(Giovanni's POV)
I flip the pan in my hand. I watch as the vegetables sizzle under the heat of the stove. It's the only sound in this large house.
This large, cold, dead house.
The only thing that keeps me warm is this head of hair that needs cutting.
I've never heard it this quiet in the house. Ever since I gave my mother and twin the news of my fathers death, I haven't heard a word from them.
I turn off the stove and start separating the food on three plates. Steak and some veggies should do the trick of cheering them up. Everyone loves food.
"Mom! Gianna! I'm done cooking dinner," I scream through the house. I wait for any approaching footsteps.
The house stays silent. No movement. I can only hear my own breathing.
My fingers tighten around the plates in my hand. I leave my plate behind and go upstairs with their food. I go to my mom's room first and knock on the door. I wait for a second, but don't get a reply.
"Mom, I've got food," I tell her in a bribing manner, but I know she's already smelt the food. It's hard to miss the smell of freshly cooked food from miles away when you have a werewolf nose.
"I'll be down in a second," I barely hear my mother say. Her voice is very small, raspy, and quiet. I hesitate to leave, wanting to just burst through the door and pull her into a hug.
"Alright," I tell her, deciding to just give her some space. I can hear her soft cries as I start to walk away.
I go over to Gianna's room, knocking on her door. There's no movement on the other side of the door.
"Come on, Gia! I know you know I'm right in front of your door. Just give me a howl and I'll leave." I knock on her door again, hoping annoying her will make her do what I want.
I'm tired of all the silence in this house. The darkness is clawing at me and I'm fighting the best I can to not let it consume me. It's already convinced me to do things I wouldn't normally do.
"Just one howl, Gia," I speak desperately and lay my forehead on the cold door. Tears brimming in my eyes.
I can't cry. I need to be strong for them.
A couple of seconds pass by until I hear a weak howl from inside her room.
I breathe out a sigh of relief and wipe my eyes dry. "I'll leave your food downstairs in the fridge," I tell her, knowing that she'll probably not bother eating today, like she did yesterday.
When I trot back down to the kitchen, I see mom focusing on washing dishes. She's broken into a sweat with how hard she's working her body and I worry she's pushing herself too far.
"Hey mom, you don't have to do that. I can wash the dishes." She turns to me with a smile on her face. I can tell it's forced.
"No, it's ok, honey," she tells me with a fake, sparkling smile. I know she's trying to put on a strong front for her children.
"Mom," I call her. I walk up to her and turn off the sink water. "It's alright if you want to stay in your room and cry all day or just go outside for some fresh air. You don't have to pretend in front of me."
"I can do a simple task like washing the dishes, Gio. I'm the parent here," she answers me softly. I can already see her breaking. Her mouth drops into a frown and her eyes water.
"It's alright." I pull her into a hug like I've been wanting to do and she cries into my shoulder.
"I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to apologize for." I rub her back. I guide her to the table so she'll eat some food. One down and one more to go. I just need to get my sister to eat now.
"Go get your sister and tell her to come downstairs. She needs to eat," my mom says and I run upstairs for the second time.
"Gia, you have to come downstairs now. Your not skipping dinner today." I knock on her door and like I expect, no answer. I push the door knob down, open the door a little bit, and peek inside.
She's not in her bed.
"Where the hell are you?" I use my hearing to find out where she is and I hear crying from her bathroom. I walk over and knock on the door, but I know she already heard me coming.
"Talk to me, Gia." No matter how much we fight, she's still my sister and it breaks me to see her hurting.
"I need help, Gio," I hear her sob out.
"What do you need help with?" I shake the knob of the bathroom door, but it's locked.
"I can't stop bleeding. Why can't I stop bleeding?" I hear her breathing become rapid.
"Open the door, let me help you." I keep jiggling the door handle, but it doesn't budge.
"Too much blood. This isn't right." I can hear her start freaking out on the other side of the door. I figured she's too focus on freaking out to unlock the door, so I break the handle.
