Blood and Love

"It's over. It's finally over," Leon murmured as he sat down next to the rocking little ball that was Lucy, his suit torn and covered in bloodstains. "It's over. It's finally over." Lucy was the one who had been rocking. The man's face was marred with cuts and bruises all over. There are moments when I simply do not comprehend my brother. After everything that has taken place, he is now able to simply sit next to her. The fact that we are in this predicament may be directly attributed to her actions.

Smith has been found dead, and Silly has vanished from the scene. Even though I would prefer to have my little wolf by my side, at least I can rest easy knowing that she is in good hands with Wendy.

Leon began to speak to Moriah, but she did not reply to his greeting.

To get her attention, Leon said, "Hey, look at me," and turned her head to face him.

As he did so, I was overcome with feelings of envy. I have no right to feel this way because she made an attempt to destroy and murder my family. But I'm at a loss to explain how I've been feeling lately. When I'm around her, it's as if I'm standing in the eye of the storm; everything else seems hazy and transitory before my eyes, except for her. Being around her is like being in the eye of the storm. She is the only thing that I can see, as plain as the nose on my face.

Lucy cast her gaze in Leon's direction, but her expression betrayed no sign of recognition or emotion. She appeared to be lifeless on the inside; looking into her eyes was like staring into a chasm.

"It's going to be okay," Leon mumbled, uncertainly peering into her eyes as if he were looking for something specific. "It's going to be okay," he added.

After a little pause, Lucy turned her head to the side in order to take another glance at the ashes of Lorcan. After he had finished, he heaved a sigh of defeat and rose up. Lucy had stopped rocking from side to side, but she continued to bring her knees up to her chest and hold them there as if her life depended on it.

Leon inched closer and closer to me.

"She's not well, Cedric. Lorcan appears to be what grounded her, and now that he is gone, it is as if something has broken inside her. When I looked at her, it was like looking at a ghost. It was as if I could see straight through her." Leon trailed off with a note of worry in his voice. I gave a cursory look in the direction of my brother before my gaze moved on to Lucy's lifeless corpse.

Leon finished waiting for a response from me before continuing to speak. "I don't know what to do, brother..."

"I think she just needs some time," I replied, turning to gaze at Leon. "It's just that simple."

Leon remarked, with a wry smile on his lips, "You may be right... I'm going to go and get cleaned up. I look as if I have been dragged through the mud," and then he went off in the direction of our house. "I look as if I have been dragged through the mud," Leon added. Before he went inside, he gave me a sideways glance and said,

Before entering the house, he gave a quick glance at Lucy and then at me before saying, "Take care of yourself, brother." After that, he left. I understood what he was getting at. It's possible that Lucy will bring about my demise. He is concerned that I might sustain an injury. That's my dumb older brother right there... Always put the needs of other people first.

Leon

Cedric may not be aware of it, but I can tell by the way he looks at Lucy. I cannot remember the last time I saw him with that expression on his face. I am not aware of what is taking place with Lucy at this time; however, Cedric must exercise extreme caution. Even if Lorcan is no longer alive, she has demonstrated that she can easily switch loyalties when necessary. If he really does care about her, I don't want to witness the heartbreak that would ensue if she turned him down.

I spoke out loud to myself, despite the fact that I knew he could hear me.

"Like I said once upon a time, brother, I let her in, and even now, I do not know if that was the right decision... and now it seems that goes for the both of us."

I just took a moment to stand there and take everything in before moving on. My father has passed away, at long last. The terrifying ordeal is finally done. No longer are we required to keep running. We will, at long last, be able to have a home of our own, but I get the impression that it won't be finished. There is, and there always will be, a piece that is missing, and I have a strong suspicion that piece belongs to her.

She was just sitting there, staring into the void without making any movement. Her dark brown hair shone in the early morning light, revealing its real coloration, which was actually a light blue. Despite the fact that she is covered in blood, filth, scrapes, and bruises, she is the most beautiful lady I have ever seen. I have no right to have her. I am aware of that. But here I am, stuck in place like an awkward teenager, unable to simply walk away from her.

I took the first step toward approaching her. When at a loss for what to do, one simply acts on their gut feelings or their emotions. I decided to take a seat behind her.

I asked her in a soft voice, "Moriah, may I call you Moriah?" In answer, she gave a slight shake of the head.

She shook her head once again and asked, "Lucy, then?"

