I forced myself off my bed and followed the path that Levi had taken to exit my room. I looked in either direction down the hallway to make sure that no one was coming towards me and when the coast was clear I made my way towards Liam’s room. Normally, I would’ve knocked before I entered his room but with his behavior lately, I deserved to be a little upset and make sure that he knew about it. I was hesitant as I turned the doorknob. I still had no idea what I was going to say to him and deep down I was worried that I was only going to make things worse. I followed through with my intentions though and I swung the door open and walked through expecting to see broken furniture and ripped up curtains. Surprisingly, everything was back to the way it should be. The couches were no longer brown after being replaced with black ones and the curtains were a dark grey now instead black, but nothing was destroyed.
Across the room standing in front of the window was Liam, his back facing me as he looked out towards the Castle grounds. He knew I was there, but he didn’t seem to care enough to turn around and greet me. I shut the door behind me, doing my best to be quiet so I didn’t disturb his thought process for just a little bit longer. By the time I got across the room all bets were off. I noticed the fire was going and I was actually surprised that Levi let him be around it after what he had done earlier. His bed was made up with several different sized pillows covering the top half, although, I’m not sure when the last time Liam had a good night’s sleep. I continued to walk slowly towards my brother, waiting for him to turn around and look at me.
“Are you hear to comfort me or yell at me?” the sound of his voice startled me, and I froze where I stood. He still didn’t turn towards me but at least he was willing to talk to me. “Levi can’t seem to figure out which one will work on me.”
“At least he’s trying,” I replied in a tone that even I knew was risky to use. Anything could set him off with the state that he’s in.
“He may be trying but he’s failing,” he mumbled as he dropped his head down towards the floor finally leaving the view outside the window.
“No, you’re failing him,” I snapped regretting it the second the words left my lips. He turned towards me this time, whipping his body so fast in my direction that I took a few steps back without even thinking about it. He looked like Liam only there was this darkness surrounding him that I had never seen before. He reminded me so much of Levi with those Caribbean blue eyes and the dark brown hair. His bronzy tan skin identical to our eldest brother’s. Besides being an inch or two shorter than Levi he could potentially pass as his twin from a distance. Once you get close enough you realize the differences between them.
“Do you want to say that again?” he spoke with his teeth gritting against each other almost like he was trying to scare him.
“I don’t even recognize you,” I whispered although I know he heard me. I saw the change in his expression. “Dad would be so disappointed in you right now.”
I didn’t have a chance to get away from him because he used his speed to close the distance between us, grabbing my dress up around my neck and clenching it with his fist. His face was so close to mine that I could feel the heat coming off of his skin. I hit a nerve, which is exactly what I didn’t want to do, but even I had to admit that I had that effect on people. I got under their skin and stayed there until they gave in.
“Don’t bring dad into this,” he snarled before releasing me, letting me walk a few feet away from him to catch my breath. He’d never done that to me before.
“You’re so selfish, you know that?” I finally yelled, no longer caring if it upset him. “You’re not the only one grieving and yet, you act like you have every right to act this way. You’re supposed to be helping Levi adjust to this new position and be by his side like you always have and instead, you destroy the Castle grounds and your bedroom on a daily basis. And now you’re trying to burn portraits.”
“Nobody liked the guy!” he shouted back.
“That’s not the point!” my voice grew louder than it had in a long time. It actually scared me a little bit. “That’s not you, Liam. Dad didn’t raise us to be this way no matter what the circumstances were. It’s bad enough that mom won’t come out of her room.”
“Mom is not my fault,” he said calmly.
“I never said it was,” I reminded him. “My point is, the situation is already bad, and your behavior is only making it worse. Levi shouldn’t have to stress and worry about you the way that he is. He doesn’t deserve that. He loves and cares about both of us and you’re doing a terrible job of making him feel like you love and care about him.”
“I think you should leave, Luna,” he continued to speak much softer as he turned back towards the window, walking away from me like I meant nothing.
“So, that’s it?” I asked taking a few steps in his direction. “You’re just going to live your life in eternal grief? Destroying everything in and outside of the Castle? What kind of life is that? Do you honestly think that we’re going to put up with it? Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Liam!”
I felt my throat strain on that last bit as my voice reached an octave that I have never hit before. I don’t think I want to come close to hitting that again. It got his attention, which is exactly what I wanted so, it worked.
“We need you,” I said as a tear fell from the corner of my silver eyes. It was the first time I had cried about something other than my father’s death. “How are we supposed to go after Malachi without you?”
He turned back towards me again, this time his body was much more relaxed, although his chest was moving much quicker than I had expected. It finally hit me as my own body reacted to his, and within seconds I closed the distance between us this time and wrapped my arms around his neck. Tears continued to drop from my eyes as he cried on my shoulder. I’m not sure which part actually broke him but all that mattered was that he finally had. He had held it in this entire time and there was nowhere for him to escape, which is why he turned to anger and destruction. How had I not seen it before? I should’ve been able to see past the anger and realize that he was in a large amount of pain. My heart broke as I told myself I wasn’t there for him when he really needed the help. He’s been alone this whole time. Levi may have tried more than I did but neither one of us saw the truth even when it was staring at us.
