A/N: NOT EDITED.
Chapter 23 - No Op-Shuns, No Choice (Kaden POV)
It's morning, late morning I believe. I can feel the rays of the sun, dancing across my face lightly through the thin curtains, and I hold back a moan when I feel her hand, feather soft on my chest, down to my abdomen, and I'm twitching in anticipation for what's coming.
"Ahhhh- daddyyy," I stiffen in a completely different way, Etta's hands stop abruptly and my eyes fly open, "Daddy," I hear Emerson crying, screaming, and all thought of what was previously going to happen - gone.
I'm up on my feet, throwing a shirt on - deflated - and wrenching the bedroom door open - my teens stumble down the stairs - "Daddy!" Emerson shouts, screams, and her voice so high - I hear Smith letting his own wail soon after and rubbing her eyes, Sawyer enters his room.
I'm shaking with adrenaline, ready to attack whoever is hurting my baby, throwing the door open, with Haven bawling sitting up her blue eyes filled with fright - Emerson screams again - holding her head, her normal toothy smile and bright eyes filled with panic.
Shaking, rubbing at her eyes, "Daddy," she cries once again, her body racked with sobs, fat "Emma baby?" I asked worried, pushing aside her thin bed-sheet, looking for signs of injury, "What happ - happened?" Haven cries and I see Ree and Vivian taking her from the bed, carrying her out of the room.
Tiny arms wrap around my neck and she holds tight as I rock us, and Etta places a hand on Emma's back, "shhh," I hush her when she starts back up, "What happen princess?" the words are whispered, my chest has long calmed, but my thoughts have flared.
Emerson wasn't a crier as baby. She was quiet, observant, slept without a pacifier and even when hungry she only fussed. When she was about two, when she could speak, that's when she started crying, throwing her mini tantrums. This ear-piercing scream, shaking - this was nothing I had witnessed from her - and the whimpers that continue now, "Did you have a nightmare Emerson?" Etta coos and for a minute my rocking stops because Emerson didn't have nightmares. She dreamt of pink things, sweet treats and wolves she rode like horses.
"The girl - girl - is - is sweeping - in - in red water," she hiccupped and the hand on her back stilled my eyes opened wide and connected with Etta. She - is this a vision? Did - have you saw something like this? Etta is startled as well, her eyes close and I see her filtering a rush of images, until butterscotch meets bluish-gray. Shaking her head from side to side, Sawyer?
"Do you know the girl Emerson?" her head, face glued to my neck, her warm breath on my collarbone, "westerday she was here," Emerson mumbled, her body shaking again.
"Hey - hey - it's okay, it's okay," my mind racing once again of the people that arrived yesterday, my mother, Christine, my sisters, the Riley women, she met them all yesterday. My eyes went to Etta's who stood, "I'll be right back sweetheart," she murmurs to Emerson leaving the room. When I make a move to stand, the lax hold Emerson has tightens, "No - no."
When the door opens some time later, I look up expectantly, but it's Sawyer, "What happened?" she asks quietly a bottle in her hand and Smith fussing.
"What was your first day-dream like?" I asked as though it were a completely normal thing, knowing that Emerson was listening.
"No op-shuns, no choice," Emerson mumbles.
Sawyer's eyes widened and there's a bit of curiosity and horror on her face, her green eyes leaving mine and going down to Emma. "Well my first day-dream," she pauses glancing down at Smith, rubbing the nipple bottle against his lips until he latches on.
"I was seven, well - a day before my birthday - I dreamt about a gift I would be getting," Sawyer stumbled. "I didn't realize what was going on right away however, it happened again, and after three or four times, I thought something was wrong."
"Did you have a day-dream Emma?" her response in just a whimper.
Leaving one hand on her back, I think of a way to answer the questions in Sawyers eyes without alarming or making things worse. "Was she having a nightmare?" I hear Haven ask Ree and Vivian.
Using my hand I sign the letters for Sawyer.
S-H-E.
S-A-W.
D-E-A-T-H.
Her eyes widened and her head dipped, "That has never happened..." she didn't finish the sentence, not that I needed her too. Blinking she looked away but did a double take, "Who?" the blood draining from her face.
