[Xanthea]


    I peered at the Highdy.


    "It''s ok if you don''t wish to," she said. "The position of a mother varies in the lives of different people and as far as I have known you, you regard your mother quite highly. So, it''spletely fine if you don''t wish to call me mom. Not everyone deserves to be called a mother."


    Her grip tightened on her paint brush. The shadow of sadness drained in her eyes as she lowered them to the painting.


    "You are a great mother... you love your kids so much..." I said.


    She smiled faintly, then shook her head.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    "Love?" she chuckled. "Parents often do awful things to their kids out of... love..." her eyes welled up. Her voice quavered as she continued. "Every woman can be a mother, but not all deserve to be called one. And I am one of them who doesn''t deserve this title."


    I tensed my brows. I might have failed toprehend the context behind her words, but the pain behind them was as clear as snow in a blizzard.


    Licking and nibbling my lower lip, I took a deep breath. Sitting beside her on the bed, I held her hand in mine.


    "Mom..." My voice came out as a timid whisper. "I don''t know why your words sound like wounds, but I know one thing: there is no wound that a mother can''t heal. In my mother''s words, there is no greater medicine than a mother''s love. No matter how wounded a mother is, she can always find the strength to fight for her kids."


    "I think I am toote..."


    "Moms are neverte, they are always on time. The right time." I said.


    Sheughed before tears streamed down her face. She took in a shuddering breath, averting her eyes.


    "Come here, dear," she hugged me, kissing the side of my head. She caressed my hair and back as I hugged her back.


    We hugged for a while before her sniffles faded away.


    "I am sure wherever your mother is, she is very proud of you," she said, and we looked at the painting of my mother''s proud smile. "Live proudly, Xanthea. I am sure that''s what your mother would have wanted for you." She stroked my hair.


    Dipping her fingers in the yellow paint, she yfully smeared it on my cheeks.


    "Caught you off guard!" she said excitedly, breaking into a contagiousughter that made me crack up as well.


    "I hope you find your yellow, all the yellow in your life and you never run short on this color," she said.


    I ran my fingers over my cheek and then looked at the Highdy, perplexed.


    "Yellow?"


    She nodded.


    "It represents happiness, warmth and positivity."


    I pursed my lips in a thin line.


    "I thought it represented caution and warning?"


    It looked as if I had caught the Highdy off-guard this time. She parted her lips, but words seemed to have stuck in her throat.


    "Now that is... well... ites with the entire package and... life in Infernal packes with its book of cautions and warnings. Take, for example, my sons. They are walking trigger warnings..."


    She said and both of us broke intoughter.


    Myughter came to an abrupt halt. My smile faltered as my eyes met Raven''s squinted eyes.


    For a second, I thought I saw him smile slightly. It must have been my illusion because the Raven who stood before me now seemed to have not encountered a smile for ages.


    He leaned against the doorframe with his arms folded across his chest. My eyes fell on the reports in his hands and I stiffened up.


    He had hidden his presence. I wasn''t sure for how long he had been standing there.


    I got up from the Highdy''s bed and stood a few steps away from it, clenching my hand tighter near my belly.


    He pushed himself away from the doorframe and walked into the room.


    "Having a great time, aren''t we?" His deep voice reverberated in the room.


    "Raven. When did you get here?" Highdy asked.


    His eyes lingered on me as he replied.


    "A few minutes ago. I think I clearly asked you to rest." He looked at the Highdy. "What exactly do you think you are doing?"


    He red at the paint brushes and palette.


    "Maids!" He called. Highdy''s maids and Mavka instantly rushed in front of Raven. "Clean all this up and help the Highdy take a shower."


    They bowed and immediately began cleaning up the stained nket, over-bed table and the paintbrushes.


    They were about to touch the painting when the Highdy picked it up and held it close to her chest.


    Her eyes remained locked with Raven before his gaze shifted to me.


    "And you..." He stepped closer to me. "With whose permission are you here? And with whose permission are you doing all this? You can''t skip a day without being over-smart, can you?"


    I cowered back under his aura when...


    "My permission," the Highdy said. "She is here because I wanted her here and she brought me canvas and paint because I asked her to. I just wanted to take a break from the monotony of the treatment."


    "I didn''t know you were so desperate for apany that you''d settle for someone like her. But I must say..." he stepped towards me and I took a step back.


    I wanted to exin myself, but I knew it would be futile, so I remained silent.


    He grabbed my jaws, squeezing my cheeks in a bruising grip as he yanked me closer to himself.


    "You are indeed a very cunning omega. Just like a fox. But nothing you do, no friend you make in this pack, will help you survive this marriage. Not my mother, not Nesryn. Because no one here will dare go against us for you." His nails sunk into my skin. Wincing, I grabbed his wrist with my hands, trying to free myself from his grip.


    "Nurse, send the nurse this omega saved yesterday to my cabin," he ordered, leaving my cheeks with a jerk before seizing my wrist in an unyielding grip as he dragged me out of the Highdy''s room with himself.


    I scampered to keep up with his pace. Every time my steps faltered even a little, he would roughly wrench me beside himself, forcing me into a fric run to match his strides.


    I could feel my pulse throb faster and louder in his grip, screaming for help, but I didn''t try to free my wrist.


