Unknown.

I watched her walk out of the cemetery with her head hanging low and her arm looped between that of a pretty visibly pregnant woman spotting a beautiful pink hair but a tired face.

She looked distraught... tired... hell, absolutely devastated even, and if my suspicions were right, then this was the most imperfect time to approach her with the truth, or so I thought until I saw her abruptly stop, her expression going from tired to irritated in a split second before she turned to look in a direction not so far from where she stood.

My eyes thinned as I tried desperately to see what she was looking at and when I was met with a familiar mass of silver hair, I froze... only for a split second before my heart soon began to hammer frantically in my chest.

"Is that... is that who I think it is?" I mumbled under my breath because for some reason, it suddenly felt as though my heart had sunk into somewhere deep inside my rectum.

My hands were cold and trembling, and a feeling, one akin to pride mixed with a tinge of betrayal soon enveloped me, making its way up my spine until it settled around my chest, gripping at my heart.

It was indeed him...

Same as always, only taller... handsome-r. Heck, he even appeared very powerful now.

Darius, unaware of my presence, walked closer to the Leilani girl, his right hand wrapped around the upper arm of a frail looking young girl who looked around Leilani’s age.

His stride was boastful, not the way I had taught him in his early years, and something about him... something about the way he carried himself made me a little anxious.

And I was never anxious.

From here, I could barely hear what they said to each other but from the look on their faces, I knew that it was something serious.

Leilani seemed like someone who didn’t enjoy his presence while Darius enjoyed hers a little too much.

I do not know how long I stood there watching them with eagle eyes. However, all I knew was that a few moments later, things began to get more heated.

Leilani stalked closer to Darius, looking so fearless that I was immediately proud and then she jabbed her index finger against his chest, muttering something I could barely hear to him.

I didn’t hear whatever she said to him but I sure as hell saw the effect it had on him... and Hades, it was a huge one.

He frowned— more like his face fell. He took a step back and released the girl he’s been holding onto; But just as the girl made to run away, Leilani’s fingers instantly wrapped around her upper arm with the speed of light and I could swear that the expression that immediately clouded the girl’s face was that of unadulterated horror.

She literally shrunk into herself, her face deteriorating as she crumpled to the floor whilst muttering something incoherent under her breath.

The whole scene was confusing. It filled me with an array of emotions I could barely name, especially since I could not understand the kind of business they had going on.

However what stood out to me the most wasn’t the fact that I may be witnessing a crime. It wasn’t the fact that Darius and Leilani seemed to know each other... very well if I may add... nor was it the way the strange girl seemed so scared, you’d think she was acting out a horror movie.

What stood out to me the most was Leilani herself. It was the way her eyes shone wildly. The way her hair gleamed like there were some invisible light bulbs hiding somewhere in her scalp...

...And the way her body seemed to grow strangely with each passing second.

She looked like she was caught in a state of mid-shift. But obviously, she wasn’t just a wolf.

She wasn’t just a Lycan either...

She was the thing I always suspected that she was:

A hybrid.

My daughter.

—

Leilani.

I was in a lot of pain, and was plagued with so much despair, it was no wonder how it suddenly seemed like the world had lost its color. But seeing Darius and Keisha standing right in front of me, their chins raised in self righteousness, made my despair turn into anger.

...especially Keisha.

I frowned. "Can we move this shit to a later date? Tomorrow perhaps? I cannot deal with both of you right now."

At the sound of my voice, Darius smiled that cheeky smug smile I hate. He watched me for a moment too long, a small smirk appearing on his face as he snickered;

My eyes travelled from Darius’ face to Keisha’s and in that split moment where I finally let my eyes raked over her slowly, I noticed how pale she looked.

She was limping slightly and her face was twisted into the ugliest frown I’ve ever seen on her. Her legs— where I had shot her a couple of days ago— still looked purple, sore and a little more than slightly swollen; But at that moment, the only thing I could think about was how I should’ve shot her in the face and not her legs. How she should be dead now after hurting and killing Jarek...

How—

I shrugged; "You both are birds of a feather..."

"You insult me!" He snapped jokingly, interrupting me, his eyes gleaming with a friendliness that I didn’t want.

Not now. Not ever.

Once again, I let my eyes wander. They roved his body slowly, and as I did, I couldn’t help but notice how angrier I was becoming with each passing second.

Maya on the other hand, was antsy and her grip on my arm tightened as she watched Darius closely.

"I am in mourning..." I said coldly, letting my voice trail off, "I am not in the mood for this. Moreover I need to get my friend home. You can hold onto Keisha for today and we will talk about her and whatever else you want to see me for tomorrow."

At the sound of those words, Darius cocked his eyebrows. His beady eyes watched me for a moment too long, and then suddenly he shrugged; "She might just slip out of my fingers... we wouldn’t know."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Nope!" He muttered, his tongue rolling around the ’p’ in such a way that it felt dragged. "I am simply just telling you what may happen."

"Like I told you earlier, I hate having to hold onto her, and now, you’re telling me that I now have to do it until tomorrow."

"Then let her go," I hissed, "I can take care of my shit just fine. Moreover, the triplets—"

However, I hadn’t even managed to get the entire words out when he stalked impossibly closer to me. His eyes drifted along my body, resting for a second too long on the spot between my shoulder and my neck. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

His voice was barely audible this time but I heard him clearly. He hissed; "I wonder what you see in those weaklings."

"Huh?" I frowned. "Who did you just call weaklings?"

"The Stormborn brothers. Who else?" His bluntness... or should I say lack of filter... made me instantly irritated. And when his free hand came to trail along my exposed arm, my irritation soared, turning into utter disgust.

"You went into hiding, now instead of coming to me, you went to them—"

"That’s none of your business."

"You’ve picked them over me time and time again, and girl, that pisses me off. What pisses me off the most however, is how weak they are. How pathetic... and how in a normal situation, you should have nothing to do with pricks like that."

"You will take back those words," I hissed, letting go of Maya to take a step forward until I was standing so close to him, I could literally catch a whiff of his disgusting scent.

"I will not."

"Let go of Keisha please," I said softly, sounding somewhat intimidating, but do you know what he did instead of doing as I’ve politely asked?

He scoffed.

At me.

His eyes met mine tauntingly, a smug smile forming its way across his lips as he leaned down until his warm breath fanned my face.

And something about that closeness... something about the way his breath tickled my skin immediately made me see red. I stuck my finger into his nostril and pulled forward, earning myself a sharp grunt from him.

In that moment, he staggered backward, his hands falling off Keisha’s arm and Keisha being the opportunist, seized that moment and tried to run. But I was faster.

I grabbed into her arm, squeezed tight and felt a kind of satisfaction when I heard the sound of her bones crunching underneath my fingers.

"Stop!" She cried, her face twisting into a look of agony.

But I didn’t.

I couldn’t.

Especially since a voice in my mind kept reminding me that she didn’t stop... she never stopped when I was the one pleading for her mercy.

"She killed Jarek..." another voice echoed in my head, "murdered him in cold blood..."

And with that I squeezed tighter.