And for once, I don’t want to stop him.
To my utmost surprise, however, he just turns us around, leaves and runs out of the pack house. Outside, at a safe distance, he shifts and runs; so fast like never before. He onlystops when we are far away from the pack, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. There he finally sits down, looks up to the moon and howls.
Hearing him, sounding so desperate, breaks my heart all over again. The coldness leaves and makes way for something much darker. Darien hands the reins back to me, shifts back to my human form and retreats, while I drop to the ground.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Hot tears fill my eyes as I hammer against the ground with my fist.
My family killed my mate. Myownfamily killed my mate. Not only do they absolutely despise me, they also got rid of an innocent person, and the only chance of love I had. Lissa never even liked me as a friend; she is a vile and shallow woman. I have no doubts anymore that she had an affair with Jordan, just like Tristan told me.
How could they? How?!
I wake up to the sound of rain, starting fully awake when I feel thick, cold raindrops fall down on me. I must have fallen unconscious at one point.
Darien, are you here?I pause, listening to the silence inside me.Please don’t leave me,I beg.Please. You are the only one left.
It’s silent for a while longer, then I can feel him stir.I am still here,he mutters.If I wanted to leave, I would have attacked those asshats immediately.
You didn’t,I say.I thought you would.
I wanted to,he growls.But I’d have no chance against all three of them, especially not Dad. And I want to win.His eyes grow dark and angry again.I have despised them for a while, butthey were family. Now, they aren’t anymore, and I want to see them burn.
You made a tactical move?I exclaim.
Why does that surprise you?
Because it’s nothing you usually advocate,I point out.Most of the time, you are angry and ready to snap.
Yes,he snarls.Because they constantly walk over you! But this time it’s different. I want them to hurt.
I pull myself up to a sitting position, not even minding the rain anymore.You were right all along,I say.With Lissa, with everything.
Yeah, I know! But even I couldn’t tell how far they’d go,he growls, pacing up and down in my mind.
When was it?I ask.That one night, we felt really sick?
Darien stills, narrowing his eyes.Must have been four or five years ago. You mean…
We felt sick because our mate died. We didn’t know, so we couldn’t tell if it was what made us sick. It was also the only time Mom was actually worried about us and kept tending to us.
We both fall into an eerie silence once we put the puzzle pieces together. My life has always been a mess, but now it’s so fucked up I can’t make sense of it anymore.
How are we going to achieve it?I ask.To make them pay for what happened. We have nothing. No proof, no… nothing.
Darien stays quiet.We need to have a plan,he mutters.
I know, but how am I supposed to carry on, meanwhile? How can I go home and spend time with them, and act like nothing happened?
Again, silence engulfs us.I have no idea,Darien mutters.
Well, for now, I need to seek cover, or I will actually freeze to death here. Where are we even? I look around, trying to gathera sense of orientation. There is a river a couple of steps ahead of us, which looks familiar.
We have been here before,I say.
Grandpa had his cottage here,Darien says.
The old, family property!My parents never cared for it because it was simple and rundown, but Grandpa liked it. I remember having been there as a kid and sometimes as a teen. I always liked my grandfather. He was patient with me, and actually liked spending time with me, showing me how to fish and make a campfire.
