Saving Kitty | OLD | ✔

Twenty Three | Stomach Tied in Knots

Sleep wasn't coming any time soon. Maybe it was her long nap that she'd woken from a few hours earlier, or the fact that she was still reeling from Eden's rant. As hard as she'd tried to get a word in, to somehow defend herself and apologise for her snap attitude with her best friend it had been impossible. The amount of creative insults Eden had thrown at her was incredible – luckily they flew right over Kitty's head.

Resting her side against the wall, she stared out of the window. Ignoring the chilled air, she stared into the darkness. She couldn't make out much – although she could see more than a human could. The silhouetted forest against the deep navy blue sky... a small, happy sigh left Kitty's lips. Even though she couldn't shift, the forest still gave her a sense of relief. She loved to run through, hearing the twigs and leaves crunch and crack under her trainers; feel the wind whip violently at her face; smell the blooming winter flowers and the shedding trees... but even the sight of the trees standing straight like soldiers made her feel at ease. She watched as the winter wind caressed them and made them sway slightly.

Hearing the door 'click', Kitty tore her gaze from the silhouettes and turned her attention to her visitor. Shock didn't cover how she felt.

"Hi." She said, coughing and clearing her throat. For some reason, she felt her cheeks slowly start to burn. "What are you, um, doing here?"

With one hand, he lifted up Kitty's baby. Her eyes widened at the sight. "Being a good host."

"Thanks. Eden must have forgotten it." A fib. The only reason Eden had come to visit was to scream at Kitty. And that's what she had done. Once her best friend had ran out of steam, she'd left without a single 'good-bye'.

Instead of looking to Gabriel and trying to make any conversation, she turned her eyes to the floor. She'd had moments alone, and time to think about it. Time to think about the past couple of days, about what would happen when it was time for her to leave in a couple of hours.

"Gabriel–," she said, lifting up her head. She faltered when she saw the door was open, and Gabriel had one foot out. Her tongue dried up, and she stuttered. Gabriel rose an eyebrow, most likely unimpressed that she'd stopped him leaving.

It's now or never.

"I'm sorry about what my Gramps did." That's a good start, right? She let out a small sigh when she saw Gabriel's confused face. Gulping, she turned to look out the window. She wanted the courage to look him in the eye, but she was afraid that she'd mess it up. Kitty took the coward's way out. "You have to understand that the way I see my family is different to the rest of the world."

In the window's reflection, she saw Gabriel shut the door. He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed against his chest. He certainly wasn't smiling though.

"I knew my grandfather wasn't the... purest of all werewolves. I know he wasn't a good man." She focused on one of the bushes, hoping it would help her concentrate. "But... Dad and Mum were always busy when we were growing up. We weren't their only children – the pack was too. So Gramps would look after us."

"What is the point of this?" Gabriel asked, irritation soaking into his voice. Kitty just ignored him. If she explained, she might back down. She hadn't planned what she was going to say – she just needed to work her way up to them.

"He taught us to be honourable. He taught us the things that Dad should have. He explained that you can't just wildly attack packs. Not like the old packs did. We can't just act upon instinct; we need to be able to justify what we're doing." She felt her eyes start to well up at the thought of him. "Things I'm sure your father taught you."

She didn't mean for the last comment to sound like a snide comment but she heard Gabriel's intake of breath. The apology was already working its way up her throat but she forced it back down. What she was trying to get to, was more important than an apology about mentioning her mate's deceased father.

"Everyone knows the story of the royal family being wiped out. Nathan and I know what happened and we could probably write an entire book on it. I saw the pride in my grandfather's eyes as he talked about slaughtering them. I could sense the bloodlust coursing through him as he'd tell us the story again and again." She left out the fact that the extermination of the royal family was told as a bedtime tale. "It's not an excuse but... we were sheltered from what Gramps and Dad did. No-one ever explained why the other packs were so afraid of them. It wasn't until I was ten or eleven that I realised just what they were like."

"Around the times the pups shift."

Kitty nodded. "That's when everything... changed. Obviously I was always well aware of the whispering. Of people talking behind my back. I thought that was what life was like as an alpha's daughter. It wasn't until we went to the local secondary school that I learned exactly how the two father figures in my life instilled fear."

"I thought your father hated the humans."

"He does. But he wanted us to learn how to blend in with the humans." She said, before continuing on with her explaining. "But even though everyone kept telling me how he was a monster... he's still my daddy. Gramps is still my grandfather. I see the things that no-one else sees. Yes, my father may be cruel but I still remember him kissing my forehead goodnight. I still remember Gramps cuddling me when I skinned my knee because Nathan tripped me up. So, so..." A lone tear slid down her cheek, "so I feel sickened when Clara told me that–,"

"That your grandfather murdered my parents and the majority of my pack." Gabriel finished. Kitty nodded.

"I should have known." Her hand rubbed her shoulder, a way of comforting herself. "But right before Gramps died, he was constantly in bed. Instead of him looking after us, Nathan and I took it in turns to look after him. He couldn't have walked around – ran around – ripping into wolves."

"But he did."

"I know that!" Kitty raised her voice. Cringing, she closed her eyes and calmed herself. This wasn't about her. This was about Gabriel and Raphael. This was about somehow avenging the death of Tony and Mariah Redford. This was about a family that had been torn apart, all because of her family. "And I hate that I believed... I still believe that he was this... somewhat honourable wolf. I hate that I still love my father even though he's put a death sentence on my friend. And I hate that there is nothing I can do about it." She let out another sigh, glad that she was staring out of the window. Gabriel couldn't claim that her tears were fake.

"Aside from ripping open old wounds, what is the point you're making?" There was nothing in Gabriel's voice. No anger, no sadness... almost like he was trying to hide what he felt. Kitty didn't blame him – he probably didn't want to give her any leverage over him. It was bad enough that her grandfather had taken away two people who gave him unconditional love.

"I'm going to make it up to you." She turned to face Gabriel. There was no better way for him to see she was being genuine than looking him in the face – red-rimmed eyes and all. "There are no words for me to express how sorry I am that my family did this to you. But I swear Gabriel, I swear that somehow I'm going to make it up to you."

Gabriel didn't say anything. Not that she expected him to. But all he did was stare – his face portrayed nothing.

Then, without a word, he swiftly pushed himself off the wall, wrenched open the door and stormed out. The door slammed, shaking against its frame, seconds after he'd left. And while Kitty was sure she'd probably ruined any chance of them starting again... she knew what she had to do.

She knew just where to start making amends for her grandfather's actions.

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I do apologise for it being so short! (I'm pretty sure this is the shortest chapter that's in Kitty's POV by a long way!) However, the next one should be pretty lengthy and it's all going to kick off soon! (I'm so excited... I really shouldn't be, haha). I can't promise anything, but I'm going to work my hardest for the next chapter to come out within the next few days!

As always, thank you all for reading! (and for the votes!)