REWRITTEN CHAPTER 68. DEVRIM: TOGETHER

Obsidian’s health had improved a lot.
Despite the outburst Vanya had and the things she had said about him, she stayed by his side. Apart from helping him to the bathroom, there was nothing more I could do since she was doing everything herself.
I wasn’t happy about the little Vanya ate in between but at least she was eating, right?
A groan fell from my lips as I took a seat in the chair next to the bed. The food should be here any minute now.
“Where is she?”
My eyes snapped over to the bed when he spoke. Jumping to my feet, I hurried over to help him sit up.
Obsidian growled, making me freeze. “I can do it myself,” he muttered.
“You’re body is still recovering,” I told him. “Let me help you.”
Obsidian grumbled.
Despite his protest to do things on his own, I had to step in when he stood.
“I feel better,” he rasped as we made our way back to the bed after a short trip to the bathroom.
“Good enough to eat?” I asked hopefully.
He nodded. “Where is she?”
“Showering.”
I took a seat on the edge of the bed and silently watched him.
His fever had gone down a few days ago. Obsidian was pale and trembling but he looked a lot better.
“Stop staring at me,” he growled.
My lips twitched. “Why?”
His lips parted but he said nothing.
Movement from the corner of my eye made me turn my head. My eyes widened when I spotted Ezra hovering in the doorway.
“Can I come in?” he asked.
“You live here, don’t you?” Obsidian frowned at him. “Are you sick too? You never ask permission to do anything.”
With an eye roll, Ezra entered the room and took a seat in the chair. His eyes darted over Obsidian for a moment before he looked away, but not before I saw the fleeting look of concern that flashed through his eyes.
“The food is in the kitchen,” Ezra told me. “It looks like old man food; all gooey and shit.” His lips slowly curled up into a smile as he looked at Obsidian. “I can understand why Surrey would make something like that now. It does look like you aged a few years.”
“I’m not too sick to kick your ass,” Obsidian warned him.
“You can barely stand! I don’t see how you are going to do any ass kicking,” I exclaimed.
The look on Obsidian’s face made me join in on Ezra’s laughter.
“Stop making fun of me!” he growled.
“It’s called teasing,” Vanya said as she entered the room.
She stopped next to Ezra and stared down at him. For a few seconds they silently studied each other, but then Ezra smiled which was apparently what Vanya had been waiting for.
Her body relaxed as her lips curled up into an answering smile.
“Can we eat?” Obsidian asked just as his stomach growled. “I’m hungry.”

