Sour Souls The Morningstar Series Book 6
Sour Souls Chapter 41

It's been two weeks since I've last seen my mate. Two mother f*****g weeks. The longest fourteen days of my life. My life..

What life?

Everything is meaningless without Ares face. I just want to hear him scold me again. I'm f*****g losing my mind without him. It's starting to get harder to pretend that I'm okay. I miss him so much..

Over the last few days I started to hope that Jace was really right about Ares. That he doesn't care at all. That my mate is doing just fine without me. Because..

Because this shit sucks! I've been through a lot of bullcrap in my life, but nothing has hurt me this bad. I'd take the dungeon with Fredrick in a bad mood, any day over this. Nothing makes sense. Like literally. I really think I'm losing my mind.

Sometimes I break down in front of the ones here that I trust. I just fall to my knees, and sob uncontrolably. Sometimes for a couple hours at a time. I have to beg whoever sees not tell anyone so that Darian and Jace don't replace out. Sometimes I can't get out of my bed. Anna sits with me the entire time just talking. I'm not really sure what she tells the others, but I did ask her to keep it a secret. Darian and Jace haven't questioned me about it, so I take that as a win. Other times I just space out. Although, that happens a lot. In those times, I daydream so hard that I swear I'm back with Ares. I hear his voice, see his deep blue eyes, even smell that smokey scent. Everytime I come out of those moments I feel crazier, and it gets harder.

Harder to pretend. To control myself, and not break down. I want those moments to be real so badly. I need them to be real, but.. they never are.

Things here haven't changed all that much. I have enough sense to play my cards right at least. I might be slightly losing it because I miss my mate, but I'm as sharp as ever. It's like I'm paranoid, but actually have a reason to be.

With that being said, I have complete control over my powers now. But, I have no idea what Darian is hiding from me still. So, I have been pretending to struggle still. Making myself look weaker.

It became more than that after a few days though. Banchee's must learn control faster than I am pretending because I can see Darian slowly losing it. He's getting impatient with me. It's only a matter of time before he starts to get sloppy. I just have to wait. Jace has been coming to my room every single night still. Sometimes I am able to shake him off easily Others times I get stuck with him for the night.

I never sleep. Sometimes the exhuastion gets to me, but in those times Luca is quick to let me nap. He knows that Jace has been coming to see me, and that I don't like it. Thankfully, he seems to trust his friend enough to not assume that Jace has tried to r**e me or anything.

And he hasn't. Thank the Gods. Jace might be pushy, but thankfully he hasn't tried anything like that. He and try to kiss me a few times, but I always turned away. I made up an excuse about not being over Ares, and needing time. It f*****g worked. My mate would be proud of me.

Fuck. I really miss that a*****e. That f*****g jerkface, and his stupid sexy shirtless body. And his stupid f*****g ignorant mouth. I miss it all.

The others have grown closer to me now as well. Just like I knew. I even grew ballsy enough to ask a few of them some questions. I just wanted to see if I could pull anything out of them. Little did I know... They know a lot less than I thought. Now I have unintentionally placed doubt in all of their heads.

Luca was the quickest to tell me of his own suspicions. He told me about how they have met Bexley and Nix before. About how much they all liked the girls, but Darian wanted to kill them. Then one day, they disappeared.

That was when Luca told me that no matter what happens, or what I chose, he will have my back. I trust him too. I can't explain my blind trust, but I know he's a good person.

The others are coming around as well. I can tell that Uma would chose me over Darian. Jack is unreadable. He plays everything off, so it could really go either way. Mei and Anna.. Well, I'm not sure, but I did over hear an interesting conversation between Anna and Darian the other day.

*****************

I was walking past a random sitting room when I heard Anna's voice.

"I don't think this a good idea anymore Darian." She said.

I stopped to peak through the cracked door. Anna is pacing the room. Darian is sitting on a leather couch, sipping out of a small glass. "What do you mean by that Anna?" He asked.

