Page 17

Chapter 17

Della

I was stalking my mate. Part of me wanted to laugh at the realization, but another part of me knew this was ridiculous. I was sitting out in front of his family home just staring at how terrible it looked. My throat became tight when I saw the missing parts of the roof and the holes in the wood siding. It looked like the wood had been rotting away for a long time, and at some point, this home would cave in on itself.

I had looked around the village today to see if this was the condition of all the homes. It wasn’t. Haden’s family home was the worst. All I could think about was Penelope and Henry’s beautiful home. Haden deserved that life again, not this.

Haden’s life this time was nowhere near what he had in his last life. It made me want to curse the stars for their cruelty toward him. He deserves the best of everything. I guess I would need to be the one that did that for him. I perked up when I heard his voice. Gods, I loved his voice. The deep humming of it was coming from behind the house but fading away. I had been waiting for hours to see him so I could follow him without being seen.

I scrambled up quickly and went around the house to see Haden and a petite blonde working on a dead patch of land. Haden smiled brightly at whatever she said. Fuck, he was so handsome. My stomach clenched tightly at how I missed him, even though I saw him yesterday. Technically, I had seen him every day since the incident in the woods with Kira. I stepped closer to them as they laughed together, taking in everything about the way he moved with ease, glancing around as if he knew I was here.

“Do you think Father will be gone all day?” the girl’s timid voice asked.?

A sister.?

“Let’s pray to the gods that he is.”

I smiled because we had nothing to do with answering prayers like that. The woman turned toward where I stood, and I stopped moving even though I knew she couldn’t see me. My mouth fell open as I glanced over her features. She was beautiful with her dark blonde hair and the same stormy eyes as Haden.?

He had a twin again.

She was still staring at where I was. Haden stopped hoeing the ground and glanced to where she was staring. He smirked slightly.?

“She’s here, isn’t she?” She looked at Haden. “I can feel it like I do with Mikel.”?

Mikel.?

What were the odds that it was my Mikel—my brother?

“She’s here, but she’s going to keep hiding like she has been all week.” Haden's expression dimmed. His sister looked toward him with her brows pinched together.

“Why?”?

“I don’t know.”?

Because I was terrified. I was terrified that Haden would be exactly the same as he was, and I was terrified he would be completely different. I was terrified he wouldn’t love me like he did before. I was terrified that he would be taken from me again. Part of me wanted not to get too attached just in case the heavens took him away from me. But I was already attached, and now I was terrified. I could not stop the fear that swarmed inside of me. I was scared that I would hurt him in some way. ?

“This would be much easier to dig up if the ground were wet.” His sister sighed as she rubbed her sweaty forehead. Haden nodded and struggled for a moment before I lifted my hands to the side. Dark clouds moved over the sun, and I heard them sigh with relief.?

Then I focused on the large patch of ground they were working on and made it pour over it and it alone.?

“What the hell?” She gawked.?

“That would be Storm.” His face softened. “Thank you.”?

I let a single crack of lightning skid across the sky. After a moment, the rain let up, and I began moving the clouds away.?

“Wait!” she called. “Please, leave the clouds; it feels so nice.”

A small chuckle escaped me as I moved the clouds back.?

“Holy shit, that is impressive. I will have to ask Mikel what magic he can do.”?

“Remiah, don’t just stand there gawking. Help me,” Haden said as he watched her staring into the sky. Remiah. ?

I walked closer to her and examined her. If Mikel was talking to her, then she was his mate. But he hadn’t told me. I guess I hadn’t told him either. Maybe he didn’t realize what she was to him. I disregarded that thought immediately. Mikel was smart; he would know. Somehow I knew that she was a good match for him. Her purple soul matched Mikel's.

The stars gave us mates at the same time—twins. Somehow, it felt… right. I glanced at Haden and wondered if I had set that in motion when I gave him my bond. I heard Remiah groan, and her stomach growled. Haden sighed.?

“We can try and bargain for food,” he said.

“It’s fine.” But I could see how tired she was. When I looked at Haden and saw it within him too. They were not well taken care of. Did Mikel know how badly our mates were being cared for? Did it set off a rage inside of him, too?

This wouldn’t do. I swiped my hand out, and a small table, fully laden, appeared. Haden and Remiah stopped what they were doing and gawked at the array of food and drinks. Haden’s head turned around as he looked for me. His eyes filled with unshed tears.?

“Storm?” He looked right to where I was standing.?

Eat.