I held onto him until he finally calmed down. When I pulled away, his face was red, and he seemed to be fatigued. I motioned for him to sit down on the couch knowing he would refuse to lay down. I sat down next to him and waited for him to speak again. He was wiping his tears off of his face when the door started to open. I sped over expecting it to be one of the maids but instead I was met with a second set of bright blue eyes. Levi stood before me almost like he was waiting for permission to enter. I looked back at Liam who nodded his head letting me know it was okay for our brother to come in. His face looked a little better than it had before I ran to the door, but it was still obvious that he had finally let his emotions show thanks to how red his eyes were.
Levi walked over slowly to the couches, sitting down right next to Liam. I could tell by the look on his face at the door that he was here about something else, but I think he noticed something else was going on and whatever he came up here for could wait. Liam didn’t say anything but that didn’t stop Levi from putting his hand on our brother’s back and rubbing it gently while Liam got himself together. I saw the concern on Levi’s face when he glanced over at me. I wanted to tell him that Liam would be fine eventually, but I didn’t want to upset Liam by talking about him in front of him. We had finally reached a breakthrough and I wasn’t about to ruin it.
“You looked like you were going to say something at the door,” I said changing the subject so that the attention was off of Liam. Levi kept his hand on Liam’s back I think more for his sake instead of Liam’s. It was almost like touching him was the only way Levi knew that he was okay.
“Malachi was spotted in Werewolf Territory,” he said finally taking hi
s hand off of Liam’s back when Liam moved to turn towards him. It was easy to get both of our attentions when it had to do with Malachi. “Kory is going to set up a portal for us in an hour if you want to go.”
“Obviously, we’re going,” I said glancing over at Liam to see if he had the same thought. He didn’t speak but I could tell that he was wondering why we were still sitting here and not packing our trunks for the trip through the portal.
“We don’t know where he is,” Levi continued. “All we know is he was spotted in the village closest to Werewolf Castle. We’re going to investigate, not fight.”
“What do you mean we’re not going to fight?” I spoke quickly and harshly. “He killed our father and our uncles. If we find him, we’re going to kill him.”
“Are you forgetting about how strong he is?” Levi raised his voice. “We need to be smart about it. We’re going to kill him but that’s not the plan right now. I’m letting you two come because this is important to all of us but if you’re not going to listen to me then you’re staying here on lockdown.”
“You hear that, Luna?” Liam finally spoke. “He thinks he’s the boss of us.”
“It’s that Alpha ego getting to his head,” I replied smiling as I caught eyes with Levi. I could tell he was happy to hear Liam’s voice. Even when he was yelling at our brother, Liam didn’t speak much. This was a nice change.
“Until mom decides to grace us with her presence I’m the boss of you two,” he said sternly. “You guys won’t stay out of trouble if I don’t stay on top of you.”
“That’s not true,” Liam denied.
“You almost burn down the Castle not even three hours ago,” Levi turned towards Liam both of them smiling at one another.
“That was grief, brother,” Liam answered. “You can’t hold that against me.”
“And breaking the dining room table,” Levi began to list off the items that Liam broke. “I can’t hold that against you either.”
“Only if you want to be known as the Alpha who wouldn’t let a guy grieve,” Liam said as he stood up from the couch and headed towards his bathroom.
“And just like that I wish he wasn’t speaking again,” Levi spoke softly as soon as Liam disappeared to go pack for our trip.
“You don’t mean that,” I muttered.
“No, I don’t,” he admitted. “He snapped back pretty quick though. What did you say to him?”
“I’m not even sure what part did it,” I answered honestly. “I told him that dad would be disappointed in him, that he was being selfish, and that I didn’t know who he was anymore. The last thing I said was we needed him and then the next thing I knew he was crying on my shoulder.”
“I should’ve known he was holding back,” Levi, once again, found a way to blame himself.
“We both missed it,” I told him. “All that matters now is he finally got it out and he can hopefully start to move on just like the rest of us.”
“I guess I should’ve listened to you from the beginning,” he said as we both stood up from the couch.
“I’ll take a nice diamond necklace for my troubles,” I suggested. “And one ‘I told you so’ just because it feels good to say it.”
“I don’t suppose the one you already said counted?” he laughed.
“You already know the answer to that,” my brows burrowed towards the middle of my face as I answered him, irritated that he even asked. How could he try to take that away from me? Just for that, I’m not going to tell him when it’s coming. I’m going to save it for the best moment.
“What if I throw in a matching diamond bracelet?” he bargained.
“Throw in matching earrings as well and we have a deal,” I threw my hand out expecting him to shake it. He hesitated slightly but eventually he saw it my way.
“Deal,” he agreed.