S-O-M-E-O-N-E.
F-R-O-M.
Y-E-S-T-E-R-D-A-Y.
Her relief was palpable. Shoulders hunched, she sighed heavily. A sickening feeling, prickles spike down my back and when I try to link with Etta I feel that her wall is up, "Tristan?" I call for my son, standing, and going to the hallway looking for him.
"Emerson I need to go help mommy, Tristan will keep the bad dreams away okay," I tell her as I peel her from me, and Tristan tries to calm his sister. "Are you going to see my daddy?" Haven asks me when I head down to the first floor. Looking at Vivian and Ree, everyone still in their pajama's I nod, "Yes I'll tell him you want him okay sweetie?" the words rushed slightly more pleased with that she lets herself be distracted by Vivian and Ree.
Shoeless, I enter the already sweltering morning heat and make my way over to the house my family was occupying. As I get outside, my hand on the door, I can hear commotion inside, crying, screams, and pushing it open I am face to face with a gray faced Etta, her eyes blank and Cain behind her. Behind the two of them, my mother and father are on the sofa, she's screaming unintelligibly - and my father ever stoic rocks them as I was with Emerson just then. It's not my mother, I think relieved. Grace and Rachel - my twin and other sister - come with tear-stained faces and sit shell shocked next to my mother.
"This - this is her fault - get - get our - get our daughter!" Jenny shrieks hysterical coming down from the steps, the front of her shirt bloodied, her eyes darting around the room, blackened against red lids. I look at Cain once again and I know. Etta touches my shoulder, it's brief and calming, and slowly Cain turns to Jenny.
"You want me to bring our five year old daughter to see you like this? To see this house like this? You've tracked blood everywhere Jenny," his voice, calm, lowered and soothing but she shook her head and then it was like she was seeing me for the first time.
"You did this! You bastard! You did this to her!" in an attempt not to be rude I held in my response. The snort and just as loud scoff that was right there, fighting to get out at the ridiculousness of everything she just said I held back. "I'm sorry for you loss," I said dryly.
Jenny shook her head back and forth slowly, "How - can you be so cruel? You have everything - all she wanted was you... you brought us here and paraded your family in her - in her face..." Jenny shouted, her body shaking, her hands clenched into fists at her side and Cain was blocking her. Keeping her away from me. Not to protect me, but the other way around, I knew that. As emotional as Jenny was right now, ruled only by emotions, fury and sadness, mixed together for shifters was destructive. But even with her emotions leading her right now, I'd shred her within minutes.
I don't know how long I stand in the same spot, but Jenny's eyes focus on Cain, his back to me, her eyes revealing her every emotion now, the sadness falling down her cheek silently as her eyes burn furiously. When the door opens and I glance to my side I see John, in the same mussed up state as I was he shakes his head at me and looks at Jenny. Eyes wide he bypasses everyone else and I realize that - the grief they're all feeling - I don't belong here right now.
I'm not unfeeling, but the words I said yesterday rang true, I wasn't mourning for Lana, I wasn't feeling anything - she had long stopped being my mate when she rejected me. We had been intimate but again, it was like I told my children, with the wrong person, it didn't matter and it couldn't compare.
Taking a step back, and then another, I leave them all inside the house to deal with their grief... sighing, running over all the ways that this could turn problematic. With Etta's spell in place, the minute anyone got the mindset to hurt my family, they would be put down, but the larger part of me didn't want it to get that far. I'd give them space, because just like I wouldn't be with Lana, I wouldn't mourn her death either. Knowing that John would keep an eye on all this, I opened the door and went inside.
"Uncle Kaden you didn't bring my daddy," Haven noted.
Blinking, I bent down to her level, "Well... your daddy is helping your mommy with something, when he's all done, he's going to come get you... until then... what do you say to breakfast and then going to the beach with Emerson, Ree and the rest of us?" I asked in a hush whispered.
"We can make a castle?" her attention easily diverted, I nod and in the way Emerson does when she's excited, Haven claps her hands jumping in place.
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