Remiah didn’t need any encouragement. She was at the table looking over everything and then stuffing everything she could in her mouth. Haden walked over to the table slowly and started eating. Seeing them smile made my chest ache less. Remiah picked up some broccoli and handed it to Haden. He scrunched up his nose. I chuckled softly. He still hated broccoli. Something about that made me happy.

“You’re such a weirdo.” She rolled her eyes and ate it. Remiah looked up. “Thanks," she said to the air, not knowing exactly where I was.

I glanced over at them and smiled. After they were done eating, they got back to digging. Frowning at how long it was taking them, I was trying to figure out what they were actually doing so I could help.?

I stood at the edge of the dirt pile and sighed heavily, knowing that I was going to have to talk to him to figure it out. After all, they looked exhausted. I smiled slightly as I finally made myself appear, giggling at the way that it made Haden jump.

“Storm.”

Remiah glanced over her shoulder and looked at me. I wondered if she could tell Mikel was my brother. Her mouth fell open, and she looked at Haden.?

“What are you trying to do?” I asked softly as I pointed to the ground.?

Haden and Remiah stared at me for a moment like they had seen a ghost, then Remiah smiled and started explaining.

“Father told us to dig up this patch of land and pile the dirt for a garden. The dirt we are using is not growing things well.”?

“That’s a lot of work.” I frowned. “Here, watch out.”?

Haden and Remiah stepped away from the ground, and I lifted my hand, letting my starlight shoot out and complete their task in mere seconds.?

“Like that?” I asked.?

“Yes.” Remiah smiled. “Thank the heavens because I was going to die of boredom."

I chuckled softly.?

Haden stared at me without saying anything. Slowly, doubt trickled into my mind. Maybe I shouldn’t have shown myself. Remiah looked at him and smacked the back of his head softly.?

He seemed to snap out of whatever was happening and glared at her.?

“You’re being rude.” She bugged her eyes out. “Tell your lady thank you.”?

Oh, yeah, she would be perfect for Mikel.?

“Thank you, my lady,” he said sarcastically. I chuckled softly and nodded.

“You’re welcome, Haden.”?

He swallowed hard and glanced at the house before something flickered in his eyes—embarrassment.?His face turned red as he looked away from me, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. My chest tightened at how uncomfortable he was.

“Do you need help with anything else?” I asked because he still wasn’t talking. I knew I was awkward, but so was he, and it wasn’t great for keeping the conversations going. Remiah sighed at Haden when he shook his head without looking at me. I frowned, disappointment coursing through me. I was hoping he would ask me to stay.?

“Okay,” I whispered. Remiah's face fell when I glanced at her before waiting for Haden to say something…anything. She watched me stare at Haden, begging silently that he would ask me to stay. He didn’t. Gods, I should have just stayed hidden. Instantly, I made myself disappear.?

“What the fuck, Haden?” Remiah scolded him immediately. “She wanted you to talk to her, and you wouldn’t even look up at her. What is your problem?”?

Haden looked up at his sister before dropping his eyes to the ground.?

“You know what the problem is,” he said. “A man in my social class does not get a woman like her. I have nothing to offer her. She fed us, for fuck’s sake, because we can’t even afford to eat most days. What am I supposed to say or do? Oh hey, I think you’re really pretty. I’m poor, my father is a drunk, my mother is a spineless enabler, my house is falling apart, and I’m wearing clothes that are stained and old. My fucking boots are literally falling apart and too small.” His chest was heaving with anger and sadness. I saw the flash of that other side of him, the void as he called it, in his eyes.?“What woman, let alone a woman like her, would look at me and see anything worth loving?”

Tears fell from my eyes as I saw all the self-hatred and devastation on his face. This was different from who he was before.

“I don’t think she cares about that,” Remiah argued.?

“Yeah, well, I do.” He stared her down. “Has Mikel seen our home? Have you shown him what kind of life we have?”

She frowned, and I knew she hadn’t. Mikel and I did not care. We had everything. The only thing missing was our mate—the most important thing.?

“Exactly.” Haden closed his eyes tightly. “I’m sorry for bringing you into this. I know that Mikel will love you no matter what."

“And maybe Della will be the same for you.”

Haden didn't seem convinced.

“She should find someone better than me. A man should be able to provide for the woman he is with, and I can’t do that. I won't ever be able to.”

Lightning scattered across the sky as my emotions seeped from me. I did not like that he thought this way. I loved him before, and I love him just the same way now. Haden was everything to me.

A moment later the door to the house burst open and ricocheted off the wall, making us all flinch. A man who resembled Haden slightly swayed in the doorway. Gods, a whiff of liquor floated through the air and attacked my senses.?

