Sinking into their own world after Tessa broke the kiss, Kreed couldn't utter a word as a response to her actions. He hadn't anticipated it. It came as a surprise to him and it stirred something inside of him, something he would rather much avoid. With their eyes locked, memories of their time together kept flashing through his mind.
"Tessa..." He was cut off by her slap that landed directly on his right cheek. "Ouch" He said softly, touching his face where her small palm had left a mark.
"Oh my God! I'm so sorry" She gasped, covering her mouth as she came back to reality. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to....it's just...I'm sorr..." She paused as realization dawned on her. "No! No I'm not sorry. You should be the one apologizing!" She switched up fast.
Seeing this, Kreed couldn't stop his lips from forming into a smile. "This feels familiar" He smiled softly.
"How could you? How could you do this to me?" She broke down in tears. Kreed stared at her in awe. It was a mystery to him how easily her emotions switches. "You lied to me, you betrayed me, you abadoned me, you broke my heart Kieran!" She cried, hitting him repeatedly.
Kreed stood still without uttering a word, letting her get it all out. "SAY SOMETHING!!" She cried loudly.
"You have to calm down Tessa"
"Cal...calm down? Calm down?? How am I suppose to be calm right now. The man I love faked his death and not only that, he ended up being the leader of my pack's enemy. How am I suppose to be calm? Tell me!" She blurted out
"I see" He heaved a deep sigh. "You're right..." He started, walking toward the bed "But they are not your people Tessa, they are not your pack. You saw how quickly they were about to dispose of you when they had the chance. You have to understand that you were never one of them" He explained
"Maybe you're right. But what about you? What was your reason for doing all this? For leaving me all by myself? For using me too like everyone else has been doing apparently" She asked, wiping the tears off her cheek.
"I didn't use you Tessa" He replied
"Then explain to me pleaseee before I go crazy trying to figure it out. I've thought about it all since the last time we met and I can't come up with any good reason. Help me understand why" Tessa lamented.
"Well. I never planned for all of these to happen. It wasn't how I expected things to go. The plan was quite simple. Infiltrate the pack, find a way to get you out and find out all the info we can on the five packs. That was the plan....but our story took an unexpected turn, one that almost disrupted our plans" He explained calmly
"And what plan is that?"
"Bring the same suffering we experience upon the five packs by wiping them out" He replied with a stern tone. You could tell he meant all he was saying.
"That is insane. You can't do that. You can't end all those innocent lives" She argued
"And what about the innocent lives our people that were ended? Who among them is innocent? Is it the Alpha who murdered your parents, abducted you and lied to you all your life? Is it the self proclaimed Alpha, Beta Maynard who almost sacrificed you for his goals? or is it Derek who killed me just because I was a threat standing between him and you? Or is it...."
"Wait!" Tessa cut in with furrowed brows. "What did you just say about Derek?"
Kreed sighed, shaking his head slowly. "It doesn't matter. He didn't succeed and it was a wake up call for me. It made me not to lose sight of the endgame"
"Oh my God" Tessa whispered to herself worriedly with shock still visible on her face. She ran her fingers through her hair. "I can't believe Derek tried to kill you and then lied to us all about you being killed by the leader of the Black Lotus" She added. "Just how long has he and his father been planning this?"
"Well now you know just what their true nature is"
"And my father?" She asked curiosly, staring directly at him. "Did you or your people killed him when I was being held by you?"
"No we didn't. That was done by the so called pack members. That is not how we wish to bring them pain. Not how cowardly they did theirs. And that is the reason why we haven't attacked yet...well apart from you still being there. We want the war to be on equal ground. No one is innocent Tessa, it is time you understand that"
Tessa moved forward groggily and sat on the bed beside where Kreed was standing. She couldn't believe all that was being unveiled to her recently. She had been lied to, used and fooled by everyone she cared about. She buried her face in her palms and heaved a deep sigh.
"You have to believe me Tessa. There's nothing good left in this world. Nothing but futility, pain and suffering. The werewolves are the worst kind of being to walk the Earth and that is why it needs to be corrected" Kreed pointed out, staring down at her.
"So what's the plan? You're going to murder every single one out there and then what? Live the rest of your lives alone?" She turned to face him.
"Of course not...." He paused, tilting his head up toward the roof. "None of us expect to come out of this alive. We have nothing to live for. All we cared about was ripped from us at a very young age. Suffering and pain is all we've ever known. There's nothing we care about to live for" He replied calmly
"Well I do" She shot up to her feet, standing in front of him. "I have things and people I care about enough to want to live. I care about my best friend Vee to not see her die and to want to live, I care about the kids in my pack, the mothers and fathers who are innocent of the crimes committed against you, those who are good enough to make life worth living. I care about my unbor...." She paused, swallowing what she was about to say. She shifted her gaze to the floor, sighed and then looked back up at him with teary eyes. "I care about you Kieran. I care about you so much. I care about you so much I don't want to see you die. I've passed through that once already and I never wanna experience that again" She said just as a tear ran down her cheek.
"Tess..."
"I care about you so much that I'm not going to let you throw your life away. I'm going to protect you from yourself and stop you from going down this path, even if I have to give up my life for it" She blurted out with teary eyes.
Kreed stood dumbfounded, unable to utter a word after hearing all she just blurted out. Why she cared about him so much was confusing to him. Although he knew the reason why, but it was his first time experiencing it and it was surprising. He could feel his heart melting to her words and reacting to the look on her face but he was trying so hard to control his emotions.
He kept staring at her speechless. Seeing the tears in her eyes did something to him. He felt the urge to want to protect her always. The urge to make sure her eyes never bring out more tears. He was lost in her gaze and was subconsciously bringing his hand up to her face slowly with the aim of wiping of her tears.
"Kreed" Silas voice broke him out of his trancelike state. His hand dropped back down quickly, both of them shifting their attention to the door where Silas was standing. He had his mask on but not on their signature robe. He had the same fit on as Kreed.
"Who's Kreed?" Tessa questioned, shifting her eyes back to Kieran.
"Me. That is my real name. Kieran was the name I adopted for the persona" He replied
"I think I prefer Kieran. I'm going to stick with that" She stated.
"Hmmm" Kieran cocked his brow.
"Well Kreed?" Silas spoke up again, seeing as they were getting lost in their discussion again.
"Fine. You can have the time with her now. I know you're eager to. I haven't seen you this impatient" Kieran replied.
"Time for what?" Tessa asked confused, staring on as Silas made his way over.
"Tessa...meet your brother Silas" Kieran introduced, knowing the shock that was going to be to her. Just as expected they could visibly see it on her face.