"She is falling apart without him Darian." Anna seethed lowly. "Maybe keeping her away from him wasn't such a good idea." She said. Are they talking about me?

Darian sighed. "We have no choice. You know how dangerous he is." He said looking annoyed.

"He's her mate." Anna said defensively.

"He's a Morningstar. Besides, he would have killed her." Darian seethed lowly.

Darian gave Anna a disgusted look. Not that she noticed, since she's still pacing. I however, am reeling. Anna sounds so hurt for me.

"Maybe he isn't as bad as his family. He is mated to Emi, and she is a wonderful person. She's still like a bright light in the world." Anna stopped to say all of this to Darian.

I smiled at Anna's kind words.

Darian sucked in his bottom lip, and gave her a fake pained look.

"I cannot trust them. You don't know them the way that I do. You were not there during that war." He said.

"But-" Anna tried, but Darian cut her off.

"No." He said as he sat back on the couch.

"All I'm saying that if it were Mei, I would be dying right now." Anna said. "Banchee's mate bonds are different than other supernaturals. It's a miracle that Emi is still alive right now." She said. What! Banchee's do have mates! I knew it!

Why did they lie to me though? Did they just want to keep me away from Ares? Make me hate him, or something? But why?

"We are done talking about his Anna." Darian said dismissively.

Anna stomped her foot. She glared Darian for a moment before turning for a different direction in the room. Anna stopped in front of the book shelf, and turned to Darian.

"Just remember who she is to us Darian."

With that Anna turned back to the book shelf. She grabbed once book, and suddenly the wall turned. Holy shit, a secret passage way?

Anna walked through the wall, and then is closed behind her. I looked back to Darian. He let out a frustrated sigh, and then threw his glass at the door. I jumped back, and my heart rate skyrocketed. I waited to see if Darian had known I was there the whole time. After a couple of minutes, nothing happened. My heart calmed down, so I risked taking a peak through the crack. I don't see Darian at all.

Did he go through the passageway too?

"Emi."

"Eep!" I yelped out as I jumped a foot in the air.

I turned around to fine Luca standing behind me. He is staring at me expressionless. I placed my hand over my heart as I scowled at him.

"You scared the absolute fuck out of me." I scolded him.

"What are you doing over here?" He asked.

I chewed on my bottom lip. Should I tell him? I do trust Luca, but this would be quite the situation to put him in..

Tell him. Honi urged.

"I need to tell you something."

************

After I told Luca all of that, he agreed to help get me out of here. Luca came clean about a lot of stuff that day. Like how Banchee's actually have mates.

Luca told me that a Banchee's mate bond is different than other supernaturals. First of all, they know immediately who their mate is. Something inside our heads just clicks into place I guess. Which kind of makes sense.

I know that Honi knew right away that Ares was my mate, but it was more too. Now that I look back on it, there was more of me that knew. I wonder if that's why I was able to adjust to everything when I left the dungeon with him.

I had been locked away for a long time. With all the abuse I endured before hand.. It was a miracle I didn't lose my shit while I was in the dungeon. Yet, as soon as I got out, it was like I never went in.

I really do have Ares to thank for all of that.

Luca also told me how dangerous it is for Banchee's to be away from their mates. He said that once a Banchee is connected to their mate, that's that. There is no mark, no breaking the bond, nothing that keeps mates apart. Luca told me that a Banchee cannot be away from it's mate for too long. He said that the bond is too strong.

Explains why Anna said I should be dead right now. Why I feel like I'm dead inside right now. I'm literally falling apart without Ares.

I asked Luca why they all lied to me. He told me that Darian hates the Morningstar's, and that he doesn't trust anyone outside of his own race. Luca said that even if my mate wasn't a Morningstar, Darian probably still wouldn't let him come here.

It still doesn't make sense though. Darian doesn't seem to think that I will die without Ares. In fact, he seems almost positive that I will be just fine. Otherwise, why would he lie to me.

I also wonder if this has something to do with Jace's interest in me. I asked Luca if it is normal for Banchee's to wait for their mates. He told me that they all do, so I guess that would mean yes.

