Veritas

Chapter 70

"So you don't intend to kill her?" Aislinn asked quietly, wondering if there was hope for her future with him after all.

"I can never meet her. If that means someone else finds her, and can ensure we never meet...Well, perhaps that's a better option than killing her. I will never have the freedom to find a chosen mate until she is out of the picture, though...So, what must be done, shall be done" he explained with determination, sounding like perhaps he was trying to convince himself.

"How will you even know if she's been found, then? Nobody but you can tell you that, can they?" Aislinn wondered with a frown, hoping for an answer to help her evade danger in the future.

"Well...I lost my birth mother; but, without a present father to raise me, others had to step in. One of those is the woman I call my mother today...She is also known as the Oracle" he explained, smiling slightly. "She has guided me in many aspects of life, and this will be no different. If my mate dies, if she is captured, or if she is plotting against me...Mother will find out, and we can take appropriate action then."

Aislinn's eyes nearly popped out of her head. The Oracle was his mother?! If that was the case, how could he have not known who she was while parading around as Ash? How could she and the others have made it so close to their inner circle without detection? Aislinn had to learn more of the Oracle's power.

"Why didn't she just find her as a child and do something about her then? Can't the Oracle see things we can't?" She asked carefully, not sure what he'd be willing to share or what may set him off.

"She thinks the witches have her, honestly. Perhaps they're turning her against me, or maybe they're going to use her as a bargaining chip...Regardless, mother has been unable to locate her, and presumes it's a spell causing the problem" he said with a sigh, looking up at the sky.

Aislinn looked up at him with a frown. "Well, frankly, your kingdom has made it no secret that you intend to find and kill her...Do you really think it would be such a challenge to turn her against you? Maybe it's more common knowledge in the packs, and they understand your reasoning; but...All I've ever heard is that you holed yourself up in your castle, safe from all unmated she-wolves, and you'll kill her on sight" she explained.

The King let out a soft laugh, nodding. "Yes, I can understand how that certainly would put things in an easy light to manipulate" he admitted with another sigh, looking down at Aislinn. "What would you do in my shoes?" He asked.

Surprised by the question, Aislinn considered it carefully. Her whole life, she envied the love she saw between her parents, and wanted that for herself some day. Additionally, a mated pair was a whole, and grew stronger once together; so, it seemed logical to want to be together. If she knew that her mate would bring about her death, though...Would she still wish to be with him? Hadn't she been secretly hoping that Darius would turn out to be a good person, and not a monster intent on killing her for no good reason? That seemed like it was her answer.

"I think, especially as the King of werewolves, it would be important for me to find my mate. It would strengthen me, and by proxy the entire werewolf population. The Luna Queen is supposed to balance the rougher edges of the Alpha King; she gives where he takes, and vice versa. I don't believe that the intention was ever for the King and Queen to be chosen mates, as it just doesn't have the same impact to the kingdom. Additionally, if my only fear is of loss, it's said that the bond between a chosen mated pair is still devastating once broken; so...Would you not still be risking that pain and loss of control?" She asked, looking down at her bare toes which she wriggled in the earth, afraid to see his expression as she explained.

A silence fell between them as the King mulled over her opinion. After an extended period of just listening to the woods around them, Darius sighed heavily.

"Perhaps you are right...I have always seen my father as someone I never wish to turn into, and perhaps that has fuelled me too strongly in one direction. That said, when the Oracle all but confirms that your mate will die before you...It's difficult to seek the happiness that comes before the ruin" he explained quietly.

"Did she tell you how long you'll have before she dies?" She asked curiously, wondering if the downfall would be in old age or immediately.

"No...I never thought to ask" he said, shaking his head. "I think I so desperately feared my own undoing that it never dawned on me to consider when it would happen. Would I have an heir by then? Would he be old enough to understand why his father was a broken man? Could he pick up the pieces of the Kingdom? Is it even fair to put that on my child?"

"I think that's part and parcel of being a King or a Prince, though, is it not? Your Kingdom can't be perfect, and it will break down from time to time. Sometimes worse than others...So you always need to be prepared to pick it up from ruin, should that happen" Aislinn reasoned, looking up from her toes to see the King's face. "War is on the horizon...If you die without an heir during a battle, what becomes of werewolf kind? Is protecting your future child from a potential experience like you've had with your own father worth the deaths of thousands of other children?"

Darius looked down at her, staring into her beautiful, unique eyes as he pondered her words. "You think the future heir's happiness is less important than the lives of thousands of others?" He asked, his voice dropping quietly.

"I don't mean it quite like that; but...Frankly, yes" Aislinn said with a grimace. "Being a member of the Royal Family has many perks, I imagine; but, you are our pillar of structure. If your family was to be wiped out, we would lose all order. Civil war would break out, as Alphas would pit their packs against others. Wiping out the Kingdom to gain control of it is hardly a task a King should be willing to do...And so it's been important to keep the structure that the Moon Goddess gave us, and protect us from an unworthy ruler. Unfortunately, that does mean that your responsibility to your people is more important than your responsibility to yourself and your happiness at times" she explained, not taking her eyes away from his. "And that's why you should have a true, destined Luna to strengthen you and your kingdom, and to look out for your best interests while you're looking out for the best interests of the rest of us. She should ensure you're surrounded by love and support, so if she does die, you and your family can carry on without her. It's not that your happiness, or the future heir's happiness is unimportant; but...Why should it be more important than someone's life?"

Darius continued to stare into her eyes, his arm tightening around her shoulders a little. He had many emotions swimming inside of him, and Aislinn could see that while staring back into those eyes that were as green as the woods around them.

What she wasn't expecting, though, was when he shifted abruptly to lean down and press his lips to hers, stealing her first kiss.