***

“Do you want me to help you clean?” I shook my head. “No, we can clean later.”
Vanya frowned as she watched me pile the dirty dishes onto the tray.
“We need to talk, rosebud,” I told her when I was done.
Her eyes darted away but she gave me a nod to continue.
I glanced over at Obsidian to make sure that he was still okay with it. He hesitated but then nodded.
We were all in this together.
Ezra grabbed hold of Vanya’s hand and pulled her onto his lap. I walked over to the bed and took a seat on the edge, facing them.
“You asked about your mother.”
“You and Ezra confirmed the fact that my mom was involved with one of your kind,” she muttered. “Is it true that my father had her killed?”
I glanced at Ezra. “He shouldn’t have said anything without knowing the full story.”
“You don’t know it either,” he growled.
“No, I don’t but making speculations isn’t going to do us any good.”
“Se cheated on my father,” Vanya said before I could continue. “Everybody knows that.”
Obsidian growled. “They know fucking nothing,” he defended Melanie. “Your mother and Darial were good friends. There was never any indication that they were in a relationship.”
“We are getting off topic here.” My eyes dropped to the floor. “It doesn’t matter whether they were in a relationship or not. Melanie was the reason we got out of the facility in the first place.”
Vanya sat up and pointed a finger at me. “That’s another things I want to know about. We were taught that you mysteriously arrived on the island. We were never told anything about the facility.”
“For good reasons,” Ezra muttered.
I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. It was not going as I had planned.
“We have always known that your father wasn’t as good a man as he made everybody believe,” I growled, putting a stop to their conversation. “Your parents. . . their relationship was. . crumbling long before your mother met Darial. Things go out of control when Reeves found out about the fact that she was friends with a Hybrid.”
“Why can’t I remember any of this?” Vanya asked.
“I don’t know.” I leaned forward and reached for her hand. “I just need to make sure; you don’t remember visiting us when you were younger?”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “I felt sure that I had met you before we officially met in the hospital, but I couldn’t remember ever having talked to you before.”
“Sweets,” Obsidian rasped, drawing her attention to him. “We. . .you and I met for the first time when you were only seven.”
She shook her head. “I would have remembered it.”
Ezra pulled Vanya against his chest when she tried to get up. He pressed his face to the back of her neck and purred. A sigh fell from her lips as her body relaxed.
“I tried to kill myself.”
My stomach twisted as memories flashed through my mind. We never talked about that day.
“I would have died if you hadn’t found me.” Obsidian paused. “Despite my numerous attempts to scare you away, you stayed.
I chuckled. “You were scolding him for being a bad kitty when I found you.”
“You were the cutest fucking thing I had ever seen,” Ezra muttered,” and a pain in the ass sometimes.”
I glared at him. “He only felt that way because you always caught him before he did something stupid.”
Colour flooded Ezra’s cheeks.
“Your mother became a good friend during that time,” Obsidian told Vanya. “Your father found out about your visits and forbidden you from ever seeing us again but your mother always found a way for you to visit us.”
I looked at him. For a few seconds our eyes locked before he looked away. It was clear that he didn’t want Vanya to know everything and I couldn’t blame him.
Vanya was a strong woman but I didn’t know if she would be able to handle the whole truth about her father.
Before things could be said that was better left as secrets, I decided to change the topic.
“You were always visiting us, but then your mother died and you seemed to have disappeared with her.” I reached into my pocket and pulled the old folded piece of paper out. “You’re father kept you away from us for years. When you were in danger after you go stabbed I thought that it was the perfect opportunity to take what belongs to us.”
With shaky hands, I carefully unfolded the paper and stared down at the faded writing.
“Your father agreed to give you to us as payment for our protection, but what he didn’t know was that you belonged to us before that contract was signed.”
I hesitated and then leaned forward to hand the letter over to her. My eyes stayed glued to her face as she read it.
Obsidian continued. “A brave little girl told her mother that she was going to marry three handsome Alphas one day.” He swallowed loudly as he sat up. “A lot has changed since that letter was written. Only one of those three men remains Alpha. One had turned into a sick bastard that has an unhealthy obsession with knives and making people bleed, and the other one has yet to grow up.”
“Hey!” Ezra exclaimed, making me smile.
“But their feelings for her hasn’t changed,” Obsidian continued as if Ezra hadn’t spoken.
“Actually, our feelings has changed,” Ezra pointed out. “It has grown a lot stronger over the years.”
I rolled my eyes at him. Getting up, I closed the few steps between us and crouched in front of Vanya and reached out to grip her hand.
“We didn’t have such a great beginning, rosebud, and I know that things haven’t been going so good.” Tear-filled eyes locked with mine. “I knew the moment I saw you that there was something special about you and it was proven when I found you scolding Obsidian. You belong with us.”
A tear escaped and slowly rolled down her cheek. Reaching up, I gently wiped it away.
“Will you stay with us, Vanya?”
She squeezed her eyes closed and pursed her lips. The longer she remained silent, the more my hope faded.
But then she finally opened her eyes and looked down at me. “W-what about Joy?”
“We will be ready for her when she decides to strike,” Obsidian promised.
Vanya’s eyes darted over to him, then to Ezra before they finally locked with mine. I held my breath as I waited for her reply.
“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll stay.”