Chapter 74

~Eliana~

“Mum, do you think they will like me?” Ian asked, as soon as we stepped down from the taxi, and got into his new school’s compound.

“Of course, they will. You’re a likeable person. If anyone doesn’t like you, it’s their loss, not yours,” I told him.

He wore a smile on his face. “Okay, mum,” He said.

I bent down a little bit, and adjusted his shirt. “If anyone picks on you, try to ignore them. You can leave the class after taking permission from your teacher, so that you won’t have to explode. After your first transformation, it will be harder for you to control your anger, so you mustn’t stay in a place that will only drive you nuts the longer you stay there. Do you understand?” I asked him.

He nodded his head, in the affirmative. “Yes, mum. I’ll try to control my abilities, and if it’s getting hard for me to control, I’ll hide in the restroom till I cool off,” He said.

“And what must you do to cool off?” I asked him.

“I must recite my mantra,” He replied.

“And what, pray tell, is your mantra?” I asked him.

“I have nothing to fear, I have nothing to lose, I have nothing to prove. So, now, who do I choose to be?” He responded.

A smile appeared on my face. “And who do you choose to be, my love?” I asked.

“I choose to be like every other six-year-old,” He replied.

“Good. So, should you get upset about anything or feel your claws shooting out, just go to the restroom and recite that mantra, and always remember to choose being a six-year-old, and not a werewolf,” I told him.

“I’ll choose the right thing, mum,” He said, with a toothy grin.

I ruffled his hair. “Good boy. Should anyone truly pick on you, please, let me know, okay? I know you’re a strong kid who can handle it, but don’t keep it away from me like when we were in Canada. As your mother, I deserve to know if anyone is making your life a living hell. Besides, if you don’t tell me, they won’t be reported, which will make them feel like what they’re doing is right. If the principal gets to know about it, they’ll be punished, and they’ll leave you alone. Hopefully, they’ll also change their ways,” I said.

He nodded his head. “Okay, mum. I promise not to hide anything from you,” He told me.

“Good. Now, hurry up before the bell rings,” I said.

“Bye,” He said, and began to run off.

“Have a good time in school, baby. I love you,” I called after him.

He turned around, still wearing a wide grin. “I love you, too, mum. More than you’ll ever know,” He said, and hurried away, after waving goodbye to me.

It was refreshing to see that he was really excited about starting school all over again, even though his school was quite a long distance from our home. There were many schools that weren’t far from the Lake House, but they weren’t as good as the one I had enrolled Ian in.

Ian had passed their tests with a perfect score, and he had instantly been granted an admission. The principal of the school was an annoying nag, who seemed to complain about everything, and had refused to give him an admission if he couldn’t provide his certificate and transfer letter from his previous school. I didn’t bring along his certificates, and realised they had been in a shelf which I had sold in our hurry to come back to Los Angeles. Also, I didn’t receive a transfer letter from his school, and I had to go through a long process to obtain it via mail.

I had been at a loss on what to do till Ian reminded me of who his father was. With a single call, Alistair spoke sense to the stiff woman, and everything had been resolved. Alistair had helped on the condition that Ian answered the surname, “Duke", which wasn’t much of a big deal since Ian also preferred the surname, as long as my parents didn’t find out.

I had left the school’s compound, and was now standing in front of the gate, waiting for a taxi that could take me back home.

While waiting, I couldn’t help but wonder why Alistair hadn’t showed up to see Ian in his uniform as he resumed school today, just like he had promised. Thankfully, Ian had been too excited and worried at the same time to remember that Alistair had failed to fulfil his promise.

“Eliana,” I heard Alistair call.

Had he been reading my thoughts? I doubted if werewolves possessed such ability, but I knew for sure that it was only coincidental that he had showed up right in front of me at the exact same time I had been thinking of him.

“Hey,” I said, standing directly in front of him.

