The Heirs

CHAPTER 33 - TWO MOTHER'S TALES

"You were kept away from Papa for eight years and you braved it all mama. You are so strong. Wish I had the same strength!" Minerva whispered chokily.

"You do Min. You are strong on your own. We can face any challenges life throws at us as long as we have a positive attitude, and I am telling you from my personal experience. I lost eight years of my life because of my own negative thinking. If I had stayed strong when it mattered the most, life would have been very different today" Yolanda smiled sadly.

"Do you really believe that?" Min asked curiously.

"I would like to believe so because that's all I can do now. Regret. It's still a negative attitude" Yolanda chuckled. "I do not want my daughter to have any regrets. Which is why I will stand by you always and protect you from any harm as long as I can" Yolanda swore passionately.

"I am glad I have you and papa beside me," Minerva said wiping her tears. "I know you are there to catch me even if I fall."

"We will not let you fall Min" Yolanda promised. "We have failed once but we will not fail you. Growing up, I had a complete belief that my father would protect me" Yolanda began reminiscing her own past. "But I should have known better. He left his pregnant mate for his kingdom, his pride. He would do the same to anyone else too."

"You never talk about your mom" Minerva whispered, in a stunned voice.

"That's because I never really knew her" Yolanda admitted. "She died when I was only three years old and I know she loved me because I have faint memories of her holding me close, but that's all! I don't remember loving her. To me, it was always me and my aunt, Daisy, against the world and when she fell sick and knew that I had no one... that's when she contacted father; so that he could finally take some responsibility" Yolanda chuckled mirthlessly as she remembered King Stanislaus arriving at her humble home when she was an eight-year-old.

He had seemed like a being from another world. So tall, so powerful but his eyes had been warm and tender when he had gazed at her. Hands firm and promising around her little ones.

"Father did love me," Yolanda said as tears clouded her eyes remembering King Stanislaus who had tried hard to win her love when he had taken her to the palace to live with him and his wife, who had immensely disliked her for being an unwanted reminder of her husband's past. King Stanislaus had not put up with the behavior of the then queen and had forbidden her from being around his daughter.

"He loved my mother too, but he had chosen duty over her and married someone his position demanded— a strong she-wolf and not an innocent human. There had been regret in his eyes that he had left his mate to die alone and so he made up for it by showering all his love on me until it twisted into possession of sorts" she shuddered. "I was his heir; his blood and he couldn't stop gloating about it. He had great plans for my life, and it all went pear-shaped when I met my mate— a Zeke, whom he had sworn to hate. Father hated the Zeke's because Xander Zeke, killed his parents; but that was because his parents had orchestrated the murder of Xander's pregnant mate" Yolanda said sadly. "Father wanted the Zeke bloodline to be wiped out because of the promise he made at his parent's grave. Never would he have imagined that his own daughter would be the one continuing the Zeke bloodline. When he found out about my pregnancy, he became cruel and lost every shred of humanity."

With a sad smile on her face, Yolanda continued, "Aunt Daisy had honestly believed she had been doing what was best for me. Her family had always been poor and uneducated. They had no great wealth or power and to my aunt, King Stanislaus had been a perfect guardian for me. He was rich, powerful, and most importantly... my father. So, she gave me that stupid flower and sent me to the palace in the clothes I wore."