So, why is Jace pursuing me so hard then? What is the game here? Why is Jace playing along?

I tried to ask Luca what else they were hiding. That was when I found out that Luca doesn't know as much as Anna does. Luca had no idea what Anna had meant when she said what I am to them.

All Luca knows, is that Darian has been searching for me for a very long time. Before my mother had even met Dave. Apparently, Darian has big plans for us Banchee's, and I am the key to everything.

I need to figure out what that means. What Darian's plans are. I need to save the others here too.

It's extremely clear to me now that Darian has contrtol problems. I have no idea what happened in the war between the Banchee's and the Reapers. I don't know what roll my mate's family played in all of this. But I do know that the others here have no idea about any of that. Anna, Mei, Luca, Uma, and Jack. None of them know the full truth. They blindly trusted Darian because he was the only one that knew what the really are. But he is keeping them here. Just like me.

It if had been Darian to save me from that dungeon, I would be just like them. I would be helping with Darian's plans. I would be plotting against my mate.

Is this why the Moon Goddess paired Ares and I together? To help these people? To prevent whatever it is that Darian is planning?

Whatever the reason, Ares is my mate. More than that, I love him. I love his entire family. And I am going to protect them all, no matter the cost.

*********

I got rid of Jace early tonight. Uma helped me make an excuse about not feeling to well. Thankfully, she agreed to stay the night in my room with me. I didn't ask her to do that. I think everyone is starting to see how uncomfortable Jace makes me. Everything except Jace himself that is. "What are you planning to do?" Uma asked me with her thick accent.

"I am going to go into that secret passage way that all of you kept hidden from me." I stated as I tied up my boots.

I stood to my feet, and looked to Uma. She is giving me a sad look as she sits on my bed. I instantly feel awful.

"I'm sorry that we have kept so many secrets from you Emi. I see now that we have been deceived by the person we trusted most." Uma said.

I rested my hand on her shoulder.

"We all make mistakes. You did what you thought was right. Now it's my turn to do what I think is right. I'm going to replace a way to get all of us out of here." I said determined.

"I will make sure that no one bothers you for the night. Just be safe." Uma replied.

I gave her shoulder a squeeze, then I was off.

I slipped out of my bedroom quietly. Thankfully no one is around. Luca knows about my plans tonight. His job is to try to keep Darian and Jace busy so that I can sneak around. I wouldn't be able to do this if it wasn't for their help.

It ws easy to sneak into the drawing room that I had seen Darian, and Anna in the other day. I made my way to the book shelf, but I'm not sure what book Anna grabbed. They all look the same to me too.

Pull them all. Honi suggested.

I shrugged. Seems like the only plan we really have. So, I started to pull on all the books. Finally, one of them worked, and the book shelf moved on it's own.

I stepped into the dark hall, and the door closed behind me. My eyes were quick to adjust to the dark, but then torches along the walls started to light up. I followed the only path I can. Straight.

Eventually, I came to an end with the options to either turn left or right.

What way should we go Honi? I asked my wolf.

Hmmm.. Left. She said.

I turned left, and started walking. After a few minutes I can see a light ahead. These torches come on as you walk through. I mean, a few feet ahead. So, how is one on further a head.

I walked up to the light quietly. Hopefully these torches die down quickly so it isn't obvious that someone was down here. I can try to be quiet at least. So, they don't know it's me right away. I think all of them have access down here. Finally, I got closer to the light. A few torches are lit around a door. Light is coming from the inside. I was going to peak my head around, but then I heard voices.

"She isn't really warming up to me at all Darian."

That's Jace's voice.

"She just needs a little push." Darian said.

Jace must have scoffed in return.

"A little push? How much more pushy can I get?" Jace asked.

"Have you tried to kiss her? Touch her at all?" Darian asked.

"I cuddle with her every night that I can wiggle my way into her room. She doesn't sleep the entire night though, and her body stays tense. I think I'm only making it worse Darian. Maybe it's not a good idea to try to have me win her heart." Jace replied. "It's because she doesn't know you well enough. How about taking her on a date?" Darian asked.

