I am the Light - His last Redemption (Book 2)

Chapter 11 - Up and Running

“Uh-uh,” I hear River’s voice from the living room. It’s early and he usually sneaks into my bed when he’s up before I am. I guess not today. I’m still not sure how he manages to climb out of his bed, but he has a wild determination when he wants something.

I smile as I walk in, “who are you talking to?” I ask and his silver eyes meet mine with a happy smile on his lips.

“Dadda,” he says and my heart stops for a moment.

“What?” I ask a little shocked. It’s a mixture of fear and excitement, “River, you can’t just-,” how am I supposed to stop him from talking to someone with his thoughts? He can’t control it. And he looks so happy right now. How am I supposed to tell him to stay away from his father?

“Sas hes toming for hu,” he says. It almost sounds like a thread. I sigh and pick River up from the floor.

“I don’t think he should come here,” I say.

“Hai?” River asks with a deep frown on his little face.

“I don’t know,” I sigh, “I’m not... I have to-,” I don’t have a good explanation and River picks up on it, his smile growing bigger and he starts to brabble something unintelligible to himself. Maybe to his dad. I have a strange feeling about this. I’m afraid.

“Come on, let’s go find Callie,” I say to River.

“Yaaa!” he screams, raising his little arms in the air. “haff to go. See Callie and Lala!” he says, but I’m sure he’s not talking to me. The quick nodding of his head confirms it. “otay,” he says and locks eyes with me. “mommy?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Sas to be careful.”

“What?” I frown, “why? What’s going on?”

“Dono,” he shrugs and starts playing with my hair. I don’t have a good feeling about this and the only one who might shed some light on this is Callie. What if the Nightshadow is on his way with her sister? What if he brings chaos and darkness to our little village? And it will be my fault.

“Gogon,” River squeals as he spots Logan, coming out of the woods. He wears an exhausted smile on his lips, but it’s there nonetheless.

“Are you okay?” I ask him, with a worried expression.

“Just tired,” he sighs, “I’m worried.”

“What about?” I ask, picking up the same feeling, while River demands to switch arms and Logan takes him from me, effortlessly putting the little boy on his shoulders.

“I’m giant!” he laughs, his arms in the air before he digs them into Logan's hair.

“I don’t even know,” he says, “something just feels off.”

“River talked to his father,” I say and his brows rise in surprise.

“Dada!” Rivers says, picking up on our conversation, “hes toming!”

“He’s coming here?” Logan asks confused, “why? What did he tell you?”

“Dono,” River shrugs, “sas he wants mommy!”

Logan's eyes lock with mine. I can tell he’s torn between concern and excitement. Just as I am. This could go either way and I am terrified of the bad version of how things could play out.

“I wanted to see Callie, see if she knows anything about her sister,” I say, “she’s... well, she’s with N...ate.”

“A witch?”

“Dark,” I sigh and so does Logan, “maybe we shouldn’t wait for him to show up and just... leave?!”

“Leave where?”

“Selencity?” I ask carefully.

“No, leev,” River shakes his head violently, “wanna see Dada!”

“Baby,” I sigh, “we don’t... we don’t even know him. Not... I used to, but I can’t remember,” I say, wrapping my hand around his little ankle, giving him a playful little tug, “I need you to be safe!”

“Am!” River says and pats Logan's head, “haff, Gogon, haff Lala, haff mommy, haff me!” he says boring his little finger into his chest, “Im potect hu!”

Logan can’t help but smile at his words. Neither can I. “You’re that strong, huh?” he asks the boy on his shoulders.

“Tongest!” River says and puffs his little cheeks, trying to flex his muscles. Which makes me laugh and reach up to tousle his black hair.

“Let’s put that to a test,” Logan puts the boy down and takes off his shirt. He hands it to me. “Are you okay with this?”

“Are you going to shift?” He nods.

“Yeah, I think he has to learn at some point,” I sigh and watch Logan's body transform into that of a wolf. River stares at him awestruck. Then, he bends down on all fourth and makes tiny, growling noises, pretending to be a wolf as well. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen. Even the wolf next to me snickers and nudges the kid with his muzzle.

“Tattack!” River roars and runs at the wolf, trying to wrestle him to the ground. At some point, Logan takes pity on him and just rolls onto his back and lets River tug and pull his fur.

“What the hell are you doing, Logan?” A strange, yet familiar voice sounds from behind. The Hunter, limping and supported by Willa. He’s awake. A small smile creeps over my lips at Willa’s happy face. Then my gaze shifts to a pair of green eyes.

“It is you,” he says, sounding a bit out of breath, “how? I... I watched you die?!”

“I... I don’t remember any of it. I’m sorry,” I say, “you... you look better.”

He huffs out a groan and lets go of Willa to pull me into his arms. Holding on as tightly as he can. It feels a bit weird, but I don’t mind. I have no idea what he’s been through. I can’t remember. “f**k, I’ve missed you,” he says, “what happened?”