I hesitated and put my hand on her shoulder before saying, "I understand how you're feeling. You may not believe me, but I do." She may not have believed me, but I did. To my astonishment, she moved closer to be touched by me.

I then began to carefully hug her balled-up body close to me as it was pressed against me. I protected her from the outside world by covering her with my body and acting as a shield. I was able to sense that her entire body was beginning to tremble. I placed my hand on her head and began gently stroking her hair while murmuring reassuring words into her ear. I was trying to reassure her.

I leaned in close to her and planted a passionate kiss on the crown of her head as I said, "I know how you feel, Love. Because we are one and the same."

"The world has been unjust to us our entire lives." I sobbed into her shoulder as I tightly embraced her, convinced that if I didn't, she would vanish. As I continued to rub her hair, I could feel her tears soaking my soiled clothes as I continued to do so.

I raised my voice just a hair above a whisper and said, "But in the end, we found each other. And that is all that Kristoffers."

-

It seemed like we had been there for a lifetime as we sat there waiting for her to stop shivering and fall asleep in my arms, but eventually she did. I dared not move for fear of rousing her from her sleep. Although it seemed like only minutes, I had to have been holding her sleeping figure for what had to have been hours at that point. The clouds in the sky made the sky appear black. I tried to ignore it for quite some time by resting my head on top of hers with my eyes closed and taking in the beauty of the moment, but it wasn't long until I felt the first drop of rain land on my cheek.

I spoke to her in a tone that was as gentle as I could muster and told her, "Love, we need to get inside." She did not make a sound. She did nothing more than snuggle up closer to my chest. A steady downpour of rain started to fall. It was imperative that I bring her inside. I supported her back with one arm while placing the other arm behind her knees. As I raised her, she offered support by wrapping her arms over the back of my neck. I was quick to sneak inside and make my way to her room on the second floor. When I opened the door, the room gave the impression of being completely vacant. It had been a very, very long time since she had stayed the night in this location. I made my way over to the bed, where I placed her, and proceeded to tuck her in. I shifted my focus to the window and pulled the drapes closed. When she finally broke her silence after what seemed like a long time, I was on the verge of leaving to give her the opportunity to get some much-needed rest.

She hardly raised her voice to speak above a whisper as she pleaded with him, "Please don't leave." I turned around to face her; she was looking at me with her large, appealing eyes that were the color of the ocean.

I responded softly, "Okay, love," and then moved to the opposite side of the bed, where I climbed under the cover and sat with my back against the headboard. After that, she proceeded to get closer to me, at which point I felt compelled to put my arm around her. She fell asleep almost immediately after laying her head on my chest and snuggling up to me. We were really close. It took a little bit of time until I was also kicked out. The day had been exhausting.

When I woke up and stretched my arm out to the side, I saw that Lucy's previous position on my body was now vacant. As I jumped out of bed in a hurry, I was momentarily overcome with a feeling of terror in my chest. In the midst of my search for her in the room, I became aware of the sound of the shower. After a few moments of reflection, I heaved a sigh of contentment and returned to the bed.

Lucy's long brown hair was draped over her shoulder as she emerged from the shower, appearing wet and wearing a hoodie and sweatpants. It did not take long for her to complete her transformation. The hoodie fits her so loosely that it covers her hands even as she is holding herself up with her arms. She kept her head lowered because she did not want to look at me.

I got to my feet and smiled at her as I stood in front of her before saying, "Good morning, Love."

"Cedric, I..." she muttered as she moved away from me while still maintaining eye contact with me.

She repeated this while embracing herself even more tightly and adding, "I can't be near you right now."

"Every time I look at you, all I can see is him," she said in a barely audible whisper as her gaze sank to the ground. "Every time I look at you, all I see is him."

I questioned her with a perplexed tone, "What are you talking about?"

"Lorcan. You remind me of Lorcan. He may not have been your real father, but the imprint he left on you is clear as day." She burst out fiercely.

She trailed off while lifting her head and gazing me in the eye. "Your cruelty, your mannerisms, everything about you screams Lorcan Bloodtear. I can't spend any more time around or thinking about that man."

As I got closer, I could see her jerk backward in response to my approach. I made the decision to slowly move away from her in order to give her some personal space. When Leon mentioned that something had broken inside of her, I didn't understand what he meant at the time, but now I do. I don't know what happened to the courageous person I once knew, but I now see what he meant. When I took a good look at her, she seemed like such a delicate creature.

