"That time you spent with Antonio when he took you away, do you regret it?"

The bafflement on Helen's face was apparent, she was tongue-tied. His mother looked around, scrutinizing their environment meticulously before asking, "Did they feed you anything strange before I arrived here?"

"Not that I remember, is anything the matter? Why do you ask?" Asher was now the one perplexed.

"Why do I ask?" Helen gave him a look of skepticism, " You're asking me about my experience with a man you despised throughout your life; a man that made me abandon you in your childhood?"

"Being in prison is tiring and boring mom, indulge me with some gossips"

came his pathetic excuse"You don't have to worry, I'll keep it from father" Asher promised her.

Helen could not argue on that one, being at a place was boring but Raphael giving her his word? That was a first and yes, it was hard to believe but she took him at his words.

"You're going to hate my answer" she informed him in advance.

"It's better than nothing" he acquiesced.

"Fine then"

Asher waited with anticipation, this was the moment he had been waiting for all of his life.

His father never narrated to him what transpired between him and Helen during her abduction, but now, he was about to hear the whole details from the horse's mouth.

Asher was eager to know if his mother hated Antonio for taking her away from her mate or if she despised herself for giving him a child.

"I don't regret it one bit "

"Huh?"

The vampire was dumbfounded, his mother's answer was playing in a loop in his head.

She didn't regret it? How was that possible? His father had separated her from her mate for months and he knew how torturous that was!

He had been away from Lia for days now, he felt restless and unable to stand being away from her this long - it was killing him.

How much more his mother?

"I find that hard to believe" Asher glanced up at her for more details.

"Even after Antonio took me away, he loathed the sight of me for betraying his trust. He wouldn't look at me but he wouldn't let me go either and the mate bond made me detest him at first.

"I couldn't understand the bond as well as I do now. I just went ahead with my fluctuating emotions which means venting my frustrations on him for taking me away from Ezekiel and my child.

"Our first month together was characterized by uncountable fights and arguments, we couldn't stand the sight of each other.

"But I felt guilty, I made him that way and he deserves every right to be angry but then, two wrongs don't make a right. Keeping me away from Ezekiel wasn't going to change the fact I was his mate.

"There was a search party conducted for me but they couldn't find me no matter what. Unknown to them all, Antonio had acquired a charm from a powerful witch that disguised our appearances and made us invisible to vampiric perception.

"The second month consisted of me making timeless escapes, but Asher's father always has his way of finding me each time I disappeared and tried to call for help as if he kept tabs on me- a feat I surmised he achieved through the help of the mysterious witch.

"Though he was angry with me, Antonio never treated me badly nor assaulted me physically aside from sealing away my powers and ability with magic, his constant silent treatment, and keeping me away from the outside world.

"Away from Ezekiel for long, the matebond waned greatly. Moreover, I grew tired of escaping only to be recaptured, it was disappointing.

"The mate bond lost its potency making me as good as an unmated vampire. During that period, Antonio's cold attitude towards me became a bit warmer and our hostility to each other lessened.

"As usual, staying in close quarters between both sexes wasn't going to be innocent, something did happen between us, and your brother came along.

"Being pregnant with Asher was a tough one, he was always kicking and hungry to the extent that my blood preference changed to the rarest and purest blood type…..." Helen faltered on purpose as she gauged Raphael's reaction, trying to see if he was repulsed by her story.

She was shocked, there was not an ounce of displeasure on his features rather he looked... fascinated?.

"Is that the end? Why did you stop?" Asher frowned at her pausing the narration when he was so absorbed in the story.

Helen frowned, something was amiss here. Something weird was going on and it centered on her son who was getting weirder.

The Raphael she knew would have been vexed with that part of the story where she slept with Antonio - she cheated on his father, kidnapped or not.

Nevertheless, she cleared her throat and continued with her story," Asher was quite a tough baby but I survived and successfully gave birth to him.

"The birth of Asher made Antonio realize he couldn't stay in hiding forever, especially if he wanted to give his son the best in life.

"So he finally let go of me after taking away my son Asher and though I was furious with him, it was the best decision for our child.

"Ezekiel was fuming with anger over my abduction then. If I had returned with Asher, he would have killed him on sight without thinking twice. So It was a wise move for Antonio to take Asher away and as his father, he would take care of him." she finished her reminiscence.

"I don't regret it one bit, " Helen told her son who wasn't disturbed by her blunt confession.

"Ever since that time Antonio found out about Ezekiel and me, there has been this guilt in my heart that refused to go away.

"Yes, I found my mate but I hurt the other vampire in the process. I should not have kept the fact Ezekiel was my mate from Antonio for that long. I should have been upfront, tell him the truth, and see what his decision would be "

"So you see the time you spent with him as retribution for your sin?"

"Yeah, I was paying for my sins" she agreed, "I hurt him and now he hurt me too but most of all, I don't ever regret having Asher"

His heart was gladdened, his mother was glad to have him, unlike the ugly rumors his birth brought on.

"The only heartache I feel now is never seeing my son, he must hate me right?"

Asher watched his mother become emotional, she asked that question with great difficulty. He guessed he wasn't the only one going through the guilt trip of his birth.

He quickly took his mother into his arms, rubbing her back soothingly "Trust me when I tell you he doesn't hate but loves you and misses you every day of his life"

Suddenly he stiffened because he felt his mother's fingers dig into his chest, any deeper and she would rip his heart out.

His brows furrowed, "What are you doing mom?"

Her voice turned cold as she asked him, "Who are you?"

Asher was astounded, having realized he completely exposed himself - that last question.

If the real Raphael had been asked that, he'd either flip out or answered honestly but with lots of blame on his mother in-between.

He did the opposite of that, the words that flowed out of his mouth were from his heart and she felt it - this time differently.

Her nails deepened threateningly,

"Answer me because I know you're not my son, Raphael"

Asher looked around, though they weren't looking at them he knew vampires had improvised hearing, they could be listening in on their conversation so he had to be careful.

"Mom, why are you behaving like this?" He said aloud, but purposely lowered his head and whispered into her ears at once.

"I can't tell you the truth now, there are eyes everywhere"

His mom's eyes widened to the size of saucers, she was bewildered by his answer.

What was happening? Why wasn't this the best place and why was she trusting a stranger - definitely not a stranger, he had her son's face but how was that possible? The only shapeshifter in their clan was Ozark and his form wouldn't even last this long, he was bound to slip sooner or later.

"Mom, you're hurting me" Asher continued with his act.

That comment snapped her back to reality and she withdrew her hands, focusing her inquisitive gaze on him.

Asher didn't pull away from the hug, instead, he mumbled, "Feel the sensation " into her ears and began to draw his name onto her back with his hands and after three trials, his mother got it.

Helen choked "H-how is that ..?"

But before she could continue her questioning, the guards separated them.

"I'm sorry my lady but he has to return to prison, it's the alpha's order"

His mother was tearing up but she hardened her heart and wiped the tears away, "Alright, take him away"

Asher felt her eyes on him as they left, she had too many questions but it was sad she couldn't get the answer she wanted.

But one thing was sure, his mother now knows it's him.