Mated to the Mad Lord-Chapter 255: Two options

By the time Eldric came back, he looked much more haggard than when he had left, enough to make anyone wonder what he had gone through in the short while he had been gone.

His clothes were rumpled, and he had this downcast expression deep in his eyes that made anyone who saw him pity him and want to ask him what the problem was.

Unaware to them, all that was going through his mind were the two plans he had made. The first was a scenario where Fiona was his, and she remained useful to him by his side. The second was where she died, ensuring that she still benefited him and not his enemies.

He bitterly thought within himself, reluctant to go with the second scenario considering the amount of time and energy he had spent grooming her to be the woman he wanted her to be—one that listened to him and only him.

This will depend on what she decides! he decided to himself, even as he walked into the mansion they met at, which was completely different from the one that had exploded.

Eldric immediately moved to sit in his usual seat, not surprised to note that some people were not back yet, including Fervor, whom he had hoped to meet in order to be able to see Fiona before the others arrived.

Still, soon they all began to arrive one after the other until the seats were filled, with their bodyguards standing behind them and Eldric waiting impatiently, his fingers tapping vigorously against the table as he waited to see Fervor appear.

But he didn’t have to wait long, as a couple of seconds later, Fervor walked through the open doors like he had done before, walking in with his usual bodyguard. But behind him was a heavily hooded person.

The stature was feminine, but apart from that, no part of her body could be seen, and it soon became obvious that this grated on all their nerves, especially Bella, who struggled to keep her mouth shut as she waited for the conversation to begin.

Almost like clockwork, Harriet was the first to speak in a clearly annoyed tone, which she didn’t even try to hide as she spoke.

"Remove the hood! How are we sure it’s her if we can’t see a thing?" she barked in annoyance, her nerves already at the breaking point, even as Fervor leaned further into his chair and responded in the cold and neutral way he usually spoke, with no inflections in his tone—like the sky could fall, and he still wouldn’t move.

"She insisted on wearing it," he said in an even colder tone. "...I don’t care if she wears it or takes it off," he responded in a way that sounded more like he actually didn’t care if she died or lived, as it was all the same to him.

But Fervor was barely done speaking when Eldric spoke up in a soft tone that was completely different from the usual, going as far as to jump to his feet.

"Fiona!" he lightly called out with clear concern in his tone as he went as far as to leave where he stood and slowly moved closer to her.

"Fi-Fiona, is that you?" he asked in a voice that was clearly filled with what could only be described as the love of a father for a long-lost daughter.

At first, the hooded figure behind Fervor simply stood extremely still without showing any outward movements whatsoever, even as Eldric spoke. But the more he spoke, the more the hooded figure moved until it slowly raised its lowered head upright.

Raising hands to her head to lift the corners of the hood and pull it off to reveal a face that made everyone in the room gasp.

It was a loud one, which was even more devastating by the way they all seemed to do it in unison.

"What the—" Harriet gasped, jumping to her feet. Even if she wasn’t aware of anything else, she was clear that Eldric’s adopted daughter was a werewolf with regenerative abilities.

So the more she stared at the scars, the more appalled she was, realizing the kind of torture it would have taken to create such a thing. It didn’t help that her entire body was completely covered in a way that made it clear that the scars went beyond her face.

At this point, Bella could no longer keep quiet as she stared at the scarred face with more alarm, considering the fact that she had seen and met Fiona several times.

Anger and disgust at whosoever had done such a thing bubbled within her as she also got on her feet, glaring at Fervor, who didn’t even seem to be bothered by the gazes thrown at him, even as everyone struggled to recover from the shock at their own pace.

Fiona, on the other hand, was extremely bothered as she felt the intensity of the looks on her. It made her remember the one time she had looked in the mirror and how disgusted she was with herself.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she lowered her head again to her neck, something she would have never done. Her long black hair was hidden in the cloak, something she would never have covered, as she placed her hands on her belly—the only reason she saw any reason to step out after Fervor outrightly threatened that she would have to leave if she didn’t.

Go back to her father? Who was clearly disgusted by her face? He simply wanted William’s child, and to him, she was already trash! Fiona thought to herself. She might have been tortured and had even gone as far as to fall for the wrong person who was her mate, but her brain cells weren’t completely dead.

"Fiona! You don’t have to worry! He won’t hurt you again!" Eldric softly said, even as Harriet also opened her mouth to speak.

"William did this to you, right?" her voice sharp and emotionless as she tried to still keep a lid over her emotions, even as she wondered what kind of person would be brutal enough to do such a thing to someone that still carried their child.

Seeing as how the wounds on Fiona’s face were very fresh and seemed to have only happened a few days ago.

But even Grainger and Magnus couldn’t keep quiet, as Magnus cursed out loud, his gaze wretched with such anger that he looked like he would like nothing more than to resurrect William and kill him again.

"Who the FUCK uses silver?!" he barked, his voice loud enough to bounce around the walls—too loud for any of them to hear Fiona’s voice as she spoke.

"No! No, he didn’t!" Fiona stuttered to say with immense struggle, her voice much lower than before, even as she stared at the ground.

She couldn’t accept such a thing, so how could she allow others to say it?

"H-he would never!" she mumbled louder, but she didn’t have to, since even if she didn’t, the werewolves in the room would have had no issues understanding and hearing each word with how sharp their hearing was.

"Then who was it?" Bella asked, unable to keep quiet and silent like she usually did, especially when she saw the kind of person Fiona had dissolved into.

"WHO THE HELL DID THIS TO YOU?"

"I-I don’t know!" Fiona responded truthfully, even as more tears flooded her eyes until they slowly began to drip to the ground one after the other. But still, she didn’t dare to raise her head again as she mumbled the same thing over and over again.

"I-I don’t know! I have no clue!"

The lords instantly exchanged looks with one another, coming to the same conclusion without a word being spoken amongst each other.

The torture had messed with her enough for her to forget what happened, they each thought, even as Grainger, in a low and fatherly tone, began to speak.

"Fiona, would you like to go back to your father? You’re pregnant! You need a safe place to—" but he wasn’t done when Fiona was already shaking her head. The main reason she had left the house at all was because Fervor had clearly told her that if she failed to leave, she would be dragged away by her father.

"I-I refuse! I’d rather stay with Fervor!" her voice was low but clear, and while everyone wondered what could have happened to her to make her still want to stay with the people that kidnapped her, Eldric decided that Fiona, his adopted daughter, was better off dead.