Bloodbond

Chapter 28

"Nadia, what do you think you're doing?" asked her mother sternly.

Nadia barely spared her mother a glance while answering her. "Shut up, mother. This is none of your concern." Who else wanted to slap this chick? Well, get in line because I'm going first. She really knew how to push people over the edge.

"How dare you speak to your mother that way. What has gotten in to you?" said Daniel in disbelief. Really? Were you all that blind to what a conniving, two-faced, bitch she was? Come on now. She wasn't that good at hiding it. How was I one of the few who actually saw it? This was just too much for me.

"All of this is her fault," she pointed her finger at me. "She is weak and it's obvious that idiotic blood bond didn't work. Gabriel was trying to protect her from Walker. None of this would have happened if she hadn't been such a selfish, weak bitch." She threw her words in my face and I flinched automatically.

What really sucked is that part of me agreed with her. I was already struggling with blaming myself for the way things had gone; having my least favorite person hurl my own guilty thoughts at me made me feel a hundred times worse than I had before.

Because I was thinking the same thing as Nadia, I found it difficult to respond. Thankfully, her mother stepped in for me.

"Nadia! I will not tolerate your disrespect any further. If you want to take the same path as your father, then fine. But I will not allow you to do so with my pack. If you cannot learn to keep your mouth shut, then you will leave, are we understood?" I felt my eyes bulge and my jaw drop slightly. The last time I'd seen this woman, she had been meekly standing by the side of her husband and daughter. Who knew she had a backbone?

When I turned to look back over at Nadia, I saw that her expression mirrored mine. Apparently I wasn't the only one who had underestimated her mother. But hey, go Natasha! It's about time someone else put Nadia in her place and who better to do it than her mother?

"Now, Daniel and I were having a private conversation with Cassia, so if you don't mind, please close the door on your way out." The emphasis that Natasha put on the word 'private' made it clear that she wasn't including Nadia. I swear, my insides were having a little party right now. It was so sad that I felt such joy in another person's humiliation, but it was Nadia. I couldn't help it.

Nadia stood there a moment longer, until Daniel pointedly cleared his throat. She then turned on her heal in a huff and closed the door forcefully. I was still staring at the door, my eyes wide with surprise and my mouth open a bit when I heard Natasha clear her throat to get my attention.

I turned my head to face her. "Sorry."

Natasha inclined her head to let me know that she had heard me before speaking. "I apologize for my daughter's behavior. She has always been headstrong and stubborn, just like her father. I see that I may need to cure her of certain tendencies, but that will have to wait for the moment. Now, back to our conversation."

Her words brought me back to the reason I had burst in here to begin with. "Yes. Gabriel," I said.

Natasha's face sank slightly and my heart began to beat faster. "He is with Madame Lavoie," she finally stated.

"So he's alright then?" I asked hopefully.

She sighed. "Not exactly."

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I watched trees fly past the window as the car steadily made its way higher up the mountain. So many thoughts were swilrling around in my head that I needed to lose myself in the scenary. Not once since I'd gotten into the car had I looked over at Daniel or Natasha. I could feel their worried glances bounce off the back of my head, but I kept my gaze fastened to the window.