Emotional Torture

The Thornton Household...

"Oh, no, no, that is quite alright, Dad. I want to visit. Martha would take me where Mom lived." Aubrianne explains.

"Oh, honey, I could have taken you to visit if you wanted to," Theo informs.

With an arched eyebrow, Aubrianne asked, "Really?"

"Yes, really." Theo nodded.

"Ok, I just did not think you would have the time right now for a trip like that," Aubrianne says and shrugs.

Aubrianne did not even think of Theo taking her to visit her mother's home right now. She figured she could do this when she saw Martha.

It never occurred to her that her father would want to take her or have the time.

"Oh honey, even if I don't have the time, I will make the time for you." Theo made it clear.

Aubrianne realized her father wanted to be included in these things.

Theo wanted to be included in this particular matter, the matter of his daughter being with two witches by herself.

Witches that knew what she was.

"Ok, Dad, now that I know, I will think of you first," Aubrianne informs and smiles.

"And that is all I ask." Theo rubs her cheeks.

"So, how long do you need?" Theo enquires.

"About a week, maybe two; that was why I wanted to get the ground running from today at work, so I would have a full two weeks to learn the lay of the land."

"So when I return, it is just to dive in head first into any assignments that come my way." Aubrianne ends on an excited note.

She could not wait to apply all her theory to practice.

Theo looked at the time and saw it was now eleven am, "Ok baby girl, be sure to take Kirrah and Brody with you, ok?" He suggested. However, Aubrianne knew it was not a suggestion.

He had spoken in great length about her safety before. "Yes, Dad, of course, I would." Aubrianne grinned and poked her father.

Smiling and shifting away from his daughter's incoming pointer finger, Theo says, "It is too late now for me to even bother going into the office; how about I give you an assignment now, and we work from home today?"

"How does that sound?" Theo asked with so much hope; he realized his baby girl was ready to start her internship, and who was he to try and stop her?

Plus, he would never try to stop her from pursuing her dreams.

Aubrianne was thrilled at her father's idea. She never thought she would be working side by side with him yet. "Oh goodness, yes, of course, Dad," Aubrianne responded excitedly, hands clasped together tightly.

Theo was dying inside to be able to do this with his children one day, working side by side with them. Or showing them the ropes in business. Sadly, it had not happened to him until that moment.

They wasted no time. Theo got up and grabbed the file he would have her look at for him. Then he set her up at the table with him. He was not meeting anyone today, so Aubrianne sat opposite him on the other side of his desk.

They had quickly settled into work, and Aubrianne was in her glee. Not only was he her father, but here she was, working alongside HIM.

She recalled when the idea of working at TCTA was a possibility; never in that time did she harbor illusions of working side by side with the Legend.

Aubrianne smiled to herself. She believed that would come years after moving up in her career. But she understood she had an in now.

While Theo was also in his glee, now that he had a child, interested in these things, in deals, in business, in accounting, his field, and he was actually conversing with his daughter about the challenges of brokering deals in the business world.

He had wished he could have done this with Timothy or Tobias so many times. Although Theo would not count them out just yet, as he had observed some things the past few days with his boys, plus it was soon to tell.

Theo has been observing Timothy since he got up on Saturday. Timothy had surprised him, joining him in the gym at ten am. He did the same in his workout yesterday and this morning.

Theo was still determining what sparked this, but he would continue to observe and wait while he hoped this time it would be for the long hall and not some lazy temporary attempt to gain his attention.

Aubrianne Ivanov

Monday was one of the best days for Aubrianne. She got to work with her father, the Legend, in accounting, and then the following days moved quickly.

It was Thursday evening, and Aubrianne was dressed in her workout gear. Daniel was on his way to train both Aubrianne and Tobias.

On Monday, while Aubrianne was at her father's, she had the opportunity to bond with Tobias in the afternoon.

Aubrianne had happened upon Timothy and Tobias sparing in the fields, something her father said was new. That this only happened a few days ago.

However, Leia, wise as ever, had told Aubrianne that she was sure this was all Timothy's feeble attempt to stare some of the attention towards him.

Nevertheless, Aubrianne had told her it was not a competition, that their father loved all his children. But she was happy that at least whatever his motives and reasoning, it lit a fire under his a$$ to get up and get.

A man without ambition was such a turn-off for Aubrianne. She could never view them as men, and she knew with their mentality, they would never attract a good woman.

They had better hope to the Divine Moon Goddess that they find their mates and hope their mates accept them.

Nevertheless, Tobias had burned out quicker than Timothy, so he opted to sit on the sidelines and watch his brother spar with the trainer instead.

Tobias timidly smiled at Aubrianne, who sat on a bench looking out on the training grounds.

"Tobias," Aubrianne called after a moment, giving him time to catch his breath and gulp down some water. Gaining his attention, she waved him over.

"I won't bite, you know," Aubrianne said with a warm and welcoming smile to a meek, approaching Tobias.

Tobias smiled a smile that looked so awkward, given that his wolf, Scout, was affected by her aura.

Aubrianne wanted to work on making his wolf comfortable with her so that Tobias could be relaxed in her company.

Also, Aubrianne had a different approach to dealing with Tobias than Timothy. She did not want his wolf to shy away from her, afraid to even look at her. Aubrianne meant it when she said she would not bite him.

She was not among them for long. However, it was easy to spot how Timothy talked down to Tobias and abused him emotionally.

Hell, for the short period of time, she was there watching them spar, the slew of emotionally harsh words Timothy had pelt at Tobias. She was surprised he did not tap out of the spar sooner.

'I cannot believe you are my brother. Such a wimp, Uhh, I cannot believe we are related. You are such a loser. You are so pathetic and weak. Is your wolf even present? Are you really one of us? How can a wolf be so weak and pitiful? Don't you ever call me brother again if you continue this way? So lame. No wonder Father hates us.'

Aubrianne told herself maybe Tobias was tougher than she first thought.

Aubrianne had laughed at herself. Look at her. She understood a little of why he was timid. After a few years in therapy, she suddenly became an expert.

And as for Timothy, she felt as if all those harsh words he directed to Tobias were how he thought about himself. So she would handle him differently as well.

She planned only to bring love and care to both of them, starting with Tobias right now.

"Hey, you, so how is the training?" Aubrianne asked as she leaned into him, nudging him with her shoulders when Tobias sat beside her on the bench.

"Tough, but I can manage," Tobias then shrugged, "I have not worked out in years," Tobias added as he tried recalling when he last worked out.

Probably at thirteen, for a short period when he wanted to impress his brother.

"Oh, I see, so is this something you are serious about?" Aubrianne enquires.

Tobias did not say anything for a few seconds, then said, "Yes, this time I am," determination laced in his voice.

They chatted for another thirty minutes, and in the end, Aubrianne believed she had made some progress with Tobias. As little as it was, it was still something.

She had even invited him to start training with her so they could spend more time together, and at least he would not have to suffer through that emotional torture with his brother.

Aubrianne had spoken to Tobias as a grown-up, yet very sweet, and the complete opposite of how Timothy handled him.

Nevertheless, she and Tobias had been training in the evenings after Aubrianne returned home from work.