Atticus' POV:
Daniel had gone too far. I know he was still hurting and I know he couldn't get close to anyone, but when he said those heartless words to me, it was like I never knew him. After all of those years, all of the memories we shared, he just left me like that. I had put up with his childish behavior before, like the times he drank his pain away, but I couldn't think straight when he said that to me.
"I won't leave you Atticus, not ever."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
I remember that day. He does too, but I guess it didn't matter to him. When I impulsively left the table, I knew that I shouldn't have left Arianna like that. But I wouldn't let her see me like this. Everyone looked at me as if I was a solid wall without emotions or feelings. They thought I was tough, bulletproof. But really? I was hurt. I had nothing besides Daniel and he was the brother I never had. I knew he was a bit crazy at times, but when he was so open with me and he told me all of his feelings and thoughts, it was hard to remember how he could be so heartless.
Arianna was just like me. We both lost our parents and we both were left to fight the big bad world alone. Then Daniel came into our lives and he promised us a future. She was the only one who understood the rejection I was feeling and the hurt. The entire time I thought they he adopted Arianna to give another rag tag kid like me a future.
As I stood in the male bathroom, bent over the sink breathing heavily, I knew that I had to go back. I would give Daniel a piece of my mind and I would make sure Arianna was ok. She was probably real upset too. I mean, she just got back from Union and I couldn't even imagine what she went through. I did know that she was shot in the shoulder. She has already been through hell and putting this on top of it all was horrible. Daniel was heartless
for kicking her out a few months after bringing her home. I only felt some of the pain she was going through and it was awful.
I ran a hand through my thick hair before striding towards the door. When I got angry I did things that I regretted. I never meant to hurt anyone, but my wolf inside demanded me to do things. So I kept my temper as best as I could. Right now, I felt the heat in my chest. Angry thoughts were flooding my mind and I knew that I was close.
I pushed the door open with force. I heard it slam into the wall but that wasn't on my mind. I kept my pace as I crossed the hall towards the double doors leading back to the dining area. As I passed those double doors, I saw a scene that stopped my heart. I couldn't breath, my lungs were contracting. Arianna stood from the table. Even from the distance I was at, the hurt and the pain on her face was heart breaking. Her chin wobbled and her eyes were watery. I know she was feeling self conscious from the way she was looking now, but she was absolutely beautiful. Her hair might be darker and her eyes might have looked different but she was still Arianna. Even the vines on her skin were breath taking. Every moment that I looked at her, I could see her pure beauty and nothing else.
But as she ran from the table, tears streaming down her smooth cheeks, I was frozen. The only thing I could make myself do was call out to her. She didn't turn around. I wasn't going to chase after her, the rage was already built deep in my chest. I wouldn't risk hurting her. She meant so much to me, I couldn't deny that. Being away from her for a month was living hell.
I was so embarrassed when I snapped out of the trance that the whore of a succubus put me under. No one seemed to think it was a big deal, other than me. I let my thoughts and emotions be played with. That would never happen again. I knew that Arianna would think that I was less of a man after what happened, but she seemed to forget it even happened at all. I was relieved, but my paranoia was still nagging at the corners of my mind. But that wasn't important now.
Eaton and his fiance Maria were staring at the empty seat that once held Arianna. They both had a look of concern on their faces. Zaine was yelling obscenities at Daniel while Samantha held onto his arm. She knew very well that his anger was like a ticking time bomb. Zaine looked almost as angry as I felt. Daniel however, sat in his seat with an unreadable look on his face. He didn't look concerned or angry. I could tell that even though he adopted Arianna to go along with his sick plans of revenge, that he found himself loving her like a sister. But I must have been wrong, if that was how he turned things around.
I was shaking just trying to contain myself. Once I reached the table, everyone had their attention turned on me. I glared at Daniel, hated filling my being. I loved Daniel. But this wasn't the same Daniel. He was a monster now. With disgust, I took a shaky breath before speaking. Zaine was quiet now.
"Why? What happened to your promises? Why are you doing this to us?" My voice was strong and raged. But inside I was so weak and tired of the incessant pain. Daniel's face fell for a mere moment as emotion flooded over my face. Those few words spoke a thousand more. I could tell he had memories running wild in his mind.
"Atticus-" I cut Daniel off quickly. Words flooded out of my mouth and they wouldn't stop. Years and years living with him and all of the pain and happiness and promises came down to this. All of the promises and the emotions and the trust and comfort we had built in each other. "Don't 'Atticus' me. After everything, that's all you can say? Coward! What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of losing again? That is so stupid and you know that. After all we have been through and after the trust we built... I wasn't going to leave you. Neither was Arianna. But now you had to ruin the only little family we had left. And I hate you for doing that." I spat out the last words and turned around on my heels.
I needed to release my anger and quick. If I ever let my anger build up, I would explode and hurt people. I didn't want that. It happened before and I still laid awake at night, feeling the guilt eat away at me. I went flying out those double doors. I sprinted right across the lobby and out the front doors. The air invaded my lungs and I welcomed it. The fresh air didn't soothe me in the least. I needed to find something and destroy it.
The rage became near unbearable for my human form. If I wasn't careful, my wolf would come out and reck havoc. With a bolt, I dashed down the street. My arms and legs pumping back and forth. Even in my human form, I was faster than any human.
Kill them.
Hurt them.
Make them pay.
My wolf was screaming in my mind. He was nagging me. I knew very well that he wanted blood and that he was ready to come out soon. I had to get away from the innocent people. I had to protect them from my evil. From my inner wolf. He could be good when he came out on good terms. But like this? He and I could destroy everything in sight during a rage. I hated the lack of control. I hated my trust being broken. I hated Daniel for doing this to me- to us.