"I

I suppose I could try that. I am charming." Jace said.

What a cocky bastard.

What the hell does that mean?

"Good. Maybe take her outside. I will put up the barrier so she can't leave still, and Ares will have a very short amount of time to replace her. From what I've seen, I doubt that he will realize it in time." Darian said.

"He been doing that bad huh?" Jace asked amused.

"Oh, that little Morningstar brat is practically dying without his mate. He's doing much worse than Emilia is. The boy can barely get out of bed. If he doesn't sleep, he won't replace her, and he hasn't been sleeping much these days." Darian said equally amused. Ares is doing that bad? Honi whined in my head. My poor mate. Ares is suffering that much because he misses us.

I knew he missed us. Honi said.

I didn't respond to her.

What did Darian mean when he said that if Ares doesn't sleep, he won't replace me?

Those dreams..

The ones that I have with Ares. The ones we have together. The ones that are real, more than dreams.

Ares and I knew that it was real, but we didn't talk about it much. When I had asked him he always brushed me off. Although, I could see the slight fear in his eyes over it.

So, it wasn't me then. Those dreams weren't the Banchee side of me at all. I can't believe that I didn't think to ask earlier. Honestly, I never sleep, so it didn't matter much. I didn't think I could reach Ares this far away.

That must mean that those were Ares. He didn't seem to know that it was him though. Ares seemed to think it was me too.

Could this be his darkness?

"I'll try to kiss her, but I don't think it will work. She always pushes me away." Jace said interrupting my thoughts.

"Do it in a way that she can't say no. Her mate will feel it. That would be perfect enough. Then you can go further." Darian said.

"You want me to force myself on her?" Jace asked.

Oh, I'm going to be sick.

"We are going to do a little spell together with some magic that I have stored up. Force yourself on Emilia, and she will be forget all about Ares. I would have liked for this to happen with Emilia's consent, but I am growing impatient." Darian said. What the fuck! They plan to r**e me? And what kind of spell?

"What kinda spell?" Jace asked echoing my thoughts.

"She will completely forget her mate afterward. Emilia will be more like a puppet than anything honestly. She will be under my control. Just the way we need her for this to work." Darian said.

"Don't you think the other's will notice?" Jace asked.

Hell yeah they will. Uma and Luca won't let this happen. No way in hell that they will just stand by while I act like a damn zombie.

"Do you ever plan to tell her what she is to us?" Jace asked sounding bored.

"It won't matter after this spell. She will be lost in a dream, but do not worry. I plan to make our queen's dream a nice one. One where she can be with her mate, and live happily ever after. Meanwhile, you can use her as you see fit. Get a couple of kids out of her. She will almost a shell of a being, but still living, breathing, and able to talk." Darian said.

"Sounds kind of creepy." Jace said.

Kind of? Kind of! Oh yeah, raping me once, to r**e me for my entire life just sounds kind of creepy.

These two have completely lost their minds. I can kill them quickly. They must know that.

"It will all be worth it in the end." Darian said.

"What if she tries to kill me?" Jace asked.

Yeah Darian, what then?

"Just cover her mouth. She hasn't come far in her powers at all. Her wolf is strong, but not strong enough against you." Darian replied.

Wow. The faith. They are a couple of fucking idiots. Just wait until my mate gets his hands on them.

"What do we do after?" Jace asked.

Darian chuckled.

"What we have been waiting all this time for. We start a war." He said.

My eyes went wide.

A war? With who? The Morningstar's? Really?

There's no way.. They would lose for sure. If that's the case, then why does Darian sound so confident?

There must be something else tha I don't know. Something about me. Is this because I'm a Hybrid? Or, is it something else? Just whose blood is it that flows through my veins?

I don't know. One thing I do know though, I need to contact my mate. With any luck, if I try a lot, maybe I can call out to Ares as he sleeps.

With that thought, I quietly turned around, and tiptoed away.