Chapter 34 Painful Revelations
Painful Revelations
Taylor
The following day, I had decided to bite the bullet and go see Channing again.
Shit. I wasn’t ready, but I had to do it.
Taking Mama’s flapjack and shepherd’s pie with me was not enough…
but it was the time I needed to do this.
Anna was going to be out, and I needed to do this when she wasn’t around.
Goddesses and gods above, lend me your strength of courage and bravery because I need as much as I can get.
Reaching Channing’s home, I rang the doorbell, before opening the door and entering.
“Channing?”
“Tay! In here!” He called out.
I quickly went to the kitchen, placing the food on the worktop and entered the living room. It was warm and cosy, decorated in browns and navy. Channing was on the sofa, remote in hand and holding a bottle of J2O orange.
“Grab yourself a drink and come join me. I was going to watch the replay of last night’s boxing match.”
“Right!” I said. Going to the kitchen and opening the fridge, I took a bottle for myself and returned to the living room.
I looked at Channing. That smile that he always had on his face was still there, his scruffy stubble, and his hair that reached his shoulders. My hero.
“What is it? I know something’s on your mind,” he said, his eyes crinkling as he smiled at me. I gave him a small smile, looking down.
“The kids out?” I asked, trying to stall a little.
“Yes, they are making the most of being out during the day, thanks to this curfew. I’m not complaining. I’d be happy if they came home on time every night. Would at least make me feel better and at ease.”
“Remember how we used to sneak out after Mom and Dad went to bed?” I chuckled.
“Oh, don’t remind me about the shit we got up to.” He grinned.
I remembered how we used to always sneak out and go for a swim, or a run, or just spend some time alone, even leaving pack grounds.
Unlike me, Channing was able to talk to everyone.
I liked to be alone and was more of an introvert.
I hated socialising, being super awkward and shy in large groups, so he never used to invite anyone extra on our brother time. Just the way I liked it.
“Fun times, huh?” I said quietly.
“Yeah, one hundred percent fun times!” He said, glancing at the screen as he took a swig of his drink.
“Yeah… they were...” I murmured.
Since the battle, I had taken Channing out a few times.
I would shift and he’d hold on to me as we went for a run, but the pain in his eyes after killed me so I stopped asking to take him.
I thought it would help, but it had only seemed to remind him of what he was missing out on.
However, even then, not once did he refuse me…
but slowly, slowly, our brothers’ nights out stopped.
“Channing… there’s something I need to tell you,” I said, my voice soft as I stared up at him.
“Tell me, kid. I’m a big guy, and I know it’s eating up at you,” he said, placing a large hand on my shoulder. I nodded, looking at his tattoos that climbed up one arm as I took a deep breath.
“I found my mate…but he didn’t seem to want to accept me,” I began quietly. Channing’s eyes flashed, and he growled.
“Tell me his name, and I’ll show him what happens when someone messes with my brother!” I smiled slightly. Maybe he’d want to kill Zack after I told him the rest, too…
I didn’t want to associate the two together because I wanted to tell him about Anna cheating as completely separate first. I didn’t want him to accept everything because Zack was my mate. I knew Channing enough to know how selfless he could be.
“We’ll see what happens. This is why I didn’t tell you, you’d rip the guy to pieces,” I joked. Channing chuckled.
“You bet I would. No one fucks around with my brother. That is unless you want them to,” he said, making my cheeks heat up a little, only making him roar in laughter. “Ah, you are too easy to tease!”
“Yeah, I guess I am. There’s something else I wanted to tell you, too,” I said, biting off the metal cap to my bottle and taking a gulp.
“You can tell me anything, you know that, Tay,” Channing said warmly.
Yeah… I know.
“It’s about Anna,” I said quietly, looking up at him. I looked into his warm blue eyes determinedly. “Anna has been cheating on you over the last few years.”
There, I said it… I watched him, preparing for the worst, my heart thundering loudly, but his reaction wasn’t what I expected. He nodded, sighing heavily.
“Yeah, I know. I know,” he said, making me stare at him in shock. He patted my shoulder and nodded.
“What? Then, how… like, why are you still…”
“For the kids… and the fact that I clearly am not enough anymore. I let it go… but I think she didn’t realise that no matter how many showers you take, another man’s scent stays behind,” he said, staring unseeing at the TV. I felt so fucking bad, but the fact that he knew…
“Channing... you know, you don’t need to stay like this. She does not deserve you…”
“It’s not that easy, but I appreciate you telling me. How did you find out?” He asked, looking at me seriously. Another hard part… I stared at my hands, then looked at him, feeling a wave of guilt wash over me.
