294 Unresolved Wounds

    +8 Points

    294 Unresolved Wounds

    Mara

    I had tried reaching Martha several times. No response. It felt intentional, like she didn’t want to be found. But I wasn’t ready to give up. I decided I’d try again after breakfast. Maybe this time, she’d pick up. I just

    wanted to ask her toe home.

    Lucian and I showered together, something we’d made a habit of these days. I hadn’t truly appreciated the size of our shower until my belly grew. Now, it felt like a small sanctuary. Lucian washed me gently, like I

    was something precious, and though I sometimes rolled my eyes at how pampered he made me feel, I secretly loved it. We joked, sshed, lingered too long. It was our soft ce before the rest of the world

    crept in.

    After drying off, I pulled on my short free-flowing gown and let out a quiet grumble.

    “What’s the matter, darling?” Lucian asked, already pulling on a shirt.

    I nced at the bedroom door. “I’m not looking forward to breakfast.”

    He sighed, understanding instantly.

    “I still don’t get why she left,” he muttered, clearly still holding onto his frustration. “It’s not like Martha was perfect. And my father apologized. I know he meant it.”

    I turned and looked at him, my expression soft but serious. “Lucian, she’s hurting. You’ve seen how he treated her. Do you honestly think I’d stay if you spoke to me the way your father spoke to her? If you humiliated me like that? Made me feel disposable?”

    He looked down, jaw tight. I could see the defense building in his head, but he didn’t speak.

    “I think he believed she’d never leave,” I continued. “He convinced himself he was doing her a favor by keeping her around, and so he never saw the need to change. She was always supposed to stay. But she

    didn’t.”

    Lucian shook his head. “My father’s jealous, Mara. Possessive. I learned he didn’t let my mother out of his sight either.”

    I turned sharply toward him. “Did he throw your mother out? Embarrass her in public?”

    Silence.

    That was the answer.

    “Martha needs time to heal,” I said, voice softening. “And if he really wants her back, he needs to let her

    take it.”

    Lucian didn’t argue further. He just nodded. I knew he didn’t agree with everything I said, but he wasn’t going to fight me on it. Probably because his grandaunt Lydia had moved in with us, and she was very

    294 Unresolved Wounds

    sensitive to tension. She and Katyah were a blessing, though. The house felt warmer with them around.

    Lighter.

    They’d brought new energy into the breakfast lounge, into all of us, really. Even in the presence of Vander’s brooding silence, Lydia and Katya brought a kind of joy we all leaned into. We were even taking signnguage sses now, just tomunicate with Katyah properly. She was the only reason I hadn’t started

    avoiding breakfast altogether.

    Because it was hard.

    It was hard sitting across from a man who’d once ruled the ind and now couldn’t even find the words to

    fill a room.

    “Have you been able to reach Martha?” Lucian asked quietly.

    I shook my head. “No.”

    I didn’t expect it to be easy. If even Darian, her own son, hadn’t been able to reach her, it was clear she

    wasn’t just hiding. She was disconnected. Completely. He had traveled to Goldenpeak two months ago

    when she first opened the foundation, but he didn’t find her there. She’d vanished.

    It felt deliberate. Like she had cut away anything and anyone connected to Vander. I didn’t understand it.

    Not fully. Because I knew she loved him. Dearly.

    “She’s not in Goldenpeak,” I said. “That’s confirmed. But I’m reaching out again. Olivia’s in town. I sent her a

    messagest night, it was delivered this morning. I’ll call her after breakfast. If anyone knows where

    Martha is… it’s Olivia.”

    Lucian sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

    “I just hope she hasn’t left the ind,” I added. “Your father fears it. And honestly… it’s possible.”

    He nodded slowly, the weight of it all still etched into his expression.

    “Olivia’s still training female fighters in Mistwood, right?” he asked, trying to shift the focus, even if just for

    a moment.

    “Yeah,” I said with a small smile. “And being paid well for it. She’s even training the Alpha’s Luna. She told me I inspired him.”

    That pulled a more genuine smile from Lucian, even if it didn’t fully reach his eyes. The worry was still there, quiet, persistent, gnawing at the edges.

    The whole Vander and Martha situation was like an open wound. No one wanted to touch it, but we all felt olli/li/ol

    Complicated. Painful. And for now… unresolved.

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