Lily

Chapter seventy three

'Uncharted territory is a good place to be in'

-Bo Burnham

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Xavier's Pov

Life is full of challenges and hardships.

Life can throw numerous things at you,and it's up to you to overcome them. It's a thing that holds many obstacles, some challenges harder than others,but none the less you are expected to take them on and beat them head on.

I've not faced many challenges in my life,but the two obstacles that I count as challenges have both equally taken tolls on me.

The first challenge was losing my first mate and trying to find myself in the midst of the grief I felt and the blame I was receiving.

The second challenge is the one I am facing currently. I lost my second mate to the same thing that took Mirabella away from me.

My brother.

I thought of all these things as I continuesly skimmed rocks across the large lake that stretched out before me.

There were many different places on the territory, most of the places hidden,like the one I am at right now.

I remember after losing Mirabella, I came here a lot to reflect on things. I remember thinking about what I could have done differently, but each time I looked back,I realized that wouldn't change the situation.

It wouldn't bring Mirabella back to me.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by a hand tapped me on my back. I turned around to see my family standing behind me,all of them.

I hadn't spoken to my parents since I found out Xander had taken Lily.  I knew they were in shock that their perfect son, their son that could do no wrong,had done such an awful thing.

That he had taken something that didn't belong to him.

"What are you doing here?"I asked,turning my back on them as I continued to skim rocks.

"We need to talk about this,Xavier,"my father responded as I picked up another rock, and,this time, I threw it into the lake.

"There's nothing to talk about, "I shrugged my dad off, but I just got a long sigh in response.

My family sat down on the ground next to me,my mum and dad on either side of me, and my two siblings sat on the other side of them.

"We're sorry, Xavier. "My mother apologized, and I stopped midway through throwing another rock.

I looked at her to see if she was lying to me to see if she was playing a joke on me.

She wasn't, though.

"It's fine,"I responded, not giving away any of my emotions.  I had learned at a young age to conceal what I was feeling,to lock away my emotions so as not to appear weak.

I had my parents to thank for that.

"No, it's not okay,Xavier. None of this okay,why didn't you try to tell us what your brother did that day?"My mother pushed, and I stared at her.

How did she find out?

Thomas must have told her.

"I didn't want to ruin your opinion of your perfect son. What would have been the point anyway? You wouldn't have believed me,no one did, "I shrugged my shoulders as I stared out at the calming lake in front of me.

"You could have tried to,Xavier. You were still our son,Xavier, even after we thought you were the one that killed Mirabella. We don't know all the details of what happened apart from what Xander did,"my father said.

A long silence passed between us before I finally spoke up.

They deserved to know the truth.

"Xander told you that he never found his mate,but he lied. He found her when he was 15 and rejected her. That's when it all started. As he got older,you didn't notice, but I definitely noticed that he started to change. He knew that he had made a big mistake and had lost the only thing that would truly make him haply by rejecting his mate,"I began,gaining my parents' attention.

"When I met Mirabella,Xander started to get jealous. His wolf started to lash out at him because he rejected his mate. His wolf was desperate of having a female to call a mate,so he latched onto the closest thing he had, which was Mirabella. He started to get close to her,I partly knew what was happening, but I noticed Xander going back to his normal self, so I left it alone."I gulped before continuing to speak,about to tell them the part that was where I blamed myself.

"The day that Mirabella was killed,I had been occupied with dealing with rogues that crossed the territory.  We were under attack, and I left Mirabella alone with him. I don't know what he did,but when I went back to the pack house later that day,all I could hear was Mirabella screaming for help. I was too late when I entered the pack house,and my mate was lying dead on the floor,with multiple wounds on her, and Xander stood above her,a smirk on his face, and Mirabella's blood all over him,"I finished and I finally let the tears fall.

I waited for my family to lash out at me,for them to tell me it was all my fault like they had done so in the past,but none of that happened.

Instead, I was suddenly engulfed in the arms of my parents and siblings. "We are so sorry,Xavier. For everything.  We never meant to make you feel like you were the reason that Mirabella was killed,"my mother said, and I enjoyed the feeling of being a part of a family again.

"None of this is your fault,Xavier. We will find Lily, and Xander will be punished accordingly,"my father snarled, and I quietly agreed with him.

I may not have found my mate yet,but I had gained something else.

         Closure.