Not One, But Three | ✔

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four - Brotherly Love

KARA

14th December

I woke up a little later than usual and Connor was already gone. I looked at my phone to check the time and noticed the date.

Daniel passed on this day.

I put my phone down and tried to prevent the tears from pooling out of my eyes.

'Dan wouldn't want you to cry. He just wanted you to smile.'

I calmed myself down, got up from the bed, and went to the bathroom to clean up a little. I did my morning routine quickly, threw on a dark blue hoodie that I sto- I mean- borrowed from Connor and black leggings, and went down to the dining room.

***

When I arrived, most were already eating breakfast. I sat in between Connor and Jake and ate my pancake quietly, silently planning to visit Daniel later in the afternoon. I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Connor shaking me gently, pulling me out of my trance.

"Huh? What?"

"Kara, you okay?" he asked, Jake looking concerned too.

"I'm fine. Just tired," I forced a smile out. They didn't look convinced but dropped the topic anyway. Connor kissed my temple, "If you say so. If anything's bothering you, you know you can tell me, right?"

I nodded. After breakfast, I quickly went up to my office, ready to take on a day full of work. My original plan was to make myself busy so I wouldn't think much about my late brother, but Mr. No Work had something else in mind when he barged into the office.

"Alright, something's going on with you."

I shrugged as Jake sat in the leather chair in front of me. I sighed, "I'm working. Could you be a great mate and leave me alone? Please?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, "You never sound cranky. Your voice and demeanor are always sweet. Something's off about you today."

"Can you just let me work in peace?" I almost snapped.

"Kara, just tell me what's wrong-"

"Nothing's wrong, okay?!"

I slammed my hands on the desk, Jake winced at the loud impact. Only then I noticed that the desk had a crack in it, and my little outburst scared the crap out of my mate. I got up and jumped over the desk and him and bolted out of the room.

I'm sorry. – Kara

I mind linked Jake to quickly apologize first before picking up my speed towards the garden. I ran out of the house and into the path with empty soil on either side. I slowed down my pace and walked along the concrete. I stopped at one of the big oak trees that were pretty far away from the main path and sat down against the bark.

That's when I allowed myself to cry my heart out.

Kitten, where are you? – Jacob

He sounded really worried, but I didn't want to burden him with my problems. I didn't want to burden anyone.

I'm fine. Just give me some peace and quiet. I'll be back soon. – Kara

Tell me where you are. You masked your scent and I can hear from your voice that you're clearly not fine. – Jacob

I masked my scent? Must've done that on instinct.

Are you sure you're okay, Kara? I'm here for you, you know.

'Yeah, I'm fine.'

If you say so. I'll give you some space.

And with that, I felt her walking to the back of my head to rest in her own little cocoon. Soon, tears stopped flowing and I just sat there, staring at the snow-covered dead flower patch.

"Oh, Wolverine! There you are."

Jake came and sat beside me. He cupped my face in his hand and tugged my head to look at him. He gingerly ran his thumb across my cheek, touching the tear streaks that had formed from the salty liquid drying up.

"Why were you crying, kitten?"

"It's nothing."

He frowned slightly at my answer, clearly not happy about it. He scooted closer, "Care to tell me the truth?" I shook my head. Daniel's my business, I wanted today to be kept a secret. I wanted to visit him alone and talk to him.

But, I didn't want to be as tight-lipped about him to Jake as I was to Kyle, even though he's my best friend. So I told him.

"My brother passed on this day 12 years ago."

He seemed taken aback by the news, but quickly regained composure and wrapped his arms around me.

"Oh, kitten. You could've told me, or at least told Connor."

"Speaking of Connor, where is he?"

"He's inside freaking out. He tried mind linking you but you blocked everyone out after abruptly breaking my connection."

I nodded. He came closer, "Now, why didn't you tell any of us?"

"I didn't wanna burden you guys with my own things."

He frowned, "You're never a burden to anyone here. When can you see that? Stop carrying all the weight on your shoulders when you could be giving us some of it."

I laughed humorlessly, "That's deep coming from you." He scratched the back of his neck, "Having a mate can change someone."

I shook my head jokingly.

A little short but there's one more chapter before a special one. Thank you for choosing to read NOBT. Please leave a vote and comment! It means a lot to me.

See you!

-Phantom