Kade
“Is he ready to talk yet?” I groaned impatiently, mind-linking Silvius. My head was thrown backwards on the headrest with my eyes partly closed and my body spinning on the office chair I sat lazily on.
It was a long night.
A night full of nightmares and memories.
I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t wait for dawn.
But then, dawn crawled like an infant, practising its steps.
But I was grateful for its presence.
For now, it chased my demons… temporarily. It sent them hiding in the shadows, waiting patiently for dusk.
Dusk.
I hated dusk. And the darkness it accommodated.
My demons lurked in the darkness, waiting for the appropriate time to unleash their presence on me.
It was funny how the most powerful Alpha was afraid of nightfall, accompanied by his nightmares.
Nightfall was my mortal enemy! And so were my nightmares!
“I am not getting anywhere with him, Alpha,” Silvius’ weary voice filled my head, followed by his long sigh, bringing me back to reality. I could tell that Silvius was having a hard time forcing out words from that bastard’s guts.
“That bastard won’t stop pleading. He looks new, hopefully, he has never trespassed into our territory,” He added.
“Is Lukas with you?” I asked. Maybe if they were two, the bastard would talk.
“No, Alpha. I am alone,”
“You are sure there is no mark of secrecy or whatever it is called on him?” I asked, hoping Silvius won’t forget this time. I would be really pissed if Silvius wanted to waste our time. We had other things to attend to.
“There is none,” He affirmed, but I could tell he was rechecking for confirmation.
Silvius was predictable. But only by me.
“Good. Make sure to make him talk. I need every bit of information from him. Will get back to you shortly,” I dismissed before he could utter any word, blocking the mind link almost immediately.
He won’t talk? Really?
That bastard shouldn’t make me visit him in the dungeon, else, he would pay for it and so would his asshole Alpha.
How dare he bring my mate into this?
It was our fight, not Esmeralda’s.
Erasing the burning anger in my heart, I strode toward my window concealed by thick silky drapes that ran from the top to the bottom, obstructing sunlight, leaving the dark room in shades of orange as sun rays hit the drapes.
I needed air.
I needed a distraction.
My hands steadily made their way to the drapes, parting them, but I stopped myself.
Opening the drapes was something I stopped doing.
I liked them closed, enveloping the room in total darkness.
Or maybe I had other cogent reasons. Opening the drapes only brought memories.
Memories that hurt.
Memories that made my knees wobble.
Memories I wanted to forget. But I couldn’t.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t.
I was still battling with memories. I didn’t want new ones.
I heaved a long sigh, staring at the drapes, still indecisive. As much as I would like to ignore them, my hands found their way to it, parting them a little, allowing a bit of sunlight to flood the room, but it wasn’t enough to brighten the dark room.
I cursed under my breath as the garden came into view.
The garden. The reason for me closing the drapes, leaving myself in the dark.
I shouldn’t have opened the drapes, but I did, and now I have to pay for it.
I shut my eyes, projecting myself into my childhood. I remembered my younger self running around the garden in search of Amelia who ran toward me in excitement with a couple of dandelions in her hand.
“Stop running, Amy, you might fall,” I cautioned her, but her excitement increased her pace as her slender legs carried her to me. My eyes grew wide when she collided with a plant obstructing her path, but her determination didn’t make her fall as she gripped the dandelions tight and kept racing toward me.
“Oh, Amy, the seeds will fall off,” I tried to warn her, but my words fell into the wind.
“Kade,” She screamed excitedly, panting hard as she closed her eyes, gasping for breath after her short sprint, “Oh, Kade, oh, Kade,” She chanted excitedly.
“I am here, Amelia. Why are you screaming my name?”
Amelia was a handful.
“Kade, look at these dandelions,” She shoved the hairless dandelions to my face, “They are beautiful,” She closed her eyes in admiration.
A chuckle rolled from my lips,” Indeed. They are,”
Biting my lips hard, I tried to control the burst of laughter that threatened to roll from my lips.
I didn’t want Amelia’s tantrums.
“So tender, so fragile,” She admired with her eyes still tightly shut and a smile spreading on it as if lost in her own world.
Should I tell her?
“This is the one. I think I’m in love with this one,”
“With what?” My brows creased, expecting an explanation.
“Oh, no!” Her voice rang in surprise.
I think she knows.
“My dandelions… they are gone!” A horrid look covered her face and her voice shook like she would burst into tears any moment.
“It’s okay, Amy,” I pulled her into a warm embrace, playing with the curls on her head.
She dissolved the hug, “No, it’s not. I wanted to show you,” Her gaze shifted from me to the dandelions without pappus.
“But I have already seen it, Amy. And they are beautiful, just like you,” I planted a soft kiss on her chubby cheek.
“You didn’t see it. You don’t have to lie,”
“I saw you with it and I tried to warn you that you shouldn’t run with a dandelion, but you didn’t listen,” I stressed.
“I didn’t hear,” A long sigh escaped from her plump lips.
“Why don’t you stop brooding and let’s get another one,” I suggested, trying to brighten her mood.
I watched as a bright smile played on her face, wiping the sadness off, “Definitely,” She grinned, grabbing my large fingers with her hands and pulling me further into the garden.
“The dandelions are beautiful, just like you, Amelia,” I whispered to myself, coming out of my imagination.
My gaze shifted to the overgrown dandelions that swayed according to the direction of the wind.
There was no Amelia to pluck them anymore.
And it hurts badly.
Why did I open the drapes?
Why did I look at the garden?
I haven’t done that in years.
Fuck!
My hands itched to shut the drapes and welcome the familiar darkness I was used to but I found my eyes wandering deeper and deeper into the garden till I locked gaze with a strawberry-haired girl and Jade bouncing along in the garden.
Strawberry hair?
That rang a bell. Esmeralda.
What the fuck was Esmeralda doing there?