Tears of the Fallen Ch. 17

They sat together in silence, each locked in their own private thoughts. Cassia knew that whatever happened Dara would be fine. Yes, it would be a change for her but her sister was just as strong as she was. Hell, she managed to keep Kothi in line when most others failed. It took a very strong woman to do that so she knew with certainty that Dara could cope with anything life threw at her. Dara just needed to believe that in her own heart.

*****

Reasa woke slowly, feeling the warmth of Liam's body heat beside her long before she opened her eyes. It was hard to miss as she found herself wrapped protectively in his arms with one hard thigh flung over her hip, and her head resting on his wide chest. She should have been outraged at him taking liberties, but it felt so good that she just lay there savouring the sensations his touch inspired.

She felt safe for the first time since her circumstances had changed. It was hard admitting it but she couldn't deny it. Everything that Liam did revolved around keeping her safe. Every decision he made was done so with careful consideration on how it would affect her. The Vârcolac was claiming her as his mate and he made no bones about it. As far as he was concerned, it was inevitable and she would just have to get used to that fact.

Liam frightened her as nothing or no one had for a long time. He frightened her because his strong determination was winning. Whereas before she had been strong in her convictions that she would never mate with him, since their kiss that conviction was wavering. It felt good sleeping with him like this. It felt right and that was terrifying. There was trouble coming their way in the shape of Louis and Pietro. All directed at her and something Liam would do his utmost to counter. The fallout from that was unimaginable.

How could she allow this to happen? She had set her feet on a path that ultimately led to destruction and now it wasn't just her life that was at stake but possible hundreds of others, including Liam. Her decision at the time had made sense to her. Now, in the face of knowing a few of the Vârcolac and the pack, it suddenly felt so wrong. Why had she chosen to do this? It was only when Liam spoke that she realised she'd uttered the last words aloud.

"Tell me."

Reasa swallowed hard, denial rocking through her. She had never told anyone of her past, never allowed anyone to have that hold over her. Yet, Liam had allowed her into his memories, into the most shameful parts of his past. He had given her his total trust and she didn't deserve that.

"Tell me, Reasa," he whispered against her temple, his hand stroking down her back slowly. "Who hurt you so badly. Who shaped your views to such extremes?"

Swallowing again, she felt hot tears begin to flow at the gentleness of Liam's tone. There was no condemnation there, only a need to understand. He had never condemned her, this beautiful, strong man, even when she had deserved it.

"My father," she finally answered, the words catching on a breathless sob. As soon as she said them, an image of the man whose seed helped create her entered her mind and she shuddered at the thought, trying hard to push it away. Her body stiffened in Liam's embrace though he kept running a soothing hand down her back.

"Show me, Reasa. Let me in."

She couldn't have kept him out if she'd wanted to. Saying the words breached her strongest barriers, crumbled the wall that she'd placed to bury those memories she never wanted to revisit. She could feel Liam's gentle strength at her side; feel his arms keeping her safe. Surrendering to the inevitable, she allowed the walls to crumble completely...

*****

She was young, carefree, a pretty girl living in a secluded wooden cabin in the woods. It was a difficult time with wars and disease prevalent, but her family had found a refuge from it all and she could laugh and dance beneath the canopied trees with no fear.

Their family was wrong in the eyes of society. Her father was from the African continent, her mother a pale white farmer's daughter. They had fallen in love, a love so deep they couldn't be apart. They were soul mates so they ran away together, to share their love and make their beloved daughter Thereasa. They lived off the land and life was good, until the day he came.

Thereasa couldn't remember his face, the man who had found her washing by the lake. She remembered he was very beautiful and had a magical voice. She remembered his bite and her terror. She remembered waking to find herself many miles away from her home. For the first year of her new life she remembered the blood and the screams, the human lives ended so she could thrive.

She missed mama and papa so much that she had to return. She found them where she left them, their sadness obvious in their eyes. Thereasa couldn't bear to be apart from her parents so she did the only thing she could think of...she made them in her own image...she turned them to the life of the vampire.

It should have been perfect. They were together again as a family. However, it wasn't to be as Thereasa's knowledge of the supernatural was lacking. She didn't know that just because people were human soul mates that didn't mean they would be the same in their new life. She didn't know...she didn't know...

