Fin's Claim

First Forward Motion

Finian's POV

Descending stairs one foot at a time not trying to hide my noise. Their voices stop making sound, the closer I get to his room.

Familiar hurt eyes of Grey and Victoria both regard me in contempt, full of judgment. Charlie at the foot of the bed on her back sleeping arms spread out without a care in the world. If I don't fix this, her world of growing up will become soiled with everyone's hate. Meela coming into the room standing in her spot just slightly away from Grey's bed looking between all of us.

Closing the door behind me, so we are in our private world for a moment.

The four of us.

"Say whatever you have to say to me, Grey." The words are spoken in an understanding of how hurt he is, not in any threat.

"I have nothing to say to you brother." His hands turning to fists, creeping red rage coloring his neck, dilating veins engorging with blood that's coming to the surface as if he's intent to fight me.

"You have a lot to say, I heard what you were saying to Victoria; I want you to tell it to me."

"What were you doing? Listening in on our conversation, spying on us?" Victoria stepping into my space, the salt path of tears have dried on her cheeks, eyes still hold a hint of red but clearing by the minute.

"Yes, I was." Saying it clearly while uneasy tension starts building up.

For a long time, I have faced the wrong way, it's time to face forward look at them all in the eyes including the demon that's now on the bed watching me with its forked tongue flicking in the air as if trying to get the taste for the mood.

All the focus is on me.

Victoria takes another step towards me no love eyes my way nothing but condemnation and regret.

"Were you going to mark her? Did you think about it?" Accusing eyes hold the betrayal she feels.

"I was looking at her marked neck, the urge came to me, my wolf stopped me before I could stop myself. I would have stopped myself, eventually."

"I don't believe you! How far would you have gone if the wolf didn't interfere?" Finger pointing at my throat, the only female that can stand toe to toe with me while holding my eyes.

"I don't know? I would like to think I would have stopped it not too far after my wolf told me to stop."

"I saw your teeth descending the way you were looking at her Finian, I saw it with my own eyes; you would not have stopped." Grey is flinging out words rimmed in red.

"No, I would have stopped myself, eventually." My volley of words striking him back.

"You've wanted my mate since the very beginning, don't you lie to me." Truth hitting my chest dead center.

The demon getting comfortable sitting crisscross on the bed, chuckling with a hand over its mouth trying not to wake up Charlie. 

Big breath in, outward the words will flow.

"I have wanted Meela, from the very beginning. I did, I thought she was the perfect mate, the perfect female back then. I was wrong. No one can compare to Victoria, but at the time I was blinded by my own hate for Victoria that I thought anyone who had a heart beat was better than her." Victoria huffs out a breath, crossing her arms against truths of my past.

"I have always been drawn to Meela I won't lie about that. I would have claimed her if I would have met her first, I absolutely would have because then I could ruin you, Grey, like the way I thought you ruined me at that time." Victoria keeps her back straight with the truth of my past wants.

"You're a sick wolf Fin." Grey's growls of sound tumbling out of a chest that's heaving with the weight that's pressed on top of it. He tries to swipe at me but I'm a little out of his reach, so I take that step closer to him. The fist hits hard to the side of my face. It doesn't have the power to stumble me, still too weak to fight a real fight.

"It won't make you feel better hitting me, but I will let you for a while because you are my brother and I love you."

"I've told you that I was drawn to her Fin, I couldn't help myself we were juveniles. I didn't know she was yours." Out of nowhere, a fist connects to my face that staggers me down hard, to the point I fall against the floor. Victoria is standing above me, her knuckles bleeding with the force she used. Even with fighting Grey all those years no one has ever managed to hit me that hard except my father. 

She could have been the fiercest with just a little proper training.

"How could you even think of doing that to your brother who loves you? He has suffered enough over the years and you thought about doing that to him all because I slept with him. Stay down Finian, you aren't right." Her whole posture taking a defensive stance.

"Is this what you need to do Victoria? Do you need to hit me to make yourself feel better? because it won't work, it will only make you hate yourself more than you already do." Another punch to my face that's harder than the last.

"I'm not sure Finian because that felt terrific." I need to spit out a molar that she just broke, blood mixed in with my spit because the inside of my cheek is ripped open. Victoria's hate eyes looking down at me, nothing loving in them shines out.

"Victoria I will take all your hate, I will take everything you want to spew my way for however long it takes for you to love me again, but you will not hit me again." Cynical laughter coming out of a throat that's constricting with emotions she's trying desperately to hide. "I will never make that mistake again, Finian. I will never love you." She's making an internal vow to herself.

Standing so I am face to face with her, "I will not give up on us." My vow back to her. She looks so much like the way I looked for all those years, hurt, betrayal, the loathing so intense it actually hurts my heart with the way she's staring back at me.

The long hard path must be walked in order for us to get to the end of it.

Turning towards my brother needing our conversation to continue as well.

"I tormented you through the years with the idea I could swoop in and somehow take what you had, Grey. Just like the way, I thought you took what was mine but in truth, it was never mine to take. It was Victoria's right to give away her Virtue to whoever she thought worthy of claiming it. I didn't understand that back then and it has taken me a long time to really truly understand completely that concept. I'm sorry Grey for ruining us."

The demon on the bed watching silently without commentary, its eyes a blackness that is abstinent of light. 

"Why didn't you tell me Meela kissed you first?"

"I knew you would kill her because that's your Nature. You would have killed her, Grey would have come after you Victoria in time and he would have ended you. I would have no choice but to end him. I prevented a chain reaction from happening."

"Why would you kiss him Meela? Why?" Victoria's hurt voice sounding out.

Meela standing on her own without support from anyone looks into Victoria's eye with remorse.

"I kissed him to feel better, I knew he wasn't Grey and I'm sorry. It felt good to be in his arms and pretend for a moment. He let me pretend and I should have never put that on Fin. I'm not strong like you Victoria, I'm ashamed of what I have done and I understand how you can hate me, how Grey can hate me." She takes a quick glance at Grey before looking down at the floor.

"I don't hate you Meela." The soft texture of sound coming from Grey's voice that leaves no room for doubt that he doesn't hate her. His arms open wide for her to come to him and she does, they hug each other tightly both start to cry looking at each other before Grey pulls himself together.

Victoria watching them before looking back at me. "I hate you, just so we are absolutely unconditionally clear on that."

"I understand, but that doesn't stop me from loving you, Victoria."