The house is isolated, located deep in the forest as the drive took three hours of towns spread thin and thick woods between them. The private drive up to the house feels as if we are lost, taking the wrong route as the dirt path is surrounded by thick walls of shrubbery. An opening is where the house is placed in a green field with wild flowers by the circular driveway, a Tudor-style house with dark bricks and accent colors with a pastel green door. I can understand why Zion believes this place to be one of safety for the time being as well as why he bought this house for getting away from the drama of the palace.
"It's very nice," I comment as Zion parks the car and we sit looking at our new place of haven. Biting my lip, I look around at the surrounding forest, the depths dark as I wonder how easy it could be for a dark creature to hid and wait us out.
"I'll show you around."
The tour of the house is short, only three bedrooms to view, a living area, kitchen, dining room, and two extra rooms left empty for extra use as the cherry wood floors add a soft appeal to the house. The garden outside is overgrown with weeds, Zion informing me he has not been here for a good while as he has been overseas looking for someone like Fiona to bring me back.
"What now?" Zion raises an eyebrow as I ask the question. "We are separated from society out here and cannot really leave the property. What are we to spend our days doing?" It's a fair question, for there are no other people out here. "Is there really no one we can turn to?"
"No."
"Elijah? He was your right hand man and you have not mentioned his name once," I point out, recalling the witty individual who helped me adjust to royal life with a sense of humor.
The one light conversation takes a different turn as Zion walks into the dining room and takes a seat. I remain in the doorway, looking to my past husband as he pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a deep breath. "Elijah is working beside Lily Maxwell. The current King Laraxus is not wise enough to see that they are using him as a puppet in their games."
"Why did Elijah betray you?" Elijah and Zion were best friends, at least that is what it seemed like, but when did that all change? Were they ever best friends? Did Zion do something which caused Elijah to turn?
Looking at me from the corner of his eye, Zion contemplates something in that head of his. "Not all men are good or bad, there is not a definite gap between the two. The lines can become blurred." I wait for his next words. "Elijah believes there is revenge to be had because he sees the world differently than I do."
Elijah was a gentle soul, someone I could confide in when Zion was having his outbursts, and someone I labeled as a dear friend. There are always two sides to every story. I need a way to hear the other side to this story. "What does he believe?"
"It happened long ago, it does not matter."
"It matters when it places our lives at stake as well as could rip apart the kingdom your family has run for centuries," I snap, needing Zion to understand I am not the same woman I was in my past life, that I will not let him walk over me like this and thing a vague question is enough to get by. "The truth has a way of always coming out."
<><>
The day continues slow, Zion staying out of my way since our conversation about Elijah, and my mind wanders as I find myself in the sitting room, enjoying the silence as I rest beside the fireplace and look through the bookshelf. Hardly any book seems familiar, each bound in leather and worn down, and holding the distinct old book smell I have come to love ever since a child. A completely black book catches my eye, my fingers running over the leather kept in rather good condition compared to the other books as I slip the book from the shelf.
The book holds no markings on the front, seeming more like a journal than anything. Opening to the first page, the dark purple ink written in cursive catches my eye as the handwriting is unfamiliar. To my mate. May you use this as a reminder of who you truly are. -Lillian
I close the journal quickly, looking to the entrance of the room to see if Zion is close. Seeing he is no where, I open the journal again, seeing the note from Lillian as her words stick out to me. Reminder of who you truly are. Odd words to leave in a note when gifting someone a journal. Opening to the next page, I almost flinch at the smear of dried blood across the first page as I know immediately this is not the type of journal I would ever have kept. The first page is scattered with awful handwriting, as if Zion was writing it in a hurry, the smudges of ink and blood telling me he was writing this during a time of fear.
A Grain of Truth. That is the title of the first entry, his entry beginning detailing his encounter with Nixon Maxwell that day. The two of them having claim over Lillian as I can read in his words the manipulation and control which she had over him years ago. He talks of Nixon and him leading a raid upon a group of rogues, more specifically Ring Leaders, and how they attacked in the night as Lillian had informed them the treason the rogues were committing. I remember the Ring Leader rumors, of how three of them were killed on a Summer Solstice, a night which was supposed to be peaceful and respected across the werewolf world, a day honored to have no attacks, and these Ring Leaders were murdered with no one to tie the murders to. But here I have the confession of Zion telling of how he committed murder with Nixon on the Ring Leaders on a day of peace which should have been respected. Hell, Alpha Kings have executed Alphas and warriors before for attacking others on this day and here Zion is being a hypocrite.
Zion told me he was a different man when Lillian was in his life, poisoned by her words, but never have I expected he would break law - his own law - to do things for her. She manipulated him and Nixon for what? Why were these Ring Leaders killed?
I read further into the entry, Zion discussing the massacre in detail as I try and make sense of what is going on. Flipping to the next entry, I read further to see what else Zion did. Perhaps Elijah's name could be found in here. I flip through the pages, worried I may land across more horrible entries as I search for Elijah's name.