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    I knew it was about the reports. There could be only two scenarios: they didn''t match, or they matched.


    In both the cases, I knew the only thing that awaited me was - his rage.


    I tried to keep my gaze low to avoid looking at the staff who stood aside in the hallways with their heads held low, clearing his path to his cabin.


    Losing my footing, I almost tripped over the carpet when he pushed me into his cabin. But right before I fell to the ground, he pulled me back to my feet from the fall.


    "So... how did you do it?" He let go of my hand and mmed the reports on the ss table near the couch. "How did you copy the reports so urately? Who helped you cheat? Nesryn? It had to be Nesryn. Because there is no other way." Catching my breath from the run, Iposed myself and looked into his eyes before replying.


    "I did not cheat. I said I could write the reports. You asked me to, so I did."


    Something primal flickered in his darkening gaze, blurring the lines between anger and something inexplicably arcane. Drawing in his brows, he towered over me. I stepped back, closer to the wall, feeling a knot tighten in my stomach. "What is that I hear in your voice, omega? Huh?" He growled as his eyes glowed. His wolf. Breaking into sweat, I tried to move away from him when he grabbed my upper arm and mmed me against the wall, caging me between his arms. Holding back a moan, I bit my lower lip.


    "Arrogance?" He grunted, clenching his jaws.


    Grabbing my throat, he leaned closer to my face.


    I shut my eyes, yet I could feel our breath collide. My chest heaved faster against his as I fervently breathed in his dire scent.


    "First you cheat and then you dare use that tone with me? Where is this confidenceing from, huh? Looks like you don''t love your life anymore..."


    I clenched my fists and gathered enough courage to open my eyes and look into his as he tightened his grip around my throat. But it wasn''t tight enough to cut off my air supply. I tried my best to not panic.


    "I-I did not cheat, alpha."


    "Oh, really? Then prove it!"


    He left my throat, and I patiently drew in a long breath instead of unsteady gasps.


    He grabbed the original reports.


    "Describe the gene sequence of the TTAH1 genes at 4 pm on the fourth day of the observation," he asked surly.


    The reports shed in my mind and changed to the fourth day and their variation at 4 pm zoomed in my mind. "ATCG ATTG TAAC GGTAACGTAGGGACCCA..."


    His grouchy eyes pierced through me.


    "Slow down..." hemanded so that he could cross-check properly.


    Raven seemed to have a difficult time keeping track of the gene sequence. But he was still not satisfied. He asked me for several other gene sequences and cross checked as I recited those gene sequences.


    He sat on the couch, running his finger through his long hair as he analyzed the data on the report. His frustrated rended on me before they roved all over the reports again and again. "How is this possible..." he mumbled, annoyingly.


    "I have an eidetic memory..." He lifted his re at me as his frown deepened. "Alpha..." I added, feeling the tension knit denser in the cabin.


    He got up, and I tensed up slightly, lowering my gaze to the floor.


    He looked at me sharply before walking to his bookshelf and picking out a thick book. He handed it to me.


    "Read the first hundred pages within five minutes." He said, monitoring me intently. He started the timer on his phone and ced his phone on the ss table. "Now, begin."


    I licked my lips and turned over the pages, running my eyes over the content as fast and precisely as I could.


    He impatiently tapped his feet while I read. The timer on his phone went off.


    He snatched the book from my hand and turned it over to a random page.


    "Read out the entire page sixty-nine," he said, leafing through the pages. Keeping my eyes fixed on his eyes, I began.


    "The continuation from page sixty-eightst line: The hermic phosphorus is found in the water dragon hydra''s blood. It is mainly present in their RNA and keeps changing like a virus, thus making the ingestion of their blood carcinogenic for the immortals. Its use is still being researched upon and tested. But this phenomenon doesn''t ur when hydra grants its blood on its will. In this case, its blood acts like a medicine, slowing down the decline of an immortal..." "Page 34."


    "Key topic: ssification of curses-"


    "Page 79."


    "The introduction to celestial curses-" "Page 11."


    "History and myths of curses-"


    "Can water dragons cure a curse?"


    "No. They only slow it down. A curse from an immortal to another immortal is incurable, and the only way to lead to an immortal''s demise. The most water dragons can do is slow down its effect. That is, only if they give their blood willingly. If taken by force, the blood will fasten the effects of the curse."


    Raven gaped at me nkly.


    "Why are curses so difficult to deal with?" He asked.


    "It''s not the curse that''s difficult to deal with. It''s the decipher of the meaning behind the curse and the words used in them. Because a curse is not just words, but the emotions and the part of the immortal''s soul that they put in those words that make them so difficult to deal with. They are like a virus who mutates in every tenth part of a nanosecond."


    "Have you ever read this book before? No lies, omega."


    "No, alpha. I have never read this book before."


    He shut the book and tossed it on the table.


    He repeated the same with several other books before he sprawled on the couch, lost somewhere. His elbow rested on the armrest, his fingers pressed against his temple while he contemted me. Licking my dry lips, I gulped hard, frozen under his scrutiny.


    Several minutes passed. I lifted my gaze. Our gaze collided before I looked away.


    "This eidetic memory." He finally broke the ambiguous silence. "Have you always had it or... did you gain it recently after the carvera poisoning?" He asked, keeping a firm gaze on me.