"Thereasa, where is your mother?" Her father's angry tone frightened her.

"She said she was going for a walk, Papa." Her father was always angry now. He had been that way ever since he had become a vampire.

"Find her!"

Thereasa was too afraid to say no. Her father was much stronger than she was despite the fact she had lived this life longer. He wasn't afraid to use that strength either, lashing out at herself or her mother when his ire rose too sharply. Gone was the quiet, protective man he had once been. In its place was now an abusive tyrant who frightened them.

Thereasa ran through the trees at supernatural speed, anxious to find her mother to appease his anger. She hadn't run far when she scented a wolf, her feet skidding to a halt as she scented the air. Creeping quietly to the clearing, she clamped a hand over her mouth to prevent a wordless cry escaping. Her mother was wrapped naked in the arms of a man but he was no ordinary man...he was a wolf shifter.

No...it couldn't be true! Her mother couldn't be having an affair with a wolf. They were a family! She belonged with her father!

"No!" The word shrieked out, her mother and the wolf springing to their feet in shock.

"Thereasa! Wait! Let me explain!"

"You belong with Papa," she screamed, tears running down her face. She didn't want to hear explanations. She just wanted everything to go back to the way they had been before the man had found her by the lake.

"We're soul mates," her mama wept, a hand reaching out to her daughter. "We can't fight the mating pull, Thereasa. We belong together."

She shook her head in denial, hurt, anger, betrayal infusing her soul. "He's not one of us! He's a Were! You can't be soul mates. You're Papa's soul mate! This is wrong!"

"It's no more wrong than when your Papa and I had you, Thereasa," her mother argued, tears running down her face as she tried to reach her child. "Society told us that was wrong too but it wasn't. Victor is my true mate, my daughter. We must be together. We can't escape it."

"Whore!"

Thereasa screamed as her father appeared at her side. He must have heard her yelling and come to investigate. He looked ten feet tall in his fury and she shrank away from him.

"Francis...I can explain. We couldn't help it. We are soul mates."

"He's a dog!" her father roared, his eyes black, his talons extended. "It's wrong! What you are doing is an abomination!"

"No, Francis...please listen..."

Her mother's pleas cut off as her father sped forward knocking her out of the way as the other man shifted into wolf form and sprang snarling at the enraged vampire. Her father's talons pierced the wolf's sides, his fangs sinking deep into its neck.

Her mother was screaming, loud anguished sobs as the wolf gave one mournful howl before going limp in her father's arms. He tossed the dead carcass aside, its bones snapping as it hit a large tree trunk.

"Whore! You betrayed me and now you must be punished!" her father bellowed again, advancing on her distraught mother. "Go home, Thereasa."

"No, Papa! Please! Don't hurt Mama!"

"Go home!"

But Thereasa couldn't move, couldn't hide her eyes from the horrifying scene unfolding around her. Her father picked her mother's unresisting body from the forest floor by the neck and he ripped his talons down her exposed torso. The pain made her shriek but she did nothing to protect herself. Staring into her mother's eyes, Thereasa could see the light die within, and knew that her soul was lost in the moment the wolf had died.

"Papa, please!" she cried, finally finding her body able to move as she threw herself onto his back, trying to remove his grip from her mother's neck. "Don't, Papa! Don't!"

It was as if she wasn't even there.

"Whore!" he hissed once more before he twisted his hand and his talons sliced her mother's head from her shoulders.

"NO!" Thereasa screamed, agony rocking through her as her mother's body collapsed to the ground, her head still firmly clasped in her father's hand. "NO! Mama! Mama!"

Rage like nothing she had ever experience before rose up deep within. Heart shattering into a million pieces, Thereasa's fangs elongated and her talons punched through her father's back. She shredded his heart in an instant, watching as he dropped her mother's head and sank to the forest floor on his knees.

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" Thereasa shrieked the words repeatedly, blood splattering wildly as she hacked furiously. When reason finally returned she stared down at the mangled remains of her father's body, his head lying beside her mother's.

"Mama? Papa?" Sinking to her knees beside them, Thereasa began rocking as she stared at the carnage. "Please wake up. Please. I don't want to be alone. I'm frightened."

