“Anyway, I know my mother wouldn’t want me dwelling on the bad stuff. She was a bit of a hippy. My mom loved crystals, meditation, and nature. She used to tie dye our clothes. We hated it.” He snickers, laughing at what appear to be happy memories. “Now, I would give anything to wear those ugly ass shirts if it meant she was still with us. Shit, I would wear them every day and eat her horrid cooking. No one burned food like my mother used to.”
I glance at Casen and notice the sadness creep into his eyes. There is so much pain and suffering he is hiding behind his usual happy self, and I wonder how I didn’t notice earlier.
It’s a bit tough to come up with anything to say in such a situation. I know my own reaction to the death of my parents, so I avert my gaze and whisper. “She sounds like she loved you a lot.”
Casen nods. “Yeah, I miss her, but what hurts the most is everything she will miss out on. She won’t get to meet my mate when I find her, our kids if I have any,” he observes with a shrug.
I have had a chance to get to know him better, and this is really painful to hear. This young man is planning his life, hoping to reach a certain height of his future, and yet, he has no one but his brother to share the wonderful moments with.
Why does life have to be this unfair? Especially towards the nicest of people. Why do the best always suffer the most?
“Yeah,” I tell him, knowing exactly how bad that hurts.
To be honest, a part of me is glad my mom is gone. Simply because she didn’t have to witness the vile things the rogues did to me, like I had to watch them do to her. She is no longer suffering at their hands. She is free and happy, hopefully at dad’s side.
“What was your mom like?” Casen asks, breaking me out of the thoughts.
I smile to myself as I recall her. “Strong, they never broke her, no matter what they did, she fought until the end. She fought for me until her dying breath.”
I close my eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
“They killed my dad first when they took us. I had never heard someone scream like she did when they killed him. I just stood there frozen, but mom… Once the screaming stopped, she changed. She knew what was to become of us the moment they chained us. They used to try to break her to get to me, but no matter how much she suffered, she would always get up, offering herself, so they wouldn’t touch me. No matter how broken she looked, the determination to save me kept making her get back up until it killed her.”
Tears stream down my cheeks without me realizing until Casen speaks up again. “She sounds like my mother. When we found her body, she was torn to pieces, but half the blood on her was not hers. I think that’s what got to the Alpha the most, he blames himself for all the women being defenseless. He was planning on changing it, but it was too late. They were gone before we got back here. Luna Angie was always fighting him and the elders for women’s rights, and she won, she just didn’t know it.”
As Casen tells me more about those dreadful times, I just nod. I can only imagine how strong Angie was as a woman and Luna. How strong she had to be to stand up for her people, to stand up against the elders and her own mate.
“When we got back, Alpha Ezra pulled her down off the flagpole. They strung her up naked, and she was beaten to death. I will never forget the screams that left everyone as we discovered them gone. That haunts me the most, the screams of our strongest warriors breaking, and Alpha felt it all, our pain, and their deaths. I think when they died that day, a piece of him died with them.”
I can’t imagine how it must have hurt Andrei. To feel the lives of every pack member fade as they die and their bonds break. His pack’s raging emotions swirling through him while he was trying to deal with his own grief over the loss of his mate and family.
The sorrowful moment we share is interrupted when leaves crunch and someone draws closer to us. We sit up and look at the hill until we notice Andrei, walking toward us.
“So, this is where you are. You pair have a serious strawberry addiction,” he accuses with a chuckle as he stops next to us. At this point, both Casen and I are covered in dirt and moss.
“Alpha,” Casen nods to him as he stands up with his basket. We hardly have any strawberries, and the patches already look bare.
“Malik was looking for you earlier, you best go see him,” Andrei orders him, and Casen nods before ducking down and hugging me.
Andrei watches him, but says nothing until Casen darts off in search of Malik. “You and Casen seem rather close,” Andrei grumbles, and I nod.
I am pretty close with most of them now. I am comfortable, and the pack doesn’t seem to mind my presence either.
Andrei growls and huffs. There is something off with his sudden attitude, so I raise an eyebrow at him. “What?”
“Nothing, just a little bit jealous with how much time you spend with everyone but me lately,” he huffs as he bends down and grips my arms. He pulls me to my feet and wipes off the dirt that is covering my knees and butt.
“No need to be jealous. I only want one person, and that person is you,” I tell him.
Casen is like the little brother I never had. And it is the same with the rest, all brotherly. Being the only woman here makes them a little overprotective and happy to follow me around. Besides, their instincts kick in to protect the Omega.
However, I have learned to get used to their lingering and watchful eyes, knowing it is just a worry for me and not anything creepy.
“I know, but I feel like you are always off doing something with everyone else while I only get to train with you and get you for the night,” Andrei grumbles as if he’s actually offended.
“That’s not my fault. You never leave your office,” I argue.
Andrei growls, tugs me to his side, and drapes his arm over my shoulder. He leans down, kisses my lips, and licks his own. “You taste like strawberry and soil,” he chuckles and dips his face in my neck. I shiver at his closeness, pressing closer to him and stealing some of his warmth.
“Zane got more marshmallows today, so everyone is going out to play darts and roast marshmallows over the bonfire after dinner.”
“Hmm, sounds good to me,” I agree, excited for tonight.