**Rosalie’s POV
Soren’s eyes seed a bit haunted as he looked at , and I knew I probably asked the question too bluntly.
However, I considered Soren a friend, and I thought it would be best if I was honest with him and clarified my doubt directly.
“You know my half-brother,” he didn’t answer my question, instead, he comnted, “it appears, quite well.”
His eyes went to my protruding baby bump, and I felt a bit uneasy, but I nodded.
In the past, I hid my past from Soren because I wanted to start over. I didn’t an to cause any trouble. I just thought it wasn’t necessary to tell anyone.
Honestly, Soren and the others around him also did their best to avoid asking questions about my past.
Soren smiled at and patted my arm. “It’s okay, Ro. You don’t have to be upset about anything. I’m just trying to understand the situation.”
“I wasn’t completely honest with you about what I was running from,” I decided to be the one to confess first. “And please accept my apology for that. I didn’t know that Ethan had a half-brother. Never once, in all the ti that I knew him, did he, or anyone else that I knew in his pack, ever ntion you.”
Soren’s head rocked up and down slightly. It was quite clear to that the pain dication the doctor had just given him had kicked in, and he was not only numb from pain, but he was also a little loopy.
He said, “I have no doubt that it’s true that Ethan never ntioned . But surely... when you saw ... you had to know... the two of us were related?”
He smiled at and raised his eyebrows, as if he couldn’t believe anyone would miss the similarities between them.
I nodded honestly. “I definitely noticed that the two of you look a lot alike, Soren. When I first saw you, it scared to death. I thought that Ethan had followed . I was terrified.”
I looked at him and sighed. “But... they say everyone has a doppelganger, soone who looks exactly like them, or nearly exactly like them. And the two of you do look a lot alike, but over ti, I began to notice the differences between you and focused on those.”
Soren tipped his head slightly to the side and studied my face for a mont. “Differences... like what? Our hair color? The shade of our eyes?”
I couldn’t help but giggle. As if the differences were that simple. “No,” I told him. “Like... the fact that you are almost always smiling, and Ethan always looks so serious—or even has a scowl.”
Soren smiled and nodded, encouraging to continue.
“You actually pay attention to people, whereas Ethan purposefully dismisses their presence.” Although...when his eyes were locked on , it did deceive and make feel I was the most important one in the world for him.
“You tip your head toward people when they talk because you are listening. He doesn’t even acknowledge people long enough to give them a chance to speak...”
The more I spoke about the differences between the two n, the more foolish I felt for ever having trusted Ethan for the second ti to begin with.
“Soren, you are so different from him that I thought the two of you couldn’t be related, even though you do look a lot alike.”
Soren didn’t seem to mind that I was with Ethan before, and whatever I’d said didn’t make him upset either, at least from what I could tell. He listened to attentively and maintained his warm smile.
Now that I’d told him my secrets, I patiently waited for him to answer my question. Would he be honest with ?
“Ro,” Soren said, his hand grazing my chin as he turned my face gently to look at him, “Ethan killed my father when I was eleven. You might’ve already known that. Later on, my mother died. That’s why I never talked about my parents.”
I nodded. I rembered I ntioned his mother once, and he switched the topic right away.
I also lost my mother when I was young, and I couldn’t imagine how heartbroken it would be to lose both parents one after the other, let alone since it was his own half-brother who caused their death.
Just for that, Soren had all the reason in the world to hate Ethan.
“I’m sorry to hear that Soren....”
“Not your fault.” He patted my hand, and the usual smile on his face slowly faded. “My father... he wasn’t the nicest guy in the world.”
Abusive. Talon ntioned that before.
He continued, “But...he, Ethan, had no right to do what he did!”
His face tensed, and he had to control his voice from trembling. “And even after he did it, he didn’t even bother to explain anything to and just abandoned ! For a few years... I thought it was a miracle that I even survived.”
I’d never seen Soren like this. He was angry...and he was hurt.
I couldn’t help but gently squeeze his hand back.
He seed to realize that he was losing control of his temper, and he took a few deep breaths to level his tone.
“I can’t tell you everything, but it was true that I was in charge of this island right now. Alpha Roro gave this island to oversee. I also helped out with security on Avondale for a short period of ti.”
I listened and I started to feel the panic bubbling up inside of . If Soren had been working with Alpha Roro, then did that an Damian, Madalynn, and Roro all knew I was still alive?
Was that why Ethan ca here?
Was I too naive to think that no one else knew I escaped?
He noticed my nervousness and asked, in a concerned tone, “Ro?”
“Soren, shall I thank Alpha Roro for letting stay in his territory then?” I tried to test his reaction.
