His Hunter

VII | Change, Words

"What does that even mean? How do you even know that he's your mate?" The question echoed over and over again in Cole's head. 

This entire situation felt unfair. He kept feeling that word like a shot to the heart over and over again. Unfair, unfair, unfair. 

And then he'd fall into a pit of self-hatred and guilt because he was acting like a child. Unfair? Kaia was the one in danger now. Since he'd left the mansion, he'd called her nearly every day. Already, there had been an attack on her. Cole had a feeling the Pack wouldn't just accept her. Wolves are a close-knit group, always have been. Lines were drawn and they were hard to break through. 

Still, if anyone could do it, it was Kaia. She'd managed to get Cole visiting rights to the Mansion somehow, even if he was now avoiding that place like the black death because of a certain someone. Cole supposed that after surviving the attack, the remaining members of the Pack gained some respect for her, like they suddenly realized that she was tougher than they'd been expecting. She was Kaia, after all...Cole had to remember that. 

She hadn't been raised in the blood-drenched world of wolves, but she was tough enough to make it. Cole had always believed that somewhere deep down--Kaia was his big sister, the one who helped him through their mother's death all those years ago--but he'd always listened to his father. He'd always just accepted the way things were, that she needed to be protected. Because Cole had always wanted to believe in his father. It hurt to think that the man he'd once seen as perfect was the same one wandering around upstairs like a lost child. 

And Kaia had suffered for her father's faults, for Cole's childish hopes. It made him feel guilty. He'd let his sister, who he loved more than anything, suffer because he was afraid to face the truth. The truth. It was like a monster Cole had buried alive, keeping it hidden from himself and Kaia. He knew it was there. She hadn't. And yet despite his efforts, that monster had burrowed back to the surface, stronger than Cole's lies. What had it all been for?

Cole sighed and plopped his keys down on the small table in the hallway, swinging the door shut behind him. 

"Cole?" His father's voice called. He sounded stronger these days. After his breakdown, he'd wandered around the house like a ghost. He never said anything, just gazed out the window towards the porch as if he were waiting for someone to come home. Sometimes Cole found himself watching the steps up to the house, too. He always thought it would be Kaia walking up those steps, even if it was unlikely that such a thing actually happened; Cole didn't know if Kaia would ever come home again. Even more so, he wondered if after their mother had died, whether she'd ever actually seen this place as her home. Maybe all that was left here for her here was a cage. Maybe she didn't want to come home...and what did that mean for their relationship?

Cole pressed a hand against the ache in his chest and blinked tears away. He tried to muffle the thought that Kaia might leave him behind for good. She always seemed like her mind was elsewhere during their phone calls. She was busy, had her own life now. 

And what was Cole left with?

He was left looking after his father, who was probably gazing out the window again, eyes glazed over. Cole didn't think it was Kaia that David was looking for, though. He didn't really remember his mom very well, but he knew that she had been something special. Maybe you never really forget something like that. Maybe his dad was still too stuck in the past to take a step forward. 

Still, the man had recovered somewhat. He still seemed lost, but at least he could speak. When Cole had arrived back at the house, covered in blood, he'd found the door gaping open. The entire house was freezing, and his father had been wandering around staring at the pictures on the walls.