“Thank you, Bryce. This means a lot but my father was right. I won’t be able to interfere when she’s off to train or I shouldn’t.”
“There’s still a year until then. I can show you her for now and we can work on getting her attention then transferring notes, only going further from there.”
“How close are you?”
“I’m not sure but I’m willing to try.”
I meant it. I didn’t want him to be drowning in the pressure of having to wait. He always hated to wait for things. It was something he got from Adele but I was confident I could advance quickly if I had a lot of practice and someone there to motivate me. It was worth a try; for both of us.
Chapter 35
Seth
“Seth!”
I was just starting to feel better about Bryce’s effort until my mother stormed in, flailing her worry to the most extreme measures possible.
“Are you all right?!”
She hugged me with a death grip and Bryce started to back towards the door. “I’ll see you later.”
I would have nodded if I could move my head at all. It would have been nice to.
“Why on earth would you leave like that without telling me?”
“Because I knew you wouldn’t let me but I’m not to blame here. I’m sure you know all about that.”
She sighed and leaned herself against my desk. “I did what I had to, Seth and it was the right thing. It was a mistake for your father to have you meet so early.”
“It wasn’t a mistake! What would make you think that?”
“You’re young, Seth and—”
“I’m really tired of hearing that, mother. Being young doesn’t make me stupid. I know when I love something and I love her.”
She didn’t seem as happy for me as I thought she’d be. She sighed again but more in a feeling bad for me kind of way. “Seth, you don’t have to make that decision just yet.”
“I’m not doing it because I have to, mother. I liked her before I found out what you and father did.”
“What your father did, you mean. I had nothing to do with it. In fact, I wasn’t happy with him for a long time.”
I got myself a little side tracked. “You fight about it?”
“No, sweetie. Nothing like that. He just offered it without discussing it with me first and it just came at a surprise. I never intended to plan your future out that way and I always thought your father felt the same way because he hated it when it happened to him.”
“But that was fake, wasn’t it?”
“We didn’t find out about that for a while after. The point is, your father practically hated your grandfather for forcing him into it. I just never thought he would do that to you.”
“But I’m not being forced. I really do love her.”
“We’ll talk about it more when the time comes, okay? I’m just glad you’re home and safe.”
“I’m sorry that I worried you, even if it was your fault.”
She did that sigh again and came over to me. “I was truly honestly thinking about her. I want her to succeed because she deserves it and I’m sorry that it’s going to affect you this way. I didn’t do it to intentionally hurt you.”
“Yeah. I get it but I think I just want to be alone for a while.”
“All right.” She leaned towards me and kissed my forehead. “I’m going to find your father and we’ll take this a day at a time.”
I nodded but I didn’t want time to pass that slowly. I wanted Cadence with me; now. Counting the days would have made everything seem more real and therefore worse.
I was ready to spend the next two years in my room but something intrigued me to follow my mother after she had left. What did she really think about this and was she really as sorry as she made it seem? I had to find out.
“He loves her, Zayden!”
I heard my mother’s yelling before I even got to the door. She wasn’t happy and neither was he but in a defending me sort of way.
“And that’s a bad thing?!”
“Yes!”
“Why?!”
“Zayden, how can you ask me that?! You know exactly what Wyatt is planning to do!”
“Since when does this have to do with Wyatt? I thought we were talking about Seth.”
“We are and we’re not but you know what he plans to do with their union.”
I stayed outside the door and listened more carefully. I didn’t know about any of this.
“No we don’t. You have your list of conspiracies because you hate every man that’s ever came out of that country.”
“And could none of them not be true? Zayden, he wants something with this country and we have a responsibility to stop it.”
“Wait a minute. What are you saying? You’ve already planned to have this ended without telling me? Was this your first step? Keeping Seth away from her and then after the two years, telling him he can never have her?”
All the nerves in my body tightened. This couldn’t happen. When did she turn against me? My own mother was trying to ruin my life before it would even really begin and worse, she’d never want me to find out. I couldn’t stay silent anymore.
“No! How could you?!”
My mother turned and was clearly surprised to see me but I wasn’t going to let it go.
“Seth! What did you hear?”
“Everything! And I can’t believe I’m saying this but—you’ve gone too far and I hate you.”
My eyes blackened and my mother cried instantly but I wasn’t sorry. She was trying to keep me from Cadence and nothing else mattered.
Chapter 36
Adele
For the first time, he turned his black eyes on me and said the only thing no parent ever wants to hear.
Zayden felt the danger and moved me so he was in between us. “Seth!”
“Don’t tell me to apologize because I won’t.”
I watched him leave and I didn’t even know how I should respond.
Zayden turned and his facial expression was evidently concerned. “Love?”
“He hates me.”
“No. He doesn’t hate you.”
“He just said—”
“He was just lashing out to hear what was being said. That’s all.”
“I can’t fix this.”