“I can’t believe I missed Ian’s first day of school. I really wanted to be there,” He noted.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not the first time he’s attending school, you know,” I said.

“But it’s the first time he’s attending this particular school,” He argued.

“Whatever. It’s not a big deal, is it? I’m sure Ian doesn’t even mind,” I said.

He ran his hands through his hair. “Aren’t you worried about him?” He asked.

I shook my head. “Why should I be?’ I retorted.

“You do realise he can turn into a werewolf, right? Aren’t you scared he might be seen as a freak, or that werewolves are going to be revealed to be more than just a fictional tale?” Alistair asked.

I gave a mild chuckle. “You shouldn’t worry about that. He’ll be just fine,” I said, and attempted to start leaving.

Just like I anticipated, he stopped me from going by grabbing my wrist. Then, he made me turn back around to face him.

“What are you doing?” I asked, eyeing him, with annoyance written all over my face.

“How can you be so sure that he’ll be fine? Why aren’t you worried? Aren’t you his mother?” He asked me.

I slapped his hand away from my wrist, which he was still holding on to. “Of course, I’m his mother, and I worry about him all the time. However, time and time again, he has proven that all the worrying I do are just in vain, because even though he might just be six years old, he’s more than capable of taking care of himself,” I said.

“You’re sure?” He asked.

“Is that even a question? You’ve known him for a few weeks, and I’ve known him for more than six years. I carried him in my womb and gave birth to him. Of course, he can take care of himself. If you doubt that, perhaps, you can stand by the window in his classroom to make sure he’s fine,” I said, almost raising my voice at him.

“Perhaps, I’m going to do just that, and I’m sure he’s going to appreciate the fact that someone is looking out for him. He’s still a kid, and even if he acts like he can take care of himself, he wants care and attention deep down. I was also like that once. He’s my son, I would know,” He retorted, in the same tone of voice I had used.

I scoffed. “Funny how you’re acting like you’ve been a father to him all these years. You’re pretending to be so good just so you can cover up your wicked nature. I have been his mother, and we have lived just fine, even without you in the picture. I understand him better than anyone, and I sure as hell know that he’ll be offended if you go and stick your face in his classroom window as if he doesn’t know what he’s doing. That may even trigger his transformation in case you don’t know,” I argued.

“I didn’t mean what I said literally. I was only joking when I said I was going to stand by the window of his classroom since you suggested it like I’m some kind of dumbass who doesn’t know what he’s doing. I was only worried about my son, and the best you could have done is advise me not to worry in a calm way, instead of reminding me that I missed six years of being a part of Ian’s life as if it’s my fault. You’re the one who hid his existence away from me, and I would never have just started to worry about him now if I had known six years ago that you were expecting my child,” Alistair said.

“So, now, it’s my fault? Have you forgotten what you did to me? I don’t regret hiding Ian’s existence away from you. It’s payback for what you did to my family,” I said.

“Even after I explained to you that all I did was to get revenge on them for killing my parents?” He asked, seeming hurt.

I scoffed. “Sounds like a good excuse,” I said.

“You don’t feel bad for the death of my parents? Wouldn’t you have wanted to take revenge on anyone that killed your parents right before your eyes? What did I ever do that was so wrong?” He questioned.

“What you did that was so wrong is that you punished innocent people,” I said.

“What?” He asked, looking confused.

“I didn’t want to tell you this because I didn’t want to add to the guilt you’ve been feeling, and also because Carrie informed me that you’ve been seeing a therapist. She and Garrett informed me that you were on the verge of having a mental breakdown, and you’ve been seeing a therapist ever since then, but I guess you must know the truth,” I told him.

“What truth?” He asked.

“My parents had nothing to do with your parents’ death,” I replied.

He laughed out loud, in a hysterical manner. “Now, you’re talking gibberish, no offence. Aunt Salome and the elders confirmed that it was definitely The Venators handwork, and said I assisted them,” He said.

“My parents had nothing to do with it,” I said, firmly.

