Forget Me Not (Forgotten Series Companion Chapters)

Broken Bonds

"There's my little Elsie! My little girl!" The voice cut straight through me as he tossed her up into the air and then caught her as she shrieked with laughter. "Did you have fun with ojiisan and a-ma this weekend?" He asked it so warmly and the little girl nodded, pressing her tiny hands to her face. "That's good, my girl. I'm glad you had fun!" My heart sank in my chest, landing in my stomach as I watched my brother adjust the little girl in his arms, holding her close as he limped towards the mundane female. His form was back up to what it used to be, he was back up in form and that thought terrified me, it did, but it also hurt me to see. He had been okay, he had been fine. We had only seen his leg as a detriment as something that would bar him from ever getting better but there he was, standing straight and standing large.

"I missed you, Elsie. Are you ready to go home?" He sounded so fucking happy. I watched as he moved over to the mundane female and I realized why she was so familiar. That was his mate. My heart pounded rapidly and I looked at the little black girl. That was my niece, that little girl was family, and it hurt because some bonds couldn't heal. I knew they couldn't, not when it came to our parents.

They hadn't accepted Bastian's Asian mate, a black granddaughter? I closed my eyes to the reality of it. It would never happen.

"Bastian-chan! You are looking well!" Ricky's voice was jovial and welcoming and I opened my eyes and watched as Bastian embraced the older male with a grin.

"Of course, papa. Probably look better if I ate more of a-bu's cooking though." He looked so at ease and so fucking happy as they chuckled warmly.

"Isn't that the greatest truth?" Riku grinned, looking more than proud.

"Thank you for taking Elsie for the weekend and bringing her here. Lynn and I appreciate it." He grabbed Riku's shoulder and gave him a warm smile. The type of smile he used to give our father, the type of smile he used to give me. It made my chest ache.

Riku waved him off. "It is no problem! Eiko and I love having Elsie over. We have great fun, don't we?" He reached over and grabbed the little girl's tummy as she giggled and nodded happily.

Bastian turned to the mundane female. "Come, love. Let's get everything packed up to head home. I don't want Elsie here more than she should be." I closed my eyes again. His voice was strong and the timbre was so utterly familiar to me. It had been years since I had heard it but it comforted me just like it used to when I was little. I wanted to lean into it, to hide inside of it. I wanted to tell him about what happened yesterday, I wanted to tell him I saw it when I closed my eyes or when my brain was still but I knew I couldn't.

Not now.

Not ever.

Some broken bonds could never be mended and I opened my eyes. I watched as he kissed the mundane female, holding her tight to his chest before he jostled the little girl. He smiled, looking between the two of them as if he were looking at the riches he had gained in his life, as if he were looking at the most precious things in the universe. He looked at them like they were his whole world and I understood in that moment that they were.

"Did you finish everything you needed with Azrael and your Beta duties?" His mate asked it softly and I watched as be nodded. Mountain Beta. He was a Mountain Beta. That was like a kick to the stomach. Even without the Claim I now held, even with his leg, Bastian had surpassed me in power and in what I knew was prestige. It was enough to make me sweat, to run away and never look back. He could take everything from me, he could destroy everything I worked for since his accident.

But that tiny part of me still wanted to call out his name and hug him tight.

"Come on, Sev." Aiden grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back from the scene I was watching, pulling me back to reality where I couldn't see them, couldn't talk to them, couldn't feel much of anything towards the brother who had all but walked away. Who could destroy everything I had created in the past two years. So I let Aiden pull me away, let him pull me from the room as I left my brother with his family, the one he had created without us.

"My brother is happy." I said it softly as I walked beside Aiden. I ignored the look he gave me as he slowed to stop. "And that's all I want for him." To be happy. I wanted him to grow old with his female, to love that daughter of his until she was old and grey. I wanted him to be who he was, stay where he was. I wanted him to be happy, even if it was without us. Especially without us and that thought hurt.

Some bonds couldn't be mended. I could understand that, I knew that was the case. I held my head high and walked further and further away from my big brother. Tears filled my eyes but I fought them back, they weren't necessary.

I wanted him to be happy. And I knew he could never be with us in his life. Sometimes the best thing to do for the ones you loved was to simply let go, to walk away and let them live their life without you.

And so I did.