“Why?” Liala threw her hands into the air. “I like him.”
“Oh, Lia,” her mother brushed her thumb across her cheek, looking at her as if she still was the ten-year-old asking stupid questions about her mother’s pregnancy. Now, in the light of new events, Liala couldn’t help but wonder if her mother ever wanted Benjy in the first place, because why else would it have taken ten years for her to get pregnant a second time?
“You are right,” her mother read her thoughts again. “I didn’t want to get pregnant again, but I couldn’t deny your dad another child. Yet,” she let out a deep, sad sigh, “if I hadn’t gotten pregnant with your brother, I could have stayed with you. I made a lot of mistakes, I have many regrets and I want to spare you going through the same.”
“How, mom?” Liala exclaimed.
“Maybe one day, you will understand my decision,” her mother placed her hand on her shoulder and then brushed it down along her arm to grab her hand.
Her expression was soft, but pregnant with pain and regret. Liala knew that her mother hadn’t wanted any of this. At least, that’s what she believed.
“So, what about Nate?” She sighed. “Why can’t he be my mate? Because he’s not divine blooded?”
“It’s not that simple with him,” her mother explained. “He is your cousin.”
Hearing that, Liala’s stomach started churning.
“But that wouldn’t be the reason to stay away from him,” her mother continued. “His sister was your aunt. She was bound to be the heir to her tribe, but she died giving birth to him. His father took him away, brought him up the only way he knew. He was just a child when the hunters killed his father. When we finally found him, Nate was a wild animal, rabid, and dangerous. It took me a week to get him to not snarl at me.”
Nothing of the tall, strong, and cocky giant of a man seemed to fit what her mother just told her.
“So, his father wasn’t divine blooded and that’s it?” Lia dug deeper, knowing that there was something her mother wasn’t telling her, and she felt that she might not want to know the truth.
“Few know the truth, Lia,” her mother took both of her hands now. “Nate is special, unique even, but he’s not for you. I don’t want you to get killed by his offspring.”
What the hell?
“Tell me!” Lia squeezed her mother’s hands. “Please!”
Her mom sighed deeply, looking up at the sky, shaking her head, as if she was fighting with herself.
“If you weren’t my daughter,” she eventually told her, “I would have insisted that he tell you when he felt it was right. I am sure that he is expecting me to not tell you, but you are my daughter, you will be the leader of this clan one day, and it will be your duty and responsibility to provide a worthy offspring to follow in your footsteps…”
Liala wanted to pinch the bridge of her nose, but her mother was imprisoning her hands. All of this was just plain crazy. What could be so bad about Nate that she had to stay away from him?
“Just tell me already!” Lia almost shouted at her mother and regretted it the same moment as she saw the expression on her mom’s face.
“He wasn’t conceived in love or lust, at least not when it came to his mother. She was raped,” Liala’s mom pulled at her hands, making her stop moving altogether and look her straight in the eyes. “His father was a Wendigo. He was mauling animals of the forest, they were hunting him. No one knows why he didn’t kill Naina when he got the chance, but after he overpowered her, he raped her, for hours, maybe even days. He carried her to his lair and abused her over and over again. When your father found his sister, she was on the brink of death, only clinging to life by a thin thread. It needed half of his pack to drive the Wendigo back. They didn’t know that he stayed close, waiting for Nate to be born. He is unique because no one ever heard of a Wendigo Shapeshifter offspring. He is the first and maybe will be the last.”
Liala tried to remember the legend of the Wendigo. Lore said that men who feast on the flesh of men became a Wendigo, forever tormented by the lust for human flesh. Like werewolves they would turn at the full moon, taking the form of a creature, a distorted, skeleton body, and a face that looked like a mountain lion, but with the antlers of a deer. They would stay turned until their hunger was satisfied, and it would take more and more human flesh every time. They say Wendigos have hearts made from ice.
