Chapter 274

My forehead against hers, “Mama – Tia waked up,” a small voice says and its as though Nora and I have been dashed, drenched with a bucket of ice cold water, the slow urgency in her lips gone, my eyes open as I scan the room – finally – and see the small voice belongs to a young child, my hands on her side, once grasping her to me falls to my sides, limply. As I stare at the little girl, in pink and light green pajamas her eyes filled with sleep and pouty lips, it takes my breath away, her messy head of curls and thick lashes catapults my mind back to April 11th 2012, the pain I felt while walking on the beach. Unexplainable, they started off small, at first it thought they were the same hunger cramps I had been feeling, until I couldn’t walk, couldn’t crawl, the pain so overpowering I fell to my knees and passed out. The little child, two years old, nearly three years old, she’s mine – sweet chubby cheeks – clear blue eyes, the shape – almond like – exactly like my mothers, I try to find what of this little girl is my Nora. It seems like hours pass where I just stare at this little girl, my little girl, Nora takes a step away from me, turning to face the child, I can feel her eyes on me, and then back to the little girl and then I see it. The part of her that’s Nora, her tiny little face scrunches together, as she notices me, trying to place me as someone she’s knows, that face, that exact moment, the facial expression, is all Nora. My eyes well with water, and the little girl, she called herself something. Tia – Tia – her lips start to tremble her own eyes wet and her thick lashes fan her cheek as she blinks, Nora leaves me standing, frozen in my spot, different emotions tackle me all at once, worry, sadness, confusion, happiness, surprise, fear and then I’m done for when I see another little cherubic face baby come up sleepy, behind Tia. Shaking; I feel my wolf stronger than ever before, back with a force and filled with rage, when I look at the little boy, my little boy. Tears running down my face, but the anger is building, coursing, boiling inside me, days and days of fear, that I couldn’t understand, makes perfect sense. Nora was always fearful, since the moment I met her, but after April 11th 2012, that fear seemed to be multiplied, so great that it caused me panic attacks. Nora had more to be fearful for, two little children. The hunger pains I felt, making more sense, but fueling the fire inside me, the craving of vengeance skyrocketing to levels I have never felt before. I had seen babies on this island, I’d seen a baby that was a few months older than my children, and when I compared them in stature, I realized that not only was Nora unhealthy skinny, but for their age, my children, were small. Smaller than normal. My wolf raged inside me, angrily craving blood, the little girl still stared at me, crying, and Nora hissed in my direction, “you’re frightening her,” she said so low, but it was enough for me to fight for control from Zed. To take a breath and realize that I was making Tia afraid of me, my vision cleared, the red cover just danced around the edge. “He,” my little mini-me pointed in my direction, the same perplexed look of his sister, “You remember him don’t you Cole, from the pictures?” she spoke in full sentences, lifting Tia to her side, taking Coles hand and leading him to the settee. I didn’t move from my spot, not sure I was intruding or wanting to scare them, but my eyes zoned in on the familiar camera bag on the coffee table, Nora pulled Cole up onto the sofa, then retrieved my camera. “See, it’s him,” she said showing them each, then pointing to me, and I wondered if their brains could understand, could they fully grasp that I was the man in the picture on the screen? Were they wondering how I got from the screen to in this room? Did they think that the man in the camera was another man than me? I wouldn’t blame them… I looked nothing like I did before in those pictures. I was a happy man in them. I had just found my mate. Found my life source. I was healthy, happy and in love in those pictures. Now – now – I was furious. “See, it’s daddy,” Nora whispered to the kids, pointing to me, then taping on the screen, and I released an anguished sob, taking a step back my hand searched blindly for the door knob behind me, jerking it open I stumbled out backwards. Closing the door behind me, I stumbled down the steps, brushing past lord only knows who, my anger was over flowing as I thought of how much love Nora used in her tone, trying to tell my children – twins – that I was their father. Dripping of love and adoration, but each drop of love, only fueled my anger. X – X – X – X – X Chelsea POV I had been changed, it was subtle but I could see it, feel it, the instinct to remove myself from problems, issues that have nothing to do with me was gone. With it was the instinct to give people the benefit of the doubt, Francesca… Mylene… Rian… Amara… I couldn’t kill Lynn point blank, but I could remove her wolf, make her easier to track, because she clearly wasn’t all there. Giving her extra enhanced senses or in my case letting her keep those senses would be foolish of me, and I was tired of being one step behind. Before I could recover from the shock of taking her wolf, Mr. Hellmann, Lynns’ father was charging towards me in anger. Throwing my head back, I released a loud feral growl, my body shaking, as Mr. Hellmann swung his right fist towards me, my hand catching and snapping his wrist backwards, the snap not stopping me, “Stop!” I shouted, halting his movement, my hands going to the side of his head. The process wired into me on instinct, I pulled his wolf spirit out of his body, the energy, entering my body, pulsing through my veins. Mr. Hellmann in front of me, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, as the door flew of the hinges, he collapsed to his knees. With a broke wrist he couldn’t fight me off, to my right, I expected Gabriel to be here, but Walter, with pitch black eyes stormed inside, his eyes wild, I pulled my hands from Mr. Hellmann. Mrs. Rykos – everyone unsure of where to keep their eyes in the midst of the chaos, but she found her son, but Walter, was focused on his father, charging him as Mr. Hellmann did me. Taking a step back from everyone, Chelsea? Gabriel called to me frantically over the link before barging into the room with Jack and Lux trailing him. “What did you do Luna?” Lux asked, I had to chuckle, only he could ask something so insulting with the right amount of respect, before I could answer, Walter lifted his fist striking his father, taking him down with that one hit, but he didn’t stop. Mrs. Rykos tried pulling her son from his father but he pushed her backwards with so much force that she hit the wall with a thud falling against it. “She hurt my daughter and my husband, my wolf – we can’t feel our mate,” Mrs. Hellmann blabbered towards Lux. “Jack, pull him off his father,” I ordered because Walter wasn’t himself, turning to Mrs. Hellmann, “Lux isn’t my keeper, your husband paid for someone to be murdered and you can’t feel your mate because I took away their wolves. She” I pointed to Lynn, “Showed no empathy or feels remorse to the fact that her heart was bought. Someone was killed so that she could live, and the only thing she could ask me was if she would get another mate,” I spat angrily, pulling away from Gabriel I went to Mr. Hellmann, taking his right hand and crushing it, dropping it to the ground I stomped on it, “You’re lucky I don’t let Gabriel kill you for trying to lift your hand against me,” I said while he roared out in pain. “Let me go,” Walter was shouting against Jack and Lux, his siblings watching him in shock, but I just went to Gabriel. “If you even try to attack him again,” Jack answered him, “Let me go, I just want to get my shit and leave,” Walter struggled, and when Jack let him go, he did as he said he would, bolting up the stairs.