Derek sat forlornly on his bed, not taking off his patchy sweaty cloths or boots, his head bowed and held in his hands, his mind besotted with thoughts swirling around the departure of Emma and the likely betrayal of Leo, his eyes clouded with a variety of emotions.
Derek was tired.
Breathing in deeply, he raised up his head, letting his eyes wander across his slightly dark room. His eyes found a small book on the small table just close to the door.
Emma’s diary! He thought, standing up from the bed and trudging in the direction of the table.
He picked up the book and let out a sigh, feeling overwhelmed with thick sadness. He gave up on his standing posture, and slide down the wall to the floor, the diary resting on his hands, having switched on the light in his room, before succumbing to the calls of the floor which had beckoned on him.
His hands caressed the little book, stopping in its movements, when the thoughts of Leo’s betrayal crossed his mind again.
Leo had betrayed them. Even his mother had been shattered by the new information; for after their discovery, he had passed on the information to his mother whilst mind linking the whole pack through the public link that Leo was a likely a traitor, and should be reported or caught if they have their sight on him. He had sensed the shock the information had garnered in the minds of his pack members.
His mother had taken Leo in as a son when he had found the latter in the forest those years ago and had managed to convince Peter to let him stay in the pack. Leo had told them that his parents were dead and he had been banished from his own pack by his evil uncle who had usurped him from the Alpha’s seat. So, according to the information he had given them, they had thought he was an Alpha’s son who had been stripped off his position by an evil relative.
His story had roused Peter’s mercy the more, and the latter had incorporated him into the pack. Leo’s zeal to serve the pack to the fullest in the latter years had also convinced them that there must have been a trace of Alpha’s blood in him for he possessed an unusual strength as he had aged in years.
Could the pack he had referred to be Legardo’s pack? Derek wondered, cocking his head to his side. Was Legardo, Leo’s uncle? He thought, folding his lips as he ruminated on the matter.
If that was so, why hadn’t Leo mentioned it? Or was he the spy? Had his entry into the pack been one of Legardo’s many plans in defeating the Black Moon’s pack?
Derek soughed. The more he thought on the matter, the more tired he became. He couldn’t believe that one of his good friends had managed to cook up such disloyalty. He still found it hard to believe that his friend was a two-timing idiot.
“He should never come back though.” Derek muttered to himself. If Leo ever did come back, he would have to pay the price for treason fully. He concluded, cancelling out the thought that perhaps the latter had been threatened or compelled to release the prisoner they had wanted to question and use for the trade of their peace. He didn’t believe that there was anyone who could threaten his friend whom he has always considered fearless and tiger-rish.
With that thought out of his mind way for the moment, his attention returned to the book on his hands and stayed.
Gently, as if handling a precious golden egg, he opened the book, a smile slithering across his lips when he beheld what she had written on the first page.
‘This book belongs to the only fiery red hair bitch in this reeky town.’
Always the same. Derek thought, a sad cloud hovering in his eyes when he remembered the present state of their relationship. Things had been so going well, so beautiful, and he had managed to break it off by himself. So stupid of him! He pronounced, without moving his mouth, furrowing his eyebrows the next minute when he saw the tag at tail end of the first page of the book.
#Don’t read if you are not me, or risk the wrath of the gods of Florida!
He traced the words with his thumb as if feeling Emma’s hands and beautiful thoughts. He wanted her back, but how?
He also knew that he should read her personal book, but he couldn’t stop himself. Curiosity was already gnawing at his mind.
Without much ado, he turned over to the next page, taking in the first entry. The date coincided with the same day that he had met her for the first time, the day he had come to clean her house.
A new diary then. He thought, a bit disappointed, for he had wanted to know the life of his little redheaded witch before she had come like a force, pushing into his life and taking over.
The first entry talked about her dissatisfaction with her father’s punishment just for a little error she had committed. She hadn’t listed the little error she had committed though.
“Had she been mistreated by her father, Mr. Jason?” Derek asked aloud to himself, pondering on the matter. The thought of an older man laying his hand on his mate got him fuming in anger.
Was that the home she was going back to? He thought, obviously misunderstanding the relationship between Emma and her ‘father’.
Was he even her father? Derek wondered, remembering Freya who looked like Emma, but was a vampire or something he wasn’t even sure of.
He was now more curious about the family tree of his little witch, but how would he go about it at the moment? He had sent her off by the way, without thinking of the consequences to his mental state. With the way he was feeling now, he was not sure how long he would be able to hold on to his sanity, after tasting the bliss of finding and marking a mate.