Part two- Chapter 23

“I would tell people some years later that I was raised an only child and

so was my brother.”

― Homer Hickam, Rocket Boys

DUNCAN P.O.V

Twirling, I laid on my stomach. Closing my eyes, I hoped to get some sleep but it didn’t work. Whenever I would close my eyes I could see her face. I just couldn’t stop thinking about Sel. Drinking whisky helped for some time but once I was sober, I would be occupied with her thoughts, again.

I had wanted to get out of that town as soon as I came to know she is O and so I immediately ordered everyone in my pack to pack their bags and within ten minutes we were on our wheels. Everyone in my pack sensed my bad mood but didn’t question about it. Once I was inside the house, I barely got time to throw my bag because I had shifted soon after. I was furious as to why she lied to me. Why did she hide so big truth about herself? She was O. The more I thought about it the more angry I got and so I had gone hunting. I barely hunted anything because I drained my energy by running and when I came home, I couldn’t sleep. I was growing restless and then again in anger I destroyed the whole house. I think only the kitchen is as it was, rest every part of the house needs renovation.

My wolf on the other hand was whining for Seline. I keep forgetting her name is Orseline and every fucking time I try to remember it, I see the image of her killing my father, a mental image which was created by my own thoughts. She killed my father. I had told her that I was after the person who killed my father and yet she kept quiet about it.

How could she do that to me?

Why was she killing Alpha’s? She herself was an Alpha then what was the need for her to kill others? Why Granel, Cortez, Raven and Tyson were killing Alpha’s. Darya, that girl is a mystery I cannot solve at all. She is… different. Why was Sel killing Alpha’s for Darya?

So many questions and the more I thought about it the more frustrated it made me. And amidst all of this I missed Sel.

Though I had seen her yesterday, it felt like ages since I had seen her. I was totally surprised to see her here yesterday but then that surprise was replaced by the same mental image which made me furious. I… My wolf was practically begging me to go to her but I was the one holding him back. I couldn’t. I couldn’t just forget what she is. I couldn’t forget it that easily. I closed my eyes again and then her hurt face popped into my head. Her face while she was trying her best to hold back her tears.

Her howl which was filled with so much pain and hurt that it had my wolf howling back for her. It felt like my heart was being crushed when I heard that howl. The howl was because she was in pain. Pain over the bite. I didn’t intend to bite her like that, I swear. I was so blind with anger that I wanted her to feel the pain she had caused me and then my wolf took control over me which ended up in me biting her shoulders almost close to ripping a chunk off her body.

It was only after she pushed me away I realized what I had done to her. Tasting her blood in my mouth only fueled my wolf’s lust for her but looking at the blood dripping from the bite I made, had my wolf whimpering in pain. I was about to apologize for that but before I could open my mouth she started talking and said things which I wished to not hear from her mouth.

Sel said she didn’t kill my father. It was a relief but when she said she didn’t regret watching him die, that hurt. I could hear the sincerity in her words; see the sincerity in her eyes when she said she didn’t regret watching him die. She was there when my father died that day. She for sure is the one who kept the locket in my father’s hand. Sel could have saved him and yet she let him die.

I know my father wasn’t really a good man but I don’t think he had done anything bad that would lead him to die like that.

Groaning, i placed the pillow over my head and tried sleeping. Didn’t work either but I didn’t throw my pillow away.

My pack members were all surprised to see Sel yesterday. I knew they all wanted to know why she left so furiously after destroying her car but none of them asked me anything. They kept their distance and I am pleased that they did. If anyone had tried to come and approach me, then I knew I would have vented my anger on them. I didn’t stop her either when she left because I knew she would have started a fight if I tried to in fact as soon as she left, I shifted into my huge black wolf.

I got up and sat on the bed. Running my hands on my face, I walked into the kitchen to drink water. However I ended up picking a bottle of whisky in the bar. Drinking alcohol seemed to make the world a better place, at least my own world when I wasn’t sober. My own little world, where my mate is not a killer.

I dragged my feet back to my room where everything was broken. I smirked and then took another sip from my drink. It helped me and then I don’t know how I ended up in the bed and to a dreamless sleep.

I was woken up when I heard someone knocking on the door. It was around, four in the afternoon and I wondered who had come. I did manage to sleep for five hours and I was glad for that but the intruder’s knocking was irritating and I growled.

“Coming” I groaned and pulled down a red collar shirt.

I opened the door to face the most unexpected person, Darya. She was wearing denim and dark red pullovers and holding a sling bag. Her golden hair was neatly brushed and bound in a ponytail. A faint smile spread on her face when she saw me. I looked past her to see if she had come with anyone but no one was there and I couldn’t smell anyone either.

“Uh… I came alone” she answered to my unasked question and tried to smile while I frowned at her. “Can I come in? I need to talk to you” she said and I nodded. I scrunched my nose as I realized I couldn’t smell Darya even though she was standing right in front of me.

I moved away and let her enter. Once she was inside, I looked out again hoping to find someone but the place was empty except Sel’s car in my driveway.

“My pack?” I asked to no one in particular.

“They can’t trace my scent” Darya said from behind and I whirled to face her.

“What are you doing here?” I asked her.

“I came to talk” she said and lowered her lashes. “I don’t have much time and I need to tell you everything before they come here”

“Before who?”

“Sel and the others” she said ruefully.

“I thought she is guarding you?” I asked cocking an eyebrow.

“She is but now, I kind of ran away from her and so she will come after me and give me a good piece of mind” Darya said sighing and then took a deep breath. “Uh…” Darya said and looked around the living room where everything was broken. “Your office?” she asked me and I nodded.

She followed me into my office. Everything was a mess in my office. The chairs were broken too but there was one chair that was alright and I wondered how I missed that one. I kept it straight and asked Darya to sit in it but there was no response from her. Turning around, I found her holding a photo frame in her hand and staring at it intently.

I glanced at the photo frame and realized it was my mother’s photo which my dad used to keep in his office all the time. “That’s my mother” I told her and she looked at me.

“I know” she said staring at me with her dark grey orbs.

“Her name was Darya too” I said and Darya lowered her head and looked at the photo.

“I know” Darya said and I narrowed my eyes. “My dad kept my name after her” she said gulping.

There was complete silence for few minutes with Darya staring at me expectantly. She looked scared and that bothered me. I didn’t get what she was trying to say, “What?” I asked her.

“He wanted me to share the same name as my mother” she said and I stared at her.

“I am sorry, I do not comprehend” I said quickly with a growl. “What you are trying to say is that your dad kept your name after my mother?” I asked her.

“My mother” she said.

“So your mother’s name was Darya?” I asked her. I faintly understood what she was implying but I found it hard to believe. How can that be possible?

“Yes” she said. “I was born on 26th November” she said and my eyes widened all of a sudden. I remember that day all too well. “My mother died on the same day. She met with an accident that day and went into an early labor. The doctors couldn’t save her but they saved me” she said and then pulled out a card from her bag.

“This belongs to my mother, I think you can recognize her” she said and extended the card to me. Still staring at Darya, I took the card from her and looked at it. I inhaled sharply when I saw the name MRS DARYA ABRAHAM RHOADES.

That is my mom’s name. I saw her smiling photo in her driving license. Her grey eyes filled with warmth and then looked up and met the same color eyes that belonged to the girl standing in front of me, Darya. I swallowed and looked at the photo again and blinked.