“What are you two doing standing around?” he slurred. I watched both of them tense up with fear. My chest was heavy as I watched Haden step in front of his sister, protecting her from whatever he knew was coming. I could see that he trembled slightly, but he did not show it to his father.?

The man stumbled off the step, falling into the side of the house. Their mother popped out of the house and tried to help her drunk husband. But he shoved her away, causing her to fall into the woodpile. My anger surfaced immediately.?

“We finished,” Haden said.?

“There’s no way you did all of that.” His father moved toward them and looked at their work. He nodded like he was impressed, and I relaxed for a moment. I was wrong to let my guard down, though. His father spun toward Haden, backhanding him so hard he fell to the ground. He kicked him, and Haden groaned in pain.?It happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to stop it.

“You are a lying little shit. You aren’t capable of doing anything that well.”?

Haden didn’t fight back. He didn’t move at all.

Fight back.?

Why was the void not saving him? His dad yanked him up by the hair, and Haden stared at him with blood running down his chin. It triggered flashes of the night he died. I shook my head as I tried to stop the images. His father raised his hand, but I was not letting him hurt him again. I stepped forward, my rage making me visible.?

Haden’s eyes widened as my eyes pulsed pure white. His father hadn’t noticed me yet, but his mother did.?

“Galen!” she warned him. He turned to me and sneered.?

“Let him go.”

His blue eyes traveled over me, confused, like maybe he was so drunk that I wasn’t real. But he was about to know how real I was when I cut his fucking hands off.

“Mind your own business, whore,” he warned.?

I tilted my head to the side and stared him down. “Drop Haden now,” I said in a menacing voice, making him shrink back slightly at my tone. He was a fucking coward.

Galen turned toward me, still gripping Haden’s hair tightly.?

“Get off my property before I kill you for trespassing.” He smiled like I would be scared of him. “This is my boy; I can punish him however I see fit.”?

Haden’s pretty eyes stared at me, begging me to leave before his father hurt me.

“This is the last warning I am giving you. Release Haden, or I will break every fucking bone in your hands so that you aren’t able to touch him again.”?

Galen laughed loudly.?

“How’d you trick this whore into thinking you were anything special?” he asked Haden. “You have a thing for weak, pathetic, and incapable men?”?

He smiled like he did something with his stupid insult. But men like him were easy to hurt. All they needed to hear was how undesirable and cowardly they were.

“I’m not interested in you, if that is what you are asking.” I huffed.

Galen dropped Haden and swung at me in a fit of rage.?

“Storm!” Haden tried to step in front of me, but my magic held him back. Meeting his fist with my open hand, I gripped his father’s hand in my own. I saw the terror fill his eyes when he realized his strength was nothing against mine. I looked at Haden and Remiah and smiled, trying to reassure them that I could handle this.?

“I gave you plenty of warnings, Galen, but I must admit that I was always going to do this.” I grabbed one of his fingers, and as if I were holding a twig, I snapped it. He yelled out, and I smiled in his face as I moved to the next finger and broke it as well.

He looked at his wife. “Don’t just stand there, bitch, do something!”?

She jumped and came for me, but I lifted my hand, and a gust of wind slammed her back into the house. I turned back to him and broke another finger. Then I gripped the last two and squeezed so hard that his bones shattered. I released him, and he fell to his knees, holding his broken fingers and crying. I circled around him, still not done with his punishment.?

I looked up at Remiah, who was gawking at me. Then my gaze flickered to Haden. His eyes traveled down the length of me and then back up to my eyes.

“Please,” Galen begged, bringing my attention back to him.

“You can beg me all you want, but I keep my word, Galen.” I used my magic to force his hands down to the ground. He cried out when the broken hand hit the hard surface. “This is for hurting Remiah.” I lifted my heel and slammed it into his broken fingers, crushing his hand into the ground and twisting.

He begged the gods for mercy, and I smiled.

“The gods don’t listen to shitty men, Galen.” I looked around and smiled when I spotted a boulder. I wrapped it up with my magic and brought it over to hover above his hand. “And this is for thinking you can lay a hand on Haden.”?

“No, no, n—” he yelled loudly when I slammed the boulder onto his other hand. The sound of his bones breaking echoed around us. No one moved as I squatted down. He was crying like a baby. “Please, take it off.”?

I looked at the boulder and lifted it with my magic only to slam it down on it again.

“You fucking cunt!”?

