Misty II

Malina

A part of my heart was taken away.

Thrown away to the infamous monsters like a plaything. By my first-born.

Only if I knew that the two months of living with her would cost me an eternity of living without her.

What kind of justice was this? As if I was given punishment for spending time with Misty. As if living with her family was a sin.

"Cut the imports. Cut the exports. We don't want their fur, pickles, or fishes. We will not send them our medicines, gadgets, or carpets. There will be no exchange anymore," I announced, in my shaky voice, tears forming at the back of my eyes.

Alyssa's eyes twitched as they lowered down on my bandaged arm.  Thomas shifted uncomfortably in his chair on the other side of the table, beside hers.

"One of the packs is of your brother, and Aunt Kate's brother too. Another one is Alyssa's home," said Thomas lightly, his eyes holding blankness while he stared at the registers on the table.

"No, this is my home," Alyssa said, making him blink calmly. "There is no need for considering those members of our family when they didn't even help us," she said, churning my stomach.

Thomas' nostrils flared while my throat vibrated hard.

"Ryan was supporting us," I told them. "But his Alpha was ready to create a War. A War is what I'll give him. . ."

"Malina."

The voice came from the right side of the room. My mate was standing beside his big portrait, staring at the little photo pasted beside it with a big label—'My favorite daughter.'

"We can't stop the exchange. We don't want to. You don't mean those words. Because you know how important the exchange is," he said firmly, his voice echoing in the room. "What we can do is think of every way to bring her back. Our focus should not be on celebrating hatred with the packs. They did what they had to as followers of the Moon Goddess. Now, we must do what we have to for the human whose responsibility we hold."

"Responsibility?" I asked humorlessly, my eyes turning moist. "She is a part of my heart. Since the moment I have woken up, all I feel is this terrifying pain in my heart. Someone is continuously poking, peeling off, and nailing at that empty space inside my heart. As if someone is hurting her. . ."

He didn't turn around and kept staring at that photo of him and my daughter that was clicked after an hour of baby Misty's requests for a pic with her Dad on his lap.

My heart would swell at the change of behavior, remembering Gilbert's performance two nights ago in trying to stop the worst from happening. But then, it would shrink back in fear of rising my hopes and later, get disappointed.

"No one is hurting her," he said quietly. "With the way she was thrown across the borders, she would definitely be sore at places or worse, injured. The Lycans would either take care of her or let her mate do it. . ."

"That's the most unusual thing I have ever heard in my life, father. We don't know them. No one has seen their lifestyle. The females never came back, never showed up." Thomas said through gritted teeth, his eyes bloodshot and glossy.

His nostrils flared as he turned his head to look at Gilbert. "Father, we have to do something. Misty is not any other trained she-wolf. She wasn't meant to be there. We need to make a deal with the Lycans or try another way. Let's just drive a fast car into their territory—" he stopped when Alyssa grabbed his forearm, making him breathe heavily.

"We don't have much time," he mumbled lowly. "Misty is injured and away from us, stuck into their territory. Maybe, this is the chance we find out what's there. Even if it takes some collateral damage but we bring back Misty, that's important. An innocent human life can't be sacrificed for a deadly Lycan whom she is far far away from mentally and emotionally. We owe her. That debt will always stay unpaid. That's a blot on humanity she believes, there is in us too, even if it is lesser than her."