I don’t normally give in that easily, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a diamond set of jewelry. I was lucky enough to own several nice pieces of jewels, but it was a rare occasion that I got a matching set all at once. It was worth giving up the ‘I told you so’.
We both left Liam’s room to go pack our own trunks. We were going to be heading towards Werewolf Territory in a few days’ time anyways but that didn’t mean I had my trunk packed already. I expect we’ll be there for at least week now that this whole Malachi situation has come up. He had gone into hiding after the incident at Ivy’s childhood farm and now he suddenly shows up in a village in Werewolf Territory? He’ss definitely up to something. He has always been one step ahead of us though, so this worries me a little bit. Why has he shown himself now? Is he coming after us now to finish what he started? I think he’ll have a rude awakening if he tries that with all of us at Werewolf Castle.
As I continued to throw clothing into the trunk I thought about seeing the girls again. It had been a whole month since I saw them. I didn’t realize how much I loved and cared about them until this whole ordeal with our fathers. I obviously loved them, and I definitely cared about them but how much was a mystery to me until that day at Ivy’s family farm. I couldn’t wait to be back with them so that we could go after Malachi just like we swore we were going to do.
Chapter Two
Nova
I wasn’t expecting Nico to come running into my room demanding that I get to his study. I jumped from where I sat on the soft brown couch and turned towards him, glaring hard in his direction. His expression was apologetic, but it didn’t stop him from welcoming himself within my four walls. I sighed deeply as he continued to stomp over to where I refused to move. I could’ve easily stood up and met him half way but that would’ve been too easy for him. I had my left leg crossed over my right and my arms glued across my chest with a sour look staring at him as he sat down on the opposite couch. I knew he wanted me to go down to his study, but he never said what for and he knew better than to demand something of me without giving me a reason.
“Will you please come down to the study with Nero and I?” he asked politely after making himself comfortable.
“Why?” I asked, my expression changing but the rest of my body continued to stay stiff in the position that I had left it.
“Malachi was seen in the village closest to the Castle grounds,” he said without blinking and I’m pretty sure without taking a breath.
“Why are we going to your study then?” I snapped. “We should be going to the village.”
“He won’t be there when we get there, and you know it,” he spoke just as harshly as I had. I guess you could say I had that coming. “I’ve sent a message to the Alphas. Kory’s going to portal them here within the hour. They’re all coming.”
“Should Kory be using his energy like that with Malachi so close by?” I asked, concern in my low tone. I knew how tired the sorcerers were after opening a portal. It wasn’t that it was hard for them to do, it’s just very draining on their bodies.
“If my gut is right, we won’t be going after Malachi tonight,” he scowled knowing I was giving him dirty looks as he explained. “He’ll be able to rest tonight and then we’re going to search the entire territory tomorrow.”
“Why do we need to go to your study if you’re telling me this right here in my room?” I questioned finding his original request strange considering all the information that he’d told me already.
“That’s where the portal is going to open up,” he said as he stood up from the couch motioning me to join him. “I don’t want the council knowing about this.”
“You’re not telling the council?” my voice raised slightly to which Nico turned around and shushed me. I didn’t particularly care to be shushed but again, I probably had that coming.
“I don’t trust them,” he said bluntly. “They’re going to find out when they see the Alphas and the others but the little they know the better. All they know right now, is they’re here for your birthday. They don’t need to know anything else.”
“What a liar you’ve become since becoming the Alpha,
” I mocked as we left my room and headed for the staircase. He turned his head slightly in my direction and turned it even farther to make sure we were not being followed.
“Other than Roman, no one else but our family knows about the prophecy here in the Castle,” he said as he started to walk faster. We were half way down the stairs before he continued. “We need to keep it that way for as long as possible. The Council will find some way to stall everything if they find out and I don’t need that trouble on my plate.”
“Roman hasn’t told his father?”
“Considering Roman hasn’t spoken to his father in years I’m going to guess he didn’t,” he answered right as we reached the door to his study. When he opened it two familiar male figures stood before us, looking tall and muscular like they always did. Nero and Roman looked like they were deep in conversation before we interrupted them. Nero didn’t talk much these days, so I was glad he was speaking to someone, even if I was jealous it wasn’t Nico or I. Roman took one look at me and smiled before turning his attention towards Nico. Since he was the Alpha, it was important that everyone gave him their full attention when he entered a room. I knew he hated it, but it was a formality that had been in place long before Nico was even a thought. Nico quickly stopped Roman from bowing, coming very close to preventing it all together. Roman was Nico’s second in command. He wanted it to be Nero but anyone family related wasn’t allowed to sit on the Council or be the Alpha’s second in command. Since our bloodline was the strongest of all the werewolves, the Council felt it would give our family the opportunity to overpower the rest of the noble families and that just couldn’t happen. This law was put into place centuries ago, but it was one that I actually understood.
Deprived (Daughter of an Alpha Book 2) Page 2