Freeing Anvi

Chapter Seventeen

"I'm going to kill the fucker when I find him," Oscar growls. He sifts through the papers in front of him vigorously and almost rips through the thin sheets. Through his anger, I can see blue claws pushing from under his fingertips. Fury doesn't even begin to describe his mood at the moment, but I'm not sure if I can describe it at all. My mind is equally as numb as his is, except Oscar is full of anger; I'm suffocated by disbelief.

"Maybe we should take a break?" I suggest a little weakly. "We've been at this for hours, Oscar. If we just stay here, It will only upset you more."

"What upsets me is that my mother was killed meaninglessly!" Oscar practically roars and slams the papers on the table. The thud ripples through the wobbly wooden legs of the small bench and into the ground, creating a wave with the beige carpet. At least, I think it's beige. Delia says it looks more like a cream color, and Jackson doesn't care. Adonis and I have been arguing about the color for weeks and it's the only thing that distracts me from all the deaths and parts of my heart that have been chipped off.

Colors.

Bleak colors, but colors nonetheless. Oscar's bare toe digs into the rough surface of the floor cover as he continues to look through the papers that Hailey left for him. Amanda and Darcy were supposed to be here too, but the only things left for them were small plots of land and a few pieces of jewelry. I assume they weren't too happy about that, based on the way that they stormed out of the house moments ago. I, on the other hand, would have loved it if my parents left me anything. Maybe they did. Who knows? The will was never given to me anyway.

"She wrote such a long will," Oscar says. He pushes the stack of clipped papers towards me. "There are so many things that belonged to her, or rather, Banastre." He shakes his head. "Mom was what I liked to call a packrat. She kept everything, from the tiniest bottle cap to Darcy and Amanda's baby clothes." He frowned. "Oddly enough, I can't recall them ever wearing those clothes, but I was too young anyway. I can't expect myself to remember." His laugh is a mix of amusement and pain.

"Alpha Banastre used to make me clean out her boxes," I remember with an odd fond sensation that wells up in my chest. "When she found out I was on my own cleaning in the attic, she'd come upstairs and help me look through the memories stored there."

"You mean all the ridiculous baby napkins and never-used diapers that she kept," Oscar scoffs, but there's a ghost of a smile on his lips. Successfully, I've made him happy, even just a little.

"I thought they were cute," I say with a smirk.

Oscar groans. "Oh, don't remind me," he sighs. "They were embarrassing. Every time I brought a girl over, that's always what Mom showed first." He purses his lips. "Now I won't have anyone to embarrass me in front of girls anymore."

I bite my lip, then lean over the table and pat his arm. "I'll embarrass you if you want." I grin. "That is, if you've found a girl to settle down with, finally?"

Oscar sighs again. "No, not yet," he says. "With me becoming Alpha and Jackson rising my rank, it's become quite difficult to find some time for myself, but I'm trying." He puts some of the papers back in the box next to him. "I met this girl a few days ago. I'm considering asking her out."

"You should!" I gleefully leap up. "If you like her, then go for it!"

Oscar's eyebrows raise in amusement. "I didn't realize that you wanted to get rid of me so quickly," he teases.

I blush. "I'm your friend," I grumble. "I want you to be happy too."

Oscar laughs. "I know." His eyes soften. "One day, I will, just like you."

My cheeks burn harder. "You're right," I agree. "One day, hopefully soon."

"How's it going in here?" Jackson strides into the room. Dressed in a pair of bleached jeans and loose shirt, he looks like he's ready to enjoy a relaxing Sunday, but the day is anything but relaxing. I know he's been in meetings all day, discussing the recent attacks and the plans to try and find the murderer. Whoever has been on this killing spree has been smart. They've left nothing behind, and because of the recent festivities due to my arrival, the tools that they usually have to investigate had been locked away in an out-of-state storage unit.