I can hear footsteps approaching and I close the journal and slip it back into the shelf, acting fast to seem like I've just been relaxing in the chair as I stretch my legs out and rest my head back. Zion soon stands in the doorway as his eyes scan me over, inspecting me as I glance over to him. "Do you recall the night I proposed?"
I nod, sitting up in the chair as Zion walks into the room. "I was all dressed up, eyes on us as we danced around and people stared at the ring on my finger."
"I kept your ring," Zion informs, pulling out the massive oval diamond set on the simple band with elegance. "I know we are not close like we used to be, but I hope one day you will wear it again." Zion walks over to me, placing the ring down on the coffee table, looking nervous as he lets go of the ring. "You were beautiful that night and beyond beauty the day of our wedding."
A soft smile appears on my face as I hear those words, my cheeks feeling warm as I recall the day we took our vows. "I was nervous."
"So was I," Zion remarks, taking a seat across from me as he glances to the bookshelf. "But we made it far. We loved one another very much and I once told you I would do anything to protect you, to keep you alive and safe."
I bite my lip, looking outside as I recall the entry in his journal, the murders he detailed. "No husbands are expected to safe their wives from death, to resurrect them," I point out, "you did what you could."
"You kept your vows, to protect me, for you died because of me, protecting me," Zion points out, his voice bitter. "I hated myself for a year, wanting to fall from the tallest tower of the palace, but I knew I could not let that be the end of our story. I hated myself because I could not protect you and I decided enough was enough."
"And you began the journal to bring be back and keep your vow," I finish, coming to his conclusion as Zion nods. A bitter taste settles in my mouth as I know a big reason I was brought back was due to selfish reasons. "We still have vows to keep to others. To Keva and her kin."
"We can wait, we do not have to rush that," Zion informs, his voice low as he does not look me in the eye. "I am not ready yet...to..."
"To be reminded that last time there was a child within me I died?" I ask, watching as he nods.
"I want us to be in a place of safety so I do not have to worry that I may lose one or both of you ever again."
<><>
I can still recall the feeling of the afterlife, the feelings of nothingness, my body floating off into the abyss, an eternal slumber taking over me, and my body at rest. It felt like those scenes when you see someone drown, how their body is suspended in the ocean, drifting further into the darkness, the light farther out of reach as it looks peaceful. Zion pulled my hand out of the abyss, retrieving my body as my soul was taken from the slumber and sewn back into my body.
I feel those things again now as I read this black book of his, face holding no expression as my eyes become glazed over. A sour taste resides in my mouth as I read his words, reading something worse than his first entry as he details the betrayal of a pack in Iceland which was trying to create peaceful ties with Zion's kingdom as they feared for their safety.
Turning the page, I read of Zion's misdeeds, for how Lillian told him that this pack would make him look weak, and making an example of them would make people respect and fear his kingdom. She wanted him to believe massacring an entire pack would make his reign as king become more respected, but she was lying through her teeth. Lillian wanted Zion to become feared, to show no mercy, to show the world that Alpha King Zion does not spare even the weakest pup. Zion and his men killed every single pack member, even the youngest members barely weeks old as they tore them from their dead mother's arms and slit their throats.
Is this really the man I married in my past life? He said the days where Lillian tainted his mind were over, but nothing can ever erase the murders which he committed. A change of character cannot mean that history should forget the evil acts committed. He spent years of his life under Lillian's so-called spell, but I wonder if it was really a spell. She died and yet he still fought Nixon, he still had a bitter taste in his mouth and wanted revenge. She may have manipulated him years ago, but she crafted him into his own man, and I fear that man she made is still living in Zion today.
I flip to the end of the journal where Zion stopped writing, picking a place dated before my own death as I scan the titles and names to see if I notice Nixon's name. Lily Maxwell is present in one which I decide to read, barely happening a few months before Nixon would murder me.
Taking in a deep breath, I begin to read the journal entry, immediately becoming disgusted by what I read as I get my answer to if Zion really changed. I thought Zion was a better man in my past life, that he was a many of some mercy, held respect, and had morals. I was wrong, for it seems there has always been a dark side to Zion and I was just foolish not to see it.
He tried to kill Lily Maxwell along with her own unborn child, for she was pregnant when Zion and his men entered her home and destroyed it, Zion himself even laying a hand on Lily as he beat her and allowed a chandelier to fall and the glass to impale the Luna of Crimson Lock. He left Lily to die in the arms of her husband, but she lived. Zion told me it should have been him that day when Nixon shot me, but I only see a clear connection now. Zion tried to kill Nixon's pregnant wife and in return and revenge, Nixon went on to kill me, Zion's pregnant wife.
Was Nixon always the bad guy? He did not hold a true moral code, for he was tainted as well, but Zion cannot go on telling me that Nixon was the only bad guy here. Zion attacked a pregnant woman, something disgusting to read and process, and I can now understand why Lily Maxwell is so driven in her cause.
There are always two sides to every story and Zion was foolish to think I would never hear the other side.