Chapter 204 Twinkle
Zalia
I grab the next file from the stack and prepare myself for the same boring reports as the previous thirty- two files I read, but I don’t think anything could have prepared me for the words in this file. At the top of the first page, it says Search for Juliette, and I blink my eyes a few times to see if I read it correctly, but no matter how often I blink my eyes, the words remain the same. This file is a detailed recount of a search for Juliette. She disappeared the night before she was supposed to return to her Father’s Pack.
Pack–members were divided into groups to search for Juliette, starting with the Pack–house and its surroundings before making their way to the borders of Crystal Cove Pack. Every time a group returned to the Pack–house, this file got updated, and when the entire territory had been searched, Warriors were sent out to search just outside their territory. The last sentence in this file throws me for a loop: The search was called off when they received news from the Palace that Juliette had shown up there to accuse her Father of a forceful marking.
“What the fuck? Someone tried to do to her what our Grandfather tried to do to Mom,” Twilight growls in my head, and I turn the page, hoping for some more information, but there is nothing else in this file. I quickly grab the next file to find a report from some Investigators. Each of them found out that Juliette had arrived at the Palace and that she testified against her Father. Other than that, they had been unable to find any information on Juliette. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.
I sigh in relief when Liam calls it a day, and I snuggle into Deimos‘ side as I close my eyes for a moment. Apparently, I closed my eyes for longer than just a moment because I hear someone whisper next to my ear, “Wake up, Baby Girl.” I slowly open my eyes because the voice and the nickname belong to someone I lost years ago. I feel tears rolling down my face the moment I lock eyes with my Mom. I reach out with my hand to touch her one more time, only to find that she is just out of reach.
She just stands there with her signature braid over her left shoulder, reminding me of Cassandra. She is wearing the same outfit as the last time I saw her, and my eyes get drawn to her hands. In her hands is a piece of paper, but I can’t see what is written on it, and as I strain my eyesight, I realize the paper is upside down. I let my eyes drift down to notice that the words at the top of the paper are larger, and I focus on deciphering the words one by one: Birth Certificate.
I look up at Mom to see her smiling down at me while she slowly fades away. I try calling out to her, but no sound escapes my lips, and I slowly close my eyes in defeat the moment she is gone.
“Zalia, wake up. Zalia, please,” I hear Deimos say as he shakes my shoulder, and I can hear the worry in his voice as he asks me again to open my eyes. I slowly open my eyes to see a worried look on his face that gets replaced by a small smile when he sees I woke up.
“Is dinner ready?” I ask jokingly, but he apparently doesn’t like the joke, a flash of anger shooting through his eyes. I slowly lift my hand to touch his cheek.
“What is wrong, my Love?” I ask him, and I see him smile at the endearment.
“You were out all night. You didn’t respond to anything, and Doc ran every test he could think of,” he answers as he cups my face. “Please, don’t ever scare me like that ever again. I don’t know how I could live without you, Princess,” he whispers before he kisses me.
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A moment later, Doc walks into the room, and after he has checked my vitals, I get released from the infirmary, but Deimos refuses to let me walk. Everyone is waiting for me on the Gamma floor, and Deimos places me in Dad’s arms the moment he steps
steps forward.
“Don’t ever scare me like that again,” Dad says.
I look from Dad to Deimos and back to Dad again. “Did the t smile when I hear both of them chuckle.
I see Leander working on his laptop, and I remember
Wo of
you rehearse this?” I ask teasingly, and I
are there any Birth Certificates in the files we handled so far?” I ask him, and after a few moments, he starts
so far, but none of them belong to Juliette.
calling out every name on the Birth Certificates We Words on the paper Mom was holding, “Leander,
“Liam, do you think we can get a Birth Certificate from Crystal Cove Pack of Juliette?” I ask as I turn to my Father–in–law, but he just shakes his head as he sits down.
Myer pipe past Birty–five–plus years, they have refl
to allow anyone into their territory. They even refuse to allow Axelle access to their territory. We don’t know why they refuse any visitors–they never give an answer to any questions related to that–and I can guarantee you that we asked,” Liam says, and I wonder if it has anything to do with the disappearance of Juliette.
