Chapter 90 DOWN THE DRAIN
WILLA’S POV
Tight.
My chest just felt so tight with anger.
Yet I could feel my heart roar like a tempest in my ears.
The hunger pang that had troubled me since earlier? It disappeared in a blink of an eye, replaced by an uneasy coiling in my stomach.
Tension pulled every muscle of my body taut, and I could barely find it in me to focus on Gillian when my fury was overwhelming me like an unforgiving tsunami wave splashing down on me.
“Shut it,” I snapped at Gallahan.
Fucking hell.
Even though Gallahan and William were in a horrifyingly concerning state, I still didn’t have a lick of compassion to give them at the moment.
They had brought this to themselves with no care for the child in their midst.
“Leave,” I hissed at them.
“Willa,” William said softly, his voice sounding a little odd, likely because of his broken nose.
“I said leave. Both of you. If you have any shred of decency left in you after traumatizing my daughter, leave. You know the way out. So leave. Now.”
In my arms, Gillian continued to tremble and cry softly, and it did no favor for Gallahan and William, who still didn’t move a single muscle.
It was a standstill for almost a minute that seemed to stretch into forever. A minute that I spent hugging Gillian tight while glaring at Gallahan and William.
Finally, Gallahan relented, saying as remorsefully as he could, “I’m sorry, Willa. And Gil? My baby? Daddy is sorry.”
And then he was out of the house, leaving a small trail of blood drops on my floor.
Still, William didn’t move.
“You too, Will. I don’t want to repeat myself anymore.”
William bristled slightly. “It’s not my fault, Willa. He provoked me. You should’ve heard what he said, and-”
“I don’t care,” I cut in tersely. “I really do not care, William. I don’t want to hear it. Not now. You’ve scared my child, and I think you’ve done enough for the night.”
William groaned, the sound coming off strangled and just a tad bit gargled.
“Fine,” he gritted out before marching out of my house with a resounding slam of the door.
The entire house then descended into heavy silence, which was occasionally broken by Gillian’s little sniffs and hiccups.
“It’s okay, love. They’re gone. It’s just you and I now. Hm? Just Mommy and Gil. You don’t have to be scared. I’m here, love.”
Gillian’s answer was simply to cling tighter, leaving me to rub soothing circles on her back and to continue whispering assuring words to her.
“It’s all fine, Gil. Daddy and William had stopped fighting now. They left already. Only Mommy is here with you. You’re safe, love. You’re okay.”
“Daddy and Uncle are hurt,” she mumbled wetly. “W-why… Why would they hurt each other?”
“Ah, sometimes, when people get angry at each other, they often end up doing things that are hurtful.”
I paused for a moment, giving her time to consider my words and give a response. But she remained quiet in my arms, so I went on to say, “Remember when you got angry and upset with Cal? You pushed him and yelled something at him. You said something mean and hurtful. Cal did the same to you, remember? He said he hated us.”
“Yeah,” Gillian murmured.
“Your Daddy and Uncle ended up doing the same. They hurt each other, but they didn’t use words like you and Cal. They used their bodies instead. That’s why…”
I paused again, swallowing down the lump in my throat as I remembered the nasty gashes that marred the side of Gallahan’s face.
Worry twisted in my gut, but I decidedly ignored it.
He was a grown man, who was also the General of the Culling Army. I was sure he had gone through worse things. He could take what William had dished out and come bouncing back soon enough.
“That’s why?” Gillian prodded softly, stirring me out of my reverie.
“That’s why Daddy has big wounds on his face, and Uncle William has a broken nose and a broken wrist. But they will be fine,” I replied, putting on the effort to make myself sound full with certainty. “Their injuries, while they are painful, are nothing a good healing balm and an equally good healing potion cannot mend.”
“But it’s scary, Mommy. Is… Is Daddy a bad person?”
The question took me by surprise that my breath hitched. I ended up faltering for a moment or two before I was able to let out a slightly pitchy, “Why do you ask that?”
Gillian slowly pulled away from our hug, then admitted softly, “Because I asked Uncle William earlier about why we only have a Daddy now, why he wasn’t with us before.”
Instantaneously, I melted. “Oh, love…”
Thankfully, I didn’t need to say anything else. Not yet anyway.
Because Gillian still had more to say.
“And Uncle said… Uncle said Daddy used to hurt a lot of humans, and you didn’t like it so… So you left him and kept us a secret. He said Daddy caused a war that made many people die. He’s bad, Mommy. Uncle said he is and we shouldn’t be around him.”
Anger swirled in my chest and rushed within my veins.
William had overstepped his bounds.
Sure, Gillian had asked him the question. But it was my and Gallahan’s business. It should’ve been us who got to decide on how and when we would tell the kids about our story.
He should’ve been prudent and mindful enough to deflect the question and redirect Gillian into asking me instead.
So now, I was left with no choice but to lay things out for my daughter as gently and as clearly as I could, keeping in consideration her young innocent mind and pure heart.
“Yes… He…” I trailed off.
I wasn’t really sure what to say, especially when I was feeling off-kilter and out of my depth.
All because I wasn’t ready for such a discussion to happen right after getting railed into tears less than an hour ago. Fucking Damn it.
Still, I tried again, saying, “Your Daddy has done many things that are bad. But you know in war, love? We had to use violence to stop the violence. Mommy and Uncle? We have hurt our fellow werewolves too. We even caused a few of them to die. And it’s not good.”
“Are you saying you’re also bad, Mommy?”
“I… I don’t think I am, love. I did those bad things to protect the common good and other people, and your Daddy did the same things for what he thought was good but wasn’t actually truly good. Am I making sense, love?”
“I guess so,” she replied slowly as if she was still trying to digest what I had said.
“It’s really complicated, Gil. When you’re older, you will understand it more.”
“But is Daddy a bad person?”
I sighed and smiled wanly at her while I tenderly stroked her hair. “I once thought he was. That’s why I left him. But…”
My voice faded as I thought about how Gallahan always seemed to point out how judgmental and self-righteous I was whenever we fought.
So I chose my words carefully as I continued to answer.
“But the war is long over, and… and maybe, just maybe, he has changed. People are capable of change and growth, Gil. The same way you and I do.”
“Hm. I don’t want Daddy to be a bad person. I want him to be just my Daddy and Cal’s.”
“Then why don’t you tell him that when he comes to visit next time?”
Gillian nodded before proceeding to rest her cheek against my chest. Then she asked in a barely audible murmur, “Is he going to look like a monster with a lot of blood and two bright golden eyes when he comes again?”
“No,” I answered in a whisper while my hand continued to brush through Gillian’s hair. “I’m sure he won’t.”