They didn't wake up. She stayed there for three days alternating between pleading to crying to angry words, but her parents never woke up no matter what she did. Finally, she had to accept that they were never coming back. Finally, she had to accept that her father had killed her mother and she, in turn, had killed him.

It was all the wolf's fault. That filthy, disgusting animal had seduced her mother and broken her family. Rising from her cramped position, Thereasa ran at the broken carcass, shrieking as she kicked and hacked at it. "It's all your fault! You're to blame! You murdered my mother the very first time you laid hands on her! It was wrong! You are wrong! I hate you!"

Thereasa fell to the ground sobbing, replaying everything that had happened over in her mind. She screamed as her mother died again, screamed as she took her father's life again, hated as she destroyed the wolf's carcass again.

When she finally rose to dispose of the remains as her Sire had taught her, it was with ice in her soul and a deep hatred in her heart. Never again would she allow anyone to matter to her. Never again would she be weak. While she hated all wolves, she wouldn't go out of her way to hunt them down as that would only get it her way of becoming the strongest, most dangerous vampire on the continent. However, should the day ever come when wolves crossed her path as had just happened, she would hunt them down and destroy the abominations, each and every last one of them.

*****

Liam's heart broke for her as she sobbed uncontrollably in his arms. He had known that there had to be some severe catalyst to inspire Reasa's level of hatred in the Vârcolac, but he had no idea it could be anything as tragic as what he'd just witnessed. She felt responsible for her mother's death. She had taken her father's life to avenge her mother's murder. The worst thing was she knew deep within her soul that if she had never turned them to the life of a vampire that they would most likely have lived out their lives together in happiness.

No wonder she hated the mixed matings and the Vârcolac. They were evidence that what her mother had shared even briefly with her wolf was real and couldn't have been fought. They lent truth to her mother's words and that would only increase Reasa's feelings of guilt that her reaction had brought her father down on the lovers. Thereasa hated and blamed the wolves, because it was the only way she could live with her overwhelming guilt without going insane.

"You were only young girl, Reasa," he whispered against her temple, holding her as tightly as he could without hurting her. "You didn't ask to become a vampire and it is understandable that you would feel alone and afraid, and want your parents with you."

He kissed her temple as she sobbed without speaking. "What happened is tragic and I can't tell you to forget it as it will always be a part of you, but you have to forgive yourself, Thereasa. You didn't intend for any of that to happen. You had no control over the events that unfolded. You were just a young girl who was happy with her parents and didn't want to lose that love and security."

"I killed my papa," she wept clinging onto Liam tightly. "He was a good man before...before I made him a vampire. If I hadn't done that..."

"Forgive yourself. Remember who your father was before he changed. What would he wish for you, Thereasa? What would your mother wish for you?"

A loud hiccup escaped her as she took a shuddering breath. "They only ever wanted me to be happy and safe," she answered, her voice sounding like that of the young carefree girl she had once been.

"Then be happy, my heart. Be safe here with me. You cannot change the past but you can change your future. You just need to start by letting go of what was and concentrate on what can be. The Vârcolac are not abominations, Reasa. The mixed matings are not abominations. You have nothing to hate us for."

Reasa suddenly felt claustrophobic. She was being overwhelmed by emotions she'd kept buried so long and her flight instincts were kicking in. Struggling in Liam's embrace, she wriggled until he let her go. Leaping from the bed, she headed towards the door, stopping before she reached it. Where could she go? There was nowhere to run to, no way of escaping the memories crashing over her.

"Thereasa, it's okay, you're safe here."

Ignoring him, she grabbed her bag from where it rested against the wall, one of the vampires must have placed it there yesterday when they were working within Brandon's mind. "I need to shower," she mumbled, refusing to look at him. She didn't want to see the same pity she heard in his voice reflected in his eyes. She didn't deserve it and she didn't want it.

Liam sighed deeply as she closed the bathroom door with what could only be termed as finality. His mate was shutting him out after having let him into her darkest secrets. He understood that she was overwhelmed but that didn't stop him wishing she would see that she had nothing to fear from him. He wanted to help, he needed to help. Why couldn't she see that?

