Chapter 24 Wildlight #2
He took a deep breath and let go of my hand as he averted his gaze, staring at Kate, though his eyes seemed far away.
“She fell into a Concordian Stasis. This state occurs when the balance between body and mind of the werewolf is broken beyond repair. It’s the inevitable, incurable result of Wildlight.
” He dropped his gaze. “With the horrible side effects of accelerated aging and remaining in the realm between life and death, unable to be killed, Wildlight victims have no choice but to wait until their body rots away, and their soul fades into nothing.”
My knees gave out as I fell to the floor, shaking, stifling my sobs with a fist in my mouth.
Because as he told me the story about Kate, and Wildlight, all I could do was look at Dianna. Seeing her face was like staring into a mirror.
No one needed to tell me Dianna was Kate’s older sister. It was obvious.
It was also obvious that Dianna would never forgive herself for what befell her sister—and, consequently, her parents.
The guilt and grief over losing a younger sister was something that would never go away. Especially when you were helpless.
Because just like Dianna, who couldn’t do a thing to help her sister, I, too, had only been able to stare in absolute horror as a monster took my sisters away from me.
It wasn’t Wildlight that killed my sisters.
And yet, just like Dianna, all I could’ve done back then was watch Willow’s and Julianna’s dead bodies disappearing right before my eyes.
Arms wrapped around me, and I leaned into them heavily, crying into the shirt that smelled like Lucien.
His arms locked behind me, and he cradled me close, rocking back and forth on the floor, murmuring unintelligibly into my hair in a soothing, comforting tone that was still broken, still shaky, as if he was trying to calm himself down too.
I held on to him for a long time as I let my anguish pour out of me. Distantly, I was aware of the guards taking Dianna out of the Ward, and my sobs grew louder as I couldn’t help but feel a suffocating empathy for the woman.
“Drew.” Lucien’s voice was clear all of a sudden, his hands grabbing my shoulders as he pushed me back a little so I could see his face.
His was just as distraught as I felt mine was.
“I’m sorry,” he said now when he caught my eyes.
“I’m so sorry for dumping this on you. I’m sorry for bringing you here, but I .
. .” He swallowed hard and looked away. “I couldn’t . . . visiting Kate is . . .”
I cut him off with a sharp shake of my head.
“N-No, Lucien,” I said, sniffling, looking at him as the tears still came out.
“Y-You have nothing to apologize for.” Because I understood now why he brought me here, and under any other circumstance, it would’ve warmed my heart to know he wanted me here for support.
But now . . .
His hands cupped my face as he brought it close, leaning his forehead against mine. “But you’re crying, Drew,” he hissed in what sounded like self-deprecation. “I hate seeing you cry.”
My breath stuttered. “It’s not your fault,” I said in a whimper. “It’s just . . .”
Gently, he leaned back a little so he could search my gaze with bright electric-blue eyes. “What is it?”
As my heart froze, I couldn’t help but think somewhat bitterly that I was far too partial to his eyes. It felt like these eyes could stare into my soul. They tempted me to spill all my secrets to him.
I had seen him kill not once, but twice. I had seen him at his scariest. Yet what truly made me fear Lucien Delterre was the fact he could disarm me with a single glance.
And it almost felt like compulsion when the words spilled out of my mouth.
“Eight years ago, I watched my sisters die.”
Eight Years Ago
Seattle, Washington
“I wanna go back home.”
Willow scoffed, and I tried not to roll my eyes as we climbed up the hiking trail. For the last ten minutes, Julianna had decided to throw a tantrum. Even though she was already twelve years old.
“I’m serious,” Julianna insisted in her whiny annoying-little-sister voice. “I’m tired, and hungry, and my thermos is almost out of water.”
I stopped, turned around, and folded my arms, staring as Julianna, her face red and sweaty from the excursion, was startled into pausing too. “We told you not to join,” I said, irritated. “So suck it up.”
Julianna’s pretty little face scowled. “I’m going to tell Mom on you.”
It now seemed Willow lost it—though to be fair, Willow had always been the hotheaded one among us—and she walked down to stand right before Julianna. The latter flinched, her gray eyes wide, and I knew why.
When Willow lost it, she lost it.
“All Drew and I wanted was to take a nice Saturday hike like we always do,” Willow now snapped, and with her wild chestnut brown tousles springing around her face and down her back, she looked like a dragon about to spit fire.
