Chapter 124: You Disgust Me
"Luna... can you excuse us?"
Eloise never looked away from Rodrigo.
Nina glanced between them before giving a small nod. She squeezed Rodrigo’s hand, her smile gentle, and then she walked out of the room. She clicked the heavy wood door shut behind her—but she did not leave. Pressing her back against the cold stone wall, she held her breath and listened.
Inside the room, a heavy silence lingered.
Rodrigo’s brows creased faintly, his eyes fixed coldly on his grandmother. "I’m listening."
Eloise inhaled slowly. For a moment, she said nothing. Instead, she looked around the room, as though searching for the courage she had buried years ago.
"When you were a child..." Her voice was quieter now, fragile. "I promised your father I would protect you. I’ve kept that promise in every way, except the one that mattered most." Eloise lowered her head, the weight of a decade pressing down on her shoulders. "I have carried this burden every single day for fifteen years."
Outside the room, Nina did not make a sound. She leaned her ear closer to the wood, her pulse beginning to quicken.
Rodrigo remained completely still.
Eloise exhaled a shaky breath. "I did not want to lose you, too. My voice... it cracked at the edge. I kept it away from you, hoping, praying you would never remember. That you would never have to relive it. But alas... I think I only succeeded in hurting you more."
Rodrigo’s jaw clenched so tightly his teeth ached, but he did not respond.
A moment of stifling quiet passed before Eloise spoke again.
"Twenty years ago, Annalise cursed the lycans, and the first blood moon appeared in the sky. The curse was meant to be completed after twenty full moons, ending in the deaths of all lycans. That was the original curse. But after Annalise was captured by your father, Gordon, and the Vothraki was retrieved and destroyed, she was unable to finish it. So, at the end of the twenty full moons, instead of dying... the lycans were bound permanently to their beast forms."
The words hung heavily in the air between them. Neither moved.
Outside, Nina’s heart thudded violently against her ribs.
Rodrigo’s expression didn’t change, but the light in his eyes hardened into something dangerous.
"The founding families went on a hunt for the earthstone to prevent the curse entirely," Eloise continued, her voice trembling. "But along the way... the vision changed."
Outside, Nina’s eyes widened in the dark corridor.
"What do you mean?" Rodrigo asked, his voice low.
Eloise stared into the distance. "The founding families—pioneered by your stepmother, Charlotte, and the other Alphas—had a change of plans."
"What did they want?" Rodrigo demanded, a knot of worry and shock tightening in his chest as the reality of his family’s history began to unravel.
"They wanted to cheat death," Eloise whispered. "Inside the texts of the Vothraki, they learned of a dark magic spell that could grant immortality. They realized that by channeling the earthstone’s power during the breaking of the curse, they could live forever."
Nina stilled against the wall, her fingers trembling at her sides.
The fire crackled softly inside the room, but its warmth did nothing to chase away the suffocating cold that had settled between grandson and grandmother. Eloise watched the dancing flames for a long moment before speaking.
"But immortality comes at a devastating cost." She finally looked at him. "The Vothraki and the Earthstone do not create life out of nothing. There must always be a balance in nature."
Rodrigo frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Immortality cannot sustain itself by itself," her voice dropped to a horrifying whisper. "It must be fed. To exist, an immortal requires the life force of another. They would have to drain the very lives of human beings to live forever."
Outside the door, Nina’s hand flew over her mouth to stifle a gasp of pure horror.
The complete eradication of the lycans... that is the only way to get the world rid of these monsters.
Emory’s past words resounded like thunder in her mind, blurring her vision with unshed tears. Now she understood. Now she finally understood why.
Inside, Rodrigo’s expression emptied out completely, a terrifying void replacing his features. "What did you just say?"
"They would drain humans," Eloise repeated, tears finally spilling over. "Entire villages... just to keep themselves alive forever. Your father and the late Alpha of the Hades Pack, Hades elder brother, were the only ones against it, and they..." She paused, pressing a trembling hand over her mouth to stifle a sob. "They killed my son."
Rodrigo studied the woman who had raised him. The only person in the entire world he had believed was incapable of betraying him. When he finally spoke, his voice was chillingly calm.
"Which side were you on, Grandmother?"
Eloise’s shoulders stiffened, her eyes locking onto his.
"The side of those seeking immortality," Rodrigo clarified, each word dripping with venom, "or on the side of your son?"
"Rio..." she pleaded in a shaky, broken voice.
"Answer me!" Rodrigo snapped, the command devoid of any warmth.
Eloise slowly lowered her hand. Her nails had dug so deeply into her own skin that the flesh was raw, but she didn’t ease the pressure. "I stood with the founding families," she ground out. The admission tasted like poison on her tongue. "I sided with them... until they murdered my son and came for you."
She closed her eyes tightly. "I finally understood what it felt like to lose the people you care about most."
Rodrigo stared at his grandmother, utter disbelief twisting his features before a faint, bitter chuckle escaped him. "You knew that thousands of innocent humans would be slaughtered, and you still chose immortality?"
Eloise’s lips parted, but no sound came out.
"Answer me!"
Eloise shut her eyes, the raw guilt riddling her face as a fresh tear rolled down her cheek. "I was wrong. I made a terrible choice."
Rodrigo laughed. It was a quiet, empty sound that lacked any mirth.
"So, you only found your conscience after your own son died," he gritted out, the pain slicing through his chest. "It didn’t matter when it was strangers. It didn’t matter when it was innocent humans. It didn’t matter to you when someone else’s family paid the price. But the moment it became your own blood, you suddenly discovered your humanity."
His burning eyes bored into hers, refusing to let her look away.
Eloise flinched as though he had physically struck her. She ground her teeth together so hard a sharp click echoed in the silence. "I don’t want to lose you too, Rodrigo. I have lived every day of my life with this guilt."
"And yet, you still chose to keep this from me," Rodrigo growled. "You sat back and watched me struggle with pain and trauma, all because you were too cowardly to face yourself in the mirror."
Eloise’s shoulders trembled violently. "No, that is not true... I did not want to tell you because I didn’t want you to get hurt! Knowing the truth—"
Rodrigo chuckled dryly, running his fingers through his hair. He turned slowly to face the only person he had ever truly trusted, an overwhelming, consuming wave of anger completely taking over.
"You disgust me."