Darkness Sheds into Light {Watty 2012}

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

It didn’t sit well with Ariana that Hal didn’t look all that surprised to see them. She clutched her weapons tight, her blade in one hand and a gun in another, just in case Hal had something up his sleeve.

Hal stood from his chair and glanced at her and Jax. “It seems you went and got caught up with the enemy again. You called me father, have you remembered your past off the medication?”

It felt like a kick to the teeth to hear him admit with ho hesitation that yes he brainwashed her and took her memories away without a care in the world. “Oh yeah, I’m a hundred percent.” She refused to give him the satisfaction to know what he did would affect her for the rest of her life. “Were you expecting us?”

“When I heard about the level 5 code being rung I suspected you were close. It was a smart move sending my men on a wild goose case.” Hal’s eyes were dark with anger he wasn’t expressing in his words.

Marc appeared at the doorway. “Thank you. You didn’t think I’d be sitting this out, did you?” he said to Ariana with his eyes never leaving Hal. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”

Hal shrugged, he was expression a lot of emotions but none of them were fear. “I think we all suspected one day this time would come. I should’ve killed you when I had the chance.” He said to both Marc and Jax. “You ruined my daughter’s life.”

“No.” Ariana interrupted. “You did that all on your own and to make matters worse you stole my child and tries to turn her against her kind just like you did with me. You taught me how to kill and how to hate…” it wasn’t as easy as she thought it would be to face the puppeteer of all her nightmares.

“I gave you a purpose and my only regret was not thinking of it sooner. All those years focused on school and you were introduced to the biggest downfall.”

“I chose Jax, I never chose what you did to me.”

“I guess your memories aren’t fully back because you did choose to come fight by my side to save your precious alpha.” Hal cut marc a dirty look, out of the three of them the one he hated the most was him.

“No. It’s called blackmail and if you looked it up I’m pretty sure there’s a picture of you. How does this end? You suspected we’d come especially after I took Livvy right from under your nose.” The way his jaw line tensed and his heart beat speed up with anger let her know finding Livvy hadn’t been a trick but a blessing. It was a relief to know he wasn’t trying to use her daughter against them and that she was finally free from this horror.

“Where’s Bradley?”

“Under lock and key waiting for me to heal the ugly bite I gave him. I thought it’d be fun to take a chunk out of him he tasted as rotten as I thought.” It was petty and sadistic but Ariana was enjoying this. For so many years they had the upper hand and all the cruel words, it was her turn.

“And what do you have planned for me?” Hal asked with more curiosity than anything else.

Marc answered. “You’re not leaving this room alive. Your crew that ran out to stop the wolves will never be able to help you again.”

 “All those times you tried to convince me you were the good wolf never harming others.” Hal spat.

Marc shrugged. “You made the first move and their blood is on your hands. How long did you expect us to sit back while you forged a civil war and killed us in our homes, in our beds asleep with no threat to the public? This story ends here and you won’t be around for the final scene.” He moved farther into the office and pushed Hal back into his seat. “Jax, you and Ariana need to get out of here.”

“What?” She demanded. “This is my—”

“No.” Marc met her eyes. “You don’t need to carry this burden. What you need to do is go home and be with your family. I promised you and myself a long time ago I’d fix this and now is that time. Go home and trust me.”

Ariana stared at him and didn’t know what to feel anymore. He was giving her an out to walk away and go find her normal life again, to reconnect with her family still waiting to be remembered. It was a gift he was handing her and she didn’t know how to grasp it.  She had killed a lot in the last two years but killing Hal would be different and Marc knew it because one of these days she was going to remember Hal the loving father she once knew and everything would get much more complicated leaving the memories of his blood on her hands painful.

Jax wrapped his arm tight around her shoulders. “Let’s go. It’s over now and you’re free.”

Ariana blinked and looked between the two most important men in her life; Jax and Marc who was asking her to trust him and she found that was something she could do with her eyes closed. She had no doubt he’d make sure Hal could never hurt them or any other shifter again. “Ok.” It was over and it didn’t have to end with a big fight and blood dripping from her hands. She wasn’t quite sure what to think about that as she followed Jax out of the compound because she had been taught the end always had a big battle scene.

“What are you thinking?” Jax asked as they got inside his car. Marc’s friends were patrolling the area and waiting for him to drive him back home.

“I’m thinking I don’t want this on and I’m glad I left my own clothes under it.” She pulled off the hunter’s uniform and tossed it out the window. “I don’t really know what to do now. In my head when I planned for this moment it was a lot harder and it ended a lot differently.” So many nights she imagined her own death at the hands of Hal and Bradley dealing that fatal blow as she took them both out. Without Hal having his loyal puppet it was much easier to catch him painlessly.

“It helps having a pack on your side. We’re stronger together and yes smarter. I know you’re the super soldier but none of this would’ve worked if we hadn’t acted as a pack.”

“I know.” She agreed softly. “I can admit when I’m wrong and I was wrong in trying to push you all away and take this on by myself. I’m not wishing this could’ve turned out like I always thought it would. I’m happy we’re together and uninjured and so are everyone we care about. I guess what I feel is disbelief.”

Jax reached over and grabbed her hand, kissing her across the fingers. “Well believe it because Hal will never command a group of hunters to target us again and everyone who followed his rule blindly is gone.”

“Not quite, there’s still Bradley.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I want to kill him but I gave him my word and if I broke it I’d be no better than him and Hal. If I hadn’t gotten him to crack and tell us everything we’d still be stuck at step one waiting for them to strike against us.” Again she never thought she’d see the picture this way, she had been blood thirsty for so long and hungry for revenge that now that she got it she could see the situation from another point of view.

“You don’t owe him anything.”

“I know I know, but humans run in packs too and without one Bradley is nothing. Everyone he’s ever relied on is gone and he’ll roam the world alone and weak. He deserves that much more.”

There was nothing left to decide or to figure out. It was time to go back home and pick up the pieces of their lives and put them back together the way they should’ve always been.