‹ Prequel: Alpha
Sequel: Aspen County ›
Streak of Black
Chapter 16
A couple of days after the incident, I'm finally back on my feet. I leave my escort—Ryder and Lovett— alone for a while to be alone, to think...to ask questions.
Alone outside, a little away from the house, I finally let loose. "What the hell did I see the other night?" I ask, pacing the expanse of yard. "What was that?" Monique doesn't answer, and my fuse is short. "Answer me, you bitch!"
'No need to yell.'
"Oh just answer my questions for once! No complaints, no riddles, no evasions. Answers. That's all I want!"
'Oh relax! Don't get your tail in a bunch. You're correct—that was no premonition. You would know had it been. That was merely punishment for what you'd done to me. Had your cousin left you alone a bit longer, you'd have been attacked by shadows, perhaps more than just one.'
"You're a twisted little witch, you know that."
Make no mistake, I'm no witch. You, on the other hand, are most definitely the mongrel that everyone keeps claiming you are.
I roll my eyes. "You know what, you—"
"Louve?"
I twirl around, clamping my mouth shut as Cannan gazes at me, guilt eating at him. His hands are stuffed nervously in his pockets. "What?" I demand, still angry with him and impatient from my argument with Monique.
"Louve, I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"
"What? You didn't mean to betray me, to betray all of us? Do exactly what Susanne did? Cannan, I was there for you, and you knew that this thing was bad news. I told you all about her. I made sure you knew what she was capable of. But you went behind my back. You made a deal with the devil herself! You may as well have stabbed me like Monique wanted."
"But—"
"I don't want to hear it Cannan. What would've happened had you not made that realization about Susanne. Would you have stabbed me? Would you have murdered us all in our sleep because the Voice in my head told you to? I trusted you! I'm sorry, but it's going to take a while for me to get past this. I can barely stand to look at you right now." I turn away from him to walk back towards the house.
"Wait!"
I sigh and turn back to look at him, starting to feel tired from being up for so long. "What, Cannan."
"She told me something. She said that there are two outcomes for me. That's why I did it. She said that I would either stay with you guys forever and be miserable or I would exact my revenge. I didn't know what to do. I was angry and upset and in a dark place. I wasn't thinking straight. I'm sorry."
"None of that is an excuse for turning on your friends, Cannan. None of that is an excuse for turning on your family. I would gladly give up my life for any one of you guys because you are my family. Can you say the same to me?" With that, I turn, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my sweater and walking back to the house to lie down.
* * * * *
No one knows what to do with me. They all look at me like I'll break any moment, or Monique will take back control and torment us all. I suffer from nightmares, my punishment from Monique. I've taken to falling asleep after everyone else with a gag in my mouth to keep from waking everyone with my screams of terror.
Lovett slips easily back into our old lives, or at least easier than me. I never realized just how much he missed France. But I mean, he spent 14 years here. He loved it, especially around this time of year, fall, when the air is freshest and the crispest.
Nyx and Nox are fascinated with our family, only ever having been with their mother and uncle, at least constantly. Our family is more than happy to welcome them and the rest of our Pack. I'm just jealous that everyone seems to be getting along great but excludes me. I can silence a room just by walking into it.
Lunette is great with Charlette and Gabrielle. While the young woman is still wary about being around us, Lunette's maternal and serene nature appeals to the young woman. She's far from being comfortable around us, but she's definitely coming around. She mostly takes up Lunette's room now that I'm, for the most part, better. Ryder and Lovett are currently the only ones who can be around me without looking like they want to bolt, for which I'm grateful—I don't know what I'd do without these two.
It seems like every time something bad in the Pack happens, it has to do with me. It seems like I'm always the one being pushed away. It doesn't matter what I do or anyone else does. It's always me. And while no one is really talking to Cannan either—obviously for very different reasons—I can't bring myself to comfort him. I refuse to sink that low.
'You don't really have much of a choice,' Monique says with a devilish glee one day about a week before the Cycle.
"I always have a choice. And I choose to ignore you." I uncross my legs and climb off of the couch that I'd been sitting on in one of my aunt's more unused sitting rooms.
'You never have a choice.'
I ignore the creepiness of the way she said 'you' and 'never', wanting to be around actual people even if they'll just ignore me. I walk into the huge family room that everyone hangs out in. Nyx is telling some funny story about something that Nox did when they were little, something about trying to ask for a pet cat and their mother saying no for the obvious reasons—cats hate werewolves more than they hate dogs. I'm not even paying attention. I hear her voice, but I don't listen. I'm in my own head listening to a voice not unlike my own that takes pleasure in harassing me.
And then Lovett stands up abruptly and walks out of the room as Monique shuts up for a little while. Everyone notices but doesn't worry about it. But there's something about the look on his face.
I get up from the corner I had snuck into and follow my brother out of the room. He walks over to the fire place in the living room off of the entrance hall. In a tall vase with tools for poking the fire, he pulls out a shiny steel knife. The knife.
"Lovett?" I ask. He doesn't answer. He doesn't look at me. He walks right past me and out into the front yard. I follow him out, and he walks to the shed.
On the wall in giant letters, he begins to carve, 'THE BATTLE OF BLOOD: THE DARK NIGHT APPROACHES.'