“Wendigo don’t hunt at a full moon, they hunt at a new moon,” her mother read her thoughts again. “Now, during the full moon Nate has all the powers of a born divine blooded shapeshifter, but in two weeks he must fight the urge to feast on the flesh of his own and that means us. But, unfortunately, that’s not all. Whenever he tastes blood he might lose control over his Wendigo side. I helped him during the last ten years and he now is in control, mostly. But I can’t have him get you pregnant. He doesn’t know that he killed his mother and I want to keep it that way. Now you know. It’s easier to just stay away from him, because birth control is sort of difficult for our kind.”
Liala was stunned. When she thought about the need she felt whenever Nate was around, she would have sworn that her kind had something like mates for life. She was sure that Nate was exactly that, because why else would she want him to fuck her brains out, without knowing him?
“Nate will be your protector,” her mother added. “But he can’t be more than that.”
That’s still my decision.
“Is there anything else I should know?” Liala asked and tried her best to not sound defiant.
“The twins,” her mother answered after a moment of consideration. “They’ve shown their interest in Kiana. You should let her know, because she’s not going anywhere.”
“You’re not planning to let her go?” Liala was shocked, maybe even taken aback.
“No,” her mother shook her head. “There is still a lot that you need to know and learn, but if you want her to live, she will have to stay here and become one of us. It is your responsibility to protect your clan.”
“Become one of us?” Liala repeated.
“Divine blooded can turn humans to half-breeds,” her mom explained.
“By biting them,” Liala said in sync with her mother, with the only difference that her mother said, “You.”
“It will be your duty to bite her and give her your blood, if she accepts her fate,” her mother continued. “Otherwise, she will be nothing more than our human prisoner, not allowed to leave her room alone, not being able to have a decent life.”
“Give her my blood?” Liala questioned.
“Yes,” her mother nodded. “The ability lies inside of your blood, but the bite is just as important, as it triggers the immune system and the body will accept the blood that has the ability to heal that bite.”
“Why couldn’t you just leave her there?” Lia became angry. “She wouldn’t have harmed anyone. She wouldn’t have been able to tell anyone where I am, where all of you are. So, why take her?”
“That’s the problem when tasking half-breeds,” her mother almost shrugged. “They wanted her to come with.”
Liala suddenly felt a strange sensation, like a wave of cold coming from nowhere.
She’s lying.
“Tell me the truth,” she demanded, crossing her arms in front of her chest; her mother’s response was a frown and again Liala felt something, like a nudge.
“Please, don’t tell me that they saved her life by taking her with us,” Lia shook her head, gritting her teeth. “She was supposed to die, too?”
This woman is not my mother! I don’t recognize her!
“It’s been eleven years, Lia,” her mother sighed, but didn’t sound as if this statement was an excuse. “Back then I was only a wife and mother, your mother. I wasn’t the leader and protector of two clans, all I did was protect you, but now I have so much more responsibility. I’m not only protecting you anymore, I’m not just protecting my clan, but our species. I don’t expect you to understand that, at least not right awa
y.”
“I thought you would try and explain everything to me,” Lia gave back. “After all, I’m your heir, aren’t I?”
Her mother didn’t answer, and again she felt this nudge, as if her instinct was pointing out something Liala couldn’t perceive.
“Yes, you are,” her mother answered. “And I wish I’d have more time to explain to you what that means. There is so much I need to teach you, but there’s no time.”
“Why?” Lia exclaimed. “Why is there no time? What aren’t you telling me? I thought we were safe here.”
“That’s what I thought, too, this morning,” her mother sighed once more, “apparently, I was a fool to believe that living off the grid would mean that we’ve be able to live undetected, because they’ve found us, maybe they knew all along, but now, they have a reason to come after us.”
Liala tried to catch up with her mother, but she wasn’t sure if she understood everything, especially since she couldn’t shake off the feeling that details were missing.
