♡ START A WAR, KLERGY ♡
T H A D D E U S
When your parents tell you as a young pup that when you meet your mate you'll love them like no other, they fail to explain just how much. How much you'll love them. How much they'll love you. How much you'll hurt them. How much they'll hurt you.
That's exactly how I feel. I've felt Tiffany kissing someone else. I've now experienced the pain she's been experiencing while I was with Mark. That's not something I've been able to come to terms with. I've hurt her. She's hurt me. Are we even? Or will there be more?
Suddenly, my body grows cold. Shivers ran through my body. I get a bad feeling. The pit in my stomach grows. I frown at the feeling. I cough harshly. I feel something trickle down the side of my mouth. I wipe it away and look. A red liquid glistened in the light.
Blood.
Something’s wrong.
I hear commotion outside in the hallway from my bedroom.
“Jason, we’ve got to go!” I faintly hear Samantha yell for Tiffany’s father.
“What’s wrong?” I hear him reply.
“It’s Tiffany. Something’s happened,” Samantha says.
I freeze. Everything comes together. The coldness, the shivers, and the blood. All signs of a mate dying. I rush out of the room. I follow the sound of Samantha’s voice. I find them, Samantha, Jason, and Seth, in the living.
“What’s going on? I heard the commotion from my bedroom,” I ask.
“Nothing. Everything is fine,” Seth is curt.
Samantha looks at him sternly. She smiles at me.
“Everything is fine, Thaddeus.”
I cough blood again.
“I don’t think so,” I talk through the blood.
“Oh, my Gods,” Samantha gasps in realization. “Let’s go. We’ve got to get Thaddeus to the hospital too.”
Jason wraps his arm around my back. My arm goes around his shoulder.
“We’ll talk about this later, understood?” he whispers.
“Yes, sir,” I reply.
Jason and Seth settle me in the back of the car. Samantha hands me a napkin. I take it from as I start coughing again.
"How do you know what's happening to me?” I ask her.
Samantha sighs. “What’s happening to you, happened to me with Mason.”
That’s all the reply I got. I knew exactly what she meant. I was young when it happened, but everyone knew. Alpha Coulson would be alive today had the Luna not been kidnapped during a rogue attack.
~*~
When we walk into the hallway leading to Tiffany’s room, I don’t like what I see. In fact, when I see them all I want is to beat them up. It doesn’t matter if one of them is female. They did this. They are the reason why Tiffany is in that room right now.
“This is your fault,” I sneer.
“What are you talking about?” I hear Jason ask from somewhere.
“They’re the ones supplying your daughter with drugs,” I confess.
“What?” Samantha shrieks.
“Is everything okay here?” a nurse rushes over.
“Yes, everything is fine. Thank you,” Seth replies. Directing himself back to the ones named Tina and Tom, he says, “You two should leave. You’ve done enough.”
I slip past them all into Tiffany’s room. Tiffany is wide awake, staring at the ceiling. I close the door behind me. She’s hooked up to several machines.
“I have a request,” I say softly. “Don’t do that again.”
Tiffany flinches and turns to look at me. Tears tumble out of her eyes when she sees me. I rush toward her. I sit in a chair next to her. I gently take her hand into mine. Tears of my own blur her out.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“Promise me you’ll never try something stupid again. You’re not allowed to leave like that. If you need space, I’ll give that to you. So, I need you to listen to me. I’m only going to say this once. I do not accept your rejection, Tiffany Smith,” I announce to her.
“You’re still with Mark,” she replies.
“Mark is not my mate. You are,” I counter-argue.
I stand from the chair and twist myself to fit into the bed with her. I pull her toward me until her head rests against my shoulder.
"I want us to be able to move on. To do that we need to try. You need to stop with the drugs. I will deal with Mark," I say.
Tiffany is quiet for a long time. The silence drags out. I'm about to ask her is she understands when she replies.
"Thank you."
It's not the reply I was expecting.
"For what?" I ask.
"For being here. I needed it," she replies.
"You're welcome," I answer. "Though, it's not the only reason why I'm here."
That perks up Tiffany's attention. Her head lifts up so she can see me.
"What other reason is there?"
Her eyes tell me she's afraid to ask the question. I out my hand into my pocket. I fish out the bloody napkin for her to see. She gasps.
"If you die, I die," I say.
"Is that--?" She trails off.
"Blood? Yes," I confirm.
She gaps at the napkin. "That's crazy."
She settles her head back onto my shoulder.
"It is," I reply.
We stay in silence. We both fall asleep, eventually. Today has been a bunch of crap.