A Wolf's Miracle

Chapter 45

Harlan

He'd been avoiding Diana. He was pissed at her and he could tell the feeling was mutual. 

She was mad at him because he was keeping things from her, which was weird the more he thought about it. They were friends, right? It's not like they were dating. If anything, they were the opposite of dating, and considering how she got Blaze to do her dirty work, maybe they were dating.

God, he could murder Blaze in his sleep, he could just rip his throat out for even thinking of touching what was his and---

Whoah.

"I need to calm down," he told himself as he paced in the living room, he was walking with such force he was afraid the floor would bear marks of this.

"You usually do, why this time?" The voice of another person he recently hated a lot said.

"Fuck you," he said to his brother, who just calmly strode in as if this was his house. He reminded himself it was his house and cursed internally.

"Geez, what is up with you? Woke up on the wrong foot of the bed or--"

"You overruled me," he said outright, no beating around the bush, not with Damien. 

"What?" he said confused.

"I told Blaze to stay away, to forget the dungeon, but you said it was okay and now the fucking idiot is taking Diana to Dad's torture chambers!" he yelled at him taking a step closer to him with every word.

Damien rolled his eyes "You are being overly difficult, yes, it is a horrible place, but in the end, it is her choice" he sighed "Believe me, if I could I would burn that place to the ground but I can't. It may as well serve a purpose."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Harlan said throwing his hands up in the air "Are you insane? Do you even remember what he did to us there? Because it seems like you don't, how could you let her go there? How could you overrule me when it comes to her safety, to her wellbeing--"

"It isn't about that and you know it," Damien said, starting to lose his patience "This isn't about her, it is about you. This is about you not wanting her to find out more about you, about your past. All of this because you're scared!" he started yelling and Harlan didn't register what was happening until he had grabbed his brother and slammed his back against a wall.

His arm was pressing his throat as he said "You don't know me, you couldn't possibly understand what it was like, you were his favorite--" That seemed to make Damien angrier as he pushed him off and held him in the same position he used to be holding him.

"Don't you ever say I don't get it" Damien said, his voice dangerously low. Harlan struggled against him, but he was too angry and his brother had the upper hand "I get you had a harder time than me, I get that he made it especially awful for you, but it was never easy for me." 

"Then how could you allow people to see that part of our past?" He said, still seeing red "How could you overrule me and allow her to experience even a fraction of what it was like?"

Damien examined his brother's eyes for a second and he immediately let him go in surprise as he concluded. "You love her" Harlan was lucky his back was to the wall or he would have fallen.

"What?"

"You love her, I thought you just wanted to fuck her, or maybe liked her... but you love her," he said amazement in his voice. Harlan was in denial, he didn't feel that way for her, and he wasn't ready to admit he felt that way.

Harlan's fear turned into anger as he was about to charge his brother before he was stopped by an invisible force.

"What the bloody hell do you think you are doing?" Violette's voice boomed with outrage. "Harlan, what is wrong with you?" Harlan could only stare at his brother who looked thoroughly entertained.

"Violette, you have no idea what I just found out--"

"Shut up!" Harlan bellowed "It's not true and I swear to God if you tell anyone I will rip your spine out and feed it to you!" he still struggled against Violette's power, trying to move but failing massively.

"Jesus, what is with the violence this early in the morning!" she feigned outrage. "Harlan, come with me before you do something you regret," she said using that horrible power of hers to draw Harlan closer and closer until she was dragging him outside and into the forest for some privacy.

 "Okay, what is wrong with you?"

"None of your business" There she was again, being a nosy bitch.

"I agree," she said, surprising him "But if you are going to engage in such ridiculous talk with your older brother, please do refrain from doing so in the middle of the living room when one is trying to sleep."

"It's 2 pm," he said staring at her.

"I'm a vampire," she said, moving over to stand in the shade and crossing her arms. 

"You don't look like you were sleeping," he said as he surveyed her perfectly done hair and makeup. And the red, short velvet dress she was wearing with her usual heels.

"I must confess I wasn't particularly presentable when you started your little quarrel," she looked away "So I let you fight for a bit while I finished getting ready."

Harlan cracked a smile at that. That was so her. 

"So, will you tell me why is it you were so close to mauling your dear brother to death?" her blue eyes bore into him like ice daggers.

"Fine" he'd tell her but only because she would never stop asking otherwise. Not because he knew she gave great advice and he needed some advice.

So he told her everything and she listened.

It wasn't until the end of everything that she said "Well you should tell Diana why you don't want her to go to the dungeon" That wasn't the answer he was expecting. He thought if someone could understand not wanting to tell someone you care about the horrible things that were done to you, it was her.

"What? No, I can't tell her, I'll lose her"

"That does not make any sense," Violette said confused.

"It does, " he started "If I tell her about my father I will have to talk to her about the horrible things I've done and then I'll lose her."

"You are overthinking this," she said calmly "Not all people leave when you open up to them, feelings are normal, even the strongest of us have them."

"I won't tell her, how can I tell her?"

"Opening your mouth and telling her like you just told me," she said as if it was the most obvious thing.

"I barely scratched the surface with you, if I'm going to tell her, I should tell her everything."

"Sure, even better," she said with a smile that revealed those perfect white teeth and, at this moment,  only slightly longer fangs.

"You're annoying," Harlan said exhaling for a long while.

"Do you remember what I said to you that night? That you would regret it if you didn't tell her everything?"

"Yes?"

"Don't make me repeat myself, Harlan" she sighed "I can tell you really like that girl, don't do anything you might regret."

"Why? Have you done something you might regret before?"

"When you live as long as I have your life is full of regrets and a trail of broken hearts" She looked away and smiled "But this time it will be different."

"What do you mean?" he never understood what she was saying.

"I will never fall in love again, I will die soon, remember?"

Violette didn't know at the time, how false that statement was.