Page 12 of His Rejected Fated Mate

I pulled myself up. If I could help make life better for everyone else, I would. I just needed to do this until they found a solution against the dark magic. Once that was figured out, I would be done. I could cut ties with Troy for good and get back to my life.

“I’ll do it.”

Her eyebrows went up. “Oh?”

I would just put down boundaries and restrictions. And this wasn’t the nineties, I could end the marriage just as quickly as it started.

“I want to be there for you guys just like you were for me. I can do this and make sure the convent remains here long after I’m gone.”

Victoria shook her head. “We don’t need you to do anything for us, Elize.”

I offered her a tight smile as she spoke in her old age. Victoria would need to retire from the healing center soon. A lot of the buildings were in need of care, and if something didn’t change, the convent would fall. I wanted to help, and I could with this.

But if I was going to agree to this, I needed to know how the pack was being affected. I just didn’t know who to talk to about it. I couldn’t talk to Martin because he might exaggerate what was going on, and I wasn’t going to ask Troy.

I headed up to my apartment and sat down on my bed. I looked over at the few pictures I had and landed on the one photo of my parents.

I wouldn’t say we were distant because I talked to my folks regularly, but we weren’t close. They were both shifters who ended up with a witch for a child. They loved me, but they were also scared of me growing up. They never knew what I was capable of. I didn’t blame them. I was scared myself.

I was sure they knew more about what was going on in the pack, and I wanted to know more. I needed to know more to understand what was going on.

The following morning, I drove to my folks’ house. I’d only come home a handful of times, and most of which Martin came with me. I pulled up in front of my parents’ brick house and took a deep breath.

I headed up the steps and knocked. The door was unlocked, so I opened it. I stepped inside. “Hello? Mom? Dad?”

“In the kitchen,” my mom’s voice came down the hallway.

I slipped off my shoes and headed toward the kitchen. I found my mother standing over the sink. Her hands were in the sink filled with bubbled water. She looked over her shoulder and looked at me, surprised.

My mother had jet-black hair like mine but deep hazel eyes. She was tan, wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt rolled up.

“Elize. Hi, hon.” She pulled her hands out of the water and started to wipe them on her apron. “I uhmm… how have you been? Is everything okay?” I could hear her voice shifting, seeming unsure of what to say.

I offered a tight smile. “I’m fine. I actually had a couple of things I wanted to run past you and Dad. Is he here?”

She nodded. “Honey, can you come here for a second?”

I heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and my father paused. His eyebrows went up. “Elize. Hi. Are you okay?”

I nodded. “I’m fine.” My father looked like himself. He had the same dark brown hair and light green eyes.

“This is a surprise. What brings you here?”

“I uhmm… had a couple of questions about something.”

“Oh?” My mother grabbed a stool and sat down. My father walked over and started a cup of coffee.

“So, yesterday Martin took me to see the council, and they informed me that I’m the next match for Troy.”

Their eyebrows went up. “Match for what?”

“Marriage.”

My dad choked on his coffee and started to cough. My mother’s jaw dropped, and she stammered for words.

“Martin said it was because dark magic was affecting everyone in the pack, and I was wondering what exactly was going on in the pack.”

My father looked confused now. “What do you mean?”