Warmth ✔

Chapter 49

"What's the first thing that comes to your mind?"

"A decision that you look more than a decade ago."

He gives me a confused look.

"Mr. West, what I'm going to share with you now is something that I haven't shared with Alarick yet. I wanted to have this talk because I have questions that only you can answer." After a brief pause, I continue, "Yesterday evening, I was kidnapped by Benjamin. He took me to the cave where Anne was held. It was later that Benjamin was joined by my cousin, Joshua. They wanted to kill me. And when I asked them the reason, Joshua told me that he wanted to punish Alarick for killing Kurt. And that's when I found out that Kurt, Benjamin and Joshua had been friends. He wanted to avenge Kurt's death.

"We started talking about the past. We talked about Kurt. We also talked about his father. Joshua knows that Richard was wrong but Richard didn't deserve to die the way he did."

Mr. West's tone suddenly went cold. "Do you know what you are saying? He assaulted my mate in front of my son."

"I know that," I say while pretending to be unaffected by his sudden mood change. "But what was the need for you to take matters in your own hands? You could've approached the leaders and asked justice for your mate."

"If I would've approached the leaders to seek justice then the whole werewolf community would've known what had happened. And it would've traumatised my mate even more. I wanted her to forget the torture that she faced in the hands of that bastard and not announce it to the world."

"So, you trained a ten year old Alarick to kill his mother's assaulter?"

"What was I supposed to do then?"

"You could've killed Richard but instead, you taught Alarick to kill him. You wanted him to avenge his mother."

"Yes, I did. And I'm proud of it. Richard got what he deserved." Mr. West said with crossed arms.

"Unbelievable! Do you realize that this decision of yours affected so many lives? You robbed Alarick of his childhood. You planted revenge in his young mind. You completely destroyed his life."

"You don't know what it feels like to have your mate violated!" He shouts at me.

"And you don't know what it feels like to have your father killed!"

Suddenly, the door opens and Alarick enters. "Is everything alright?" He asks when he senses tension in the room.

Mr. West and I remain silent. We continue to share heated gazes.

"What's going on?" Alarick asks again.

I turn to him and say, "It's time to tell you everything." I take his hand and lead him to his pack house. Once, Charles, Daniel, Alarick and I are seated in the living room, I start telling them about what happened with me.

When I was done, Alarick said, "I can't believe that Benjamin and Kurt were friends. I trusted Benjamin and he broke my trust. He was the reason behind Kurt's escape."

"Joshua, Benjamin and Kurt were friends," Charles said to himself. "They hid their friendship from all of us."

"Kurt influenced Benjamin and Joshua. He made them a part of his revenge plan," Alarick adds. "Kurt's plan ruined so many lives."

"And what about Mr. West's decision?" I ask. "His decision set everything in motion."

Alarick looks at me. "You can't be serious."

"I am."

"So, you are agreeing with Joshua's words?"

"Yes."

"You are getting influenced by his words."

"Didn't you get influenced by your father's words?"

"Richard assaulted my mother."

"And you killed him. Was that the right thing to do?"

"He got what he deserved."

"Oh my God!" I exclaim. "You're talking just like your father. Alarick, two wrongs don't make a right. An eye for an eye is never the solution to a problem. You don't realize that your father's decision caused a lot of people to lose their lives!"

"It was Kurt who attacked your pack, not my father!"

"He surely gave the invisible push to Kurt to seek revenge. Your father's decision ruined so many lives including yours! He robbed you of your childhood. He pushed you in the wrong direction. His decision changed you completely! Because of the past, you were reluctant to even acknowledge me as your mate! Look where we are now, Alarick! We will never be like the other couples! And I'll blame your father not only for this, but also for causing my father's and cousin's death!" By the end of it, I have tears in my eyes.

There is silence in the room.

I say softly, "I just can't help but think about Mr. West's decision. His decision changed the fate of many people."

Richard assaulted Mrs. West. Mr. West trained Alarick to avenge his mother. Alarick killed Richard. When Kurt came to know about all of this, he felt that injustice had been done. He wanted to avenge his father. When he came to know that Alarick's mate lived in my pack, he attacked my pack. In the battle, many lives were lost including my father's. Alarick saved my pack and imprisoned Kurt. When Kurt escaped from the prison, he kidnapped Anne with the intention of killing her. I came to save Anne and got injected by wolfsbane. Because of Charles' antidote, I survived. I came to know that Alarick had killed Kurt in front of the leaders. Benjamin and Joshua felt that it was wrong way to seek justice so they decided to avenge their friend. They kidnapped me and wanted to kill me but uncle intervened. In an attempt to stop his son, he lost him.

I continue, "I wish Mr. West would've taken a different decision, a decision devoid of rage and revenge. He shouldn't have taken matters into his own hands. Alarick, I'm not saying that Richard was right. All I'm saying is that the situation was handled badly. Everything started and ended with revenge. You cannot seek justice when you're driven by revenge. Richard deserved a fair trial. He would've been held accountable for his actions. He would've got the punishment he deserved. Only then, justice would've been served. If things would've gone this way then a lot of lives would've been saved."

"We can't change what has happened," Charles said in a soft tone.

"But we can learn from it."

THE END.

Author's Note:

LOL! Just kidding. Just one more chapter left so brace yourself.