Chapter 54 Fifty Four
DANIKA
"Who is it?" Kaziel asks. His tone is lighthearted, but I can feel the tension winding up his body. I listen closely, keeping my eyes closed.
"Your mother."
His entire body stiffens. Still, he lets out a humorless laugh. "Is that supposed to be a joke, Kira?"
Somehow, I can tell that he isn't amused. He's mad.
"I'm not joking, Alpha. Why the hell would I do that?" Kira's voice trembles. She sounds deeply shaken. It makes my heart sink. I clearly remember how much pain Kaziel had been in when he'd mentioned his mother's death.
"Please, Kira," my mate croaks. "Don't do this to me."
Kira sniffles. "You don't think I would still be able to recognize her? She used to pick me up from school when my mum was a no-show, remember? I still remember Auntie's face clearly. It was..."
She sobs. "It was her. I swear. I'm not lying. I wouldn't make stuff like this up. I know what this means to you."
Kaziel lets out a choked sound. "Kira."
"I know. I'm so sorry."
My chest tightens as I raise my head to look into his eyes. They are filled with tears and pain. So much pain.
"Where..." he exhales shakily. "Where did you see her?"
"At a convenience store. She...she recognized me, I swear. She hurried away when I tried to approach her. But there was something else. She smelled wrong..."
"Wrong?" Kaziel echoes, barely breathing.
"Like a vampire, Alpha."
A tear rolls down his cheek, and he wipes it away with an unsteady hand.
"No...that's not..."
Kira lets out another sob. "W-what if they turned her into a vampire? She was dead, Alpha. We both saw her body, but what if—"
Kaziel hangs up right away. I sit up, watching him as he stares at the far wall with tears gathering on his lower lashes. He looks like he's going to throw up.
I don't even think before I move. My legs are shaky, my muscles screaming after what we've just done, but I can't leave him like this.
"Kaziel..." I whisper, reaching out to touch his bare shoulder. His skin is still warm, sweat clinging to him. He flinches slightly but doesn't pull away.
"I... I—" His words trail off, and then he bolts toward the bathroom. My chest tightens. I follow him, my legs barely obeying me.
He hunches over the WC, gripping the edges. My stomach twists, but I swallow it down.
"Kaz..." I murmur, sliding onto my knees behind him.
My legs protest, trembling from exertion and fatigue, but I don't care. My hands go to his broad shoulders, pressing gently into the taut muscles.
He dry heaves, and I close my eyes for a moment, willing myself to stay steady. I wrap my arms around him, holding him close despite the awkward angles, letting my forehead brush the back of his neck.
The piercings along his nipples press against my palms as I hold him. My chest aches, every part of me still raw, but the need to comfort him overpowers it all.
"It's okay. I'm here. I've got you," I whisper, rubbing gentle circles along his shoulder blades. His hair tickles my cheek as he dry heaves again.
When he finally straightens slightly, pale and trembling, his blue eyes glimmer with tears.
"Danika... she... my mother..." His voice is a hoarse whisper. "They... they killed her. Her family... every single one of them. And she... she hated vampires, Danika. Hated them with everything she had. How... how could they... turn her into the exact thing she despised?"
I press my lips to the side of his damp neck, breathing in his scent and holding him close. "I... I can't imagine, Kaz. We don't know what's really going on yet. You can't fall apart now, honey. We have to find the truth."
He shakes his head. "W-what if it's really true? It'll fucking kill me. Because it's all my fault. She died to save me, Danika. Fuck, it was bad enough that I did that to her—"
I tighten my arms around him, letting him lean into me despite the tremor in my legs and the ache in my body. "I know," I whisper. "I know it hurts. But this isn't your fault. Please, baby, don't blame yourself."
He closes his eyes, his head dipping low. And it kills me to see him look so wretched.
...
Kaziel doesn't mention the phone call for the next few days. He's constantly around me, making sure I'm alright. He pretends he's fine. But every now and then, when he thinks I'm not looking, I catch him staring off into nothing with that shattered look in his eyes. The hollow hasn't surfaced again, thank goodness. But something else is eating him alive from the inside as the days blur into each other.
On a certain Wednesday two weeks later, after a long day of lectures, I drag my tired body up the porch steps of his house. My backpack feels like it's filled with bricks, and all I'm thinking about is face-planting on his bed and sleeping until morning.
