Chapter Five
972 Words
Over the next few days, I got even better, and in no time, I was back on my feet, thanks to Nate, who took perfect care of me and made sure I lacked nothing.
Nate and I grew fonder of each other by the day. It made me wish I had grown up with him. Maybe life would’ve been kinder. Maybe my mom wouldn’t have hated me so much, she would’ve had her golden child.
We were in the living room, chatting as the afternoon sun spilled through the wide windows. Nate had taken a month’s leave from his pack duties just to be with me. That alone made me feel special; like I mattered.
“So, Dad will be back soon, he didn't mention when,” Nate said, his voice laced with excitement. “He’s really eager to meet you. I can’t wait for us to become one big happy family.”
I smiled. I had seen pictures of Mr. Blackwood; his dark curls, stern eyes. From all Nate had told me, he seemed like a principled, decent man.
“I can’t wait to meet him,” I said honestly.
And then the news came on.
I didn’t catch it immediately, there were just voices, flashes of people. I turned my gaze to the screen… and froze.
It was them. My entire family. My pack, other neighboring packs, family friends. All of them gathered around a headstone. Crying.
The headline screamed across the bottom:
BREAKING NEWS: Socialite Nyra Montclair Confirmed Dead After a Tragic Accident
My breath caught.
“What?”
I was dead to them. Just like that?
But what really shattered me was Vaughn and Davina standing side by side, holding hands. Pretending to be mourning a woman they had already thrown away.
Vaughn didn’t even try to look for me. Not once.
I stared at the screen, silent. Then at the ring on my finger. Our wedding ring. I slid it off without a second thought and placed it on the table like it burned.
“What the hell is that?” Nate’s voice was sharp with disbelief.
He turned off the TV in a flash and turned to me, searching my face.
But I just exhaled.
“It’s okay, Nate. I’m surprised it took them this long, honestly.”
His jaw clenched. “I’m sorry, Nyra. You don’t deserve any of this. If Dad permits me, I’ll make every single one of them pay for what they’ve done to you.”
He pulled me into a hug, and I didn’t resist. But I didn’t cry either.
I’d done enough of that for Vaughn. For all of them.
Let them bury me, let them move on. Because I already had.
Just then, Nate’s phone buzzed. He checked it and looked up, a smile tugging at his lips.
“Nyra… Dad arrived early. He’s on his way here.”
I froze.
My fingers curled into my palms, and a strange nervous energy flooded my stomach. I couldn’t tell if it was dread or anticipation.
Meeting my real father after all these years? A man I had never even spoken to?
How do you meet someone your soul should have known from the beginning?
Nate noticed my nervousness. “Hey,” he said gently, “You’re going to be fine. He’s a good man. You don’t have to force anything. Just… be yourself.”
I nodded, barely. My thoughts were already spiraling.
I stood as we heard a car pull into the driveway. Nate moved to the door, and I followed, hesitant.
And then there he was; He paused like he couldn’t believe I was real. His eyes roamed over my face, his jaw set tight.
Then, sharply, he exhaled and ran a hand through his hair.
“A funeral, Nyra?” His voice broke as he took another step forward. “Goddammit, I thought you were dead.”
“Apparently, so did everyone else.”
I blinked, still trying to process his voice, his face, his presence.
Then he said the last thing I ever expected to hear.
“You look just like her.”
“Like who?” I asked, my voice dry.
He swallowed. “Your mother.”
And just like that, everything inside me cracked open. That was the last person I wanted to be reminded of.
You knew she hated me,” I continued as my voice trembled.
“You knew she let me suffer, and you just let it happen?”
“I had no choice, Nyra,” he said quietly.
“She would never have let me take you. And at the time, I thought…” He exhaled, rubbing his temples as if trying to gather his words. “I thought keeping my distance would protect you.”
I laughed bitterly. “Protect me? From what? The life I had? The nights I cried myself to sleep, wondering why my own mother despised me. The way she made me feel like I was nothing?” My breath hitched, but I swallowed the lump in my throat. I refused to break now.
“All that time, she made me feel guilty for surviving while my twin brother, the child she wanted so much, died. And you never tried to save me from that.”
“I know I failed you. If I could take back the hands of time, I would do things differently.” Mr. Blackwood admitted, his voice filled with guilt.
“But guess what? You can't and I wish I didn't meet you. You should have stayed hidden!”
His eyes widened, pain flickering across his face.
But I wasn’t done.
I took a step back, and my voice was low and steady.
“Because now that you’re here, you’re going to help me burn Silvercrest pack to the ground.”
- Writer