The door flings open and I see Gianna. She's crotched over and one of her hands are inside her pajama pants and the other holds her baby bump. A pool of blood is leaking underneath her, running down her legs and down to the floor.
"Gio, what's happening," she screams out. The trail of blood leads back to her womb. The baby.
"Fuck. We have to go." I tell her. "MOM," I yell through the house as I pack Gia a hospital bag. I can hear my mom running up the stairs.
"What's going on?" My mom walks into the room, but she pauses when she sees Gia and the blood surrounding her.
"We have to take her to Dr. Selzer," I tell my mom, trying to snap her out of her frightened, shocked state.
"Gia, let's get you in the car." My mom goes to Gianna and wraps a towel around her lower half. She helps her get down the stair, while I grab the hospital bag I made for Gianna and grab her phone.
I try to find Dr. Selzer's number in her phone to call him and tell him what's going on. She can't go to any of the human doctors, so we can't call an ambulance. Alaric's name pops up on the screen, but I decline the call. He calls again and I send him to voicemail once again.
I finally find the doctors number and run downstairs and get in the back seat with Gianna. My mom races to the hospital.
I'm on the phone with the doctor, explaining to him about Gianna. We get to the hospital fast and he's there waiting with a couple of nurses to put Gianna on a stretcher.
"What's happening," I ask the doctor as they race Gianna to a surgery room.
"Let us see first and I'll inform you," he tells me. When they get to the room, they shut the door behind them, leaving my mother and I worried and clueless outside. I pace back and forth in front of the room, not knowing what to do.
"I can't lose them too," I hear my mom whisper. Flames run through my blood as her words run through my mind. I rush over to her a grab her shoulders.
"We're not losing Gianna or the baby! You hear me! Don't ever say that again," I growl at her. Her eyes open wide in shock at my tone.
"Gio-" she tries to speak, but I cut her off.
"I'm going to get some hot chocolate. I'll be back." I walk away fast, heading in a random direction.
I feel like doing something reckless and I can't stop myself. I feel Gianna's phone vibrate in my pants and I pull it out, seeing Alaric's name pop up on the screen again.
I send him to voicemail again, not wanting to be bothered with him.
"Call him back," my subconscious tells me. I shake my head. I don't want to call him and say something I'll regret. I've already thrown his beta woman and my friend into a dungeon. I don't want to do more damage.
"She wasn't your friend. She killed your father in cold blood," the demon inside of me speaks again. A cold washes over my body and my face turns to cold steel.
All emotions of sympathy and mercy leaves my body. I call him back and he picks up right away.
"Hello," I hear him answer from the other side of the phone. The sound of his voice is all it takes for me to snap and let the demon inside of me win.
"Stop calling my sister's phone."
"Can you tell me if she's ok? I can come over and help out with anything. Gianna is my fiance."
"This asshole really has the audacity to call her his fiance? He doesn't care about her," the demon says. It's right. Alaric doesn't care what happens to her. He's the reason my father's dead. They're all to blame.
"The arrangement is off. My father made the deal with your alpha, but now he's dead. The arrangement is dead." I haven't actually talked to Alpha Arsenio, but I'm above him anyways. I make the final decisions.
"You have all the power you need," the demon says, chuckling in my head.
"What about the other agreements with the park warriors and weapons? Have you gone over this with my alpha? I'm still the father of the baby and I still want to be there. I need to know if they're doing ok."
"The agreements between your alpha and I have nothing to do with you. What I discuss with him is none of your business. I think you and your squad have done enough damage to my family. You stay the hell away from my sister."
I hang up before he can say more.
"Good job," the demon in my head speaks again. I must be going crazy listening to some voice in my head tell me what to do.
"Get out of my head," I yell at it, but all it does is laugh. I pull on my hair, hoping pain will make it go away. I feel dizzy as I hear it's voice fade into the background, but the pain I'm causing myself by pulling my hair isn't enough to fully push it away.
On instinct, I punch my hand into the wall next to me. The feeling of the bones in my head cracking makes me scream in pain, but it successfully wards off my demon. I'm finally able to breathe.