HUNTED-Chapter 340: Where have you been? (1)

"Say that again," Aldric whispered, the tears still falling across his face as time seemed to stand still, his pleading eyes on his sister-in-law, hope filling his deep brown eyes. A bit of light returned to them as he waited for Cathy’s response. She’d said something that seemed impossible; still, he latched onto it, unwilling to let go.

Cathy sighed, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "That was a poor choice of words.." She bit her bottom lip, which trembled before she swallowed loudly. "I meant.. Rex and Elissa.. They’re not dead."

Aldric’s heart sank, yet at the same time, it soared. His hands went to his face, covering his nose and mouth as he stared at nothing in particular. His children were alive. His son and daughter were alive.

"Where?" His voice was barely above a whisper, full of emotion, but Cathy somehow heard him.

Unlike how she greeted him, his sister-in-law didn’t insult him further. Instead, she sighed and opened the door and the one behind her more. "Inside." She didn’t need to explain more or usher him inside.

Aldric pushed off from the ground in his weakened state. Harry hoisted him up from under his armpit as well, then stepped back, letting him step inside. Aldric stopped in the entryway and looked back at Harry. He was a strange, comforting presence. Without saying anything, Aldric nodded his head towards the house, indicating he should come inside with them.

Werewolves were protective of their family and were always wary of strangers or newly acquainted friends. Letting Harry inside to see his children was a sign of trust between them, and Harry couldn’t hide the shock from his features. But Aldric was already looking past that. His heart thumped so loudly in his ears, making all other noises cancel out.

Aldric’s eyes scanned the house, looking at every nook and cranny of his children, expecting them to magically disappear. Until he saw them with his own eyes, he wasn’t convinced yet they were alive. But they had to be. Cathy wouldn’t pull some sick joke on him, no matter how much she hated him now.

They roamed past the small living room full of children’s toys, but that also wasn’t evidence that his children were there. Cathy and her husband Mark had two other little ones around the same age. To be in the small terrace house must be a squeeze for them all.

More guilt clawed at him as they stepped through the small kitchen, where a small tv sat on the countertop playing a children’s cartoon program. The noise was bringing back memories of his wife cooking while Rex sat in his armchair watching the show. Aldric would wrap his arms around Emma’s small frame from behind, looking over her shoulder of golden hair and to the cake mixture in the bowl.

Aldric scooped some of the paste from the bowl with his finger and put it in his mouth, chuckling as she scolded him and smacked his hands lightly. She’d relent to him when he nuzzled his face into her neck, smelling her rosy scent and kissing her on the lips. Rex then giggled from behind them, snapping them out of something that would become very heated.

The memory faded away as the room chilled from where they walked through a small conservatory. Cathy’s small terrier had been yapping away, stuck inside the conservatory instead of being outside in the garden. It watched outside, fixated on children shouting and laughing.

The terrier became aware of the lycans in the room and instantly quietened, lowering itself in a submissive manner.

Aldric looked past it, though, his heart squeezing as his eyes landed on three children playing tag outside. He stopped on the patio just outside the conservatory door, his body almost collapsing again, this time in relief as he saw Rex and Elissa. His daughter was chasing after Rex, then changing her mind and going after her cousin, Jack, who was the same age as her.

Elissa fell onto her knees, trying to catch Jack, but she wiped off the mud from her pretty flowery dress and unknowingly rubbed it into her white tights more. Her silky blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail with a pink ribbon at the top.

Elissa continued to chase after Jack, who was running around a tree to keep her from getting to him. But Aldric’s gaze moved to his son, who stood there motionless. All joy vanished from his face as he stared wide-eyed at Aldric. Seeing his sudden stiff posture and balled fists, the other two children stopped and looked behind them.

"Elissa.. Rex.." Cathy called to them gently as Aldric took a few more steps into the garden.

Before Cathy could explain further, Elissa sprinted towards Aldric. "Dad!" She cried, her arms out wide. Aldric instantly went to her, picking her up into an embrace and squeezing her tightly.

"Elissa."

"Dad, where have you been!?"

His body started to shake from the quiet sobs as his heart started to break. "I’m sorry, my precious girl. I’m sorry." He apologised over and over, his hand rubbing her back then he looked to Rex, his hand extended to him.

