sit with the Zephyrs and Golds. I want you to come with me. Should you need to go some place else, you must take Kendra with you."
"Lastly, you are not going about finding witches and breaking curses without me. Siona and I are your best bet and ally. Do you understand, Lady Trinity?"
I sighed. He was unbearably stern, and rightly so. "I understand, Lycan King Kaid."
Kaid frowned at me, "It is so unlike you to not argue with me."
"Did you read the document I threw to the fire?" I asked Kaid, and then I turned to Siona, "Did you tell him about Zara being a key to breaking my curse?"
Siona put her hands on my shoulder, "Yes to both, Trinity, I know you might not like it, but this is the closest we have gotten to finding a solution."
"You owe me a explanation, then, Siona, everything you know about my past. Every possibility, every little detail," I turned to Kaid, "and you, my King, are going to sit here and listen to everything Siona have to say. You are not going to spite on Jeremiah, because this time it is about me, not your ego." I let Maxine's aura surged forward.
"That sounds more like the Trinity I know," he grinned and sat next to me.
—————
Siona started from the very beginning. Some parts I have known, yet it was the first time all the dots were connected.
Silver Shadow pack was known as one of the strongest back then. Alpha Zion and Luna Serena — my biological parents — were very respected among the leaders. Yet Luna Serena couldn't bear an heir. She was frail, and the many miscarriages she experienced only made her sicker and more fragile.
My parents were desperate for an heir. Understandably so, because they wanted to cement a stronghold among the werewolves. Hence, they hired a sorcerer, known for her healing abilities — Madam Grant.
My mother was soon blessed with a twin pregnancy. Everyone was excited. My father couldn't be happier. Madam Grant was subsequently assigned as a wet nurse once the babies were born.
But sorcery was never without a catch.
I was born first, a female Alpha; and my brother was born a minute later. His wolf was weak. My parents, who were expecting a strong male heir to be the next Alpha, were thoroughly disappointed. This was the first curse — a first-born female twin with an Alpha wolf.
It could've been a different story had my brother be born first, or if he was the Alpha, or we were both of the same sex.
And then, came the second curse of the story nobody ever told us — when an expectant mother joined hands with witches and birthed twins, the weaker twin must die for the other to live. Again, I imagined it would've been an easier choice for them to give up a weak female baby.
Yet the curse didn't stop there.
My parents begged Madam Grant to find a loophole and save their son.
Madam Grant suggested a dark magic ritual to transfer a wolf from one body to another. As crazy as it sounded, my parents hastily said yes. They agreed to transfer the stronger Alpha wolf to their son, and then proceeded to serve their daughter to the devil.
Madam Grant invited fellow witches, chanted for hours on end, only to result in the worst possible scenario. Troy Atlas died because his body was too weak to assimilate with an Alpha wolf. He was merely one-week old when he died. My mother wailed and wailed, unable to be consoled.
What happened to me? According to the legends, I held on to my wolf, and somehow, absorbed the fragmented soul of my baby brother. By the power of a wicked unfinished ritual, Troy Atlas and his wolf, Maxwell, became tethered to Trinity Atlas and her wolf, Maxine. His body lifeless and spent. His soul in limbo.
The weaker twin died for the other to live.
In the end, the devil got what he wanted.
Madam Grant took care of me because my mother could no longer function. My father did nothing for years. His entire pack scattered and dissolved, most found sanctuary in other packs.
Until one fine morning, he woke up, banished Madam Grant, and sent me away to live with a governess, because he couldn't bear to look at his failure.
I was 3 years old when the late Lycan King Eros took me in. Silver Shadow pack was no more, and the governess who lived with me tried to find sanctuary. She died not long after.
King Eros and Luna Faye raised me as their own, along with their son Kaid. When Kaid was 18, Luna Faye died of illness. King Eros stepped down, Kaid was crowned, and I was appointed as his Lady Companion to fulfill practical duties of a Luna, until Kaid found his own queen.
And the rest was history.
It sounded more like someone else's tale than my own.