Our Fatal Failings (Twisted book two)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Jonah’s POV

“This is the first international bank willing to give us a loan. We’re not about to throw the money around recklessly. Let’s use it on something that’s sure to give good returns. Like an agriculture subsidy,” Leon says. I nod. The other suggestions included allocations to certain packs to promote population expansion. And that would come, but it would come naturally. With all the witch-wolf pairings, more than I could’ve guessed, we’re going to see a baby boom soon. 

“I like that idea,” I say. “Our agricultural sector is one of our best-” The door slams open and a quivering woman stands in the doorway. She bends her head.

“Alpha, I have to ask you to see the Luna. She says it’s an emergency.”

My grips on the table tightens. “Emergency? What sort of emergency?”

“She asks you to come quick.”

I don’t think, I just charge through the halls to our bedroom. She isn’t running, is she? She wouldn’t do that to me again. I thought we were making so much progress. I thought-

I open the door and Imani stands with a camera in her hands. She presses her finger to her lips and looks down. Andreas takes a shaky step across the floor. He takes another. “You’re doing so good,” Imani praises. “You’re practically running.”

My heart swells in my chest, swells until it almost stops. I’m not going to cry over this. Am I going to cry over this? “Look at the Alpha in the house,” I say, walking gently around him so not to disturb his efforts. He takes another shaky step, chubby arms out around him. He steps forward again, but shows signs of falling. I reach forward to catch him before his head hits the ground. He flashes a fanged smile at me and I flash one back. Imani watches with furrowed brows.

“You two are so strange,” she says, turning off the camera. But I know better--the moment has made her soft. She had tears in the corner of her eyes. 

“I hope those are happy tears.”

She plays with the camera strong around her wrist. “I wish...I wish my mom were here to see it.”

I freeze. Of course, of course, her parents. I can’t hide it. I despise them. They forced Imani to preserve a secret that she didn’t even know about by pumping her full of toxins. They started the media frenzy that led to my father’s death. They were reluctant to give me information about her whereabouts. 

But of course, they’re still my mate’s parents. “We can set up a meeting with them.” Her eyes darted up to meet mine. 

“Really.” Her voice squeaks with excitement. She clears her throat. “I mean, that’s a good idea.”

“But first, there’s some files I think you should read.”

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Jonah produces a packet of papers and hands it to me. I take it in firm hands. I already knew my parents were lying to me. Nothing I read will come as a complete shock. I rip it open and pour over the information. 

“Brohmen?” 

“Keep reading.” He looks slightly waxy and more uncomfortable by the second. 

My father was a Beta? My mother is his mate? What did they leave?”

“There’s a tradition of having your stars read by a witch before you’re born. But I was a troublesome pregnancy so my mother could never go.”

I nod. What did this old woman say that drove them away from their family, their friends, their entire society? That’s a big change--stepping away from your society you’d been trained to believe was right your whole life. 

I turn the page to read the ink-written prophecy. “In your daughter runs the blood of kings, the will of iron, the cruelty of beasts. A mother of an empire, baptized by fire, watered with pain.”

My mouth goes dry. “A mother of an empire, watered with pain...it’s exactly what happened.” I wipe a nervous sweat from my forehead. “But what does the rest mean? The will or iron, the cruelty of beasts.” II look at him with wide eyes. “You’re not going to-”

“I don’t plan on expanding any more,” he says, voice soothing. “I’m done. I’m ready to settle down.”

I nod, dazed as I sift through the rest of the package. I’ve never seen these pictures before. I never knew anything about the early lives of my parents and it never struck me as strange until I was much older. There’s a picture of my father in a soccer uniform and a picture of my mother wearing his jersey. There’s a picture of my mother at a track meet and it’s captioned Alicia Hart, first place, hundred meter at the lupine open. 

“I never knew my mother ran.”

“She was exceptional, so my mother told me. She used to play sports too. Alicia Hart was an all around athlete. Track, swim, soccer-”

“No wonder she was so insistent that I learned to swim. She was huffing mad when I quit the swim team in middle school.” I sift through more pictures. In one my mother sits on a lawn chair sipping a can of beer while my dad, a teenager still, sits in the back of a truck. In another, my mother’s head peeks out of a truck and from behind her I can see my father’s grin. Another showcases my mother in a long, beautiful silver gown. The caption reads, "Congratulations to David and Alicia Brohmen on their mating."

“So they waited. They met each other first and waited until they were out of high school.”

“As it is usually.” He looks more uncomfortable now than before. “I...I thought I was mateless. It sent me into a sort of a frenzy when I met you and you didn’t acknowledge me.” He rubs a hand over his face. “I was jealous and feral. That was the rush.”

I change the subject. I don’t want to revisit that pain. “If you’re not the cruelty of beasts--and you won’t be because he won’t allow it--who is?”

He shrugs. “It’s hard to know what it’s about until it’s all over. It could be generational. And sometimes, it may never end.”

AUTHOR'S NOTE

If you can't tell already, we are very close to ending the two year journey of Imani and Jonah. Within five chapters or less with the material I have left. I'm trying to be regular with these updates. Everyone who has been with me this long deserves it.

xoxo

Burntwitch