My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 485

485 /526

Taya

He shook his head, cutting me off. "Enough questions, Taya. Eat your food."

"But..."

"EAT." His voice boomed across the table, the first time he had raised it to me since we made peace.

I went quiet, rolling the now tasteless food around my plate. These mornings had always been the best part of my day, and now it was just...

I swallowed hard, the sour taste of the spoiled food coating my tongue. "I sent a message to him," I said simply, unable to keep my voice from trembling.

Instantly, the room went cold. Goosebumps rose on my arms as a physical chill crept over my body. I shivered, my heart pounding nervously in my chest.

Father's head snapped up, his gaze locking with mine across the table. My throat went dry. The urge to back away from my own father overwhelmed me. I gripped the edge of the table, fighting the instinct to flee from the sudden, palpable menace radiating from him. His eyes narrowed, darkening into an abyss that threatened to swallow me whole.

He laughed, a nervous, hollow sound. "I... I don't understand," he stammered. "Who did you message?"

Taking a shaky breath, I forced myself to speak, to finally say it out loud after carrying the secret for so long. "Uncle Vidar," I began, my voice small at first but growing stronger as I continued. "I saw the letters he sent you. Years of them. And I saw how you stopped answering. I knew it because of her... because of the Southern bitch and how she's turned our pack upside down. You're keeping your head down, trying to stay out of trouble."

I paused, a smile creeping across my lips. "So I did it for you. I wrote in your place, under your seal. Nobody would know it was me. Nobody knows I have access to the seal."

I looked up at Father, my smile widening, brimming with pride. I waited for him to respond, to thank me, to praise me for my loyalty and bravery. But he just stared at me, his expression unreadable behind those dark, inscrutable eyes. Silence hung heavy in the air between us, and I held my breath, waiting...