A Monster by Design

GAEL'S POV

"I don’t know what you think you heard," I said, my voice low and deliberate, trying to steady the trembling in my hands. "But you heard wrong." I stared at him, forcing myself to stand tall, even as my chest tightened. "I loved Mom."

Corvus took a step closer, his eyes burning with something between anger and sorrow. "When you first awakened," he began, his voice strangely calm, almost