Chapter 12- His Father’s Doll

"Enough-"

"His father abandoned me here years ago, following the vampire slaughter of my entire family. It would have been better to die."


There was an awkward stillness for some moments. Though I didn't know how I wanted to console the woman. Ultimately, all I could think was that this was my fate, no matter what.


Emily averted her gaze, her eyes welling with tears. She covered herself with a veil of silky hair and covered her face with her hands. For what seemed like an eternity, Emily would not stop crying. I didn't know how to console her, so I didn't.


I noticed a tiny tattoo of a barcode behind her ear. What does that mean, I wondered? We just waited, and Damon even seemed to treat her with some dignity. Why was Damon treating her so gently, I wondered if his father had loved her in spite of her infertility.

We sat for a while till we couldn't. Tension filled the atmosphere as Damon seemed to be in a daze, he was oblivious of how to act and what to say to calm her down. I looked at him but he was still maintaining the dark, cold gaze.
She did not appear to notice when Damon quickly stood up. She tucked herself into a ball on the couch, her head wedged between her knees. The more seconds passed, the more she cried out.


We left her apartment, and I tried to get rid of the tinge in the back of my throat. Damon appeared to be in the same situation as me; after clearing his throat, he remained silent.


He murmured something so low I almost missed it: "If I was as merciless as a vampire, I wouldn't have been bothered."


We appeared to be heading towards a larger building as we confidently strolled through Akbur Hills. There were metal shackles affixed to the glass, giving the impression that it was a prison.

Instead of inquiring, I told Damon, "That was your father's doll."

There was a brief silence, it looked like he was contemplating his response.
"Emily was my father's doll, she was made for him a decade ago when he'd finally agreed to have one after my mother died in an attempt to lengthen our bloodline."


"So your father mated with her, so he could have more alpha babies?"


"That's right. However, he concluded that Emily was defective and infertile, and as such, she was useless to my father or the pack, after years of failed attempts to have a newborn."


Defective and infertile, I thought, like a wasted object.

"We had taken her to Akbur Hills two years ago."


"If you hate humans so much, why did you come see her?"


"The love and dedication she had for my father was evident more than anything. I used to detest my father, and I still do, for having to try to hide his feelings for Emily, even though it was evident to everyone else. That being said, there was nothing more she wouldn't do for him. He'd sent her away, that day she'd begged, sobbed, and screamed in agonizing, violent tones. I knew my father was acting in the best interests of the wolf race. The choice to get rid of her was achingly obvious because I felt guilty for loving someone other than my mother—and for someone mortal, too, who could not bear a Half-Blood. Although he was reluctant to talk about it, I'm sure he would have wanted her to be aware of his death. I'm only doing this for my father, no matter how much I hate mortals."


He appeared absorbed in contemplation, as though he was not aware of how much he had just revealed to me, so I had my doubts. Even if he didn't realize it, Damon cared for that woman back there.

Three or four years from now, Emily would be me. I wondered if I would find myself in the same exact apartment, left to decay on my own. I pondered whether I would eventually commit the fatal error of falling in love with Damon because of his infrequent moments of vulnerability and beginning a relationship where there is nothing but a barren desert. I wondered if I would be foolish enough to fall in love with Damon, or if I would mistakenly find happiness in the devil. When I heard of his passing, I worried that I would too be left crying and broken-hearted.


As soon as Damon's phone rang, he said, "Well, did you find him?.......The burial ought to be postponed. Richard was my best friend, he can't be left to rot in the woods. Find his body."

We stopped at the building's doors, and I knew not to question Damon's expression.


He snarled, "Stay here," and I simply nodded as I saw him vanish.