Alpha Of Darkness And The Half-Breed Healer

NIA’S POV

“I feel so awful, Perry.” I lamented to my best friend.

Perry flipped at her hair while adjusting the scarf around her neck. “I am still surprised that Kingston would decide without hearing from you. Is there a chance anyone would carry that much guilt with them even when they aren’t the offender?”

I sniffed, feeling my swollen eyes. “Kingston is like that. I knew that was bound to happen, so I insisted he didn’t know. There was a time when his younger sister had bullied his intended girlfriend in high school. Kingston felt so bad that he kept apologizing for years until the girl left the pack for college. Do you think he would come back to me?”

Her face fell, “I would be stupid to reassure you on something like that. If Kingston is like anything you have described, then I doubt you will see him around anytime soon.”

“I think I have his house address and that of his workplace. I will leave early tomorrow to go find him.”

“No, don’t do that. Give Kingston enough time to himself. It must be a lot for anyone to learn that their mother is a murderer. It’s not just about you, and it is that burning reality that would never exceed him. Let him be for a while. He loves you too much just to let you be by yourself. Don’t tell me you have been crying over that and stressing you and the baby?”

I sighed. “I just couldn’t control myself. I didn’t feel this heavy when Kingston asked me out and turned him down. What if he does something to harm himself?”

“No, he wouldn’t. Stop worrying yourself for nothing. Where is Grandma Catelyn?” She asked, changing the topic.

“She should be around the house somewhere. I have locked myself in since Kingston left. I wasn’t sure I would be able to reach you. I am glad I got to talk to you. How is Spain?”

“Amazing!” Perry bellowed with a bright smile plastering her face. “It is like a dream come true for me. After you give birth, you and I will travel here and have the best times of our lives. But before that can happen, I will need you to be healthy. I am sure Kingston would want that, too. Just give him some time. Things would work out at their own pace. Come on now, you must have gotten the old lady worried for nothing. Go find her and assure her everything is fine.”

I nodded my head in agreement. It is probably the best time to open up to Catelyn. She has been nothing short of understanding and accommodating since I came here. I have always heard that older people are pretty nosy. But she has kept her calm until the end and given me the time to process whatever I intend to share with her.

“Alright, Perry. I will talk to you later. Bye.” I waved.

“Bye, my love. Kisses to my baby in there.” She said, pointing at my bump.

I chuckled. “I am sure my baby is listening. See you.”

The call ended, and everywhere went silent at once. I was staring at my puffed face in the mirror. I made my way out of the room after splashing a bit of water to keep the redness away. Catelyn was seated on the armchair that I have learned is her favorite in the house knitting. She looks at peace doing the task. I envy how she quickly gets around her day despite her age. She glanced up at my footstep.

“Oh, my darling. You are out now. Natalie, can you help me with the avocado smoothie I made for Nia, please.” She requested, smiling at me.

I blushed shyly, taking the filled glass from Natalie. I took a long sip hungrily, and it tasted like heaven. I can’t believe I starved myself for the last two to three hours. “Thank you so much for this, granny. It tastes great.”

“You are welcome, my darling. Anything for you. Are you ready to eat now?”

I shook my head, “Not yet, thank you. Granny, I want to apologize for the stress you had to go through in preparing a meal for Kingston. I promise to eat as much as I can.”

She waved a dismissive hand. “I figured something must have come up.”

“Something ensued between us and…”

“You don’t have to tell me, Nia, if you don’t want to.” She said, cutting me short.

I moved to the edge of the couch eagerly. “I want you to know. You should know. You must have thought my adoptive family was nice to me because of my relationship with Kingston. However, that isn’t the case at all. I am a real-life Cinderella. The only difference is I am only related to them by paper. Kingston was the only nice person among them, and before I came down here, I had survived taking poison.”

“What?” She exclaimed in shock. “how did that happen?”

I stared down at the floor like something was intriguing on it. “My adoptive mother poisoned me. She seemed to hate that I had amassed the courage to talk back at her and refuse to be bullied by her. She came nicely, and I fell for the sham, thinking she cared.”

“I am guessing Kingston is just finding out about this.”

“Yes, and he thinks our closeness would only harm me more. I know you might think he is right to say that. But I can assure you that Kingston is nothing like that. He is an amazing person who has compassion. I don’t want to lose him this way for something he knows nothing about. He never should have found out.”

Catelyn cleared her throat and held my gaze. “He was going to find out sooner or later, and his reaction toward the incident has nothing to do with you. If he cared about you, he would return to be by your side and be ready to protect you. That was what your mother did for your father when she found out that your father’s life was in possible danger at the pack. She held a solid stance, and nobody dared to mess with him again. I know you have been through a lot, Nia. And you cherish every relationship you have. But sometimes you have to leave people to learn on their own. Let your mind be at rest.” She assured.

I watched her in awe. How she can handle my revelation calmly without overreacting or saying something odd surprises me. “You are such an awesome person, granny.” I complimented.

She chuckled, “Why would you say that?”

“I am amazed at how you get to handle things without overreacting. That is something that I haven’t been able to learn so far.”

“With time, you will catch on with it. You see, your father’s life story made me realize that as a living thing, all of our experiences, be they good or bad, are what make us. There is no need to feel ashamed about it or hold grudges. That is how we win against life, and that is by not playing the victim. You are a strong young lady, Nia. I see how intentional you are about your ability. The people at the clinic talk about how sweet you are. Despite everything you have been through, you still keep yourself together. Don’t let anything bother you from now on. Just be sure to live happily. And I hope I can see you through halfway before my last days alive.”

I sniffed back the tears that flooded my eyes as I knelt in front of her and hugged her tightly. “don’t say something like that. You will make me cry.”

“The truth is your pregnancy hormones are the ones making you cry, not me.” She mentioned laughing. I joined in, too, and leaned further into the embrace. It’s all the comfort I need right now.