“We would’ve had no problem with you joining if we thought you could handle a simple hike, but since you’re a princess little brat, we refused. ”
Julianna’s lower lip trembled, and tears welled in her eyes, but Willow wasn’t done. “We don’t plan on turning around anytime soon. You can tell on us to Mom if you want to, but that would just make Drew and me never take you anywhere together ever again.”
That seemed to seal the deal for Jules, who sniffled, wiped her eyes, and nodded, cheeks flushed.
Without another look, my scary, younger, fifteen-year-old sister whirled around and resumed the hike.
I couldn’t help but feel a little warm inside at Willow’s words.
Our relationship had taken a dive in the last few months.
It started when I stole a book from her room without her permission—for an important book report—and she hadn’t spoken to me for what felt like forever.
Our weekly Saturday hikes had come to a stop.
She ignored me during meals. She acted like I didn’t exist, as if I had a contagious disease.
While I was hurt and frustrated with her, I knew that, as the older sister, it was my duty to be the bigger person. And I loved Willow; I wanted my best friend back.
So I kept on asking her to join me on hiking trips every Saturday to no avail. She either ignored me or snapped at me to leave her alone. I didn’t give up, though, and this morning, for the first time in five months, Willow had shocked the hell out of me by saying yes.
I’d wanted this hiking trip to be an opportunity for Willow and me to make up and reconnect. Alone.
But if I hadn’t taken Julianna, Thayer would’ve scolded me until my ears bled.
Thankfully, Julianna didn’t speak again until we reached the end of the hiking trail, where a beautiful river awaited. When she saw the sight, Jules, who’d never been here before, was no longer pouting and fighting tears but staring in wonder at the stunning view.
Willow and I spread out the blanket we brought and sat down on it, facing the river and the view of the mountains beyond. Julianna sat down on my other side, hesitant, sneaking wary glances at me while she tried to nudge closer.
My chest tightened as I felt a little guilty about being angry that she’d forced us to include her, so I put my arm around her shoulders and squeezed her to my side. She melted into my hug and hugged me back with her small, dainty arms.
“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” I asked Jules in a soft murmur, kissing her forehead.
She nodded silently.
Willow took out sandwiches we’d prepared beforehand from the satchel I’d carried and handed one to Julianna, who hesitated before taking it.
A peace offering. Willow noticed our youngest sister’s remorseful mood, and since she wasn’t heartless, despite her temper, she grinned and said, “You see why we come here every week? It’s worth the hike. ”
My mouth automatically opened with the impulse to snap at her, You mean came here every week before you decided to turn into a jerk, but before I could endanger my frail truce with Willow, Julianna smiled a little and nodded, her shoulders slumping in relief, and I swallowed the words back.
The three of us were quiet as we munched on our sandwiches, but once we were done, I decided to broach the subject I’d been curious about. So I asked Julianna, “Why did you want to join us, knowing you don’t like hiking?”
She didn’t expect the question, I could tell, because she began shifting uneasily in her place. “Just because,” she murmured, shrugging, feigning indifference.
Since she was obviously lying, I prodded. “I highly doubt this is the reason, Jules.”
Flushing, she looked away. “I was bored,” she said, as she attempted half-heartedly to find another excuse.
But neither Willow nor I bought it. “You’ve been binging that show lately,” Willow said with a slight snort, “and I know for a fact you aren’t done with it. So obviously, that isn’t it.”
Jules frowned and released me from the hug, pulling her knees to her chest and hugging them instead. “Fine,” she murmured. “I just . . . I wanted to spend time with you, okay?”
Willow and I exchanged brief glances, surprised. Julianna had never shown much interest in what either Willow or I liked to do. She was extremely self-centered, which made sense, considering her age and maturity level, and often kept to herself, much like Thayer, our older brother, in that regard.
But unlike Thayer, who’d refused to join our hike when Jules begged him to tag along, Julianna was still young and still craved affection.
And perhaps she had also noticed the distance between Willow and me and wanted to do something about it. Jules was a sweetheart like that.
When neither Willow nor I knew what to say, Julianna rocked back and forth, uncomfortable, as she blurted, “You two are so busy all the time. You don’t join Mom, Dad, and me for dinner.
You barely leave your room, and when you do, it’s to get a snack from the kitchen or fight each other.
Even during summer vacation, it felt like I saw less of you than during the school year. ”