“There’s nothing to fix. He’ll forget about it soon.”
Soon? It was a pleasant thought but Zayden forgot who he was talking about. Seth possesses my stubborn disposition so I know he won’t forget about this so easily. I know I wouldn’t and I was right.
It was days before I gave in. Seth had never spoken to me. He wouldn’t even look at me. It made meal times unbearable to know my own son loathed my very existence.
I couldn’t stay. Maybe he just needed some time without me so he wouldn’t be constantly reminded of the cruel misdeeds of my worry but I’ll always be worried. I knew from the moment Wyatt even considered their union to save her life that he had a plan and I will forever wonder what happened to me that made me care so much.
Why did I care about saving her? Meg has always been nice but she’s also always gotten in the way. Ruby will never forgive her for the affair with Darius and because of me, she will forever be reminded of it. I’m the one that did this and now Seth says that he’s in love with her daughter. Things were not going how I would have wanted but sometimes we had to live with our mistakes and I did, just not here.
I went back to the mountains with Ruby and Jaylyn for the rest of the summer. There were still things we wanted to do there but the boys stayed behind with their fathers. It was all right. Dirk and Bryce needed to be there for Seth and hopefully get him to realize that this whole thing is just a miss understanding. I wasn’t trying to ruin his life. I was just looking out for the future but it would seem I’d have to rethink it into Seth’s direction. Only it couldn’t be yet and that was my worse regret.
By the time we got back, Seth and the boys started up at the Royal Academy and I wouldn’t
see him all day. I guess that made it tolerable but dinners were tense. He sat across from me and would look up to meet my eyes if I said something but he’d never respond and Zayden would change the subject, not to make it a big deal. I didn’t want it to seem like it was but to me, it was. He was my son and he wasn’t saying a word to me. If only I could make it up to him but I couldn’t, not until Cadence was truly ready. That’s what made this so hard on me. He was going to be like this for two years but things somehow managed to get worse.
Chapter 37
Seth
Was I the only one around here that cared what was happening? It’s been weeks without compromise and the silence continued. I didn’t mind being the first to leave dinner these days.
“Come on, Rift.” I walked to the door with a whistle but he wasn’t following. “Rift?”
I whistled again but he wasn’t responding. Everyone at the table shared unusual glances with each other then all looked at my father to speak.
“Seth, we need to talk about him.”
I didn’t like his tone and turned. “Why?”
“He’s already upstairs. He didn’t want to come down.”
My throat tightened to why and I turned again, this time to leave the dining hall and find Rift. He was in my father’s room but didn’t even left his head when he saw me.
“Hey, boy. What’s wrong?”
I knelt down to him and my father came in behind me. “Seth, I think it’s time. Let him go home.”
“What are you talking about? He is home. Get Jaylyn. She can help.”
“No, Seth. She can’t.”
That knot at the back of my throat was only getting tighter and I stood up to turn. “What do you mean? Why not? She has to.”
“No. She doesn’t and this isn’t home. He’s never told you of his family?”
“I’m his family.”
“No. His family was killed a long time ago by humans. He was just a little pup and the only one your uncle could save.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I turned around and felt to my knees with Rift at the floor. I didn’t want to think about where this was going.
“He wasn’t meant to be with people. Ryon tried to get him into other packs but the males would have just killed him so he took him in and I did at discovery of his passing. He loves us. That will never change but he loves those he lost too and misses them. He’s lived much longer than he should have. We always knew he couldn’t be around forever.”
“But father, he’s my best friend.”
I felt a warming hand on my shoulder. “I know but you have to think of him too. You have to let him go this time. It’s what he wants.”
I kept my head hung way down from my father so I wouldn’t shed a tear in front of him or Rift. “Get Jaylyn.”
“It’s too late. You’ll have others to love.”
“Father, don’t say that!”
“Seth, that wasn’t me.”
My head swung up and I looked at Rift. He was still on the floor like he has been but his eyes were closed and he wasn’t moving.
“Rift?” He wasn’t even breathing and I lost it. “No! Rift! Wake up! Please! You have to! Wake up!”
“Seth!” My father grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up. “There’s nothing you can do. Ryon will look after him now.”
I was only getting more upset. I haven’t seen uncle Ryon since I found out he was dead so I knew that only meant I wouldn’t see Rift again either.
“I’ll give you a minute but you should take him outside and―”
“Bury him, father? Like he meant nothing?”
“That’s not what I was going to say. Honor him.”
“I will but where he always belonged. In the wild.”
I was filled with so much regret but I didn’t much have a choice now. I reached down to Rift and lifted his still body in my arms.
“You’re doing the right thing, son.”