But the moment I step inside, I stop.
Kira is on the couch, elbows on her knees, her head bowed. She's chewing anxiously on her thumbnail, her foot tapping restlessly against the floor. It looks like something is eating her alive.
"Kira?" I whisper, letting my backpack slide off my shoulder. "What's wrong?"
She lifts her head slowly. Her eyes are red. She lets out a long, ragged exhale. "Dani... he's getting worse."
My stomach sinks. "Kaz?"
She nods, wiping her nose. "He refuses to do anything. Anything, Danika. He won't check leads, won't question patrols, and won't even bring up the topic of his mother. He's burying himself in chores and pack responsibilities, anything to pretend the whole thing never happened."
I bite my lip. "He's... scared."
"He's being a coward," she snaps, then immediately winces. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm just... I'm worried. Because I haven't told him yet. I haven't told him the whole truth yet."
A cold chill rolls down my spine because she's not the only one hiding things from him. I still haven't told him about Tyler or the fact that I'm the vessel.
"What truth?"
She hesitates, glancing at the front hallway. Then she looks at the stairs and the windows. As if she's expecting Kaziel to materialize out of thin air.
"Kira," I say softly. "Tell me."
Her throat bobs as she swallows. "Dani... the woman I saw that day..." She rubs her palms over her face. "It wasn't just his mother."
My heart plummets. "What do you mean?"
"I saw both of them," she whispers. "His mother... and Vanya."
I freeze, my heart skipping a beat. "Vanya," I repeat. "As in—"
"His first mate," Kira says. "His ex-girlfriend. The one who was abducted and..."
My head spins. "You're sure?"
She meets my eyes. "Dani... I grew up seeing both of them. His mother picked me up from school half the time. And Vanya practically lived at the pack house before she disappeared. I know their faces."
My heart hammers painfully. "They were together?"
"Yes." Kira's voice cracks. "And they both smelled wrong. Like vampires."
A cold, heavy dread settles in my stomach. Before I can speak, a low voice from behind us slices through the air.
"Kira."
We both jump, my soul nearly leaving my body. Kaziel stands in the doorway of the living room, pale as bone, his chest rising and falling too quickly. His long hair hangs in loose, messy strands around his face. He looks like he hasn't slept in days.
"Kaz..." I whisper.
He doesn't look at me. His stormy glassy eyes are locked on Kira.
"Repeat what you just said," he utters in a steady voice.
Kira goes rigid, color draining from her face. She looks at me for one second, a worried look on her face.
"I saw your mother... and Vanya," she finally replies.
Kaziel's chest stops moving. He literally stops breathing, his eyes glazing over with raw, catastrophic shock.
"...both?" He rasps breathlessly, taking one unsteady step towards us.
"Kira." His voice cracks. "You saw... both of them?"
She nods.
Kaziel stands there, frozen in place, staring at Kira like her words have physically caved his chest in.
"Why... why didn't you tell me sooner?"
She trembles, her eyes filling up with fresh tears. "Because you weren't okay, Alpha. You were...you were spiraling. I didn't know if you could handle it."
He clenches his jaw. "I can't handle it. But I still needed to know."
Kira swallows hard. "I'm sorry. I thought—"
A sudden pounding on the door knocks the air out of my lungs. My heart lurches in my chest.
Kaziel's head whips towards the door, his shoulders tensing. Kira rises to her feet abruptly, her eyes wide. "What the hell—?"
The banging returns again, harder.
Kaziel narrows his eyes. "Danika. Stay behind me."
But before he can take a step, a voice roars from outside.
"Alpha Kaziel Lakewood! Step forward immediately! This is the Werewolf Corps!"
Kira gasps, Kaziel stiffening. He moves towards the door with confusion flashing in his eyes.
My stomach knots. "Kaz..."
But he's already pulling the door open.
Four armed corps officers stand on the porch. Their uniforms are black reinforced leather, marked with a silver crescent insignia. Their expressions are cold and terrifying. At the front of them stands someone who might be the commander. He's older than the rest and has iron-gray hair and winter-blue eyes.
He lifts a document. "Kaziel Lakewood?"
Kaziel's voice drops into a pure alpha tone. "Commander."
"You are under arrest for the murder of Evelyn Hart."