Because I've Lost Everything

Chapter Sixteen

Clawd Wolf

"Don't you dare touch me."

"Clawd, come on."

"Deenie, I'm serious. I don't know what I'm capable of," I said. "I've never felt this way before. I'm in pain. I feel like I'm dying, and I don't know why," I added. "It's like I've lost a part of me." I buried my fingers in my hair as I paced the living room of Mom and Dad's house.

"Let me help."

"How the hell would you help?" I asked.

"I could give you a hug?" Clawdeen suggested.

I snorted. "No."

"Suit yourself."

"Just leave me alone, Deenie."

"You're in Mom and Dad's living room, Clawd. You can't boss me around," she declared.

"That's a stupid rule." I groaned and threw myself back against the wall. "It hurts so bad," I said through a whimper.

"I'm getting Mom."

"No!"

"Why not?"

"I don't want to scare her."

"You're shaking," Clawdeen said. "Clawd, look at yourself. You're a mess." God, she sounded so scared.

"I don't want her to know," I said.

"Let me talk to Dad, then. He can help you," Clawdeen said. "Is that better? If Dad helps instead?" she asked. Her voice was quiet, soothing. She didn't want to upset me.

I nodded. "Get Dad."

Caleb Grimm

"Vladimir," I said.

Dracula raised an eyebrow. "Caleb." His gaze shifted to Laura. Immediately, a smile formed on his face. "Evening, Princess."

"Hey, Daddy." Laura stepped into the house and wrapped her arms around her father.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Dracula asked, his eyes focused on me as he pulled Laura into a hug.

"Lu says I have to be the one to tell you something," I said. "Something important."

"You are planning to marry my daughter," he said.

"How-?"

Dracula rolled his eyes as he reached back and grabbed Laura's left hand. "Engagement ring. I am not blind, Caleb," he said.

I swallowed roughly. "Thoughts?" I asked.

Dracula nodded once. "I support it. If my daughter loves you--and I know that she does--than I do not see a problem with it. As long as I walk my little girl down the aisle, I do not have a problem with the arrangement," he said.

I smiled. "Perfect!"

"But if you hurt her, I will kill you."

"I'm aware."

"I have the sunshots to do it, too," he added.

I chuckled. "I know that, too," I said.

Laura turned to face me and smiled. "What're you waiting for, silly? Come inside! Let's celebrate."

With one arm hooked around Laura's shoulders, Dracula held his free hand out to me. I grabbed it and shook his hand. He was still smiling. "You make my daughter very happy. Thank you."

"It's what I do, Vladimir. It's nothing."

Clawd Wolf

"Sometimes, we feel pain for reasons that we can't quite figure out, son," Dad said.

"It hurts, Dad. It hurts a lot," I said. My fingers pulled at my ears. I wanted to rip out my eardrums, force the ringing in my ears to stop. "I can't stand it any more. It hurts." I felt like a record stuck on repeat. It hurts. It seemed to be the only thing I could say.

"I know, son." Dad wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him. He held a hand against my head, forcing me to stop moving. "It's like a detox, see? We have to get the pain out of your system. Don't acknowledge it. Don't give it any power over you," he said.

"That's easier said than done," I said through my teeth.

"Yes, I know."

Clawdeen jumped up from the edge of my bed as someone knocked at the front door. "I'll get it!" she exclaimed.

"Dad, I don't understand. Why?" I asked.

"It's not something I can explain," Dad said.

Clawdeen appeared in the doorway, a box in her hands. "It has your name on it, Clawd."

I pulled away from Dad and practically crawled toward her as she set the box on the floor. My nose wrinkled as I opened the box. It smelled horrible. My arms fell to my sides, my hands hitting the floor with a solid thunk. I figured out the reason behind the pain.

Stella's head was in the box. My nostrils flared as I fell back on my hands. I kicked the box away with my foot, sending it into the wall by my door. It tipped over, Stella's head tumbling out onto the floor. A growl rumbled in my throat as I stared at her dead, yellow eyes.

"Jesus," Dad muttered from behind me. "Now, son, there are many ways to approach this."

When his hand touched my shoulder, I sprung to my feet, whirling around to face him. "Don't you dare touch me. Ever. You hear?" I asked. My wolf itched to be free. I didn't fight the feeling for long. My stomach dropped as my back arched. I let out a howl as I fell to all fours. What was left of my clothes lay in tatters on my bedroom floor. I was breathing heavily. I hadn't turned into my wolf for a very, very long time. I had remained mainly human for quite a while.

It felt good to let it out every now and then, especially when I was in pain.

"Clawd, I know you're hurting, but you need to control yourself," Dad said. He took a step closer to me. I jumped him, knocking him to his back on the floor. My teeth dug into his throat just hard enough to draw blood.

"Clawd!" Clawdeen screamed. "Don't hurt him!" My gaze shifted to my sister's face. She was crying. I let go of Dad and moved away from him. I backed up against my bed, ran, and leaped toward the window. I broke through the glass and landed out in the lawn. I looked back at the house one last time before running out into the woods.

I had a killer to find.

I had a revenge kill planned for the man that murdered my mate.