“Even if they weren’t the ones who attacked my parents, they’ve also killed other werewolves as well. I didn’t know where the rest of The Venators were, but the ones around had to suffer for it,” He said, in his defence.

“My parents hunt only the werewolves who hunt them. They don’t kill for no reason, and they never supported their family in what they did to your parents. In fact, it was after that incident that they cut ties with the rest of their family members who went to New Mexico,” I explained.

“You’re lying, aren’t you?” He accused, with his lips trembling, as he struggled to believe what I had just told him.

“I’m telling the truth, Alistair. My parents may be annoying, but they’re not murderers, and you carried out your revenge on the wrong people,” I said.

A tear slid down his face, as his eyes twitched, trying to grasp the information he had just received. “I...I don’t know. I made a huge mistake,” He stuttered, with tears rolling down his eyes in torrents.

“That’s why taking matters into your own hands is not the right thing to do. Revenge is not for you to decide, and in every revenge story, there is never a happy ending. You’ll wake up everyday and remember what you did to innocent people, and you’ll never be at peace with yourself. What did you gain from your silly revenge now? What?” I asked him, not feeling pity even though it was obvious that he was truly sorry and remorseful.

“I’m sorry,” He said, and he kept on repeating it.

“Don’t tell me sorry anymore. You’ve apologised enough, and even though it doesn’t mean that I have forgiven you, it’s enough. The person you should be apologising to are my parents, and not me,” I told him, and turned around to walk away.

“Eliana,” He called, walking after me.

“What is it?” I fired at him, not stopping.

He pulled me by the hand, and made me turn around to face him. The next thing I knew, he pulled me into his arms, and wrapped his arms just above my waist. My head was on his chest, and one of his hands trailed my back so that it touched my hair, and he stroked it gently, while he sobbed quietly.

I wanted to push him away, and be on my way, but I just couldn’t do that. I remained in his arms, even though I didn’t hug him back. I just stood before him, enjoying the warmth and comfort of his embrace. It felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted off me, and I was at peace with being close to him, and my brain took me back to the first time I had seen him.

It brought back sweet memories to my mind, and I chuckled out loud, unable to suppress it, and hold it back.

“What’s funny?” He asked, not releasing me from his arms.

“Do you remember the first time we met? You hugged me this way, then your claws got me injured,” I said.

“I remember it perfectly. It feels so much like yesterday, but look at how I ruined both of our lives,” He said, finally letting me go.

“Alistair,” I said, feeling sympathetic as I saw how hurt he looked.

“I’m sorry. I was so stupid, and you’re right. I have a wicked nature, and I’m not just a bad father, I’m a bad person. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, and I never should have done what I did to you. I made a very stupid mistake, and I will never forgive myself for it,” He said, still crying uncontrollably.

This time around, he had shown that he was truly and deeply remorseful. I wasn’t a perfect person either, and I just couldn’t write him off because of the mistakes he made in the past.

Heaving a deep sigh, I touched his cheek and smiled at him, warmly. “We all make mistakes, but if we can acknowledge them, I guess it doesn’t mean we are bad people. We are just all trying to be good, and along the way, we can do awful things and hurt those we love, and now, I have seen how sorry you are. Alistair, I forgive you, and you should also find it in your heart to forgive yourself. Everything that happened is not your fault,” I told him.

Tears streamed down his eyes, after I had uttered those words. He didn’t know what to say, but looked at me with an expression that showed he was grateful that I had forgiven him.

I didn’t bother to wipe away his tears, and took him in my arms, patting his back.

“It’s okay, let it all out,” I said, hugging him tightly.

His tears multiplied, as he cried on my shoulder, wetting the sleeve of my dress, but I didn’t mind it at all. If a strong and grown-up man like Alistair could shed tears like this, it only meant that he was really sorry and it was my duty to comfort him and let him know that it wasn’t over yet.

He’ll be just fine. We’ll all be fine with time.