The Hunter Beside Me

15: Blame

Owen

Emory started to answer Lilla, but Becks rested her hand on his arm to stop him. "Let's keep this civil."

He shook her grip off and sat back, crossing his arms. "Fine. You talk to her."

Becks faced Lilla. "Do you remember Aria Harris?"

Lilla's mouth snapped open. "I remember her well. She was an expert hunter and a good person."

Becks huffed. "Really? Is that why you got her involved in hunting and then left her to do it alone?"

Lilla frowned. "You're right. Catriona moved on and I trailed behind her. I asked Aria to join me, but she had a sister and she refused to go without her."

"She wouldn't leave her because she was all alone with a baby," Becks said without emotion.

"I remember," Lilla spoke gently, "Aria's sister had a baby girl. Her husband died in the line of duty. I believe he was a police officer?"

Becks ignored her question and said, "Aunt Aria had a baby herself a few years later. She loved Emory more than anything, but she didn't stop hunting. Not when her husband didn't believe her and thought she'd gone crazy. Or when he threatened to leave them both. Not even after he left. She moved in with her sister, Cora, and her little girl, me."

Tears filled Lilla's eyes as she leaned toward Emory. "I'm so sorry about your mother."

He gave a humorless bark of laughter. "Great. Everything's better. Are you sorry about Aunt Cora too? Because she couldn't let that shit go either."

Becks reached for his arm again, but he tore away. "After they killed Mom, Cora started hunting, even though she promised my mom she wouldn't. She said she'd give us normal lives, and instead, she trained us. We were seven and twelve when she told us monsters are real."

"Hey." Becks shook her head. "It hurt her too. She loved your mom, and she didn't want us to hunt. Especially you. She told Aria she'd take care of you, and she did. My mom just wanted us to be capable of defending ourselves."

"I didn't see her try very hard to stop you when you started hunting at sixteen," Emory said.

Becks roughly wiped a tear from her cheek. I wanted to make Emory stop, but they seemed to have forgotten about us.

"I can't believe you'd talk about her like this. My mother loved you." Becks shook her head.

They stared at each other, and it was apparent this wasn't the first time they'd had this argument. Another family shattered by hunting, two families, really. They both lost their mothers. I could relate, but it wasn't Lilla's fault. As much as I wanted to blame her sometimes, she didn't force anyone into hunting.

Emory broke the silence, whispering, "I loved her too, and she's gone. If not for you, where would I be? Now, you're hunting more." He stopped and scrubbed his face. "I'm going to lose you too."

"You won't lose me." Becks wrapped her arms around him and propped her chin on his shoulder. Emory relaxed against her, and some of the strain lifted from the table.

It felt like we'd invaded a private family moment. I looked at Bash, and he shrugged sadly; neither of us knew what to do. Lilla wiped tears from her cheeks, and Bash wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Lilla seemed miserable, and I was glad he comforted her. She might be a pain in the ass, but she didn't want anyone to get hurt. She'd taken a lot of shit for a long time for one mistake. A massive freaking mistake, but still. I felt sorry for her.