Page 121 of A Second Chance for the Beta

“Sit back down,” I tell him. “Tell me what you know and why you want to help, and then Aryanna and I will consider if we trust you or not.”

Very conflicted here,Aryanna links me.Even if his story is going to be heart-wrenching, how can we trust him?

He might be our best chance to convince Aloysius.

You think showing him the letter won’t do?she asks.

I believe if we have someone who can vouch for it to be true, then he will accept it easier.

“Alright,” I say when Julianus is sitting again. “Now tell us what happened.”

He licks his lips, shaking his head slightly. “It’s my fault, like you said,” he admits. “I wanted him as my beloved.”

“And he didn’t?” Aryanna asks when Julianus falls into silence.

“No, he did too,” he says, surprising me once more. My mind goes back to Silas and Marcellus. I usually don’t pay much attention to other people’s relationships because they are none of my business, but it’s obvious that something’s going on. There was an air of comfort and gentleness around them and understanding.

“What happened?” I ask.

“Everything was going well,” he says. “Between us, but also in the coven. However, Silas was getting more restless. I didn’t know what was going on with him. Sometimes he looked sad, sometimes angry, sometimes torn. He was conflicted, that was for sure.”

Must have been around the time he planned on leaving his brother.

“Didn’t you ask?” Aryanna wants to know.

“At first I didn’t. I wanted to give him the space he needed, but it started to affect our relationship.”

“Hm.” I nod. “I can understand that.”

“So, eventually he gave in. Said he didn’t want to involve me and endanger me,” Julianus explains. “And then he told me… told me some unbelievable things, like”—he pauses—“I can’t even say what he said.”

“Something like his brother and co-leader killing a newborn baby?” I ask shortly.

Julianus’s mouth drops open and he stares at me, shell-shocked. “So…” He swallows thickly, a hint of sorrow in his eyes. “So, it’s true?”

“You didn’t believe him?” Aryanna asks. “Your own chosen lover, your beloved?”

“It was a horrible thing he said,” Julianus exclaims. “It was completely crazy.”

“I don’t know. If my mate came to me, clearly unsettled and bothered, and told me such a story, I wouldn’t shut her down,” Aryanna says. “Even if it was unbelievable, I would give her the benefit of the doubt and at least research to verify her claims.”

“Let me guess, you didn’t do that?” I mutter. “Did you tell him you didn’t believe him?”

“I voiced my doubts,” he admits. “But not too clearly. I waited for him to tell me what he had planned so I could stop him.”

Silas had plans. He hinted at it but didn’t go into detail during our visit. I’m taking a wild guess now that his plans failed due to his almost-beloved crossing him.

“What did he plan?” Aryanna asks.

“He wanted to bring Aloysius down,” Julianus says. “He can’t kill him, but he wanted to dethrone him. He had an elaborate plan, one that would need months of preparation, but Silas is very intelligent and cunning. I could see him succeeding.”

“Goddess,” I say sadly. “What did you do? Tell Aloysius about it?”

Julianus’s silence is all I need to hear to know what he did. The unpreventable fallout between Aloysius and Silas happened the way it did because Silas’s lover betrayed him. How very cliché, how very sad, how infuriating. I’m not surprised that Silas didn’t talk about it. “I wanted to protect him,” Julianus hurries to defend himself. “I thought he was going crazy. I thought telling Aloysius would make him see sense again.”

“You need to stop lying to yourself. You didn’t want to protect Silas,” I say quietly. “You wanted to protect your comfortable life and didn’t want to see the uncomfortable truth. You said yourself that Aloysius likes to keep his bloodline clean. You mentioned his obsession and how the coven deteriorated after Silas left. Isn’t that proof enough for you that maybe your former lover didn’t lie?”

Julianus stays quiet before pain flashes through his eyes. “I know,” he blurts out. “I know it’s my fault. I should have trusted him, but I was too much of a coward to do it. I thought if I told Aloysius, Silas would be forced to stay, and things would return to normal.”