Chapter Ninety Seven
ALEXANDER POV
**NINE YEARS AGO**
+25 BONUS
My mother, Riley, stared at me from a distance. I could see the longing in her eyes–the need to be close to her son. I saw her almost every single day–except for the times she locked herself away in her room, and yet, there seemed to be this distance between us; we could never have a normal mother–to–son relationship. I knew that.
The bruise on my neck still stung, a wound inflicted by her but I knew she hadn’t been in her right mind. I could tell the moment the switch flipped and her demon took control. I was strong enough to fight her now, but I’d rather die than hurt my own mother. The pain from each bite was bearable, but the thought of raising a hand against the woman who gave me life–that, I couldn’t endure.
I waved awkwardly at her, and she smiled, teary–eyed.
I walked towards her; her eyes widened in panic, and she turned around returning to her room, fleeing down the passageways, but I followed after her, and before she could shut the door on me, I slid into her room.
“Why are you here?” She asked, a frown on her face, but I could still see her fear. She wanted me close to her, and at the same time, she didn’t.
1 inherited her eyes, mine a bit lighter, but I didn’t think I looked a lot like her.
“Can I not pay my own mother a visit?”
The term takes her by surprise, as if she doesn’t believe she deserves it, but the small smile on her face vanishes almost immediately. “You can’t be this close to me; I can hurt you…”
“And I don’t care.”
“No. You should. If it happens next time, fight me, Ethan. Promise that you will fight me.”
I gave no response because we both knew that would be the last thing I’ll ever do. “All I want to do is speak to my mother. I won’t leave, not even if you ask me to.”
“You remind me of your father, very stubborn.”
“Father wouldn’t want me here either.”
That was true, Alpha Thane always did his best to keep me away from her. The only time I was allowed to visit my own mother was when he was present, just to ensure things wouldn’t get out of hand. Yet, one of us–either me or my mother, Riley–always ended up breaking that rule, and things ended up getting out of hand. I have learned to hide the scars–never let my father see them, never let Riley see them either, and hate herself more than she already does.
They both loved me in their own way, and I loved them too.
We did speak; I told her how excited I felt every time I got to switch to my wolf form. I was thirteen and just a new shifter, so it was always exhilarating to switch into another form completely. She smiled a lot and was ready to answer any questions even if she had no wolf,
Only after I had departed to my own room did I wonder if telling her about the joy of having a wolf was stupid- what if she missed having one? She was born a werewolf and reborn a demon; of course she would miss her past life. I was stupid.
Just then, the door to my personal space swung open, and I heard footsteps. I knew it was my mother before I even saw her.
1/2
+25 BONUS
Chapter Ninety Seven
“Mom… It’s late; what are you doing here? You should be sleeping.”
I’ve been having some very weird thoughts lately about demons. I wonder if they slept–if they even needed sleep; they were known as the true creatures of the night; maybe they operated in the night and slept in the day.
“I shouldn’t be here, but I just needed to see you.” She said, and I led her to sit on the couch, I sat opposite her.
“I will always be here for you.”
“I don’t want to lose you, Ethan. You are my pride, my beautiful boy.”
I didn’t like being called a ‘boy,‘ but I let that slide seeing how emotional she was. “You won’t be losing me, Mom; I will always be here for you, ” I said, walking to her and embracing her.
I shouldn’t have done that.
I instantly tried pulling away, but her grip tightened. “I love you so much, Ethan. I hope you know that.”
“I know that, Mom.” I said, though I felt her trembling, want and hunger slowly taking over. A single tear from her eyes fell on my exposed shoulder.
I finally pulled away from her hold, but she latched onto my arm. her eyes had turned completely black.
“I’m sorry.” She whispered, and then her teeth sank into my skin, and a scream tore through my throat. She drank and drank till I felt lightheaded. Fight her; you could do it I knew I could, and yet… I didn’t. I let her take her fill; she must have been very hungry.
Darkness took over, and my world vanished.
