Chapter 20: Lost Innocence

*Thelma*
The golden rays of the sun pour through the drapes. I blink, tears stabbing my eyes, and I turn to my side. I didn’t sleep a wink the whole night.
Standing up, I walk toward the window. I shove the drapes aside and allow the light to wash over me.
“Breathe, Thelma. Breathe! Happy thoughts!” I say to myself. How I wish my siren abilities could work on myself….But what they say is true: a physician can’t heal themselves.
I cover my face with my hands and hold in my sobs. I took a shower after leaving–wait–after getting thrown out of Kyle’s room again.
Afterwards, I felt so worthless, and had just laid on top of the bedcovers naked. I guess I was an idiot to think there could be an amendment to our agreement. I have to let the fact that I am nothing but his incubator sink in.
All he wants is to impregnate me, period. He hadn’t made any promises of any kind, so why did I expect an ounce of compassion or softness from the ruthless beast?
I feel exploited…gods, I want to go home and weep in Ma’s arms.
I reach for a floral summer dress that is thrown over the bed pedestal and slip into it. My mind drifts as I’m in utter disarray. I feel so dirty and no amount of scrubbing seems to help.
Kyle is a selfish bastard. Even though he wants a child, does he have to be so cold? I gave him my innocence and he spat right in my face.
I hear a crackling noise, and the glass on the side table shatters while the overhead bulb follows suit. I watch as the shards of glass lie waste, some on the floor and some on the bed. Even when I’m not trying, I still manage to ruin things. Not only don’t I have control over my fate, I also don’t have full control of my powers.
A knock on the door jolts me back to reality.
Hilda walks in with a tray of food. She takes a look at my tear-stained face and the broken glasses. Then, she places the tray on the table in the sitting area.
“I will go grab a broom and dustpan. Drink some tea. It’s chamomile, it will calm you.”
I blink and just nod. When she leaves the room I pick up the mug with the tea and chug it down like water. I ignore all the food on the tray. It looks so delicious and smells so appetizing, but I can’t bring myself to eat it. What I could use, though, is some fresh air.
I exit my bedroom and enter the corridor. Just as I do, Kyle’s door opens. Kyle and Yasmeen step out. They are both still in their robes, and I feel a pang of pain jab at my heart. So, he had rushed our sex just to spend the rest of the night with Yasmeen? I guess she was right…I shouldn’t get too comfortable. I don’t belong here. Gods, I don’t even want to be here.
As I quickly avert my eyes and walk away, I hear them giggling gaily behind me. How could a person be so heartless?…No, he wasn’t a person. He was the devil’s agent.
‘Thelma, get a grip. Stop expecting a demon to suddenly ooze with compassionate grace,’ I mentally remind myself as I speed walk downstairs toward the foyer’s exit.
When I step out onto the lawn, sadly enough, the heavenly smell of freshly cut grass does nothing to amend my broken spirit.
I walk down a path that leads into the woods behind the mansion. I choose to sit under a sprawling river birch tree.
I inhale the smell of the clean air around me and try to relax. Why am I so hurt by the sight of Kyle and Yasmeen? I don’t even have those kinds of feelings for the dude…but something about the way he treats me like I am a convenient ‘means to an end’ is so degrading.
Hot tears accost my eyes again. Since I am alone out here, I decide to let them pour out. A little sob escapes my throat, and I allow myself to weep. I am so pathetic.
Suddenly, I feel hands wrapping me in an embrace from behind. I almost jump at the sensation of someone touching me.
“It’s just me, Thelma. I saw you walking out here and I decided to follow you. I hope you don’t mind. I noticed that you were crying and thought maybe you needed a friend? I know you are in a strange place away from home and I know exactly how lonely you probably feel,” Kim says.
I look up at her and see tears shining in the depth of her blue eyes. Now, why is she crying?
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Yes…no. Sorry. I tend to cry when I see someone else crying. May I sit with you?”
I nod and she positions herself on the ground next to me.
“May I ask, why are you crying, Thelma? If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s okay. I can just sit here quietly with you. But, believe it or not, I’m also a good listener if you want to get something off your chest.”
I smile bitterly at her. Kim is sweet. I think she is the sweetest person I have met around here. I guess she takes that trait from her mother, Rhia.
“I just feel…dirty. Your Alpha is a prick. I think Yasmeen was right about him using women and all,” I start.
Kim looks at me and her eyes are laced with sympathy. Dang! I must really look pathetic.
“I don’t know about that, but he isn’t all bad, you know. If not for him, I would be dead. He saved me, just like he saved you.”
I blink as I look at the pretty girl in front of me. The play of sunlight in her hair makes it look like silver yarn…yet she thinks my plain jet black mop is beautiful. It is plain with no dimensions… Her hair looks fierce like Storm from the X-Men.
Wait….
I had been so focused on her hair that I almost let her words slip my mind. Had she just said Kyle saved her?! Why? Did he also want her to have his child? Gods, had that bastard also used this poor sweet girl like he is doing with me?
“Did he offer you the same deal he offered me? Why did he have to save you? Your mother is a powerful witch, I doubt she needs much saving,” I say.
Kim laughs softly. “Rhia is my adopted mum. Some people attacked my pack when I was just a toddler. My biological mum hid me in an underground compartment. I stole glances through the cracks in the floorboards and saw a big-bellied balding man moving around our house with a blade in his hand. My mother had been shot with an arrow that was laced with crushed aconite. The plant is poisonous to my kind; it’s better known as wolf’s bane. In her weakened state, the bellied man chopped my mother’s head right from her neck.”
A fat tear rolls down Kim’s face and I can almost feel her pain. I reach out and take her hand. Just as I do, a vision as clear as day plays out in my head.
A vision of the same monster I saw the night Kyle came to my house is rushing toward Kim. It rubs its snout against her cheek and she smiles with tears streaming down her face.
The monster howls as it shifts into a magnificent-looking wolf and crouches down. Kim climbs on its back and the wolf rides away from the village which is now ablaze.
I quickly let go of her hand and the vision stops.
“I saw it. Kyle brought you here after your pack was slaughtered and your home set ablaze,” I say.
Kim nods as more tears flow down her cheeks. “I guess your powers are getting stronger. Alpha Kyle asked Rhia and Mathias to take care of me. They raised me right here and Alpha Kyle made me a part of his pack. Lots of the people here were saved in one way or the other by Alpha Kyle. Some were brought here in bad shape and he made sure they were nursed back to health. Alpha Kyle isn’t great at showing his true emotions, but he is a very caring man. Just take some time to know him before you make a definitive conclusion about his character. He is used to being the tough guy, shouldering the burden of his pack and their safety, but he is actually very kind.”
I want to believe what Kim is saying, but I don’t know if I can.
“What about Yasmeen? Who is she to Kyle?” I can’t stop myself from digging.
Kim giggles. “She is a rogue that was also saved by Alpha Kyle. She was abandoned as a pup and started going around stealing and causing mayhem in different packs' territories. One day she was captured by a very vicious pack that didn’t take too kindly to intruders, despite the fact she was just a kid. Alpha Kyle fought them off, killed a few and saved her. They are more like brother and sister than anything else.”
I nod. I feel somewhat relieved by what Kim told me, but I wonder if it’s common for brother and sister to sleep in the same room. Well, who am I to judge, given that Roy has slept in my bed at times.
Maybe I can give this monster the benefit of the doubt. But, then again, maybe I shouldn’t.