Bound To You

Chapter 32

Not much to say, except enjoy!!

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Indie's POV


"Ok, so let me get this straight." I said, scratching my forehead. "Derek is a deranged psycho?" I asked.

Colton nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.

"The bastard shot you, so I'm going to presume so." He said. I nodded, my mind running through all the times Derek spoke with me. He seemed sane enough at the time.

"Ok, well where is he now?" I asked, sitting at the edge of the bed in the infirmary. Colton seemed reluctant to tell me, but after the look I gave him, he told me where Derek was.

"He's in the basement." He said, shifting on his feet. I nodded, standing from the bed. "Wait, what are you doing?" He asked, standing in front of me.

"I'm going to have a little chat with him." I said, shrugging.

"No, you're not." I raised an eyebrow. "Indie, he shot you once. I can't risk him hurting you again."

I sighed, nodding in understanding.

"Does he have a gun?" I asked.

Colton frowned. "No, but-"

"Then it's settled." I said, cutting him off. "I'll be back in a few." After patting Colton's shoulder, I left the room, making my way to what I assumed was the basement.

The gun shot wound had gone now, since the healing process of a werewolf was much faster. I refused to shift yet though.

Apparently it was excruciating pain I would be going through, so I was doing the logical thing in my mind and postponing it as much as I was able.

Colton said I was lucky the shift didn't already happen on its own.

"Knock knock." I said, opening the door to the basement. I went down the creepy wooden stairs, sensing no movement.

"I'm surprised." A voice said. "You, out of all people?" The corner of my mouth lifted in a ghost of a smile when I finally saw Derek in the corner of the dark room.

It took my eyes a few moments to adjust, but they soon kicked into working mode, and I was able to register almost everything in the room.

"Disappointed?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I leaned against the wall opposite of where he stood.

"Relieved, actually. I wouldn't prefer Colton." He said, humor seeping into his words.

"Gotta agree with you on that. Apparently my dad wouldn't allow him anywhere near you in fear of him ripping your throat out." I shrugged. "But hey, that's what I heard."

Derek let out a chuckle, his body finally turning. The first thing I noticed was his bloody face.

"But I guess Dave didn't get to you soon enough?" I asked, wincing at the sight of his swollen eye.

"You intrigue me, Indie." He said, his mouth lifting in a half smile.

"How so?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"You come in here, not in the least bit angry about what happened to you." He said. "No hostility towards me, whatsoever?"

I gave a small chuckle, looking down at my legs.

"You see, someone once told me that malevolence will get you no where." I said, pushing myself off the wall. "Why be hostile when we can talk like normal human beings?" I asked.

"But that's the thing." He said, shaking his head as he looked at me. "We're not human beings, nor are we normal."

"I passed theatre class with flying colors. Let's pretend we are normal; that we are mere human beings." I said. "Why'd you shoot me?"

"Ah." He began, a smile beginning to form on his face. "The question everyone wants to know; why did I shoot the innocent one?"

I shrugged, raising my eyebrows.

"Can't blame us for being curious." I said.

"Curiosity. The thing that drives this world?" He questioned. "It was nothing personal. Well, nothing that I had against you."

"You're not making sense." I said, narrowing my eyes at him the slightest bit.

He smiled, leaning his body against the wall behind him.

"My father dislikes you very much, Indie. I don't see how he can; you're a very lovable person."

"You're father?" I asked.

"Yes, my father." He said, nodding.

"But what does he-" I tried saying.

"Indie, you being mated to Colton is a bad thing. I honestly did not want to hurt you, but you were just...in the way of it all. It was meant to be Colton who got shot. Given the fact that he would eventually heal, but it would give us enough time."

"Enough time for what? What are you talking about?" I asked, frustration leaking into my tone.

"For my father to take over." He said simply.

"The same guy that said you weren't worthy of being an Alpha?" I tried my best to stay calm, but Derek wasn't giving me much to work with.

"He said that to strengthen me." Derek said, his jaw clenched.

"No, he said that because it was the truth." I replied.

"No, it wasn't." He said, his fists clenching tightly.

"It was. You're just reluctant to admit that."

"No, he told me himself he did it for my own good." He fought.

"And you believe that?" I asked. "Look, I knew you weren't on the bright side, but wow Derek."

I was getting on his nerves. I knew that. He knew that. And I loved it.

"You're manipulating me." He said, his teeth clenched. I raised an eyebrow.

"You've already been manipulated." I said. "By your own father."

"Stop doing that!" He growled.

"Derek, do you honestly believe that your father did that to make you stronger?" I asked. "He did it because he thought you were weak. Like you said, he favored Saxon more. He was Alpha material, you weren't."

Derek's breathing became harsher, his jaw and fists clenching with each breath he took.

"If you know what's good for you, you'd shut up." He hissed.

"Yeah, but that's the flaw I carry. I never shut up." I shrugged, rolling my bottom lip out. "Sometimes it may be risking my life, but it's better getting what you're thinking out, right?"

He let out a bark of humorless laughter, shaking his head as he took small, slow steps towards me.

"You're quite the wise girl, aren't you?" He asked.

"Guess so." I said simply.

"You're right, you know. That my father favored Saxon. It was blatantly obvious that he wanted him to be the 'heir of his precious throne'. Saxon was strong, he was made of leader material. I wasn't. My dad saw that in me, and he told me. He told me that I would never be an Alpha; I would never be worth anything." He shook his head, his eyes ice cold and harsh. "And I believed him."

"Rookie mistake. To let people underestimate you." I commented.

