Chapter 90: It’s not that simple ~AMBROSE’S POV~ Hearing this, the story of how my pack, my people, my family got slaughtered, from this perspective. Its soul crushing. Eye opening, and world shattering. Everything I thought I knew, it was all alive. It wasn’t an unprovoked attack. My Uncle Micheal, he was the cause of my family’s death, the cause of it all. My uncle broke the treaty. Committing an act of war. It could have been so much worse. He kidnapped and assaulted a woman, and my own father helped and participated. He cheated on my mother. His own fated mate. I remember it now, the horrible cries of a terrified and pleading woman, I remember hearing the mother of the woman I love get assaulted by my own father. What the fuck man. I look at my shaky little princess standing there holding herself tightly, like she could protect herself from the truth if she squeezed enough. I still couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Ursula was one of my most trusted people. Next to Damon, the only person I’ve always trusted. She wouldn’t lie. She’s right telling the pack the truth would have destroyed them, would have hurt my claim to the throne. Instead of the vampires that came in the dark of the night, taking the fall, it would have been me, a little seven-year-old boy who had just lost everything alongside them. They would have torn me apart, wanted me to pay. The way I wanted her to pay. Not being able to get revenge allowed my people to simmer in anger, waiting for the pot to get hot enough to boil over. I would have been an easy target, whereas the vampires gave them an unreachable target. This secret protected me, and it protected my family’s legacy, a legacy that was mine to inherit. Even still, I’m no better than my uncle and father, and the guilt of that was fucking awful. I was crumbling from it. I kidnapped her. I hurt her. Shit... I even killed her once. God, I’m so stupid. I told you, you’d regret it, should have listened. Onyx sneered. I bet you’re just loving this aren’t you? My suffering brings you joy? That’s fucked, we’re supposed to be allies. When you caused your own suffering from ignoring your ancient and wise wolf. I told you there was a connection from the mother F’ing start. So you ask me if I’m enjoying this, you can absolutely bet your royal ass I’m enjoying every single second of your karma. You’re an asshole, I hate you, can I ask the Moon Goddess for a new wolf, this one’s old and cranky. Should probably retire. Onyx just scoffed and rolled his eyes at me, unconcerned with my insult. "You did the same thing as your father, Ambrose, do you understand what that means? Do you understand what you’ve started?" Ursula yelled at me; she sounded frantic and stressed. I did know. They leveled entire packs and their territory. Leaving no survivors, just heads on spikes and hordes of bodies in their wake. They didn’t spare even children from their savagery. And their tactics had only been getting worse. I looked Odette up and down, but it was different with her than it was my uncle and father and Queen Violet. Odette was mine to love, to hold, to protect. I might have done the same thing, but the outcome was completely different. Just as I was about to defend myself, confess the truth, Odette spoke up. "Except it’s not the same, you got one thing wrong. Ambrose is my fated mate." She spoke with unwavering, surefire confidence, like nothing anyone could shake that fact. And it made my heart skip a beat and my stomach flutter like some high school girl in a romcom. She admitted at loud, proudly to someone who knows her family. She’s so brave, it kills me. No one else is more fit to be our mate. I just want to nuzzle her neck and smell her strawberry scent. They’ll be plenty of time for that later. I take a peek at Ursula to see her reaction. And she literally looked like she had just seen an explosion of some kind. I didn’t even know Ursula could even make that face. "How, how is that possible? You’re a pureblood vampire, and he’s a pureblood direct descendant of the first wolves. That is disgustingly ironic. Fate is beyond cruel, and clearly the goddess must be bored if she paired the world’s two greatest enemies." Ursula sounded a little crazy with a light laugh she had under her word. "Princess Odette, things aren’t that simple, there’s politics involved now. It’s not just fate you’re dealing with its cranky old people immortal and otherwise too. He created war, what are you going to do to quill it?" Ursula asked her tone a little softer when she spoke to Odette. "I’d stand in between to stop the war." Odette spoke with confidence and certainty. I held back a laugh, the idea of her thinking she can single handedly stop a war. I don’t know where she found that kind of confidence, it was cute and humorous. "I don’t think a single person is capable of that, I think if war is inevitable, we just need to be ready." I tried to hide the laughter I was holding in. She narrowed her eyes and shot me a dangerous look, threatening even. I don’t know if I’m scared or turned on. You’re both, I’m scared. She’s getting more powerful every day. Since you took off her collar. I can sense her power increase, it’s a little bit at a time, but it adds up after a few days. Why haven’t you mentioned this? Because I hadn’t confirmed it until now, when I felt a spike in her energy when she shot us that look. Like the energy inside her was taunting us, daring us to challenge her. I’ve got a few places I can challenge her. A smirk tugged on my lip, one I know Odette saw, because she scoffed and rolled her eyes at me. I knew my smirk got under her skin. That’s why I enjoyed doing it so much. She gets flustered so easily it’s cute. "This is serious." Ursula sounded annoyed, but really, she was just concerned. "I’m dead serious. I won’t let my family make the same mistakes. I’m not an excuse for murder or hate." I saw it then, as she spoke, the realization that just months ago she’d do anything to see us burn, and now she’s willing to burn bridges for us instead. I should have felt good, this was what I wanted, but guilt was stopping me from enjoying it. I wanted her to pick us, not because I wanted her to want me, want to be a part of my pack, but because of revenge. I lied to her. Maybe you should tell her the truth. What if the truth ruins everything, I mean, it shouldn’t even matter now. That’s not how she’ll see it, and it will just be one more regret in an already long list of them, you really want to risk it? Doesn’t it always end bad in the movies, don’t be a stereotype, you’re better than that, and so am I. I don’t want you to be right. We don’t want a lot of things, yet they still happen. Yeah... I know... "What can you do?" Ursula asked "What magic ability do you have that will stop them?" I also wanted to know the answer to this... And just as I finished my thought, I felt the energy in the air shift. Chills crept up my spine as magic crackled in the air. I could feel the hairs on my body stand up. When I look up over, Odette was glowing white. Her eyes held tightly shut. The air around her seemed to bend to her will. That’s when the ground began to shake. The window raddled, screams were erupting from in and out of the pack house. And when she opened her eyes, they shined light bright silver reflecting sunlight. She screamed power. Chaos seemed to organize itself around her. She was stunning. Beautiful. Enchanting. I felt like she could shatter me in a million pieces, and I would die with a smile of my face. The sheer raw power radiating from her, it was truly spectacular. And as quickly as the show started it simmered. The glow that surrounded her body dimmed. She blinked and her eyes were back to their usual crimson red. And the words she spoke next gave me chills. "And that is just a party trick."