Chapter 457: Revealing Truths
"Nedra, you have always been... very strong in who you are," Zagan’s eyebrows pinched together at the claim that she didn’t know who she was. "That is why I left you alone as much as I did. That is why I respected you."
"You respected me because I was the one who could offer you all of this!" She exclaimed, spreading her arms out to include the castle and the bent forest and the island beyond it.
"No," he shook his head. "I didn’t need to respect you for that. I could have gone back to doing things the way I always did before I found you. Or I could have forced you... more directly to create what I needed. I could have tortured your mate. But you changed my mind about how to handle myself and about how to treat the alyko. You made me see things differently."
"My mate?" She seethed, squinting against the hot tears that were still coming. He was so wrong about so many things, including what Seth was to her.
"Yes," he said simply. "Your mate."
"Seth is not..." she shook her head. "Alyko don’t have mates."
"So I have been told," he chuckled. "And I do not believe it. I believe they have a harder time finding them due to their circumstances and how they are viewed within the lycan packs. I believe they reject the notion within themselves as well... when times require it."
"You think you know the alyko?" She scoffed back. "You think you know me?"
"Yes, I do. I have spent decades and decades amongst the alyko," he started walking toward her cautiously. "And I have spent a lot of time on this island that you created. And a lot of time with Seth. There are many things I have come to believe," he stopped in front of her, searching the angry refusal in her eyes.
"One of those things I have come to believe is that alyko are by far the strongest when it comes to will and sacrifice. They will convince themselves of things when it is necessary, they will remain strong psychologically, and they will sacrifice everything when it is for someone else, regardless of who that person is to them... but especially when it is someone they care for."
It was true. He often heard lycans refer to alyko as bleeding hearts, and there was a reason for it. The alyko felt deeply and gave wholly of themselves always. Despite their powerful abilities, they were easy to take advantage of, to cast aside, to hunt and imprison and target and make disappear, because the depth with which they felt for others made them vulnerable to attack. They did not often fight back. That is why Zagan’s operation here was so successful all of this time.
"Why are you saying this?" Nedra shook her head, glaring at him. "You used all of those things you are describing about the alyko to your own benefit."
"Yes," he admitted. "I did. I did, and it was so easy with you Nedra, because you were always the strongest of them all. You know who you are, you know who you love, and you are rooted here because of your mate. You have always been willing to do anything to keep him safe. I knew this better than anyone."
She continued to glare at him, unable to find words to reply as tears slid down her face.
"Don’t you think..." he said softly, "that convincing the alyko they are not capable of a mate pull would be another excellent way to control them? Just like telling everyone else that alyko are witches? The problem is... the alyko have allowed themselves to believe the mate part."
"But there have been no alyko with mates!" She growled, unsure as to why she felt so strongly about refusing this possibility. But she did—she was so angry that he was suggesting it. He was so presumptuous. What right did he have to make any suggestions about the alyko? He should not speak of them at all!
"We now know there are at least two," his eyebrows shot up.
"They are different," Nedra shook her head. "August is the product of an experiment and... and Penelope is mated to a vampire!"
"They are both still alyko, Nedra. Why should they be any different than every other alyko out there? Why should they be so different than you?"
"They just are," she shook her head.
Zagan sighed. This reparation with Nedra was not going to be easy.
"The point is not whether Seth is your mate anyway, is it? The point is that you are so much stronger, so much better than what I have kept you believing... what everyone has kept all the alyko believing. Don’t let your hatred for me keep you from seizing the rest of what is waiting out there for you. Don’t let it keep you from being with the family you have created together."
Nedra’s glare slowly transitioned to shock, and her mouth fell open. "What? What did you say?"
Zagan took a step back, diverting his eyes guiltily. "I know a bit more about what you have sacrificed than you think."
"What?" She gasped, staring at him in disbelief.
"I know about your children," he said quietly. "I don’t know who they are or where they are. I promised myself that I would not try to discover them or seek them out. And if I accidentally came upon them at some point, that I would let them go."
"What? Why?" She asked, different tears welling now.
"I suppose I already had enough on you with Seth. And there is something about you... as I said, I respect you," he shrugged. "And I figured... whatever abilities your children had could not possibly surpass your own. Seth is just lycan after all."
She scoffed. He was woefully wrong about that part.
"I have spent all this time... terrified that you would find them," she said.
"I know," he glanced up at her guiltily.
"I don’t understand. How do you know?" She asked. "Or... how did you know?"
"I caught her playing once," he said. "Your daughter."