I had nothing to say, at least nothing that wouldn’t have come out sounding weak. I left with Rift and walked the long halls of sorrow, trying to ignore everyone that I passed. It got difficult when I got into the main hall because others were walking through from dinner and all their looks were of sympathy. Even my mother but I couldn’t look at any of them for very long. I was just filling with this uncontrollable rage for this loss that I knew no one could understand but me. They didn’t even deserve to be with me while I put him to rest. They didn’t love him like I did and so they wouldn’t be.
I got outside of the palace under the sky and took a leap to get out of the city. It was easy for me and I was instantly alone on a hill of my own.
“Here you go, boy.” I laid Rift down and made a platform under him so I could send him off properly without igniting the entire plains. “I’ll miss you but I’m glad you’re happy.”
I created a spark with a couple of stone and grew the fire to reach him. That’s where I sat. I was a few feet away but I didn’t do anything else but watch my beloved friend leave me forever.
I would always miss him. I liked to think about all the fun times we had together but then again, all the times I had his life prolonged so he could stay with me. I felt pathetic and selfish for doing that to him but I went so long with never understanding him like father could that I guess I just ignored the signs. I didn’t want to think about him gone; I still didn’t but he was and what did I have left?
That’s when I remembered his last words. I would have others to love. He was right wasn’t he? Eventually anyway. It would be quite some time until I ever saw Cadence again but I did already love her. My future still looked bright but just not yet. I had to get through the next couple of years, starting with this and until then―I felt so alone.
Chapter 38
Dirk
It’s been months and Seth was only getting more and more solitary in his behavior. After losing Rift, we almost never saw him anymore. At home, he’d be in his room, we’d only see a flash of him around mealtimes so he could get his without conversation and at the Academy he stayed to himself. He even ate lunch alone. I know his mother worried and Bryce was even getting worried for him too but I was the only one to leave him alone about it. I wasn’t going to have it affect my life completely. He had his girl already. I spent my time gaining the experience for when I get to meet mine.
As of now, I don’t even know what her name is. That’s pretty pathetic but I hoped to find out soon. My father would give me some meaningless updates about nothing. Knowing her name at least would be nice.
We sat at another quiet breakfast and the day was only going to get stranger from the moment that I sat down. Bryce picked up a knife as anyone would have if they were going to cut their food but he cut his own wrist with it.
Our mothers screamed in horror like they’ve never seen blood before but I know that wasn’t true and Bryce was letting his blood drain into a glass before the wound healed itself.
“What on earth are you doing?!” Jaylyn asked.
“What?” Bryce responded casually like it really was his food he was slicing that knife into.
“Why did you just do that?” Adele asked to clarify the question.
“Breakfast. Seth has been stressed. I’m just helping him out so he doesn’t lay into anyone at school.”
“He’s done that?” Zayden asked it as if it were true and I laughed.
“No but some of the girls wouldn’t mind.”
“You know what I meant.”
“He hasn’t.” Bryce said. “And isn’t it better that we ensure that he doesn’t?”
“I suppose so, yes but I guess we didn’t realize he was having such a hard time with this. Has he bit you for it before?”
“No. That’s gross. The blood alone calms him. He can smell it around people more now.”
He held up the glass and a wind passed by us then the glass was gone.
“Taking it to go, is he?” I asked.
“He probably heard us talking about him and didn’t
want to sit through it.”
“How did you know he was coming?” Troy asked.
“Oh, easy. I can sense him stronger since he’s become a wolf. His presence has changed somehow because of it.”
“What do you mean, changed?” Jaylyn asked.
“Like more daring, physically stronger and angry. I mean, he’s Seth.”
“Basically, Seth falls in his own category of weird.” I said.
“You think being angry is a normal trait for him?” Adele asked.
I looked at Bryce. I didn’t have anything to say or more like I didn’t want to. We knew she was still upset about it.
“He’s not angry all the time.” Bryce explained. “Just—lately.”
He should have just kept his mouth shut just like I planned to on the matter. It only upset Adele more and she fled the dining hall, Zayden giving Bryce a look before following.
“Yes, well.” Mother said. “We know all about that. Why don’t you two head off and see him at school.”
“Okay, mother.” I got up, making sure Bryce would get up with me and not say anything else.
Our horses were waiting for us as usual and as usual, Seth’s readied horse was still in its stall. He hasn’t been taking it recently and we would always see him walking at a normal pace once we left.
“Dirk, can I see you for a moment?”
I looked back and my father had come out alone. Troy had not come with him about something so I assumed that meant he wanted to talk to me alone.
“You go ahead.” I said to Bryce. “I’ll be right there.”
He nodded, not thinking anything was wrong and went on his way.
“Yes, father?”
“Come down. I’d like to speak with you.”
I was curious now and got down off my horse. “Is this about Seth?”
“No. I just wanted to get you alone so I could say one thing to you.”
“What is it?”
“Lana.”
That curiosity I had earlier shifted into confusion. “Lana?”
Blooming Life (Fate's Intent Book 10) Page 21
