Chapter 72 Done
“Ok, we’re listening. We understand that this is serious and that you have an important reason to be here.” She backs down, no longer fighting me on it.
“Good. I’m not happy to know all of this about you guys and your job. It doens’t make me happy at all, but that’s not the reason I’m forcing you guys to stop hunting.” I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down again.
“You’re both going to be killed. The packs you’ve been hunting and keep hunting are now hunting you. I have bought some time for both of you. But only if you stop, forever. And I mean forever, if I or I find out you’re active again, they will kill you, and I won’t stop them. I won’t even try.” My cruel words seem to make my words really sink in deeper.
They seem to fully understand how difficult this situation truly is.
“Are you with a pack?”
I don’t fully understand her question. I don’t know if she means it in the sense that I have a mate or in the sense that some humans join packs. But either way, I promised Alec and his dad that I wouldn’t let my parents know about them. No matter what, I won’t put them in any more danger than they already are.
“No, I’m not with a pack. And no, I’m not going to tell either of you how I know the things I know or why.”
“You shouldn’t have ever known of werewolves. We’ve protected you from this world for a reason. But I understand that you won’t tell us the truth, and we won’t force you, at least not right now. You say they are hunting us? That they’ll kill us?”
“Yes, you’re both going to die if you don’t stop. How many more times do I have to say it?” I don’t hide the agitation in my voice.
“You want us to stop, too?”
“Yes, I need you to stop for the sake of your lives, but also because I don’t agree with what you’re doing. As your daughter, I beg you to stop.”
They look torn. Like they don’t know what to do for certain. Not that I blame them. I know first hand how news like this can be so hard to hear. It’s got to be hard to be told something like this. But I don’t feel sympathy for them. And I’m not going to back down. I hope that their love for me will help them make the right choice.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this. I can’t believe you’re putting us in this situation. But what choice do we have?”
I know it’s a rhetorical question, but I don’t care about answering anyway. “You don’t have a choice. I’m just trying to be kind by giving you one.”
“We’ll stop. We’ll stop right now and forever. We won’t hunt another werewolf in our lives.” He says, taking us both off guard. He’s the one I expected to put up more of a fight. But he gives in.
“Forever?”
“Yes, forever. You don’t have to worry about us. You can promise the pack that sent you that we won’t harm them.”
It’s the pretty words that make me feel better. But I still can’t help but worry and question how true their words are. What if they don’t keep their word? They lied to me my whole life, so whose to say they aren’t doing it right now?
“Can I really trust you guys? Can I really trust you to keep your word? Can I trust you to not use me for your hunting?”
“I know you probably really don’t trust us right now, but you can trust us on this. We won’t hunt another pack ever again. We won’t hunt again, ever. And we would never use or involve you in any of this. You can trust us.”
“We don’t want to leave you alone without us.” He adds after her.
Although I know I should question them even more, I trust them right now. I genuinely trust their words.
“Okay. Thank you for not fighting me.”
“Can we ask how you found out everything?”
I want to tell them even if it’s a lie or a partial truth. But I really don’t know what to say to them. I don’t want to risk leading them to Alec.
“I can’t get into it. I just found out about werewolves, which led me to finding out about you guys. That’s all I can say.”
She sighs, not happy to hear it, but nods nonetheless.
“I think it’s time for me to leave. I think we’ve finally reached a good consensus.” I stand from the chair, not wanting to continue this conversation when the whole point has already been reached.
They both stand with me.
“Are you sure you have to leave right now? We could have lunch or dinner, I guess.”
I guess it has been a longer conversation than any of us realized. But I don’t want to stay. I don’t even really want to be around them anymore.
“No, I can’t stay. I’m sorry, but I need to go.” I make my way to the door, not missing how they follow me with their eyes, even their body as they try to move with me, but seem to stop themselves.
“Okay, well, we’ll talk soon, okay?”
“Sure.”
I walk outside knowing they’re watching me from the windows as I walk further down the road to Alec’s truck. I really hope I can trust them.
I feel like I can, but I still feel fear and the little nagging in the back of my mind that maybe they won’t be honest, that maybe they’ll betray me for their own gain.
I get into his truck. As he looks at me and I can hear all the questions radiating off of him. Although he heard the whole conversation, I don’t blame him for wanting to know everything.
“It’s done. They swear they’ll be done now and forever. They quit their job today. I think we can trust them, but I made it clear that if they don’t, they’ll die, and I won’t help them again.”
He looks at me sympathetically. “I’m sorry that you had to do that with your parents. But I hope that they keep their word, and maybe you can feel better about this all.”
“Yeah, I feel better. I feel like I have less stress and anguish about everything. I have hope that maybe you guys won’t have to kill them.”
“Me too, Anneliese, me too.” He puts his hand over mine, squeezing it softly.