“So long as they believed that there was no real heir, they left us alone,” her mother explained. “Now, with you being taken, they have reason to assume that you are not a half-breed, which is why I wanted your and Kiana’s blood to stage your death, but that’s out of the question now.”
“What happened at the entrance?” Liala connected the dots. “Why did you send Nate if you already knew…?”
“I needed time alone with my daughter,” her mother said. “Lia, all of this is a mess. I wish things would have happened differently. I wish I would have time to explain everything, but we don’t have that time.”
“What aren’t you telling me?” The sensation she felt before came back vigorously, Liala just knew that her mother was keeping something from her, even more so because she was repeating herself.
“I don’t want to give you this,” her mother shook her head, “but I know that you will never forgive me if I don’t, I’m not even sure if you will forgive me anything.”
That being said, her mother pulled a smartphone from her back pocket and handed it to her.
“Since the hunters know our location, it doesn’t make any difference,” her mother shrugged, but appeared tense.
This is what she was keeping from me.
“Lia, before you watch this,” her mother began, but she had already unlocked the screen, seeing that there was a video waiting to be played.
She hesitated, and looked at her mother, but the picture of the video was showing someone lying in a hospital bed, tubes, and all.
“I am so sorry,” her mom whispered, choking on tears.
Liala froze, tensing painfully, and the feeling of dread enfolded her body in a tight grasp. She knew, even before pressing the play button, that the room she saw was her father’s hospital room, and with her mother acting like this, what she was about to see was bad, really bad.
When the video started playing, it seemed harmless. Whoever was recording it stepped further into the room, zooming in on the person, who was lying in the hospital bed, one tube stuck onto the person’s mouth, others into his veins. The motion ended on a full frontal of Liala’s dad’s face, and then the camera was turned around. She could only assume that someone else took the phone that was recording, because after a few seconds the blurred image sharpened and showed Brenna’s dad.
“Hello Liala,” he said, looking straight at her, making her feel that this was a live feed and not a recording. “Yes, this video is for her, so make sure she gets it or you will regret it.”
Liala shuddered hearing the tone in that man’s voice, who usually was nothing more than indifferent, or acted as if he was. Now she knew that he was the enemy.
“Your kind has murdered, no, slaughtered my child,” he continued, rage hiding in his tone. “I know what they did to my little princess. I wonder if you saw it. No, I’m sure you did. You saw what vile creatures they are and your mother’s one of them. She allowed it to happen.”
Liala didn’t dare to breathe even though she knew that what she saw, and was about to see, already had happened. Yet, she felt dizzy, as her breath turned shallow and fast. The phone almost slipped from her hands.
“So, you know, Liala,” Brenna’s dad continued. “Who are the real monsters here. And I am sure that you are able to understand that I must retaliate.”
They are going to kill my dad. They’ve killed my dad.
Instinctively Liala tapped on the screen and the video stopped. The lump in her throat felt as if it had a lump the size of the very same fist that felt as if it had punched her in the stomach. She looked up at her mother.
“You have seen this?” She barely managed to whisper, her eyes burning as tears were about to dwell in them.
The only reply she got was a nod. It was up to her to decide whether she wanted to watch the video or not. But it wasn’t really a choice to make. Liala pressed play again.
Brenna’s father turned around and approached the bed in which Liala’s dad was sleeping. A muffled scream made the cameraman turn around and film Benjy, being held by a man whose face was cut off by the screen. The image was zooming in on Benjy, whose mouth was covered by the large hand of his captor as the boy was struggling against the other arm that held him prisoner. His eyes were large and terrified, tears welling, as if he knew what was about to happen.
Liala couldn’t help but press her free hand onto her mouth, trying to force herself to breathe evenly and swallow down the tears that were crawling into her eyes. Her heart was racing painfully in her chest, hammering against her ribcage.
The guy holding the camera turned again, zooming out again, and now showing Brenna’s dad standing next to the man Liala had believed to be her father her entire life.
