Leilani.
For the longest ti, I never focused on the things that really mattered. I never cared about partying or living or loving because I figured that all of these things were taken away from even before I began to understand what they ant.
But my life wasn’t completely empty either as I then focused on other things. Things that I thought mattered. Things that I hoped would make my life a little better.
The years I should’ve just been a kid, I wasted them trying to do better... to be better. I focused on being loved. On getting my wolf and my parents’ approval; And then, when all of these didn’t work out like I had planned, I redirected my emotions to hatred.
And I hated my father.
I hated Malakai Blackthorne with every fiber of my being. I hated him for hating my existence... and I hated that even though Chalice and I were exactly alike physically, he loved her to the moon and back and hated with the sa way.
This hatred was what I used to hold on to. It was the only thing that tethered to this godforsaken family and gave the zeal to do better.
But now, he’s dead... died with all of it, leaving aching in ways that only a father could make one hurt.
I was in a daze as I walked through the airy cetery where tons and tons of pack mbers were gathered together in clusters, mourning a man that should never be mourned.
At the very end of the cetery, a freshly dug grave stood tall while the priest stood by the side, mumbling words that only those at the front could hear.
I listened to him praying for the soul of the man who never had a soul to begin with, and shaking my head, I began to make my way to the front where the most important people were gathered.
I was almost surprised to find Chalice standing close to Gavin’s side with tears leaking down her eyes. She’d been cleaned up for this occasion, and so was mother who was dressed in a black silk dress, one that left not even her fingers exposed.
As soon as they saw , both mother and daughter froze in place while Gavin bead a smile at before leaving Chalice’s side to co stand beside .
When he did that, I noticed the way Chalice’s face fell. I noticed the way she glared daggers at before dropping her gaze to chew on her fingernails.
She was hurt.
But I was not petty. So I ignored her and focused my attention on the priest and the won and children who probably didn’t know him so well, crying as if their saviour had just died.
I had just begun to settle in with the crowd when suddenly, a guy dressed in black suit and black sunglasses walked up to . He tapped gently on my arm and whispered;
"You should leave."
I frowned.
"That woman there..." he drawled, pointing at my mother, "...says that you’ll be a nuisance and that you ought to leave. Imdiately."
For the first few seconds after he said those words, I was simply stupefied. I was shocked beyond reasonable doubt and so irritated, you would think I’d just been forced to swallow vomit.
My eyes thinned as I regarded him coldly, and with a voice barely above a whisper, I hissed; "Tell her I said no. But make sure to tell her that she is the one who in fact is being a nuisance."
"Can you not respect the family of the dead? Can you just leave before this is forced to turn ssy?"
"What would turn ssy?" Gavin suddenly cut in, a look of confusion blended with irritation etched onto his face. He dragged his eyes from the guy’s head to his feet and snapped, his voice derogatory as he asked; "Why does it sound like you, a nobody, is threatening my sister?"
"Your sister?" The guy gasped, a look of pure horror fleeting across his features before he slowly lowered his head. "I d-didn’t know that she was y-your sister because... because your mother... she said... she asked to ask her to leave the ceremony!"
And as soon as he said that, I felt Gavin stiffen beside . His arm imdiately ca to wrap itself protectively around my shoulders. He pulled to himself as he once again dragged his eyes over the guy’s body then he spat; "Then ask her to co over and repeat that order herself."
He gulped.
"But—"
"But nothing!" Gavin snapped, his voice so deep it made a few people turn to look at us. "Ask her to co here. Tell her that I, Gavin, said that she would have to co and say it to my face. And if she doesn’t do that, Leilani goes nowhere."
"Yes, yes... Sir."
"Good."
My heart raced as I watched the guy rush off to do as he had been told, and as he whispered Gavin’s conditions into mother’s ears, I couldn’t help but feel my rage skyrocket.
Why?
Because mother was looking so flustered, you would think I was the one who had offended her and not the other way around.
She was whispering so fiercely into his ears with so much vigor, a few people were watching her skeptically.
When her eyes t mine, they darkened. Her face flushed too as she turned away. And I had almost begun to believe that she would simply let it go now but I was wrong.
Completely wrong.
Because, guess what?
Now, she was walking over with her eyes trained on mine and a look of pure disgust on her face.
I froze in place.
—
"I do not wish to have the family’s bastard crashing your father’s funeral, so Gavin please stop egging her on and be responsible for once!"
Ladies and gentlen. Boys and girls, those were the first words my own mother said as soon as she ca to stand beside Gavin and I, her voice so cold with so much venom dripping off each word, I could almost feel it rubbing off on .
And do you know what was worse than hearing her say these words?
The fact that the people beside us had heard her. The fact that they had all gasped in shock and turned their heads away from as if I was sothing that stank.
Anger like no other rushed through instantly, and I only beca madder when I saw the smug smile on what was left of Chalice’s face.
Gavin opened his mouth as if to speak but I beat him to it. I hissed; "And I... the bastard would have never been born if you weren’t such a whore."
More gasps.
More tension.
Mother looks like she’d been slapped but in that mont, I wished I had really slapped her. I wished that I didn’t have this stupid soft spot for her. I wish I could beat her up just like I did Louis.
Her flushed face took almost eternity to look up, and when our gazes t, I made sure to force all the annoyance and irritation I felt into my eyes, I drawled;
"Or am I in the wrong, mother? Am I not the bastard because you could not keep your coochie in your pants and decided to sleep with a man while being married to another?"
*Crack!*
It took a mont to realize that my mother had slapped . But even then, I felt no remorse for calling her a whore. I didn’t feel bad that she was now trembling so violently.
If anything, I was glad that I was hurt... and she was not spared either.
She growled; "This is exactly why I do not want you here! Because I know that you are a problem! That you bring chaos wherever you go and that you ca here with the intention of gloating and causing trouble!"
"Mother, do you know that none of these would have happened if you had remained where you were and not picked on Leilani?" Gavin shouted, blissfully ignoring the punted stares now being thrown our way like lasers.
I tried to hold his hand to stop him from stalking at mother intimidatingly, but he gently shrugged off and continued;
"For years, non stop, you all picked on her. And just like today, she doesn’t have to do anything for you to try to hurt her."
"Gavin..." mother began to say but stopped when Gavin waved in her face.
"You called her a bastard when in truth, she would have never been one if you didn’t have an affair with her father! It’s not her fault you were a cheat, it’s your fault? Your fucking fault!"
"Gavin, your words are hurting mother!" Chalice cried defiantly, coming to stand between Gavin and our mother. But just as her fingers grazed his suit, he smacked her hands off like she was a pest.
"And you... you are just like our mother! You almost pinned your bastard on the triplets, yet, Leilani is the one you have a problem with, you fucking hypocrite!"
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