❝ If the hurt comes, so will the happiness. ❞
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For most people, life is all about the big moments. It's about winning the lottery, or finally buying that luxury car you've always wanted. It's about having the girl of your dreams and a golden mansion, but to some, it's about the small moments. The wind blowing through your hair when you're in a car, it's about the warmth of the sun on your face and the perfume of flowers on the first few days of spring. For some, it's about feeling alive and grateful.
That's how Beatrice felt about life.
⸻ "This is it." She whispered, more to herself rather than anyone else. Truthfully, there was no one else around to hear her. Kai had gone downstairs to load the car with his suitcases.
Beatrice looked around and sighed. This was her apartment, the small, ratty piece of architectural structure that could easily pass as a closet, still, it was hers and the first one she had ever been able to afford.
All around her, the noises continued. From the squeak! squeak! squeak! of the mice as they traveled inside the walls to the hissing sounds of the cockroaches between the floor boards. She remembered battling the land lord to fix these problems but aside from the severe harassment he made towards her, very little was done to help her.
Still, as much as the conditions were harmful. This had been the first place she ever felt safe. The first place she lived when she left the streets.
⸻ "Mom?"
She glanced over her shoulder and Kai offered her a tiny smile. She reached out towards him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. At fourteen, Kai was her rock. Her safe haven when she felt as if the world was caving in around her. Kai was calm, peaceful and funny. He was an intelligent kid who had gotten several awards for his quick wit and smart thinking.
⸻ " Thank you." She mumbled into her son's hair. The teenager frowned.
⸻ "What for mamma?"
⸻ "You're leaving all of your friends behind so we can have a better future. I wanted you to know how much I appreciate you."
Kai pouted, his bottom lip trembling as he nodded towards his mother who kissed his forehead.
⸻ "This is getting sappy, I'll be in the car." He voiced as he wiped the unshed tears away from his eyes before they fell.
Beatrice giggled. No matter what, he'd always find a way to feel uncomfortable with emotions.
She closed her eyes and inhaled before bending down to pick up her suitcase. With one last look behind, she closed and locked her apartment door. The stairs, much alike the apartment, weren't new. They were marbled steps with hints of gold, probably from a time when the land lord could still afford it. She descended the stairs in a slow step and stepped outside where Kai was harshly stuffing their bags into the trunk of the car.
⸻ "What are you doing kid?" She asked, closing the door to the building behind her.
Kai wiped the sweat off of his brow and huffed before grabbing his mother's bag and placing it over the others.
⸻ "Trying to get everything to fit so we don't have to pay any movers to help. It's cheaper that way."
He jumped to reach the trunk's door and tested it to see if it closed before slamming it closed. He grinned, happy with his work.
⸻ "I've told you before Kai, it's not your job to worry about money problems."
Beatrice ruffled his hair and walked past him towards the driver seat. They each sat down and closed their doors before reaching behind them and locking their seat belts in place. Beatrice leaned forward, placed the key in the ignition and started the car. She drove forward with Kai beside her, searching for a suitable radio station.
⸻ "We need a new car, an AUX cord would be helpful if your lighter even worked mom."
Kai grinned, poking Beatrice's side as she gave him a side glance.
⸻ "Sure baby, why don't I just pull off and we can get a brand new off some dealership? Why haven't I thought of that already?!"
She rolled her eyes and drummed her fingers against the steering wheel as Kai laughed beside her.
⸻ "Hey, you were the one who told me not to worry about money, so I'm doing it."
Beatrice rolled her eyes, a smile always gracing her features.
⸻ "What did the lawyer lady said about the house?"
⸻ "It needs renovations. Grandma couldn't make them herself and she didn't trust anyone else to do them for her."
⸻ "Is it big?"
⸻ "Three floors, six bathrooms, one kitchen, one living room, one dining room, seven bedrooms, two storage units, an attic, a basement and I can't exactly recall the rest.. Oh! It's entirely black but given grandma's fixation with the color, I'm almost certain everything in it is also black."
⸻ "That's awesome! Can I choose my room?"
⸻ "Sure."
The entirety of the ride was done in silence. Kai began to fall asleep halfway through the car ride and Beatrice wasn't too thrilled to put on some music so she was left alone with her thoughts.
Truthfully, she was so nervous about seeing the new house that she didn't want to miss any turns. The news were unexpected, her grandmother had passed away and had left her a house with property on a town called Langdale.
She could barely remember Langdale. Beatrice knew she should be more grateful towards the place which had saved her life and mold her into the person she was today but honestly, there was barely anything she remembered about it. Maybe it was her mind blocking some parts of her life she didn't want to remember or maybe it was all selective memory working, either way, she was grateful for the opportunity and the fact that her grandmother had remembered her.
She was an odd woman, her grandmother. Stern and kind in her own way and almost everything Beatrice had ever wanted to be. Agnes was always an outspoken woman. The type of woman to grab a gun and go outside alone if she heard a different noise. The type of woman who hadn't needed a man ever since her husband, Beatrice's grandfather, had left her for another woman across the country. She had been strong enough to raise her own daughter alone and a few years later, she had raised her granddaughter alone as well. To Beatrice, this woman was everything she ever wanted to become and in the end, as strong as she had seemed to be, cancer had taken everything from her, turning her into a frail version of herself who couldn't even breathe without assistance. It had been a difficult blow to her ego and pride.
But it had showed everyone involved just how fragile we are as humans. Even the toughest people on this planet will one day meet their demise.
As soon as she drove past the "Welcome to Langdale!" plaque, she reached over and began shaking Kai awake.
⸻ "Munchkin, we're here! Look there's so much land, it's so pretty!"
She continued driving through the main road and all around them, people stopped to stare.
Beatrice noticed but said nothing as she drove faster forward and towards the indications her phone was giving her.
⸻ "They're looking at us mamma." Kai whispered.
She didn't respond and continued on her path to their new house. As soon as they arrived, Beatrice slammed on the breaks. Her new house had a large driveway that led right to an ominous looking house. It was a high-rise, darkened house.
They both stood there for brief minutes admiring their new inherited house before pushing the doors open and walking out of the car.
⸻ "I love it!" Kai screamed and Beatrice nodded in accordance.
They interlocked their fingers and moved inside, ready to better their lives.
...
Not far away from there though, Lucifer was a wreck. He couldn't decipher what his next move should be. He'd always known he had a second chance mate out there somewhere, he'd seen glimpses of her life and had been spared the apparent "horrible" ones as Selene had so calmly told him, but she was here now.
The moment she had entered his territory, his wolf counterpart had been going insane, therefore not allowing him to think rationally.
He wanted to hunt her down and mark her on the spot but he ground himself so he wouldn't. Easier said than done. When Selene had gifted him with his wolf counterpart, she had made sure he was as strong as Lucifer himself was, which meant at times, the only person capable of stopping him was her and her only.
He gripped the edges of his desk and performed his breathing exercises. Her smell assaulted him. It was like a low thrumming vibrations that cursed through his veins, like a drug or an addiction. He trembled and his wings came forward, wrapping him in a veil of black feathery haze. His only protection from the world and her.
They vibrated along with him but this time, the movement was meant to calm him, to soothe him. It worked. His mind went from a haze of self destruction and barely there control, to it's chaotic organized regular mess. His eyes changed color from their vibrant red to their regular blue-ish grey. His wings retreated back and he opened his eyes.
All around him was destruction. His desk had been split, his office chair was somewhere in the floor below. His window had been smashed to pieces and his precious collection of rare books was thrown to the floor.
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation.
If this woman, this human woman, was capable of bringing so much destruction forward without ever touching him, what would happen when she did?