Seeing that image, there was no way for her to hold back the tears that burned their way down Liala’s cheeks. Brenna’s dad looked up, straight into the camera, as if he knew that Liala was watching. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to.
That man had lost his daughter last night, he maybe even knew exactly which fate had struck them. Liala couldn’t even try and start to understand what he was feeling. She had the feeling that she might know at least a fraction of it in a few moments.
Not taking his glare away from the camera, Brenna’s dad grabbed the tube that was shoved down Liala’s dad’s throat and pulled it out with one vicious pull. The sleeping man’s eyes flew open, inhaling deeply, his body bucking as he tried to face the sudden pain that had ripped him from his slumber. Liala could hear her brother sob off camera.
After that Brenna’s father forcefully pulled the pillow from beneath Liala’s dad’s neck, still staring at the camera, his expression cold, if it hadn’t been for the fierce fire in that man’s eyes. It was more than hate, more than wrath, it was sheer rage and loathing born from pain and the utter belief of being the hero in this twisted tale.
Taking the pillow in both hands Brenna’s dad finally moved, pressing it onto Liala’s dad’s face with such strength that he didn’t seem to even twitch, no matter how much his victim was struggling. There was absolute silence coming from the recording, apart from a muffled scream off camera.
Liala didn’t dare to breath or move, watching the scene unfold, ending in her dad eventually stopping his struggles. She wanted it all to stop, silently urged her dad to start moving again, even though she knew he wouldn’t. There was nothing, absolutely nothing she could do. It already had happened.
Liala wanted to stop the video, but she was paralyzed, forced to continue watching the recording, that had been taped at an unknown time during the past hours.
The cameraman continued taping Brenna’s dad, who tossed the pillow aside and pressed his fingers against Lia’s dad’s neck, checking for a pulse. That’s when she noticed that the monitors, which were supposed to record her dad’s vitals had been shut off. There wasn’t time for her to think about what she was observing as Brenna’s dad moved towards the camera and said her name.
“Liala,”
there was almost no expression in his voice apart from a slight tremor, as if he was restraining his own emotions forcefully – just as she so often did. “If you +don’t want to see anoth*er video that shows you the -death of your little half-brother” – she tensed painfully hearing that expression – “you are going to do exactly as I say, and I will be gentle on you.” He paused, staring at her through the camera, certainly lying, but she didn’t care. “Meet me at the camping spot when the sun sets, with Kiana and one, only one, of your mom’s beasts. I’ll exchange him against you two girls. Try to trick me, bring more than just the girl and one shifter, and I will execute that little bastard you call brother in front of you. Kiana, you, one shifter, nothing more, or I’ll blow this half breed’s brains out.” Saying that, he pulled Benjy, who was sobbing, in front of the camera.
Liala’s entire body was trembling, watching her little brother being tossed around like that. She stared at the screen, which showed the last image of the video, a zoom-in on Benjy looking beyond terrified. A tremor took over her body, which would have reminded her of her first shift, if she hadn’t been so completely paralyzed because of the image on the smartphone’s screen. Lia didn’t even notice that she broke the device in her hand, crumbling it into tiny pieces of plastic and metal, trickling from her hand, as all she could see before her eyes was the expression on her baby brother’s face.
Liala had no idea how often her mother had said her name until she finally heard her. Still numb from what she had watched, she moved to look at her mother. Her own body felt frozen or almost asleep, maybe between those two stages. She was still trying to wrap her mind around what she had just heard and seen, while her mother was talking to her. And yet, she didn’t comprehend the noises, or maybe she just didn’t want to.
“You can’t react to this. You know it’s a trap. Your brother is already lost,” that’s what Lia heard but refused to listen to.
“Benjy is my responsibility,” she said, almost calmly. “I have been his mother since he can remember. I will not abandon him when he needs me most, mother.” The last word she uttered sounded rather like a reproach.
HOWL and HUNT the HEIR: HOWL 1-3 (Dark World) Page 12