Part C: Chapter 67

I’d gone to the place that I hadn’t visited in years but lately everything was just overwhelming and I really needed to find that inner peace that I had lost throughout this situation. I needed to just sit back, breathe and not worry about anything.

The river outside the pack boundaries where Mum used to bring me whenever Gerald went on a rampage felt soothing as I watched the water hit the rocks. I could feel her sitting next to me when I closed my eyes and that pissed me off because he was the reason that she wasn’t here anymore. He had taken away the only person who used to help me see reason in everything and now when I had found someone to be by my side, the Universe just decided that I wasn’t ready and the Goddess let it test me so much. I didn’t know how long I could pretend like everything was okay before I truly snapped.

I opened my eyes and looked down at the water. Why was everything so hard? Why was he forcing me to mate with Shelly, my own sister for that matter? What did he want from me? Maybe that was the test and I had to endure all of it before I could finally call Jemila truly mine. I looked at the sky, watching as the clouds appeared to be moving but truly weren’t. Why couldn’t my life be just as simple as that? Nothing complicated.

“It’s been long since I was last here,” I heard Carter say from behind me and a few seconds later, he was sitting next to me. “I thought I’d find you here since it seems that everything has been getting to you and making you question who you are and what your purpose is in life.”

I tilted my head to the side so that I was facing him. “Why did you follow me?” I asked, my voice having lost its resolve. I was truly tired and all I wanted was to finally be able to catch a break. I looked back at the sky.

“I’m worried about you Aidan, truly,” Carter said and placed a hand on my shoulder, pulling my attention back to him. “I know you’re going through so much and I can’t even comprehend what kind of pain you must be feeling but I want you to know that I will always be there for you whenever you want to talk about anything. That’s why we are friends,” he smiled but I just looked at him with tired eyes.

“I know,” I replied, running my fingers through my hair. “But lately, everything has been feeling too much for me to handle and I don’t think I can keep up this facade that everything is okay when all I want to do is scream and break so many things without anyone feeling disappointed in me.”

Carter sighed and I felt him lay back on the grass in his expensive suit. “Then do it, screw everyone else and do what makes you feel happy. You always do things for the pack but never for yourself, it’s high time you placed your own needs first,” he said. “And I have the right thing for you to do.” He hopped back to his feet and disappeared in the woods.

I watched the place where he had disappeared and what he was talking about. Knowing him, it was obviously something stupid that I wouldn’t be caught dead doing but I had to wait and see.

Ten minutes later, Carter came out of the woods with a backpack draped over his shoulder and he had taken off his jacket while his sleeves were folded. There was a huge smile on his face when stopped in front of me.

“What is that supposed to be exactly?” I asked, sitting up straight so I could see what was in the bag.

Carter knelt down and placed the bag on the ground as well before he opened it up and started removing a lot of breakables while my eyebrows etched upward in question. “Carter, what are you planning?” I asked once more but he just smiled at me and continued removing the things from the bag which turned out to be a lot more than the bag gave away.

“Just let me finish what I’m doing would you?” he said as he continued to remove things from the bag and when he was done, he smiled in triumph. “Now let the therapeutic fun begin.” He pulled a bat from his back that I hadn’t noticed and handed it to me.

Slowly, I took the bat and stood up, eyeing him suspiciously. “You want me to break these, why?”

“Because you said you wanted to break something but you couldn’t because you have a reputation to hold,” Carter started, “hence I brought the fun to you.”

“And you had this on standby, why?”

Carter smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I like to break things sometimes so I always carry such stuff around with me for emergencies and it turns out you need it more than I do today,” he replied. “Trust me, it really helps with releasing some of that pent up anger inside. I would know because lately it’s been my go to activity when I’m not stuffing my face with food or training like crazy.”

I was still eyeing him suspiciously but I decided to give it a try. I took off my jacket and folded my sleeves. The first thing I smashed was a chipped mug and it felt slightly good to actually have something to release my anger on. I smashed a broken plate and kept going. I started to feel the momentum and kept up as I went through everything, smashing it as I went and when I was finally done, I was breathing hard but not from tiredness but from adrenaline rushing through my veins.

“How do you feel now?” Carter asked, reminding me that I wasn’t alone.

I held the bat by my back, a smile slowly forming on my lips. “It felt like nothing I’ve ever done before,” I replied, which made Carter smile back at me. “Odd how something like this could have such an impact on how I’m feeling.”

“I told you,” Carter said. “It’s very therapeutic and works wonders on the psyche.”

I narrowed my eyes on him but ended up rolling my eyes. Trust him to say something as dumb as that at such a time. “Thank you for making me do this and for following me,” I said as I walked back to the ledge where I had been sitting before and sat down, placing the bat next to me. “I feel much better than I did when I got here.”

Carter joined me, our legs dangling over the ledge. “You are welcome,” he said. “I’d figured it wasn’t the best of ideas to leave you alone in your current state so I left a few minutes after you did and followed you. I was actually hiding behind one of the trees once I knew where you were going.” He laughed it off as not being creepy but I stared at him with my eyebrows etched in question.

“You really are obsessed with me,” I said teasing. “Are you sure it’s Shel who has always had a crush on me or you were just using her to get closer to me?”

Carter bumped his shoulder against mine. “Oh please, you aren’t my type,” he replied with an eye roll. And even if you were, I would never tell you.”

“So you do have a crush on me?”

“Not on your dead body, try that with someone else. I have Ivana.”

“You mean Ivana who won’t spare you a second’s thought? That one?”

“Fuck off Carmichael, stop trying to ruin my vibe after I helped you,” Carter hitting my shoulder with enough force. “She just doesn’t know that I’m the one she needs in her life. Once she gets a taste, she will never want to go back.”

I just laughed but didn’t say anything. I was just truly thankful for having him in my life.