Damian immediately starts growling loudly while heading towards him, looking furious. I try to hold him, but it’s actually Neal that comes and stands between Alec and him. They struggle a few seconds, but with Neal and me holding him back, he eases up a little. Tonia is growling, too, less loudly, and Nathaniel is just staring at Alec like he’s observing some curious science experiment subject. Bobo stood up, also, and starts walking in circles around Alec. I know he’s ready to attack and kill him at any moment, though he doesn’t look agitated at all.
With nobody actually stopping him, Alec keeps talking.
“Mom should have just killed you in the first place. Too bad, she missed!”
“Stop talking like this!” I shout back.
“Why? You don’t like it? But it’s the truth, isn’t it?”
“No. Mom was sick, she...”
“You made her sick in the first place!” He suddenly yells.
I don’t get it! What do I have to do with our mother’s sickness and our parents’ death? Why is it my fault? How can it be my fault? I was six years old! I remember way too vividly what happened, and I had nothing to do with it!
I remember it all too well. It was the end of November, ten years ago. Our mother had started acting strangely for months already. She had always been a very calm and discreet woman. I don’t think we had many visitors, her whole life revolved around her father and us. She took care of the house, watched us, and didn’t work. Dad was the one always away forwork, for days sometimes. I suppose that had to do with the pack, though I don’t really remember it.
Our mother never seemed unhappy, but she was clearly happier when Dad was home. I don’t think that she didn’t like us, but somehow, she was never a very loving and caring mother to me. It seemed more like a job, a mission she had been assigned on since we were born. Alec was the one always looking for mom’s warmth. I was okay with her passive attitude. She never scolded us or got angry. All she wanted was for our dad to be with her, look at her. When he was, it was like her whole world illuminated. The entire house was much happier then.
She was a pretty woman, with her long brown hair and dark eyes, but she was like a lifeless doll unless our dad was here. She would always make herself very pretty and tell us to behave when he came back. Those were the best days for everyone, as dad was home, and mom was nice and happy. As time passed, it somehow got worse.
She kept ignoring Alec and me, and always looked for my dad. Mother paid less and less attention to us, as she wondered how to look prettier for him. I remember her spending most days in front of her mirror, talking to herself. She couldn’t stand him being away. Sometimes, when he was away for work, she sat and blankly looked outside the window for hours, not hearing a thing around her. She could get confused about what time it was, or the date of the day. She asked where our father was a hundred times a day. She only ever talked about him. As children, it was complicated to understand what was going on, but Alec and I somehow got used to it. We spoke to her when we felt she needed it, or we didn’t. I was just a child then. I had no idea how bad it could go.
On that day, it snowed for the first time of the year, so I got home all happy. I loved the snow because the snow kept my dad home. I don’t remember where I was before that. I think I was with a friend... I can’t really remember. I just remember how I played in the snow on the way home, jumping around and leaving my little boot footprints on the white coating of powder.
As I walked closer to our house, I started hearing terrible screams. I recognized my mother’s voice right away and started running. I had no idea what was going on; I was just worried about my mother. I pushed our front door and followed where the screams came from, completely panicked. When I entered the room, my parents were there, loudly fighting and struggling. Mom, her hair all over the place, had a large kitchen knife in her hands and kept trying to stab my father with it. Dad was holding her wrists, yelling at her to calm down. Alec was there too, crying, begging her to stop. It was the most terrifying thing ever. I had no idea what was going on. Dad was yelling. Mom was screaming, tears running down her face. She looked crazy and... desperate.
I wanted to run away, but I was so scared something wrong would happen to my dad. I walked towards them. I didn’t even make it all the way. A slashing sound and blood covered my favorite white coat. I saw my father’s chest cut open, and his eyes wide open in surprise. His knees gave away, and he fell on his side, right next to me. I remember how my eyes slowly turned down to him. He was looking right at me.
He muttered my name very slowly. As if he had just realized I was standing there. For a second, the scene froze. My mother’s yelling stopped, and she looked at me in shock. I thought it would end, that she would realize what she had done.
The next second, a silver flash, and the left side of my face became horribly painful. My vision went completely red. I saw my mother branding the knife one more time. I am going to die, I thought.
I was pinned to the ground. My head hit hard against the floor. A dark silhouette had come over me at the last second. I cried from the pain, but the fear was even worse. The thing covering me wasn’t moving. I couldn’t see a thing. I could only listen to my dad’s erratic breathing next to my ear. Mom’s screams started again, and more slashing sounds followed. His body twitched over and over again.
I was so scared. The side of my face hurt, and I could hear terrifying sounds, yet I was blind. My mother kept screaming. Alec kept crying. It seemed to last for hours. I heard my father’s breathing stop right before I fainted.
I take a deep breath.
“When I came back to my senses, mother had stabbed herself, too,” I say. “The knife was still there, right in the middle of her chest, and you were crying, Alec. Dad’s body was still on me, and I struggled to get up. I really remember it. We spent a long time there, both crying in silence. When you got up and left, without saying a thing, I just followed you. That’s how we ended up in the streets, and Vincent found us a few days later.”
“Oh, Moon Goddess, Nora... And you were just a kid...” Mutters Tonia.
They are all looking at me with wide-open, shocked eyes. I can’t blame them. It’s my first time telling this story out loud, and it’s horrible for me, too. I really didn’t want to reminisce, but it’s time to clear this up with Alec.
Damian’s hand is still firmly holding mine, thank Moon Goddess, because I’m shaking. All those emotions are overwhelming me, and my wolf is quietly whimpering, too.My parents’ death is like a big black hole in my heart; there is no way I can talk about it calmly.
Alec stares at me with eyes of contempt, not moved in the slightest.
“Sorry, was I supposed to cry?”
“You can say what you want, Alec, but I did not kill our parents,” I retort with a hoarse voice.
“Really? You think that’s it? You’re so clueless, it’s pathetic, Nora.”
“What?”
I want to believe he is the one who is acting crazy and making no sense, but for a second, he looks so composed and sure of himself that I can’t help but wonder. Is it really possible? Something I possibly missed in that memory? Something that only Alec? It can’t be. I saw it with my own eyes, and I’m a hundred percent sure of this memory.