I threw myself into a near by alley way. I was hidden in shadows there. Night was nearly arriving as the sun began to set. Night brought my powers out even stronger than day light. But I was hardly aware of my surroundings. I didn't even notice the horrified stares of near by people. No one wanted to be around a freak who was raging. Even I knew that.
I came to the end of the alley way. Piles of trash was along the two, tall walls. I paced back and worth for a few times then suddenly, I sent my fist flying into the red brick wall. A sickening crack filled the air. It wasn't my bones breaking, it was the brick and cement cracking and crumbling to pieces. Then the punches came quicker and faster, as if I were boxing. The wall had a deep indent, but it wasn't enough. The destruction was fueling me, pushing me forward. Pulling my left leg back, I heaved it swiftly into the metal trash can nearby. The metal bent in easily. Seeing what one kick could do, I wanted to see what more damage I could bring. Over and over again, I stomped and kicked the trash can. I destroyed it, crushed it. I slammed my body into the wall and punched it.
I did this until the rage was gone, trickling away from my weary body. The rage was replaced by exhaustion. My body slumped into the wall and I sunk to the ground. Night had falleb and I felt the chill, deep in my bones. But it wasn't really the cold doing it to me. It was the overwhelming reality of being alone. Arianna was probably at the hotel, alone. I was here alone, tearing running down my cheeks. I felt pathetic, but I at least didn't hurt any innocent people.
I was wondering what was going on at the hotel. It was already late, so I had to get back. My knuckles were bloody and bruised, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I wiped the wetness with the back of my palm. With shaky breathe, I stood on weak legs. I had so many emotions flooding through me and I was too exhausted to sort them out.
I made my way mindlessly through the alley and onto the dark streets. To anyone looking at me, I was scary looking, as if I just killed a man. I just killed my anger, that was all.
. . . .
I made it back to the floor that all of our rooms were on. As soon as the elevator doors dinged open, yelling filled my ears. I cringed and walked out weakly from the metal box. Making my way down the hall, I could see two doors opened, light spilling out. I was thankful that the rest of this floor was empty. I knew which doors were opened and it worried me, deeply. Arianna's and Daniel's doors were wide open.
I quickened my pace. I peeked my head into her door way first. Everything was turned upside down. Maria and Samantha were looking around the room desperately, but with no luck. Maria looked up at me, her brunette hair in a mess. A look of panic was written over her cute face. But she was nothing compared to Arianna in my mind. Thinking of Arianna, where was she?
As if reading my mind, Maria said, "We can't find her anywhere!" Her voice was high and squeaky. It was good to see someone actually caring, but dread flowed through me, settling in my stomach. I turned from the room and I crossed the hall to Daniel's room. The door was wide open and inside I could see Zaine and Eaton yelling at Daniel, who paced the room quickly. He held a piece of paper in his hands.
I quickly marched through the doors, the mere look on my face demanding answers. Eaton stopped yelling at turned to me. He nudged Zaine and he turned to. The hard looks on their faces softened when the saw me. I probably looked horrible. "Where is she?" I asked bitterly. "Fuck, she destroyed my room and took my wallet. All that's left is this." Daniel shoved the piece of paper in my hands before returning to his nervous pacing. I read the note carefully.
"I'm sorry for whatever mistake I have made to make everyone hate me so much. But maybe I was always meant to be alone. This must be for the best. Don't worry about me Daniel, but I'm sure that won't be hard. -Arianna "
My heart shattered even more. Her sad words hit me hard. I knew what it was like to feel horribly alone. Arianna was loved dearly by us and even secretly Daniel but his actions pushed her over the edge. "Where could she be? With that much money, she could be anywhere. Anywhere Daniel. You did this." With my words, he turned around sharply, his red eyes growing deeper in shade. He angrily paced my way. "I didn't make her run away and leave the country, did I?" He snapped at me. I flinched. Only his anger scared me. No one else could compare the the aura he left off as anger filled his being.
With a sigh, I lowered my head. "She just left hell. She expected you to be there for her, to rescue her. We are her only family. She trusted you Daniel. She has never known love, or kindness. We don't even know the emotional or physical pain she went through there. And now let's put on the trauma of dying. You kicked her to the curb in a delicate, emotional state. Even if she wasn't hurt, how could you? How could you make promises to that poor girl and break them? She isn't a toy you can just put back." My voice dripped emotion and pain. My tone was soft, but audible. Eaton and Zaine left the room. They were both torn, by their brother's hurtful actions. But I remained still.
"At first, I only cared about getting close to Union. I won't lie about that. But as time went on, I couldn't help but feel close to her. Us three, we were just like a little family. But I couldn't forget about what was important. Bane and Pierce stole my parents from me. I always planned on getting her back from Union, after she led me to them and I got to kill those bastards. Now I realize that the good things will always be taken from you. So what's the point? I don't want you two to be attached to me anymore. I'm not good news. I can't give either of you a family, or protection. I don't want to lose you because of my own actions. It would be better this way." The words spilled out of Daniel's mouth. He was finally opening up to me and showing his real thoughts for the first time in months. I stayed in silence as I waited for him to continue. The crowd had formed in the door way, listening in silence. Daniel continued, his jaw set.
"I thought Arianna would be safe, I didn't even know how she got out but I was so focused on killing that I didn't notice. Once I made it to the safe zone and I saw Arianna dying, I couldn't bare to lose another person because of them... I couldn't lose anyone again. Something snapped in me. She wouldn't be the same after everything that happened. I was right. She didn't even look the same and I knew that she wouldn't want to come home. So I saved myself the pain. Are you happy with that answer?" The pain in Daniel's face mirrored the pain in mine.
All I could manage to say was, "You selfish bastard. We better go find her and bring her home."