Deimos asks me why I want to see her Birth Certificate, and for a moment, I consider lying to my Mate.
“Okay, I will tell you, but promise me that you won’t call me crazy,” I say as I look around the room. “While I was out, I saw Mom. She was wearing her braid over her left shoulder like she always had, and she was wearing her favorite light blue skinny jeans with her ‘If you don’t want a sarcastic answer, don’t ask me‘ shirt. She was holding a piece of paper, and it took me a moment to realize it was upside down, but I was able to read the words: Birth Certificate,” I tell them.
Dad looks at me with tears in his eyes. “I never told you what
Was on her shirt,” he says, and I now know for sure that it wasn’t just a dream. I somehow saw my Mom almost fifteen years after her death.
I cuddle with Dad as the others try to figure out a way to get our hands on Juliette’s Birth Certificate.
“We can get it without anyone knowing we were there,” Twilight says, and I hear Goliath growl in my head.
“Goliath, you know that Twilight is right. I understand you don’t want us to go, but you know that she is right,” I say to him.
This time, I hear Goliath growl in my head while Deimos growls out loud. “Not happening,” I hear both of them say at the same time–one voice in my head and the other right next to me.
I turn in my Father’s lap to look at my Mate. “I’ll make you a deal. You can join me to the border when I go to Crystal Cove to get a copy of that Birth Certificate, and I promise I won’t sneak out in the middle of the night without you knowing,” I say as I look into his eyes.
It is easy to tell that he is arguing with Goliath, and I hear Nyx and Leander placing a bet on the first thing that will come out of his mouth, but I doubt anyone could have guessed what he said next.
“Fine, but not until you are marked,” Goliath growls as he cups my face and pulls me towards him. I am not sure where to look because everyone knows what Goliath is hinting at, and I think I keep turning a deeper
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shade of red every time I think about it.
“What’s it going to be, Princess?” Deimos asks next to my car, and I feel a shiver running down my spine. I know I can’t answer his question out loud, and through the mind–link, I tell him he has a deal. But what I hadn’t expected was for him to look disappointed.
“They probably thought you wouldn’t accept it. They probably hoped you would back out,” Twilight growls, and I can feel myself getting angry.
“Zalia, don’t get upset. I am happy you want to wear my mark, but I had hoped that after marking you, I could give you my Grandmother’s necklace. I am not going to stop you from getting that evidence. I just realized I don’t have a gift for you–a gift to show you that even without the Mate–bond, you are the one I want to spend the rest of my life with,” Deimos says as he pulls me onto his lap. My Mate turns out to be a silly romantic, and I think I love him even more for it.
I place my head on his chest as he wraps his arms around me, and I ask Dad to get me a map of Crystal Cove Pack.
While we wait for Dad to return with the map, Deimos tells me about the necklace–gifted to his Grandmother by his Grandfather after they had marked and mated. They are still alive, and Deimos tells me that his Grandmother didn’t like missing the last day of the competition. She had wanted to meet me, but circumstances didn’t allow it. I ask him if he told her he had met his Mate, and he starts cussing as he looks at Liam.
“Nana is going to kill you, Son. It was nice knowing you,” Liam says teasingly, and Deimos hides his face in my neck.
I can sense that two people are approaching the door to the Gamma floor. The moment the door opens, I hear a female voice calling out, “Deimos,” and I can feel him stiffen under me. Looking at Liam, I can make an educated guess on who just called out his name, and Twilight asks me to do something, just because she wants to know how Deimos‘ Grandmother would react.
I quickly get out of Deimos‘ lap and rush over to the female standing next to Dad. “Nana, how did you know where to find us?” I ask as I wrap my arms around her, and I hear her laughing as she hugs me back.
“Is this the female you told me about, Grandson?” she asks as we finally let one another go. I look at Deimos to see him nodding his head, and she pulls back a little to take a good look at me.
“You better behave yourself, Grandson. Or your Mate might bury you–alive,” she says with a twinkle in her eyes.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