Soren seed surprised about what I’d asked, but his answer made feel much better. “Unless you insist. This is my island, and I do not need to report my guests to him.” He looked at sincerely, “ I’ll never ntion you to anyone without getting your permission.”
I nodded in appreciation to acknowledge what he said.
“I’m sorry, Ro, I didn’t an to hide anything from you, I just didn’t think you needed to know all of that.” He apologized.
Everyone had their own secrets. I couldn’t bla him.
I looked at him, and told him, “I didn’t tell you who I was either. We are even now.”
However, deep down, I knew the situation may be far more complicated than I thought. Another question raised in my head. Was all of this really a coincidence?
Turning to Soren, I saw that his eyes were heavy. He was tired. I should let him rest. But I needed to ask now.
I would ask again when he was awake, especially if I got an answer I wasn’t satisfied with. “Soren,” I said, my tone not accusing him of anything, but full of wonder. “What are the chances that you and I would et? And that you would have no idea who I was? And yet, I was carrying your half-brother’s baby?”
“You know, Ro, I was just thinking that exact sa thing,” he said, a little chuckle escaping his lips. His voice was gravely, heavy with sleep. “It’s a strange world, isn’t it? But that’s what happened. I think the Moon Goddess knows what she’s doing. She knows that my half-brother wronged in the past, and now, she is giving a chance to help another soul that he has wronged by taking care of you and his—your—child.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” I said.
And I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that he could get back at his half-brother and still treat —and my child—with kindness.
“I should let you sleep,” I said, seeing that his eyes were already closed, and his breathing was becoming more even as he started to doze off. “Do you need anything else before I go, Soren?”
“No,” Soren said, his eyes only slitted. “But Ro, listen to .” His fingers grasped my wrist, but not in a threatening way, not even tight enough that I couldn’t pull away if I’d wanted to.
But I didn’t try.
“What is it, Soren?” I asked, sitting still and leaning toward him so that I could hear what he had to say.
“Ethan is dangerous,” he said, opening his eyes for a second to gaze into mine. “Stay away from him. He’ll try to get you back because it will help him get what he wants. You’ve got to... be careful.”
I nodded in understanding. “Okay, Soren. I will.”
“Promise?” he asked .
“Yes, I promise.”
“Good.” He reached up and brushed a lock of hair away from my face, his fingers grazing my cheek and lingering on my shoulder as he pushed my long hair out of the way.
“You’re so beautiful, Rosalie. Anyone who couldn’t see your value, not just because of your pretty face, but because of your pure heart, your music, and your willingness to do anything for anyone... doesn’t deserve you. Ethan... doesn’t deserve you.”
With that, Soren let go of , and promptly fell asleep.
I sat there for a long mont thinking over his words.
That was the first ti he’d called Rosalie.
My skin was still warm from the touch of his fingertips.
Soren had a good point, one I wish I would’ve thought about before I had planned to let Ethan back into my life.
Ethan led to believe that there was a possibility that the three of us–Ethan, the baby, and –could live in this house together, knowing that the house was just a tool for him to get to Soren.
Was there a single thing that man had told in all of the ti that I’d known him that was true?
“Yes,” I thought, as I got up and walked out of the bedroom I’d planned to share with him. “He’s been telling the truth when he said he planned to kill .”
Why in the world would I walk right back into a situation where I would have my baby and then die?
I wouldn’t.
Then...how about Soren?
I looked back at Soren’s sleeping face. Would I still trust him like I did in the past?
He had said that it was a coincidence that he had been the one to find when I was injured.
Perhaps that was the truth.
But... whether it was or whether it wasn’t... here I was—in his care.
And so was my child—Ethan’s child. The child of the man Soren hated most in this world.
As much as Soren seed to like , how would he see my baby?
And if...if sohow everything wasn’t a coincidence, if Soren wasn’t exactly harmless as he appeared to be, then what did it an for –for us?
Just a slight peek into that possibility sent terrifying shivers down my spine.
Would he try to use my baby as a pawn? As so sort of chess piece he could use to maneuver between Alphas or manipulate the other powerful n in the world?
I realized that my ignorance about the war and the details of the situation between Soren and Ethan led to where I was now.
I thought moving to the islands would allow to break free from all my troubles and I would be able to spend my life in peace without worrying about the outside world. However, there was no such thing as “the outside world”. Ethan, Soren and I, our lives were tangled together regardless where I would be.
I sighed. Blaming myself for my naiveness in the past wouldn’t help under the current circumstances. All I could do was to get my head out of the past and move on, or else I was going to keep making mistakes.
And the next one just might cost my life.
My hands moved to my abdon. I knew it was probably just my imagination, but it felt as if my baby was worried about .
I comforted the little one in my belly silently, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you. At all costs.”
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