Stronger as One (#1, Completed)

64. Secrets and truths

RILEY 

I didn't even need to think about what I wanted to know first, so the name rolled off my tongue when he finished his sentence. "Michelle."

"Yes, the lovely Windcrest Luna. I was honest earlier when I said that this was never planned. After that idiot Angus Macalister made the deal to save his son's life, my men extracted her wolf, but the most peculiar thing happened in her case- the process caused severe amnesia for her. She did not remember anything about her life, except for her name." He casually took a sip from his wine, enjoying his meal while he kept on speaking. "See, I was looking for an assistant at the time and let's just say that Michelle had the right skill set that I needed. She may not have remembered her life but her Luna abilities are embedded in her mind and no memory loss could take that away from her."

I stared at him with my mouth open. I just couldn't believe how he saw nothing wrong in everything that he was doing.

"Are you for real? You destroyed her life and then you just took her in as your assistant! Do you get a kick out of your twisted ways, Markolf?"

"Oh, come on, Riley- if anything, I did her a favour. How would she have fended for herself in the human world? She had no family, no money, no place to stay. And I have to admit, I have come to care for her after all this time."

"Care for her? You tore her away from her children, you maniac." My voice was cold but calm as I was finally able to better control myself around him.

"Ha, the bonds with parents are not all that they are made out of to be. You see, the Macalisters just kept going with their lives. They never even tried to look for her. Instead, they continued, like she never existed. Just like she had." Bitterness oozed from his words as finished his sentence. Clearly, he was not referring to Michelle but whoever he had in mind, it was someone that had upset him to a great extent.

"Who?"

"My mother."

"Your mother?"

"Yes, the cold-hearted human who abandoned me as a kid." The air became thick with anger and resentment while he spoke. A sudden chill swept around the room, making me shiver. "My father- the supposedly great demon Asmodeus- slept with my mother when she was in her early twenties, impregnating her and abandoning her once she discovered she was pregnant. But when she gave birth to me, she finally understood that I was not really human. You see, cambions are stillborn- we show no sign of life outside of being alive, meaning that we have no pulse and no breath. By the time we turn seven, we resemble your average human kid. Yet, for my mother, that one look at me after I was born was enough to hate me for being different. Half-demon."

I carefully weighed my words before I spoke. "So she abandoned you?"

"You could say that," he shrugged. "She became very religious, repenting for her sins, and I turned into a constant reminder of her lustful times with a demon. So she locked me up in the basement the moment I turned one. She didn't abandon me completely- she took care of me just enough to keep me alive. But she might as well have thrown me on the streets to survive on my own- I probably would have led a better life!" His bitter laughter rang across the room.

"Instead, she kept on telling me every day that I needed to hate myself for what I was and my repentance was to be shown through my pain- physical mainly, but also emotional."

I was horrified by Markolf's story. Yes, he was a psychopath and nothing excused what he had been doing or what he planned to do but learning about what he had been through helped me understand better what made him this way.

"Eventually, my father showed up and took me away. Supposedly to bring me to my people, the demonic creatures. Yet, as a cambion, I had very little power and he did not find me worthy enough to remain with them, so he threw me out. Abandoned me, just like my mother, for being different. For not being good enough," he spat out the words. I couldn't help but feel pity and sadness for the little boy who experienced so much heartbreak and betrayal. The shakiness in his voice as he stopped briefly was so subtle that I would have nearly missed it but I did. Perhaps he also realised it because he cleared his throat, regaining the confidence in his tone. "Some witches took pity on me and took me, teaching me about the supernatural world. And here we are today."