Sighing again, he got up and grabbed his pack, heading out of the room in search of another available bathroom. He knew when he returned he would find Reasa's barriers back up but that was okay. He would just break them down again and keep breaking them down until she realised that no matter what her past was, he wasn't going anywhere.

*****

Brandon yawned, uttering a groan as every muscle in his body protested the long stretch he was giving it. What the hell was wrong with him? He felt as if he'd been in bed for a week. He'd also been having some pretty weird dreams too. Lily had been talking at him for what felt like hours. He couldn't make out what she was saying but he could hear her voice as if from a far off distance.

Liam had been in them, too, and the assassin who had infiltrated the Praetorian Compound. They had kept calling him, playing what felt like a game of hide and seek with him. Every time he'd thought he'd tracked them down they vanished and he had to start again. It truly had been the weirdest of dreams and one he was glad to be waking up from.

"Brandon? Open your eyes, Bran...please!"

"Lily?" He struggled to open his eyes, groaning again as they felt as if they had been stuck together with glue.

"I'm here! I'm right here, Brandon."

Why did Lily sound like she was crying? His determination to find out was the deciding factor in forcing his eyes open. Squinting against the morning sunlight coming from the nearby window, he looked up to see his friend hovering over him, tears flowing freely down her face.

"Oh Brandon, you're back! I knew they could do it! I just knew it!"

"Back?" he croaked out, realising his mouth was dry and he was famished. His hunger was so strong it made his stomach cramp. "I haven't been anywhere." His confusion continued as his stomach churned again. "I'm starving. Does anyone have a cute human nearby?"

Lily started to laugh as a Were tried to make her move aside.

"Lily, let us check him out. Maybe you could find him something to eat so he doesn't try to bite us?" the female Were said, and his friend gasped and disappeared from view.

Brandon wouldn't have minded biting the woman now looming over him. She was very attractive and the need for blood wasn't the only hunger that was surfacing. Not that he would. He was aware his bite would kill the Were if he did.

"How are you feeling?" she was asking him as she shone an annoying light in his eyes before running professional feeling hands over his body.

"Hungry, horny and confused," he answered truthfully, delighting in the slight rounding of the Were's eyes at his bluntness. The doctor, because that's what she appeared to be, didn't respond to his words, she merely continued her examination.

"How do your limbs feel...sluggish, hard?"

"I can tell you what is hard..."

"Brandon, stop playing with the doctor," Lily admonished, appearing back at the bed with a bottle in one hand and the heavenly aroma of chilled blood wafting from the filled glass in her other hand.

His attention was immediately diverted, a sharp pain gnawing at his gut. Grabbing the glass, he slugged the contents quickly, reaching for the bottle to replenish it. He drained the bottle before the nagging pains decreased enough for him to focus once more on his surroundings.

"What's going on, Lily? Why am I in what appears to be a hospital room?" His gaze shifted to the other beds, his brow drawing down as he saw his fellow Praetorians lying there. "What's wrong with them?"

Lily sat down on the chair beside the bed, moving a book from there to the bedside table. Brandon glanced at it briefly, reading the title. "Moby Dick? " Lily hated that book though it was one of his favourites. They'd had countless debates over whether Captain Ahab was brave or a self-absorbed monomaniac. Lily voted for the latter every time.

"I was reading it to you," she answered, a mock-grimace on her face. "Thankfully you woke up so I won't have to torture myself any further."

"Woke up?"

Lily turned to the doctor who gave her a reassuring smile. "He appears to be none the worse for his ordeal. I'll leave you two to catch up."

As she walked away, his friend turned back to him. "What's the last thing you remember, Bran?"

He frowned at the question but cast his mind back to before the strange dreams. Everything felt a bit blurry though his cognitive skills were sharpening as the blood he'd consumed surged through his body. "Everyone was in the living room. The assassin was being brought to justice and there was some kind of strange magic going on. Things were pretty fraught and I wasn't sure what side of the line we were on. I can remember Liam shouting, screaming at Annie for some reason. Then there was this blinding pain in my head and it felt as if Liam was physically inside me, screaming in anguish. I don't remember what happened after that."