"Their sorcerer must be very powerful to be able to mess with a shifter's natural essence." He adds
"You think what they did is in the essence?" I ask, remembering how Thor said he needed his mate's essence to fall asleep, giving Miranda the opportunity to carry out her evil deed
"Yes– It's a lot of theories, I know but think about this. Back then, I loved Viveka so much but I had to be with Evelyn. Her essence felt like air to me. Life. Oxygen I couldn't do without. A drug I must have every day otherwise, go mad without it... You know, I even wanted to keep both of them. Selfish bastard right?" He says and laughs
"I needed both of them for survival. I loved Viveka so much I couldn't bear to part from her and at the same time, I wanted Evelyn around me. It felt like I wanted to go mad when I tried to stay away from her.
Not smelling her essence made me want to hit my head on the wall with frustration. Just for no reason, I would feel a surge of rage within me. I would thirst for blood and feel I should rip into flesh. I was borderline feral, and to keep my sanity, I had to do whatever Evelyn wanted...
She wanted me to stop seeing Viveka. She wanted me to have zero contact with my son. Whatever she wanted I gave, if I refused, she would stay away from me and I would have to beg like a common dog when I couldn't take the discomfort of being without her essence anymore...
I hated her so much I never touched her. We were only intimate once and it happened because I was dead drunk. That was how she conceived Justin. I stopped drinking carelessly after that day. So now that you know, can my experience be compared with what Thor is going through?"
"Yes, it's almost the same. Yesterday after the duel. After he met and chose Miranda as his mate, he immediately started feeling Ash's absence. I went out to look for Ash because she looked anguished when she left. When I returned, he was already going feral.
He told me he felt something important had gone out of his life but he couldn't remember what it was no matter how hard he tried to. He went so crazy he destroyed everything he could lay his hands on inside the Arena's female bathroom.
To help him relax. We brewed for him, valerian root and magnolia bark tea. He said he needed his mate's essence to sleep. We had no choice but to put Miranda in the same room with him."
"But is that wise? Putting her in the same room with him? What if he yearned for female flesh and mate with her?"
I chuckle with relief then, remembering what the seer told me concerning that.
"Thor and Ash have a special mate bond between them and they've already mated in every sense of the world, Uncle. That is why he will never be able to mate with any other she-wolf for as long she's alive."
"Oh, goddess, I'm glad!" He exclaims with relief before adding as an afterthought, "For as long as she's alive? Ash needs to be protected from that little bitch then, what are you doing to protect her?"
I chuckle again.
"She's protected Uncle, don't worry about that. Naturally, Miranda is the one who needs protection from Ash. The evil bitch was smart. Just like how Evelyn got you to do whatever she wanted with you, she somehow managed to make Thor sign and put his Alpha seal on an official letter addressed to the Council police, commanding them to arrest and put Ash in prison. It was in that process of arrest that she killed Martha"
"What crime was Ash arrested for?"
"Attempted murder of the Luna. The letter addressed Miranda as the Luna."
"Oh, goddess! She is getting out of hand. I know you've done a good job so far Eric and I commend you for that but please tell me you have a plan for Miranda. Now, I don't care if she's my friend's daughter. I don't care if she has to die for my son to have peace. This has gone on long enough! Do you have a plan for her?"
"Yes, Uncle but unfortunately, we can't do anything to her right now..."
"And why the hell not? Why?" He desperately asks to the extent I almost laugh at his desperation. Now he's eager to see his friend's son die.
"Two reasons. One, Thor needed Ash's essence that the bitch stole to sleep, and two. When I consulted with The Seer, he told me, we can't tell Thor that Miranda is not his mate. We have to let him keep believing the lie until the truth slowly begins to occur to him. With everything that's going on with him right now, telling him might finally push him over the edge."
"But for how long is this going to last? What if Thor is slow to come to realization?" He asked worriedly.
"That is why I'm a bit relieved. We don't have much longer. The Seer said it can't be more than a month give or take."
"I'm relieved too... Thank you, Eric. I know I spoke harshly to you earlier and I'm sorry. Thank you so much for not relenting. For taking care of him. I'm grateful."
"You don't have to thank me, Uncle. We might not be from the same parents but Thor is my brother and we're now bound by blood and love. He would lay down his life for me without blinking an eye and I wouldn't hesitate to do the same for him."
"I'm glad... Even if we don't have the opportunity to kill Miranda ourselves, I tell you that she'll never be free of the bondage she put herself in. If only she understood the consequences of her actions, she would never have done this. I know she would never be happy herself. I'm speaking from my experience with Evelyn.
Even if Thor doesn't realize it on time, the magic she used on him will eventually wear off. Like mine did. That was why I was able to separate from Evelyn and get together with my beloved again. Now I just hate her. I couldn't even find myself loving the son she gave me."
"I'm glad for you Uncle Knox and I'm optimistic that Thor will pull through this soon."
"Me too... I will talk to her father tonight to find out the kind of person she's been interacting with. I would have loved to invite him over to the estate so we could talk properly but we don't know who might be watching. I'll tell you how it goes tomorrow.''
"Great..."
"So what day is Thor's trial set for?"
I chuckle
"I'm afraid that we didn't wait to find out from those old fools. We kicked them out as soon as the impeachment proceedings were over."
"We kicked them out! Really!?... Even if you don't like them, they're still your elders, you don't have to be so disrespectful!" He says so firmly I immediately swallow the laughter coming out of my mouth.
"Yes, Uncle."
"Since I'm obviously not dead, everything will be sorted on the day of the trial. God, I can't wait for all these to be over."