“My mate... he had a fling with her, but he cut it off when he found his mate- me- but she told him she’d ruin his reputation. He told me because he still felt guilty,” I rambled. Damnit, why did this have to happen? I hated it! His moment of silence felt like flipping forever.
“He told you. That’s a step in the right direction. As for Anna blackmailing him… that’s not right.” Channing frowned. “Do you like him?” I looked down.
“I love him, but-”
“No buts. Does he like you?”
“Yeah… but he was holding back because of all this,” I mumbled. “Yeah… I think he does like me.”
“Well, there’s nothing not to like. You are one of the purest souls I know, Tay.
I appreciate you telling me about him and Anna, but I feel like he’s punished himself enough.
Forgive him, Taylor. If he really wants to apologise to me, bring him around.
I have a few things around here that need fixing, he can get those done for me,” he said grinning.
Only Channing could be so damn selfless.
If he wanted Zack to clean the entire pack garden with his bare hands, I’d make sure it damn well happened!
“And Anna?” I asked, feeling so much lighter.
“Her messing around was one thing… her blackmailing your mate is another. I think I need to take that step and set us both free. It won’t be easy, but I’ll do it.”
“I think that’s the best decision,” I said quietly.
“Yeah… I think I’ve had months to prepare. I knew it would inevitably happen, and now is the time. So, who’s the lucky guy?” He asked. I felt my cheeks burn up again.
“Zack, our Delta,” I said, taking him by surprise. He let out a whistle and slapped my back.
“Now that’s a handsome fella.” He chuckled.
“Yeah,” I agreed. He was damn fine.
“Now don’t waste any more time with me and go get that mate of yours,” Channing said.
“There’s no rush. I’m watching this show with you,” I said, crossing my arms. Channing nodded, giving me a grin.
“Yeah, let’s watch this first. I heard it was a good match.”
I smiled and looked at the screen. Boxing was never my thing, but if Channing could sit through my RuPaul’s Drag Race, I could definitely sit through his, and I enjoyed it because I was there watching it with him.
After a good two hours, and when that bitch Anna returned, I took my leave, mostly because I really felt like slapping her a few. Stepping out of my brother’s home, I mind-linked Zack, feeling so damn nervous.
Zack? Mind if we can meet up? There’s something I want to discuss with you.
Tay… umm, can we do that another time? I’m pretty busy right now.
I felt like I had just been punched in the gut.
Yeah, sure, I replied, ending the link.
That really flipping hurt. I knew he was probably busy, but yeah, it still hurt. Maybe it was just me who thought he desperately wanted to talk to me.
Robyn
It was mid-afternoon. The weather was cool, yet the sun was shining brightly, and the windows were wide open.
The sounds of people shouting, some of the boys playing ball, and a few girls laughing in a room down the hall, filled my ears.
If I didn’t know better, I would never have thought such an environment would be shadowed by the eyes of a killer.
Right then, everything seems so normal. Raven and I were seated on my bed as I silently observed the girl in front of me.
I didn’t mean to be a bitch, but seeing Raven pay so much attention to Liam and literally just ignore Damon was fucking breaking my heart.
At the same time, I wanted to go over to her and shout at her for doing that.
Did she not see that he was fucking hurting?
I wished I could just comfort him, but I knew that we couldn’t just be friends, not in that situation. Me staying away was for the best.
I felt like I had been cheated too… I remembered the first time I told him out loud I wanted him as my mate and asked wouldn’t that be great?
He had smiled and agreed, but really, he had a mate already.
On top of that, when the mating ball came, and I ran to see him, only to discover that we weren’t fated, it broke me.
But still, I held out hope that, somehow, we could be together.
I lost the will to even want to find my mate.
Damon was just something special; someone sweet, giving, and so loving. He had a huge heart, and I knew he fucked up, but it didn’t take away from the fact that he was a good person.
We were pondering on the curse once more.
I swear I had done so much analysis into it that my head literally had memorised a lot of it.
The book just delved into what we knew; there didn’t seem to be any more clues.
I wanted to break our Alpha free from this curse, because he meant a lot not just to our pack, but to Damon…