The Untamed: Game of Hearts
Chapter 257: Your Real Father

Chapter 257: Your Real Father

Raine couldn’t believe what was happening right in front of her. The beatdown she received was fine enough. Being married to someone she didn’t love was something she could learn to accept. But seeing her usually unflappable father bleeding out right in front of her?

It was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

"Father! You can still... We can still fix this!"

She knew she was grasping at straws now. There was no way that her father was going to survive through a gaping wound the size of a large plate. His heart was totally gone, and it was only a miracle that he was somehow still breathing.

"He’s dead! The King is dead!"

Raine ignored whatever it was that the murderer was talking about. Hell, she had pretty much forgotten that they were still surrounded by hostiles as she cried over her father’s body. What did she care that she was close to being killed? Her father came first and foremost!

"M-My King!" Sasha yelped out in the background. "What’re you-"

Her ears immediately perked up. Raine didn’t know whether to be happy or sad as she saw Nathan walk up to the woman.

"This war is over," Nathan firmly declared, yanking the weapon away from the woman’s grasp as he spoke. "All of you, get away from her!"

Blinking, Raine could only watch as her mate took command. A wave of gratitude washed over her, but it was quickly replaced by grief again as she heard her father cough from underneath her.

"F-father?!"

"R-raine..." Marcus weakly coughed out. "Thank god you’re safe..."

"Father, save your breath," Raine tearily choked out. "You need to hang on. We can still-"

"Raine, I’m dying..."

The fact came down on her like a ton of bricks. The faint hope within her chest was still sputtering out despite all the evidence pointing against a miraculous recovery, but hearing it right from her father’s lips utterly snuffed out what little optimism she had left. Her heart sank, her eyes watering even further as the reality of the situation finally sunk in.

Her father was going to die, and there was nothing she could do about it. Still, she had to had something...

"N-nathan! We can still take him to the hospital, right?!" Raine quickly raised her head up. "You’re fast enough, right?!"

To her sinking dread, Nathan could only turn his head away. His utter silence was more than enough to know that he wasn’t going to help, but she still had to try.

"You can do it! I know you can!" Raine cried out, practically begging on her knees as she fought against despair. "We can still help him! Surely we can-"

"He’s going to die, Raine."

Her heart felt like it was going to burst. Looking up, Nathan was doing his best not to look her straight in the eyes. His lips trembled, his hands shaking as he spoke. "There’s nothing we can do. Just one look at his injuries and it’s painfully obvious."

Raine did her best to ignore reality. Still, she tried to reason. "But-"

"Look at him. He doesn’t even have a heart anymore," Nathan soundly answered. "It’s a miracle why he’s even breathing in the first place."

Her world crashed down all around her yet again. As if mocking her further, her own medical opinion suddenly chimed in from her head to tell her that it was useless. That even if they could somehow miraculously take Marcus to the hospital right then and there, there was no way that anyone could treat him from such extensive injuries.

"No... There’s..."

"Raine..."

Her eyes shot open. Looking down on her father, Raine could only cry as her father faded right in front of her. She was powerless, and the only thing she had left was to wait until he finally passed.

"Don’t cry..." Marcus weakly whispered out. "This is... a long time coming..."

"Father..."

"I’ve been a menace... I knew that well..." her father spoke out, still sputtering blood even as he bled out onto the ground. "I only did what’s best... for you... and for our people..."

Raine couldn’t help but listen to him speak, hanging onto every single syllable as her father spoke. These were his final words. Of that, she was sure.

"Raine... I’m not your father..."

"There are... a lot of things I regret..." Marcus droned on, using the last of his strength to speak. "One of them... was your mother’s death..."

Her eyes widened. Her tears never stopped, but her grief now mixed with confusion as she struggled to handle all of the emotions currently surging within her.

"I couldn’t let her go... But in the end... she sacrificed herself to save me..." he weakly chuckled. "Your father... went in for the kill... I never meant to live that day... but what’s done is done..."

Raine didn’t know what to think. Was she supposed to be mad? Sad? Angry?

"Still... I at least hoped that... raising you and saving your life like this...." Marcus seemingly trailed off before catching his words again. "I only hope... it was more than enough for me to face your mother... without shame in the afterlife..."

Tears continued to mix with the blood pooling below her as Raine stayed frozen above her dying father. The information overload was too much, but she still held on. Even if Marcus wasn’t her father, she still held him as such.

"Randall... He’s your real father... He was cursed when... when he accidentally killed your mother... with a blow meant for me..."

What?! "Y-you mean-"

"I’m sorry, Raine... Your mother saved me... and used her body to block the attack..." Marcus weakly apologized. "I’m truly sorry..."

She didn’t understand. What was even happening anymore.

"I-It’s fine," Raine tearily replied. "I-I..."

"Was it worth it... Have I... been good to you..."

Raine quickly answered, "Of course! E-even if you weren’t my real father..."

"That’s good then..." Marcus weakly whispered. "At least... I..."

Silence...

"Father?"

After surviving for so long, Marcus finally breathed his last.

"Father?!"

Still, even in death, his legacy will live on. Despite all of his misgivings, despite all of his atrocities... At the very least, he died knowing he was a good father to his beloved’s daughter.

"No.... No!"

Raine wept for her father’s death. Even if the people around her didn’t, she made sure that enough tears would be shed for the man that had loved her as if she was his own.