"Rex?"

His son was stony-faced. Blue eyes, his mother’s eyes hard, but there was so much pain behind those eyes. He marched towards them, but instead of going to hug him, Rex continued past them silently. Aldric turned, watching him, his heart dropping again. He was the cause of his son’s expression.

Rex was too young. They both were.

"Give him some time," Cathy said from the side, her own son now hugging her leg.

Aldric nodded; he understood, but it still hurt. After eight months to be without their dad, he was very lucky right now that he even received a hug from his daughter.

"Let’s have some lunch," Cathy said, urging Aldric into the house. He could see her wariness of Aldric, but she was trying to make it seem everything was okay in front of the children.

They returned to the cramped kitchen. Elissa tapped him to let him know she wanted to be put to the ground. When he did, she grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the living room. Rex was there already sitting, holding a cushion, but as soon as he saw Aldric, he glared at his sister and stormed up the stairs.

"Lissa, honey. I’m going to speak to your brother."

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"No! Don’t leave!" Elissa screamed. Clinging to his arm.

A pang in his chest stopped him from leaving, but he looked to the stairs wanting to speak to Rex. He was a little older, but soon, his daughter pulled him to the floor so they could do some colouring. Harry, too was pulled down to the ground. Elissa, uncaring of how dangerous Harry really looked, scar and bulging muscles and all, she still ordered him to colour between the lines or else.

Harry looked at the paper, confused. "Inside the lines?" He acted like he’d never done such a thing growing up. Aldric stopped himself from mocking the rogue, realising Harry didn’t have a normal childhood.

For a while, he was comforted being in the presence of his innocent daughter, but he caught Cathy watching him, holding a cup of coffee, reminding him of Emma, then of his son upstairs. With Elissa distracted from telling Harry what to do, Aldric slipped by her, watching her like she was still not real, but it pained him to know Rex was upstairs alone.

Aldric and Cathy shared a look before he started to go up the wooden stairs.

His weight made the wood creak beneath his feet as he ascended and turned on the small hallway, glancing in between the open doorways. One was the master bedroom, and the second was a smaller room with two bunk beds. One was painted bright pink, and the other was painted light blue, indicating where the children slept.

In the corner near the window sat a large kids’ treasure chest in bright colours and toys falling out of it.

Besides that and the desk, the room was too small to fit other furniture. But the extra sets of chest of drawers and wardrobes in the master bedroom revealed them to be the kids.

Rex sat at the small desk before the window. There was an old, square-boxed computer screen and keyboard on it, revealing an old game on the screen. But his son wasn’t paying any attention to it.

He held a wooden photo frame in his hand, a family photo of them all smiling at the camera by the beach. It was the summer before last. Their last summer together as a proper family.

Aldric wiped the tear from his eye and tapped on the door. Rex stiffened but did not look in his direction or call to him. He knew it was his father.

Slowly approaching Rex, Aldric raked a hand through his hair, feeling his chest cave in as Rex turned to look at him like he was a demon he hated.

"Rex.." Aldric began; he didn’t know where to start. He kneeled on the floor beside him, looking up at his son.

He wanted to comfort Rex, but he didn’t know where to start. Some of his innocence was gone, and a burning hatred glared back at him. It stabbed at his heart to see his son looking at him in such a way.

"You were meant to protect us, but you left us." Rex’s words twisted that dagger in his heart even more.

Aldric dropped his face, nodding. "I failed, son. I know I failed and-"

"You left us, and now mum is dead!" Rex stood and pushed against Aldric’s shoulders, meaning to barge him away, but he was solid like a brick house.

"Rex.. Please let me explain."

"No!" Rex stormed away, stopping by the door and looked back at Aldric. "Mum is dead because of you."

With that, he left Aldric to a pit of despair in the small children’s room. Tears filled his eyes again. Rex was right, and he had every reason to spit out his frustrations at him, and although he wanted to crumble to the ground, curl into a ball and never wake again, he couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

Emma was gone, but he still had his children. Elissa and Rex still had their dad, and he would spend the rest of his life begging for forgiveness and protecting them.