"See, you understand me. We both know what it feels like to be neglected by our fathers."

"But I didn't let it effect me the way it did to you." I said.

"After believing for so long that I wasn't worth shit, I thought there was no use in being the good guy any more." He sighed, shaking his head. "He visited me; my father. He told me he was trying to rough me up, get me in the mind set of a true Alpha. Of course I believed him. It's what I wanted to believe."

"How long ago did he talk to you?" I asked.

"The day you practically disowned your father in the middle of a traffic rush." He replied.

I nodded, staying quiet for a few moments while I observed Derek.

"I don't even know what side I'm on now." He muttered.

I looked at him a few moments longer, before uttering a few words to him.

"Look at your ribs." I said. He furrowed his eyebrows, looking down at his torso and lifted his shirt.

His face morphed from confusion to understanding when his eyes found the tattoo he and Saxon had.

"Nicely done." He murmured, looking at his tattoo in concentration. "But how can I trust him; how can he trust me?" He asked, looking up.

"He's your brother, your twin. You may not like it at times, but you guys are bound by blood. Trust kinda comes in the package." I said, shrugging.

He scoffed, shaking his head as he let his t-shirt cover his body.

"Saxon won't ever trust me." He said, picking up what looked to be a rock. "Ever since I stole his mate."

"Dog move." I said, shaking my head. "Pun intended." He rolled his eyes.

"Even in serious matters, you're throwing humorous remarks?" He asked incredulously.

"Look, you may not know me well, but if there was one thing that I can't stand being in, it's serious situations. I don't handle them well, obviously," I said, gesturing between Derek and myself. "Humor is like my defense mechanism. I feel safe when using it."

"Is it strange that I understand where you're coming from?" Derek asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

I let out a small laugh, shaking my head as a smile grew on my face.

"Everyone reacts like that. It's normal, trust me." I itched the side of my face, breathing out as I looked back at him. "I can make sense sometimes, you know."

"Wow." He murmured, feigning surprise. I rolled my eyes, pushing off the wall.

"Derek, sometimes you have to let go of everything you know in order to understand someone else."

His face morphed once again into a confused expression.

"Has someone turned into Confucius or something?" He asked. I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"I'm trying to be serious. Don't ruin it." He nodded in understanding, his focus (hopefully) on me. "Try to understand things from his point of view. Yeah, you had a shit life growing up, but don't you think he did too?" I asked.

Derek scoffed. "What? Trying to find room to put all his praises in?"

"Derek, Saxon didn't have it easy. Fair enough, he didn't have it as hard as you did, but do you seriously think your father let him enjoy his life? All pressure was on him to be perfect. Your father expected so much from him."

"But I was always getting the blame!" He snapped.

"Don't you think he tried to help you? All the times you were goofing off?" I asked.

"You know nothing from what happened." He said, glaring.

Alright, I knew I was bi-polar but damn.

"Saxon told me what happened. About you two. He did try to help to get you on top-"

"Well what if I didn't want to be on top, huh? What if I wanted to live a normal fucking life, where being an Alpha meant nothing?" He snapped, breaking my sentence short. "I was fucking 17. I should have been at parties and going to school and doing things that I wanted to do. I didn't ask to be brought into this kind of world!"

"Yeah, but you did. You're in this world, and you're just gonna have to deal with it." I said, shrugging. "Did I ask to be mated to Colton?"

"That's different." He said.

"How the hell is that different? We were both put into situations that we didn't exactly volunteer to be in." I argued.

"But pressure was put on me-"

"To live up to the same expectations as your brother. I get it."

"Indie, I needed to be perfect for him to even regard me as his son." His voice turned solemn; less angry.

I was momentarily shocked at his change of tone, but managed to gather a reply for him to continue.

"Your father?" I asked.

He let a smile fall on his lips, nothing happy about the gesture.

"You're lucky, you know. To not have fought with your sibling as much as Saxon and I did."

Just the thought of Leon made me snap into attention even more.

"Your father," He began, letting his hands drop by his side. "He would never shut up about you two. How he'd take you and Leon to Baseball games and you two would always team up to catch the ball if it ever came your way." He looked down at his feet, a kind of sad smile to his face. "It had me thinking. If that was Saxon and I? We'd push each other as much as possible to be on top." He shook his head. "Hell, even dad would push me away."

"Derek-" I tried.

"Don't." He said, shaking his head as his eyes found me again. "Don't even try to say that would never happen."

I stayed silent, taking in his sad yet slightly angered expression.

"He's not worth it." I said quietly. "Your father. He isn't worth all this attention. He isn't worth the angry fights you and Saxon have."

"I know." He said, staring at the wall, his mind most likely lost in his own thoughts.

"Then why are yo-"

The door to the basement slamming open cut my sentence off.

Colton appeared at the door, seeming very worried yet angry.

"Indie let's go." He said, jumping down the stairs.

"We haven't finished talking...Colton, what's wrong?" I asked.

"It's..." He paused, glancing at Derek, lay his eyes back on me, and finally nestled them on Derek. "Your father. He's here."

I looked at Colton in surprise, his nod towards me confirming he wasn't bulshitting.

Well shit.

I guess the whole 'speak of the devil' comment would be suited here.

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Aaaaaaaand it's done! Finally! My head was sorta hurting from all the writing and the mathematical problems I was enduring for exams, so the fact I got this up here is a miracle.

*commence applaud*

Please, please. Honestly, it was nothing.

Heh, anyway here is ze chapter. Liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Never want to see it again? TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS :)

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Stay awesome! -Sabrinaa