Willa pouts a little at the lack of attention he pays her. “She doesn’t remember,” she says, “you should sit down.”

“Yeah, you look a bit green there,” I agree and follow him and Willa to one of the many benches all around the village.

“Feel like it,” he sighs and sits down. Logan and River are busy playing, so I decide it’s safe to stay with Willa and the Hunter. “Willa filled me in, but I can’t believe... any of this. You don’t remember anything?” I shake my head and his gaze travels to River playing with the huge wolf, clinging to its leg, like a little monkey. “He’s... he’s yours?”

“Yeah,” I smile.

“Does Nate know?”

“He... he figured it out,” I say.

“He did?” Willa asks curiously, “how?”

“River has been communicating with him. It seems like wolves share a special bond with their children.”

“That’s amazing,” Willa says.

“Yeah, well,” I sigh and run a hand through my hair, “I just wish I could remember it all. Remember him the way he used to be,” I say, “I wish I knew what his intentions are. Why is he coming here?”

“Why?” Cillian asks stunned, “you realize that you two... you don’t remember any of it?”

“No,” I sigh, “I don’t remember him and I can’t feel him anymore. I know I am supposed to, but I can’t. All that is gone.”

“Nate... well, he’s been-,” Cillian sighs, “He’s been a pain in my ass.”

“Why?” Both Willa and I ask at the same time. Cillian glances from her to me.

“Because Hunters raised me. I spend most of my life hunting wolves and then you come along,” he says to me, “telling me that everything I know is bullshit. You don’t know how many arguments we had about that.”

“Sorry,” I shrug a little.

“You were right,” he says, “but it took... I thought keeping you safe at the compound was the right thing to do. Until I realized what they were doing to you,” he says and looks over at Logan, “they tortured you for who you were.”

“A female wolf?” I ask.

“The last of your kind,” he nods, “you’ve always been special, but they didn’t understand what you were. Torture doesn’t work.”

“What did they want with me?”

“They wanted you to shift and take your blood for their experiments. They wanted to create enhanced Hunters with the senses of a wolf, but still human. We were at war with those creatures. After weeks of torture, they let me talk to you. That’s when we met Logan and we fled.”

“How does the Nightshadow fit into this?” Willa asks.

“Before all of that happened we got into an argument,” he explains, “and you ran away.”

“I freed him from a trap,” I say, knowing this part already.

“That’s how you met him, yes,” Cillian nods, “but-,” he hesitates, “back then, I was in love with you.”

“Oh?”

He chuckles and nods, lowering his gaze, “so, when he showed up and was all over you-,” he shrugs, “he was a pain in my ass!”

“Sorry,” I say, but he shakes his head.

“No, I think things turned out the way they were supposed to. He was crazy protective of you. I watched him break after you die. I saw it happen and it was the most painful thing I’ve ever witnessed. I understood at that moment, that there was no way anyone could have ever loved you the way he did.”

“What did you do after... after I died?” I ask.

“I went back home,” he sighs, “my compound was destroyed by Vampires. Only a few survived, and not all of them stayed. Those who did-,” he glances around the town, trying to find some of his hunter friends. “-I could convince them that the world has changed and a few weeks later we got massages from strange attacks. Creatures that no one has ever seen before. We had a new purpose, I guess. That’s how we ended up here,” he explains and risks a quick glance at Willa.

She did notice though and as he looks back at me, a small smile crossed her face. “What... what’s his name?” Cillian asks nodding his head at my son.

“River,” I say.

“And he talked to Nate?”

“Looks like it,” I sigh, “I don’t know what to make of this yet. I don’t remember him. All I know is what everybody tells me. And then there are the stories about the Nightshadow.”

“Yeah,” Cillian sighs, “he went a little bezerk after your funeral.”

“Bezerk?”

“He was out for blood. He killed his father's pack. Most of them anyway. Those who resisted him. I tried to find him, but he was... I don’t, he was just a different person. He didn’t give a s**t about anything anymore.”

“Yeah,” I swallow hard, “that’s what I’m afraid of.”

“You don’t have to be,” we all turn around to the familiar voice of Calliope. She smiles at the Hunter, “I am glad to see you up and running again.”

“Up, yes, running not so much,” he says, “thank you for taking us in and for healing me.”

“Don’t thank me,” she says and gestures at Willa and me, “thank them. They did most of the work.”

“Thank you,” Cillian says, his eyes on Willa. She blushes. I’ve never seen that happen before and I can’t help but cover my laughter with a cough. She glares at me, but her smile takes over her face again.

“I hope you are feeling better.”

“Yes. We will be out of your hair in no time,” Cillian says, but he sounds unsure about that.

“Maybe you should stay,” Callie says, her eyes shifting to meet mine. And a sickening feeling settles in the pit of my stomach.

“Because of him? Because he is coming for me and River?”