I could feel Remiah and Haden staring at me, but I was too far gone in my rage to let up. I did not lose Haden for almost 300 years just for his piece-of-shit father to take him from me again.?Has he always been this way? Did Haden and Remiah have to grow up with this their entire lives? The thought had lightning scattering above us, striking the ground. Thunder raged loudly in the sky as I thought of how scared they must have been their whole lives.

They had never known love or safety. No wonder Haden thought I wouldn’t want him. His parents had made him believe he was unworthy. For fuck’s sake, I was beyond reasoning with.

“Here is how things will be going from now on, Galen. If you lay a single finger on either of your children, I will break every single one of the bones in your body.” He glared up at me. “And just as your body begins to give out and you start dying, I will heal you, and I will do it all over again.”?

I could see the hatred in his eyes as he stared at me. Galen was a stupid man, but excitement coiled in my chest as he opened his mouth to argue with me, just as I was hoping he would.

“Fuck you. You could only overpower me because I was caught off guard and drunk. Those little shits are mine, and I will do whatever I please to them.”?

I clucked my tongue at him.?

“That is where you are wrong, asshole.” I stood up, moving the boulder and forcing him to rise as well. I healed his hands, and he swung at me immediately. I dodged his weak swing, though, and laughed.?

“Storm.” Haden moved forward to protect me, but it only distracted me. Galen took advantage of that and punched me in the face. I felt the blood in my mouth as I shot my magic out to block Haden from coming at me again. Galen smiled smugly.?

Instantly enraged, I pulled my fist back and punched him in the face so hard I knew I broke my own hand in the process. But I healed it just as quickly as I broke it and grabbed Galen by the hair, dragging his ass in front of his children.?

I kicked the back of his legs and forced him to kneel. My chest was heaving so quickly that I thought I would pass out. This fucking bastard.?This motherfucking piece of shit. I was out of control. As I held him in place with my magic and gripped his hair in my hand, yanking it back so painfully, I knew I was on the verge of snapping his neck. Fuck, I might anyway.

“Take a good hard look, Galen. You said they belong to you, but they do not. Haden is mine, and if you ever lay a godsdamn finger on him again, I will slit your throat. Then I will make sure there is not a shred of you left before I send you straight to the depths of hell.” ?

I grabbed his hands with my starlight and squeezed, breaking them all over again. Galen screamed in pain. I summoned a blade and held it against his throat, causing him to shut his mouth immediately.?

“I want to hear you say it. Tell me that you will never touch them again.”?

This time, there was no hesitation in his voice. “I won’t touch them again,” he cried.?

I shoved him to the ground, forcing him to instinctively try and catch himself. I smiled when he yelled in agony as his hands hit the ground. I turned to their mother.?

“And if you ever try and help him hurt your children, I will send your soul straight to fucking hell with your husband.”?

Her face paled, and she nodded frantically. Fuck, I needed to calm the hell down. I was angry enough to start destroying shit. I took a few deep breaths before turning to Haden and Remiah. They were gaping at me.?

Haden was still bleeding, and I took a hesitant step forward, hoping to not scare him. But he didn’t move at all. I lifted my fingers and touched his face softly. He stared at me as I healed his wounds.?

“Are you alright?” I asked.?

“Yes.”?

“I lost my cool,” I sighed, and Remiah laughed. Haden’s lips twitched slightly. “Has he always put his hands on you?”

Haden swallowed hard and nodded.

I turned to his father and, without hesitation, used my magic to snap his arm. He screamed as the crack of bone was heard, and it only made me want to kill him, slowly. Haden grabbed me and turned me. He yanked me to him and hugged me. Instantly my anger subsided. I buried my face into his chest and inhaled deeply. Home. Tears filled my eyes as I held him tighter, like I would wake up and this would just be a dream. I pulled back and looked at him.

“If you need me, just yell for me, and I will come running. If he hurts you, I will kill him next time.”?

Haden nodded.?

His pretty eyes traced over me, and I worried that at any moment he would be repulsed by me and my wrath.

“Does this side of me scare you?” I asked the same question he asked me. I saw a small smirk dance on his lips.?

“No.”?

I made myself invisible to everyone but him and leaned forward, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Haden’s eyes closed softly. The scent of his frost filled my lungs, and I felt more relaxed than I had in 300 years. Home. My home was back.?

I pulled away.?

“Will you be alright staying here?” I looked at his parents.?

“Yes, we will be alright, and if we aren’t, I’ll call for you.”?

I didn’t want to leave him, but he did not ask me to stay. I gave him an awkward wave before disappearing.