I turned away from her in order to avoid her sight as I said, "And to get rid of him, you have to get rid of me." She gave a slight nod of her head.

I tried to conceal the fact that I was hurt by asking her, "Are you sure about this?" while at the same time posing the question to her.

She questioned me softly, trying to meet my gaze, but I found myself unable to look at her. "Yes, I am. Can you... Can you get me a car? In like an hour, maybe? I can't stay here."

I responded while turning my back on her and saying,

I was about to open the door and put my hand on the door handle when I heard her voice. I immediately stopped what I was doing and turned around to face her. "Yes, I will make those arrangements for you."

She ended her sentence with a truncated version of "I am truly sorry, Cedric. I wish things could be different." A shiver ran up and down my spine at the same time. When she spoke my name, it was like music to my ears; nevertheless, the realization that I would never hear it from her mouth again caused a fire of rage and frustration to burn within me.

I replied in a straightforward manner, "I do, too," and then I left the room.

Leon came up to me and said, "I've heard that she's leaving," while I was standing there. I was waiting for her to come outside so that I could get her keys while I sat at the bottom of the stairs in the foyer. In response, "You heard right, brother," I said. I paused and put my head in my hands as I muttered, "You were once again correct. When our father died, something broke inside of her.

She's not acting like the person we once knew." "You were once again correct." Leon began to let out a small sigh as he said, "She is acting more like she did when she was my fiance, like Moriah Oakley. A fragile human girl."

"She is acting more like she did when she was Moriah Oakley."

Leon continued his sentence calmly as he sat down beside me and said, "But then again, as you said, brother, she might simply need some time. Her whole world has been turned upside down and inside out. We, of all people, should understand how that feels."

He showed his brotherly love for me by patting me twice on the back. As a reaction to the things he said, I nodded my head. I turned around and heard her soft voice say, "Hi," coming from behind us. We jumped to our feet at the same time and turned to face her in unison. She was dressed in the same clothing she had been wearing previously, but this time, she had a bulky jacket on top of it. Leon gave her a friendly smile.

"I guess this is it for now," he murmured to her while giving her a hug. She responded by hesitantly putting her arms around him and hugging him. After saying this to him, she moved away from him and added, "Yes, I guess it is, Leon. Thank you... for everything."

Leon smiled and bowed, and then he moved out of the way so that I could have a conversation with her. "There's nothing to thank me for. I simply repaid my debt to you." I extended my hands to her with the keys still in them so that she could accept them. When she put her hand in mine to take the keys, I immediately covered hers with the other hand I was using. She showed signs of worry for a moment, but she soon became calm after looking into my eyes and determining that there was no danger there. I drifted off for a moment before continuing my line of thought, which was, "I know you don't want anything to do with me, but I have something I need to say before you leave."

"There's a whole world out there waiting for you. Great cities, art, and music. Genuine beauty, and you could have all of it... You are finally free from the shackles my father put on you. You are free from the mess that is the Bloodtear family. Free from me." I trailed off again as I avoided eye contact. I concluded what I was saying to her and then gave her a tender kiss on the hand before saying, "Now I need you to go on your merry way and find what you've always been looking for-a purpose. A real purpose." She looked at me with wide eyes, and for a split second, I could see it in her eyes. She continued to stare at me. The woman who I know is still contained there. She paused before taking the keys and said something along the lines of, "Thank you both for your kindness after everything I've done to you and your family."

As she turned and began to walk away from us, she cast a glance in our direction. She came to an abrupt halt, fixed her gaze on the road in front of her, and then spoke. She stated it in a voice that was eerily calm, and then she vanished out the door after saying it. "Tell Katty that I am truly sorry. I took something from her that I can never give back. One day, I will pay for my actions and let her know that she will be first in line. I owe her that."

As I entered our home, I gave Leon a quick glance before turning and walking in. After he had done so, he joined me in sitting down in the living room of our home, each of us preoccupied with our own thoughts. We had been there for some time, just quietly sitting there, when finally Leon decided to break the silence. He stated this and glanced at me before returning his attention to the glass of whiskey he was sipping.

"I believe that when you love someone and that person loves you in return, you are uniquely vulnerable. They have the power to hurt you. That's like nothing else."

He said this and glanced at me before returning his attention to the glass. The meaning of what he was trying to convey was very plain; he was trying to reassure me in his typically brotherly fashion that he understood. The one-of-a-kind capacity to inflict pain... I have no doubt that she possesses that.