The Haunted Memories (Forgotten Series, #4)

Chapter 24

I blinked as Penelope violently shouted upstairs. She had come back after jumping into the shadows when Mordecai had shoved Sorrel into them. I had been stunned by the action, unable to say anything as I stared at him after he had done it. The action had been violent and uncalled for. I hated how Sorrel was cruel and angry towards me but that... that was not okay.

Penelope choked as her rapid fire french was cut off, there was a quickly followed crashing sound as if something had been tossed into something else. She had been attempting to tell Mordecai something but every time she did she ended up choking on something. She had attempted in English before she had broken off into her native French. Her voice had only rose and every time that choking sound happened there was a crash and I had a feeling the usually reserved and graceful vampire was destroying shit.

I honestly wanted to know if Sorrel was okay. She could yell at me, be rude and cruel, she could bar me from Madeline but I didn't want her hurt. I wanted it to be resolved without pain and what Mordecai had done seemed to devastate her. Not only had she looked almost ill when she had opened the door to the pack house, she had seemed to be crushed and hurt by Mordecai's words and actions.

My wolf was confused, he was angry at her but wanted to protect her from being hurt. The bond he had with her was strong and I wasn't sure if it was merely the fact we had never experienced a bond before or if it had to do with the fact she was the identical twin to Maggie. He paced back and forth, a part of him wanted to tear into Mordecai for hurting Sorrel and the other part of him wanted to tear into her himself for denying him his pup. It was enough to make my head hurt.

"Hey, Bear..." Lanie's voice was slightly timid as she slowly peeked around the corner of the living room doorway. I looked at her before letting out a heavy sigh, rubbing my face. "Can you... do you mind coming in here for a moment?" Her voice wavered as another round of heavily shouted french sounded before another choking sound halted it rapidly. There were several booming crashed before Mordecai finally responded, his french was a roar as he shouted at the vampire.

Lanie looked utterly terrified and I didn't blame her, I had never seen the coven so unsteady or at odds with itself. I doubted Lanie had either from how she was reacting to the violence and anger. I gave her a small nod as I moved towards the living room. I watched as she flinched as another crash sound happened followed by a heavy bellow from Mordecai.

She moved to the couch and sat down, curling her tall form into a rather small ball. "When I was... when I was child, my parents used to fight like that." She gave a small gesture to the ceiling as a boom shook the floor as Penelope let out a soundless cry of rage. I sat down beside her on the couch, rubbing at my face. "My dad... he drank a lot and they used to fight so much about it." She wrapped her arms around herself tightly, she looked severely hurt by the turn of thoughts she had.

I opened my mouth and then closed it. I didn't know what to say about it. My parents had never argued but their power dynamic had always been my father had absolute control over my mother like he once had the pack. Lanie sniffled, wiping at her face. "They divorced when I was fourteen and I hated my mother for it. I always thought she had been the one to cause the fights, to cause the rift in our family." She stared off, her eyes misting as she remembered what she was talking about.

"They said horrible and terrible things to each other, about each other. It was non-stop, day after day after day. If they weren't arguing about custody, they would argue about each other dating, about their lives, about everything." She shook her head slowly. "Years of it. Of hate and anger. It was endless." She jumped as another boom sounded as well as a rapid fire curses echoed through the house.

I wondered what she was attempting to get at, what she was attempting to tell me with her story. She looked at me and wiped at her eyes. "My dad got into a car accident a few years ago and he died." Sympathy flooded me as her eyes watered. "I remember the silence the most. The moment we got the news my mum went quiet. For the first time in years she had nothing to say." She looked away and I reached over, grasping her hand in my own. I knew vampires needed contact and with her being so highly emotional, she would crave it.