The Lycan Prince's Fallen Mate

Chapter 5- Crushed Spirits

Calista



I don’t like this one bit… I do not like this.

This meltdown I am having is just me… Okay, it's because of this one grey-eyed guy who can’t keep his eyes to himself and is making me feel weird things. I don’t like these kinds of feelings, I like this detached heart of mine because it understands that I don’t deserve any of this and can’t have any of it in this life. It’s just a fluke.

Kevin is already a weak link who can break me but I know my brother, he would never hurt me but everybody else, I can’t trust them, I won’t trust them. I have to keep my head straight, get done with high school, and never look back to this town and the people in it who never cared for me…

“Earth to Cal!” A hand waved in front of me, startling me a bit. I looked around for a moment. I forgot Kev and I were at our regular diner for our dinner. “What are you thinking?” I shook my head and started to twirl the spaghetti on my plate.

“Nothing, just about the finals coming up.” I swiftly lied.

“Cal, in a week, school will be over. You will have an entire summer, go out and find something. I don’t want you to be stuck inside the house.”

“Kev, I don’t like when you say things like that. I know you are trying to be positive but you and I don’t have the same life. Do you think the Alpha and Luna will let me step out like a free bird? They only let me go to school so that the humans won’t call the Child Protective Services on them.” I took a deep breath, I shouldn’t direct my anger towards Kevin. He wasn’t at fault. “I have handled it till now and I am sure they can’t do anything that I don’t already anticipate.”

Kevin looked at me with pity in his eyes. “Don’t, please don’t pity me, Kev. I can’t take that.” He took a deep breath and took a sip of his lemon water.

“Cal, I won’t be here this summer. I- I don’t know what those people are capable of, I can’t think of leaving you behind.”

The food tasted like cardboard. I didn’t want to voice my fear in front of anyone, not even Kevin. It will only make everything real. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. Our parents were worse to me but with Kevin around, there were some boundaries and those boundaries had already been blurred in 2 months Kev has been gone. I can’t even imagine what they have for me in store for the entire summer.

“We can’t do anything.” My voice broke and was barely above a whisper but I kept my tears at bay.

“Cal,”

“Kev, can we please not talk about this? I don’t know when I will see you next. I just want this to be a good dinner and I will deal with everything like I always have. I know that I will always have you, have some faith in your sister, I will deal with it.” I couldn’t even convince myself and with the expression on Kevin’s face he was far from convinced but he dropped it.

The rest of dinner passed in a blur of laughter and light-hearted conversation. Kevin knew me too well to push further on the elephant in the room that threatened to cast a shadow over our evening. And I was grateful for his understanding, his willingness to let me pretend for just a little while longer that everything was normal, well as normal as it could get.

We reminisced about childhood memories, teased each other about old crushes, and debated over which movie star he looked like.

“I still stand by my sentence, you look exactly like the Grinch well blonde grinch.” His shocked expression made me giggle.

“Well, then that makes you Grinch’s sister, greeny.” Kev and I didn’t share any similarities though, he looked exactly copy of Mom and Dad mixed where whereas I only shared the same hair color as my dad. I look completely different from my family, another different thing.

With each passing moment, the heaviness that had settled upon us earlier seemed to dissipate. As Kevin drove me home, the night air brushing against my face through the open window, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness at the thought of parting ways.

When we reached the doorstep of the pack house, Kevin turned off the ignition and turned to face me, his gaze soft and understanding. "Hey," he said gently, reaching out to grasp my hand. "I know things are tough right now, but remember, you're not alone in this. I'm here for you, always."

I nodded, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat. "I know," I whispered, unable to find the right words to tell him how thankful I am to have him in my life.

With a reassuring smile, Kevin leaned in and enveloped me in a tight hug, his warmth seeping into my bones and providing strength to deal with whatever lay after those doors. As he pulled away, he gave me one last squeeze before releasing me. "Take care, Cal," he said softly, his eyes reflecting the depth of his affection.

"You too, Kev," I replied, watching as he drove off into the night, his presence lingering like a comforting embrace.

Turning towards the front door, I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the challenges that awaited me. I walked inside with light legs, so I don’t disturb anyone. The lights were dim, luckily for night dinner I wasn’t responsible. I quickly walked on my tip toes past the kitchen towards the attic. Seems like my luck was with me tonight.

Just as I was about to step on the stairs, the light turned on. Yep, this seems more like my luck.

“About time, you are back.” The familiar voice of the Luna, aka my mom, entered my ears. I froze for a second, unable to turn around and face her. “Enjoyed the night?” Her shrill, mockery hit me. I took a deep breath and turned around.

“I was with Kevin,” I spoke slowly.

“Oh, I know. He has always been our free pass but that ends from today. Kevin can’t be distracted, unlike you, he is capable of greater things and has a good future. His father had made sure he doesn’t get any more days, because of you I won’t be able to see my son.” She gritted her teeth. “Every worse that happens in our lives, it’s always because of you. You are the curse of your family.”

I closed my eyes listening to every word quietly. These words were nothing as I have heard them a million times but it doesn’t any less each time. This time it’s worse, they took away one thing that’s good in my life, Kevin.

My mother's words cut through me like a knife, each syllable a reminder of the burden I carried, not just for myself, but for my entire pack. I stood there, rooted to the spot, as she unleashed her pent-up frustration and disappointment upon me.

“Good for nothing…” She continued but I couldn't hear anything. The weight of her accusations bore down on me, suffocating me. I wanted to defend myself, to scream and yell and make her understand that I was trying my best, but the words caught in my throat, choked by the overwhelming sense of inadequacy that consumed me as usual.

Instead, I remained silent, my fists clenched at my sides as I tolerated the hurl of insults that I knew would continue. It was a familiar scene, one that we had performed countless times before, each time leaving me feeling more broken and defeated than the last.

“And what? You can just prance in and go back to your room. You have your duty to this pack and it’s to take care of everyone and pick up behind them. Never forget that, my omega daughter, now go and clean up. You don’t want to anger your father.”

When she finally paused, her voice dripping with disdain, I opened my eyes, meeting her gaze with a mixture of resignation and slight defiance. "I'll clean up the kitchen," I said quietly, my voice barely above a whisper.

Her lips curled into a cruel smile, a silent victory in the war of words. "See that you do," she replied, her tone icy and unforgiving.

Turning on my heel, I made my way towards the kitchen, my steps heavy with the weight of her disapproval. As I began to tidy up the remnants of our dinner, I couldn't help but wonder if things would ever change, if I would ever be able to break free from the shackles of this group of people I call my family and build a life of my own.

After cleaning up the kitchen, I retreated to the attic, my sanctuary, my room in his huge pack house. As I ascended the stairs, the weight of my mother's words still heavy on my mind, I couldn't help but yearn for a sense of freedom, a normal life away from this burden of not fitting in with the wolves, too broken to fit in with human and too warm to fit in with cool vampires.

In my room, I took a moment to breathe, to let go of the tension that had settled in my shoulders. I changed into comfortable clothes and went through some notes. Just as I settled at my desk to review my schoolwork, my phone buzzed with a text message, breaking the eerie silence in the room.

The screen illuminated with Kevin's name. His message was short but filled with warmth, a small ray of light that penetrated the darkness that engulfed me.

"Hey Cal, today was fun. Best of luck for your finals. Take care, okay?"

A smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I read his words. I typed out a quick response and locked my phone. I started to go through some assignments and reviewed the final papers. Just then, my phone rang again.

Curiously, I glanced at the number, only to find that it was an unknown number. Frowning I read the message,

I still need an update about the next meeting, Ray.

A wrong number, I ignored the text and went back to assignments…