He then cuts his hand, stabs the wall with the knife, and smears his own blood over the letters so that it looks like the wall is bleeding. I scream, and Lovett snaps out of it.
Alone outside, a little away from the house, I finally let loose. "What the hell did I see the other night?" I ask, pacing the expanse of yard. "What was that?" Monique doesn't answer, and my fuse is short. "Answer me, you bitch!"
'No need to yell.'
"Oh just answer my questions for once! No complaints, no riddles, no evasions. Answers. That's all I want!"
'Oh relax! Don't get your tail in a bunch. You're correct—that was no premonition. You would know had it been. That was merely punishment for what you'd done to me. Had your cousin left you alone a bit longer, you'd have been attacked by shadows, perhaps more than just one.'
"You're a twisted little witch, you know that."
Make no mistake, I'm no witch. You, on the other hand, are most definitely the mongrel that everyone keeps claiming you are.
I roll my eyes. "You know what, you—"
"Louve?"
I twirl around, clamping my mouth shut as Cannan gazes at me, guilt eating at him. His hands are stuffed nervously in his pockets. "What?" I demand, still angry with him and impatient from my argument with Monique.
"Louve, I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"
"What? You didn't mean to betray me, to betray all of us? Do exactly what Susanne did? Cannan, I was there for you, and you knew that this thing was bad news. I told you all about her. I made sure you knew what she was capable of. But you went behind my back. You made a deal with the devil herself! You may as well have stabbed me like Monique wanted."
"But—"
"I don't want to hear it Cannan. What would've happened had you not made that realization about Susanne. Would you have stabbed me? Would you have murdered us all in our sleep because the Voice in my head told you to? I trusted you! I'm sorry, but it's going to take a while for me to get past this. I can barely stand to look at you right now." I turn away from him to walk back towards the house.
"Wait!"
I sigh and turn back to look at him, starting to feel tired from being up for so long. "What, Cannan."
"She told me something. She said that there are two outcomes for me. That's why I did it. She said that I would either stay with you guys forever and be miserable or I would exact my revenge. I didn't know what to do. I was angry and upset and in a dark place. I wasn't thinking straight. I'm sorry."
"None of that is an excuse for turning on your friends, Cannan. None of that is an excuse for turning on your family. I would gladly give up my life for any one of you guys because you are my family. Can you say the same to me?" With that, I turn, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my sweater and walking back to the house to lie down.
* * * * *
No one knows what to do with me. They all look at me like I'll break any moment, or Monique will take back control and torment us all. I suffer from nightmares, my punishment from Monique. I've taken to falling asleep after everyone else with a gag in my mouth to keep from waking everyone with my screams of terror.
Lovett slips easily back into our old lives, or at least easier than me. I never realized just how much he missed France. But I mean, he spent 14 years here. He loved it, especially around this time of year, fall, when the air is freshest and the crispest.
Nyx and Nox are fascinated with our family, only ever having been with their mother and uncle, at least constantly. Our family is more than happy to welcome them and the rest of our Pack. I'm just jealous that everyone seems to be getting along great but excludes me. I can silence a room just by walking into it.
Lunette is great with Charlette and Gabrielle. While the young woman is still wary about being around us, Lunette's maternal and serene nature appeals to the young woman. She's far from being comfortable around us, but she's definitely coming around. She mostly takes up Lunette's room now that I'm, for the most part, better. Ryder and Lovett are currently the only ones who can be around me without looking like they want to bolt, for which I'm grateful—I don't know what I'd do without these two.
It seems like every time something bad in the Pack happens, it has to do with me. It seems like I'm always the one being pushed away. It doesn't matter what I do or anyone else does. It's always me. And while no one is really talking to Cannan either—obviously for very different reasons—I can't bring myself to comfort him. I refuse to sink that low.
'You don't really have much of a choice,' Monique says with a devilish glee one day about a week before the Cycle.
"I always have a choice. And I choose to ignore you." I uncross my legs and climb off of the couch that I'd been sitting on in one of my aunt's more unused sitting rooms.
'You never have a choice.'
I ignore the creepiness of the way she said 'you' and 'never', wanting to be around actual people even if they'll just ignore me. I walk into the huge family room that everyone hangs out in. Nyx is telling some funny story about something that Nox did when they were little, something about trying to ask for a pet cat and their mother saying no for the obvious reasons—cats hate werewolves more than they hate dogs. I'm not even paying attention. I hear her voice, but I don't listen. I'm in my own head listening to a voice not unlike my own that takes pleasure in harassing me.
And then Lovett stands up abruptly and walks out of the room as Monique shuts up for a little while. Everyone notices but doesn't worry about it. But there's something about the look on his face.
I get up from the corner I had snuck into and follow my brother out of the room. He walks over to the fire place in the living room off of the entrance hall. In a tall vase with tools for poking the fire, he pulls out a shiny steel knife. The knife.
"Lovett?" I ask. He doesn't answer. He doesn't look at me. He walks right past me and out into the front yard. I follow him out, and he walks to the shed.
On the wall in giant letters, he begins to carve, 'THE BATTLE OF BLOOD: THE DARK NIGHT APPROACHES.'
He then cuts his hand, stabs the wall with the knife, and smears his own blood over the letters so that it looks like the wall is bleeding. I scream, and Lovett snaps out of it.