The Markless

Chapter 7: Promises and Pancakes

-Ben’s POV-

I watched Avery falling from her seat, but before her head hit the ground, I instantly grabbed her arms. I placed her on the sofa, then Samantha put a blanket on top of her. I smiled at her gratefully for her kind actions towards her. This child never experienced such a thing towards me. I’m a very strict person, but I can be a softy too without her knowing. I’m just happy that I could protect this child all my life. And I’m honored to sacrifice my life for her.

"I promised that I would protect this child for the rest of my life, and that’s not enough for the things that I’ve done to her.

"Ben—" Samantha said, but before she could finish her sentence, I gnarled at her. She whimpered, then bowed her head to submission. She continued to speak but with the respect a typical Alpha should receive.

“I’m sorry Alpha”, she replied,

"--and I think we should tell her, she has the right to know everything that happened that night", she added. With her head bowed down.

“NO, NO ONE WILL TELL HER A THING!”, I yelled at her for even bringing up that conversation. I told her that it was not the time, and it was not safe for her either, but before I could say another word, Dave interrupted me,

“But, it’s not fair for her either, Ben”. Dave refuted, I glared at him, showing my fangs, telling him to submit to me, but I knew it didn’t work that way. He is also an alpha like me, and a powerful one.

“She, no, Avery, doesn’t deserve any of this, and you know that”, he added, and that’s the last thing I want to hear.

Avery does have the right to know, but I couldn’t forgive myself if anything happened to her. I just couldn’t. Not without killing myself first if we reveal this whole f**k up situation she’s in. You know that I can’t, and here you are persuading me to tell her everything, like it's an easy thing to do?!

"If I had known that it was that easy, I could’ve told her decades ago, Stupid!”, I scoffed at him, making him shut his mouth. For God’s sake, this child has put up with everything that is thrown at her, the remarks of people telling her that she’s an offspring of a demon, her eyes shimmer like an elf, and to add to that, she has been hunted for years just because they could sell her for the reason of having an unusual hair. Like it's her fault for living in this world. I sighed, thinking about what the child had gone through. For all the years I’ve been by her side, she gracefully defended herself against those bastards telling all that ridiculous nonsense to her. She fought hard and I admired her for it. She has a brave heart and a kind soul compared to those sons of bitches. I am talking about those f*****g humans. They all think they are great and more powerful, but deep inside they’re just cowards and two-faced bastards that plague this world.

“I know, I know, but are you willing to bet on your life if she dies when this all ends? And knowing that one person she trusted so much, she treated that person like her father, but she suddenly got caught in something that wasn’t her fault in the first place because someone didn’t even tell her the consequences of it all.

"Are you sure you’re ready to face the consequences Ben?” he said.

Tears sprung in my eyes, knowing that I couldn’t live with the idea that Avery would die because of something stupid that shouldn’t have been done. Oh goddess, how can I tell her and not break her heart. I just couldn’t look into her eyes then tell her everything. It could break her heart in two. She couldn’t handle the pain. It would tear her apart. I thought about it long and hard. I would tell her everything, but not today. I will tell her at the right time, but for now, let’s just tell her that I’m an Alpha, a lone one at that. Dave and Samantha are werewolves too. I’ll just leave out tiny details about them. Their identities should not come out any further than I would tell her, and that goes for me too.

-Avery’s POV-

Opening my eyes, squinting at the brightness of the light coming from the ceiling, this day could not get any better, is it? How many times do I have to faint then wake up from the same thing over and over again? This doesn’t do me justice at all. I stay quiet and stop questioning them, then later on and over again. This doesn’t do me justice at all. I stay quiet and stop questioning them, then later on I will find out that they are lying to me all the time. Especially Ben? Who do I trust the most? Didn’t even tell me he was one of them. This hurts my head so badly, I just want to sleep and never wake up to deal with it. I’ve had enough of their drama. Rolling to my side, I saw Ben, Samantha and Dave talking, then their heads turned towards me. Startled, Ben started to approach me, but I ignored him, turning my head towards the ceiling. Did he expect me to just forget everything, like yesterday, telling me to shut up and just listen to him? No, I’m not just going to listen anymore. I need to voice my complaints once in a while, but I’m not going to open the discussion about this hellhole they brought out.

“Aves-” “Don’t Aves me, Ben,” I blurted out.

“Don’t think for a second that I will just listen and shut up, cause’ I know that all of these lead back to me, right? And I think sorry is not up for it”, I stated.

“I know-”, Dave started speaking, but Samantha and Ben stopped him.

“Don’t open that mouth Dave, just let me”, he explained to him.

“Aves, I know that all of this is hard to understand, but I will tell you that when the moment comes, all of this will all make sense to you. --I promise with all my blueberry pancakes”, Ben said, raising his pinky to his heart. I know it is a little bit weird, but it's a thing we both created to know that if one person broke his promise all the pancakes that I can have, he will cook them for me, no complaining at all. I’m a simple person. That’s all.

I don’t bury my anger against a person I’ve been in bad blood with. Even with the gravest sin. And Ben happens to be my only family member and I can’t have him abandon me either, but, I can’t just forgive him, he has just deceived me for all these years and that’s all I can get. A pinky swear to his heart? It isn't enough. I need them to tell me everything.

“Okay, but in one condition”, I said, looking at them one by one, then telling them.

“You all need to start telling me everything, no secrets, no holding up information anymore. I didn’t need another faint happening again, or my brain couldn’t handle all of it. Then it started to shut down, never waking up “. I said, taunting them to speak up and not to hold back secrets. Samantha looked at Dave and Ben for permission to tell, or if someone from the three of them would have the courage to speak up,

“I have already told you that I hate waiting, right?”. I added, breaking them from their thoughts.

“Okay, okay, we’ll speak up”, Samantha said with worry in her eyes. Then Dave backed up on the wall, resting his back against it, then Ben sat back again, then exhaling slowly like his life depends on it.

“Okay aves, hmm, where do I start? I guess we can start from where I found you?”, Ben said to me, then I looked at them in shock. Oh, this is going to be a long night.

“OK, I’m ready if you are”, I said, looking straight in his eyes, telling him that I was not going to change my mind on this. “Right, so, Aves, you remember that night I saved you from? The thing?”, Ben asked me.

“Yeah, you saved me from that thing. 'I almost died that day if not for you saving me’, I said gratefully, thanking him. I will never forget to thank him every day for that.

“Uh-hmm, yes, I guess right now, you already know what that thing is chasing you?"

"Hmm, if my guess is right, is it a werewolf?”, I said without holding back anymore.

I knew that when I was little I just didn’t consider the fact that it was that thing that I had in my mind. After all.

“Okay, then, this will just be easy then. That werewolf that’s chasing you is sort of like our enemy. Back then and until now, we consider them as our enemy”, Ben said straightforwardly like it was a natural thing, enemy?

What enemy? And how am I related to that enemy? Why is it chasing me? Did I do something wrong that they were willing to kill an innocent child like me?

“Whatever you are thinking right now, neither of those are the reasons you’re being chased that night.

"The thing is, you come from someone who’s been special for centuries, and I mean, really, ancient old ones, and that sweetheart is your parents," he said, looking straight at me, waiting for my answer. At first, I hesitated to speak. Of course, who would be able to speak right away when someone suddenly told you that your parents are special, even better, descended from ancient gods?