章 33: Memories of Pain

Tears.

Angel woke up with tears running down her face. She couldn't remember why, but the last remnants of her dream must have caused it.

There was a tightness in her chest that she couldn't explain. Like a vine was slowly squeezing the life out of her. Angel let out a broken sob, and just like that, the imaginary vine disappeared, replaced by torrents of tears she cannot understand.

The bed where she slept moved and she was surrounded by something warm.

Pyr.

The man had constantly been around her and the kids after the incident. If he was not around, Ven would be inside the house, along with Thea who, surprisingly, likes spending time with the kids.

Two weeks had passed since THAT happened. The entire house was cleaned. Regardless of whether the tangos went in the room, or not.

Another broken sob escaped her lips. She felt like her heart was breaking into two. Like something important was gone. She tried to speak, but no sound came.

Pyr tightly drew her into his embrace. All Angel could do was hold on to the arms that were wrapped around her waist, and let the tide of emotions wash over her.

〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜

Pyr hated tears.

It reminded him of the time he had lost everything he held dear to him. It was also one of those emotions that he understood well.

Angel stopped making those heart-wrenching sobs that undid him. He could feel her hiccups but did not say anything. Not yet.

She tapped his arm indicating she was okay. Pyr laid his back on the bed and waited for what Angel would do.

As much as it pains him to admit it, the evidence of what he witnessed in the aftermath of the attack made him painfully aware of who she was.

She was the infamous daughter of Leander Aetos. The granddaughter of Stavros Aetos, the greatest warrior he had known. The only female in the Aetos clan.

The woman that Leander always mentioned, but had never shown him a picture of.

Zarina Mia Angelica Ignacio-Aetos

She was…

Pyr stopped whatever he was thinking. It was hard to think when the woman suddenly straddled him and laid her head on his chest. Did she stop wiggling? No, she had to move her hips on his waist to look for a more comfortable position.

Torture. He was being tortured because the thoughts that are currently running in his head were not brotherly. Or not even uncle likes.

They were mates.

As simple as that.

"I remembered the smell of rotting bodies, Pyr," Angel whispered.

He could feel that her eyes were closed because he felt the flutter of her eyelashes against his skin. It was arousing as fuck.

"I remember being cold, and a wolf found me."

"Wolf?" He asked.

She nodded and continued. "I can remember bits and pieces of my memory. Most of them are too hazy to understand. Some are good, and some are bad. The only constant thing about them was my daddy."

"Your mom?" he asked.

"Mom was always away. She was one of those Class A personalities. But man, she was always calling me." Her voice was filled with pleasure. "Even during her talks, she was always online."

The sudden change of her voice caught Pyr's interest. He picked one of her hands and entwined their fingers together. In a soft, gentle voice, he asked, "What happened?"

Angel did not reply right away. She was running her thumb at the back of his hand. He felt her let out a deep sigh before she answered.

"She was on her way home from a long week out of the country when the car she was driving was hit by a truck." Her voice had a dead-like quality that made Jin angry. The stupid thing wanted to come out and burn people again.

[No roasting people.] He told his beast. [She is remembering something from her past.] The damn best huffed and remained silent.

"Daddy was driving to meet her halfway. He always did that. Always. It was one of those sweet things that were not hazy. They love each other so much, Pyr." The lifelessness in her voice was replaced by longing he was all too familiar with.

"I think I saw her die, Pyr. My mommy. I...i..." Her voice faltered and he felt tears on his chest.

"I don't want to remember. I do not want to remember how my mommy died. I should be recalling good memories. But why does my brain keep giving me all these painful things? I should be thankful...but damn it..." she let out another sob and began to take deep breaths to control her emotions.

Rather than agreeing with her, Pyr did the opposite.

He sat up, pulled her closer to his body, and whispered, "Let it out. Cry. It's not bad to remember those memories. Yes, we don't want to remember the pain. So, we locked it, and we threw away the key. It was, after all, something we should never recall."

Pyr gently forced her to look at his face before continuing. "But babe, we never threw the key. Throwing it away means we never care for all the things that happened in the past."

He wiped her tears and continued, "We take a peek at the past. Just enough to remind us why we should not do things, and why we should avoid people and places. It's something we do."

"But, why does it hurt so much?"

"Babe, my guess is you never let it out," Pyr kissed her on the forehead before he tucked her head in the crook of his neck. "You saw her death, Angel. Your father must have known the same thing. He loved you so much that he wanted you never to relive the trauma."

She nodded and he continued, "He never thought that you would lose your memories, babe. You feel the pain because there is no wall, no cage, no filter between now, and your past."

She was shaking her head, but he continued, "And that is why the pain is greater…"

"I can't, Pyr. I can't cry…I can't…I have to be strong. I have to…show daddy I'm okay…show…"

Her words were broken, and her tears and her emotions were making her stutter. Pyr began to rub her back and listened.

"She was…she was our life. Even though she was always away, she never failed to video call us…she was…she was…" She looked up at him, eyes drowning in pain. And said, "She was pregnant, Pyr…and I…I…mommy…I'm sorry…"

With the dam wide open, all Pyr could do was hold her, and wait.

After all, his dam was also cracking.

Sooner or later, he too will break.

But when?

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