Falling Petals

RHEA
We lay on the bed, wide awake. Jaden held me in his arms with my head resting on his bare chest.
I contemplated talking to him about Sheila but decided against it.
"Haru told you, didn't she? " Jaden rasped. I raised my head from his chest and looked at him, surprised. His eyes were closed, his long eyelashes brushing the skin underneath his eyes. I laid back down and said,
"Did you read my mind?" I asked. He exhaled slowly, his chest rising and falling.
"I didn't need to" he responded. I was caught unawares by his statement.
"You can read my mind? I didn't know that" I said.
"You didn't know about my ability to shift into a Lycan either" he pointed out.
I smiled, closing my eyes.
"How did you become a demon wolf? Were you born that way? If you were born that way, it doesn't explain why Zaden is not a demon wolf" I said.
"When I was a child, I used to have terrible fevers. I used to be quite smaller than Zaden because of my frequent illnesses. One night, I was burning up so badly, my parents thought I was going to die. My mother was unable to sit back and do nothing. Because she was desperate, she took me to a witch. She told my mother that on the night she conceived Zaden and I, a demon slept with her. A part of him made me. My mother never told my father this, even though she was not fond of me. She told him that a witch had cursed me and turned me to a demon wolf. He believed her"
"So, does that mean the demon is your biological father?"
"Technically, yeah"
"How old were you when you had your first shift?" I asked.
"I was ten. It happened the night my mother took me to the witch" he responded.
"I'm sorry about earlier" I rasped. He sighed.
"You didn't know."
"You must be hurting. Want to talk about it?" I asked and he stiffened.
"I don't want to"
"Come on, Jaden. I know you still blame yourself for her death. I also know that you have nightmares about the day you lost her" I said.
He went still. I raised my head from his chest and sat up to gaze at him. His eyes were wide open now.
"How do you know that? No one knows that I have nightmares of that night" he said, sitting up on the bed.
"It's an easy guess" I said, taking his hand in mine.
He looked away but I caught a glimpse of the pained expression on his face before he looked away completely.
"Jaden, look at me" I urged. When he didn't move, I went to stand in front of him. Then, I made him look at me.
"Earlier, you were afraid that you were going to lose me tonight, weren't you?"
He closed his eyes briefly.
"We can take it slow, Jaden. But, tonight....we have to send Sheila on her way. She has to move on. She has lingered around for too long" I told him.
He sighed.
"Fine. How do we do that?" He asked. I gave him a smile.
"I'm part witch, remember?" I said.
"How can I forget that?"
"We have to do it before 3:00AM, though" I added. He was tensed, I could tell.
"You just have to say goodbye to her" I said and he rose to his feet. We both went downstairs to the basement. He took out Sheila's photo from where it was. Then, he stared at the photo, a pained look on his face. On the floor, I drew a pentagram with a piece of white chalk. Then, I lit a candle in the middle.
"Did she like flowers?" I asked Jaden who was standing by the door, watching me.
"She did"
"What kind?"
"She loved roses a lot" he responded.
"I'll be right back" I said and left the basement. When, I returned, I was carrying a bag containing rose petals. I placed them on the floor, within the pentagram. Then, I stepped back.
"That's it?" He asked and I nodded.
"She's here already. I don't need to summon her. She has been watching us all along" I said, pointing at the corner of the basement. Jaden's gaze rested on her and his expression faltered. She slowly stepped out of the corner and stared at the pentagram with a sad look on her face.
"Is that... for me?" She asked and I nodded.
"I'm really sorry you died, Sheila. But, we can't turn back time. Neither can we bring you back. I know you loved Jaden. He loved you too. He's hurting because of your death, Sheila" I said and she lowered her gaze, her shoulders slumped.
"I'm sorry, Jaden. I don't want you to be unhappy. I just... I want you to be happy. I'm sorry for causing you pain, Jay. I'm really sorry" she croaked.
Jaden stared at her, his eyes glassy.
"I should have protected you" he rasped and Sheila shook her head.
"There was no way you could've known what was going to happen. We both didn't see it coming. None of it is your fault, Jay. I want you to know that" she said.
She turned to look at me, a look of sadness on her face.
"I am so sorry for everything I did to you. I'm so sorry for the way I challenged you. I felt so bitter. I couldn't... deal with the fact that you are now his mate. But, I get it now. Jaden deserves to be happy. I'm just a ghost. I have nothing left for me here. I guess you're right, Rhea. It's time to move on" she said and I gave her an encouraging smile.
"But, before I leave, you have to promise me that you will not allow yourself to fall into the same trap that I fell into" she said and I frowned, trying to understand what she meant by that.
"Jaden, please... be careful. Don't underestimate anyone. Anything can happen" she said to Jaden who nodded stiffly.
"Thank you, Rhea" she said to me, giving me a smile. She no longer looked so tattered. Infact, she was glowing.
"Goodbye, Jaden" she breathed.
He swallowed hard.
"Goodbye, Sheila" he responded.
"Rest in peace" I said. She slowly faded from sight and the candle went off.
Jaden slowly lowered himself to the ground and I went to join him. We both sat down side to side in the dark. The whole place was silent. I reached out for his hand, entwining our fingers together.
"She's gone" he breathed and I closed my eyes. I could feel his grief through the bond. I wanted to take his pain away.
...
The next morning, I awoke in bed, to find Jaden packing a bag. "Where are you going?" I asked, groggily running my eyes. He didn't even look at me.
"Jaden? Is something wrong?" I asked.
He halted. Then, he straightened, a dark look in his eyes.
"We are going to the pack house to attend to some business" he said.
My eyes widened.
'Whatever it is, must be so intense if Jaden is that annoyed' I thought as I got out of bed.
I hurriedly freshened up and got dressed. We had breakfast together, but the waves of tension radiating from Jaden made me curious.
"Alright, spit it out. What's going on with you? Why are you so upset?" I asked.
"Finish your breakfast, Rhea. We don't have time to waste" he said and I frowned.
'What the hell is his problem?' I thought, confused.
Was he going to reject me after claiming and accepting me as his Luna? Was that even possible? I didn't know what he was up to and it made me worried. A few minutes later, we made it to his car. When I didn't get in, his frown deepened.
"Why aren't you entering the car?" He asked and I folded my arms across my chest.
"Not until you tell me why you're acting so strange. Last night, we were emotional. I know you felt something too. So, tell me why you suddenly want to reject me after claiming me as your Luna?!" I demanded. He stared at me silently. Now, it was my turn to get mad. I yanked down the collar of my tee shirt to show him the mark he'd left on my neck.
"Do you see this?! You put this on me! So, answer me! Do you think I'm a joke?" I raged. He blinked, a look of amusement in his eyes.
"What's so funny about this?" I demanded, feeling irritated.
"You think I want to reject you?" He said with a look of incredulity on his face.
"You're unbelievable" he said, shaking his head with his hands resting on his hips.
"Then, tell me why you were acting like that" I said, folding my arms across my chest. He raked his fingers through his hair.
"Fine! I'll tell you. Trisha is not on my side or anyone's side! She tried to kill you and you don't even know. I let it slide only because I like to play with my prey before destroying them. But, this is the last straw"
"What?" I breathed. He wasn't making much sense to me.
"Trisha wants to be an Alpha, Rhea. Do the maths."
"What?"