~Leo~
I was the first to wake up in the infirmary. Everyone was still asleep. Erik was there, and it seemed he had sat there all through. We really did not need his attention to be divided. We just had nine more days to go.
" You are up," Erik said with a smile, and I nodded.
"Shouldn't you be in your lab?" I asked him, and he smiled.
"I have set up the production of the old formula. I do not need to be there. My assistants and Nelson can handle the rest. I will return there to attempt the upgraded version," He said, and I nodded.
"It took you an hour and thirty minutes to recover, Leo," he said, and I frowned at him because I did not see how important that was.
"It took Devin three hours. The minimum recovery time for alphas is three hours. Your body recovered in half the minimum time required, nor was your rash as severe as the others even though you and David have concentrated Alpha genes," He said, standing up and walking towards me.
"You are also a Stepanov, Leo. You are also a part of my clan," He said. Honestly, I did not care about things like that.
"Your DNA has adapted the best of both bloodlines well. Albert's bloodline is perfection," he said, and he was creeping me out. There was a glint in his eyes that screamed mad scientist, but I kept my shit together. Somehow I was used to Erik already.
"How is my mate? Did she come here?" I asked him to change the topic, and he shook his head.
"Tamia did, though. She came to check on the King and then checked on you. I haven't seen Amelia, and I doubt there will be any need for that, seeing that you are okay," He said. Just then, Amelia walked into the infirmary. I wondered if our minds were in sync.
She had a broad grin on her face when she saw me. She came with clothes that looked like mine.
"You are up," she said, smiling, and I opened my arms. She rushed towards me and hugged me.
"I would have come earlier, but Tamia told me you were still sleeping. Hope you aren't mad, but I felt it would be impolite to leave Gezel alone with Alexei and Clay, knowing she is here to see me," she said, and that was when I remembered the mad woman that had come to see her.
"Your mother," I asked, and she broke the hug to look at me.
"Alexei confirmed it was her. I believe them because of their conversation about the past and their correspondence. Apparently, she took care of them. It even seems like my father married her for her money. She had to send funds to Alexei and Clay until she could no more. She is an Alpha, you know," she said, and I held her to my chest.
Amelia was rushing through her words, but there was hurt she was trying to disguise. I did not plan to discuss it with her in the infirmary. It was something that needed to be done in private.
"Luis did not marry Gezel because of her money, Amelia," Erik said. Amelia broke the hug and looked at him.
"I know your mother, and I am glad she has finally come out of hiding. Yuri hunted her. He wanted her money, and he wanted to mate with her. He believed he could have a child like you with her. Not all Alpha genes are compatible with Steponov genes; Gezel was a unique case. That is why you are more special than your brothers. It wasn't you that Yuri wanted Amelia; it was Gezel. She had to go into hiding, and there was no way she could go into hiding with you," He said and sighed.
"Ever wondered why Yuri did not snatch you all these years? He kept an eye on you, hoping Gezel would reach out to you, and then he would take both of you. He tried to recruit you, so Gezel would reach out to you. She has come out of hiding now; she isn't safe anymore," Erik said, and I felt stupid that I did not ask Erik about Gezel. Alexei had told me that Erik and Yuri knew her.
“ Luis and Gezel were fated. Ingrid Kuznetsov divorced him when she found out the cult was after him. She felt she and Alexei would be safer that way. He left Emma Newton because she was pressuring him to join up for peace. The only woman that stood by Luis's side was Gezel. She was with him through thick and thin until the bitter end. I tried to help her when Luis died, but even I knew I needed to watch my back. So I did not actively search for her, so Yuri won't find her. I hoped she could forgive me for not helping." He said with a tinge of regret.
"So you mean if you see her, you will recognise her," I asked Erik, and he smiled.
"I saw her when they were ushering her to the common lounge. I could not bring myself to face her. I could not bring myself to be reminded of my failure," he said with misty eyes, and that was the confirmation I needed to know the woman claiming to Amelia's mother wasn't a fraud.
I collected the clothes Amelia had brought and put them on. Amelia and I left the infirmary together.
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