Chapter 65

Nan’s POV

He stares at me kindly.

It destroys the last vestiges of my anger. A serenity has overtaken me. I smile sheepishly.

His eyes visibly soften. It’s a bit difficult at that precise moment to understand how I held onto my anger for so long. Perhaps I would not have reacted so outlandishly had I not been under so much emotional turmoil.

“Lionel, I’m sorry-” I begin to apologize.

“Nan-I just wanted to-” He speaks at the same time. We both stop.

I can’t help the goofy edge to my smile. “Lionel, I just wanted to apologize. It was childish of me to not hear you out.”

“I... appreciate that. Thank you.” He accepts.

“I don’t know why I was so upset this time. I think I maybe have just been so stressed.” I add.

“My temper probably contributed to it.” Lionel remarks playfully.

I chuckle. Unwinding for the first time in days. But Lionel is not done.

“I apologize for my reaction. I should have just talked to you about it instead of trying to ignore it.” He says contritely.

Affection swells within me. “It’s fine. I think it’s safe to say both our tempers were triggered that day.”

“I found out about the contract. Thank you for resolving it for me.” I express my gratitude.

He shakes his head. “It never should have happened in the first place.” He remarks.

“I have something for you. I hope this helps make it up to you.” He adds.

He reaches into his desk drawer. He pulls out a finely decorated box. I try to protest.

“Lionel, you don’t have too. It’s fine.”

But he ignores it. “Here. Open it.”

I shoot him an exasperated look. But I take the box. Not wanting to ruin our moment of reconciliation.

I open it…only to see a familiar pendent. My mother’s necklace!

I gasp. Put it into my hands. Run my fingertips over its surface.

I feel the slight groove of years of ware. The tiny scratch on the bottom of the wolf’s tail. Tiny imperfection that only I knew of.

A wet lump rises to my throat. “You…you got it back.” I say nearly soundlessly.

“It’s only right that I return this too its rightful owner.” He says softly.

“How?” I croak out.

“I had a few of my best trackers hunt it down. They are very good at their job. Money tends to grease the gears of success better than any other incentive.”

His voice is casual. As though he has not just given me back something invaluable. I can only look at him fondly.

But then his face changes. An unsettled expression. He looks at me as though…

“Nan. That’s not the only thing I have for you.” He says cautiously.

“What else?” I question quizzically. His reaction making me a little uneasy.

“Nan…there is no easy way to say this.” He conveys with seriousness.

“Then just say it.” I reply.

“You’re adopted.” He reveals. I can only eye him in disbelief.

“No, I’m not.” I answer back. “I don’t know who told you that, but they are lying.”

“No one told me anything. I investigated your birth records. You are adopted.”

I jerk back. “Why were you looking into my birth records?” I retort defensively.

‘That’s a violation of my privacy!’ I think crossly. ‘What has gotten into him?’

Lionel meets my glower with glum eyes. “There is a reason that the necklace was so easy to find.”

A trickle of worry rushes down my neck. “What do you mean?”

“There have been some serious…accidents in the time that necklace has left your hands. Every person who has handled the necklace has had some serious misfortune befall them. Once is a coincidence…but multiple times is a pattern.”

I scoff. “What does that have to do with my birth records?”

He runs a hand across his face. One of his ticks that give away his own frustration. It agitates my peace of mine further.

“Incidents like these are usually sign of something more…sinister.” He says.

“The signs were all there. An ancient heirloom that predates the Great Clan Calamity…people facing increasingly strange accidents…it’s all the sign of a cursed object.” He concludes.

I am shocked. Cursed objects are legendary. They were rather common in the time of warring clans.

Ancient clans would imbue certain objects with curses. Items of great value or those meant only for those within the clans. These curses responded only to the blood lines that created the curses.

As the time of clans fell, so did those with the power range to create curses. Curse require a lot of power and strong connections to the Moon Goddess. No cursed items have been made in at least seven centuries.

Everyone knew well enough not to touch cursed items. A wolf’s instincts usually gave some warning of the danger emanating from those objects. The idea of my necklace being a cursed object is hard to fathom…but I know Lionel would not lie about something so serious.

My mother’s words about the necklace’s history came to the front of my mind. New meanings arose to her words. Lionels’ continuing explanation draws my mind back to him.

“So I looked into your family’s history to make double sure it was safe. Your bloodline is mostly protected from the curse. But then something strange appeared on your records.”

“And you found that I was…adopted?” I say dumbly.

“Your mother never had another pregnancy. It’s like you appeared out of thin. You said your mother have you this necklace…”

I jump on that thread of hope. “Exactly…if she is not my mother, then how could I touch the necklace? Why not give it to her blood children?”

Desperation clings to my voice. “How could I be adopted? I look just like my sister and grandmother!”

But Lionel does not give me the hope I crave. “You do share her blood…as a distant cousin.”

It is a blow. “I don’t…it can’t be…” I mutter insensibly.

My mother is not my mother…but a distant cousin. How could this be? Our extended family had never been very large to start with!

It makes no sense…yet….my entire world feels like it is crumbling down. Too many things from my childhood fit into place like a twisted jig saw puzzle. I have always been different from my family…could this be the reason?

Is this why my father was distant with me? The reason he never spent as much time with me as Kay or Dena. But…if that was the case…that did not explain why he was my second fiercest defender.

My breathing comes in a lot faster. I am near hyperventilating. Tears burn my eyes without my permission.

There are so many unanswered questions. Answer taken to the grave with my deceased parents. How could they not tell me?

Did Kay know? Did Dena? The idea that they know makes me nauseous.

I look at Lionel through a blur of my tears. All my arguments have fallen apart. I am stuck facing the horrible truth.

My lip quivers. “Did they…was there any records of my true parents?” I ask shakily.

Lionel shakes his head. “I’m sorry…the trail went cold.” He says sympathetically.

It's the final nail in the coffin. My composure breaks. A sob breaks out of my chest wildly, painfully.

My knees buckle. But Lionel catches me. He gently steers me toward the chair.

He kneels in front of me. I lunch forward and wrap my arms around his sides. Burying my face in his neck.

He stiffens. But then wraps his strong arms around me. His hand stoking my head.

“Don’t cry Nan. I’ll look after you.” He promises me.

The tears continue to flow. But my weeping eases. He holds me to him throughout it.

‘I don’t think I’ve felt this safe and cared for in years’, I think. I pull back to look into his worried eyes. I do not think twice about brushing my mouth to his.

He tenses as thought to pull away. “Please, I need this.” I say brokenly.

I press my lips to the corner of his mouth. A wordless request. He meets my kiss with a chaste one of his own.

That’s all it is…at first. Soft, chaste kisses exchanged between us. A comfort.

But as usual…things between us grow in intensity. I do not know who initiates the change. I do not care.

Our kisses soon turn into something more…