~BOOK 5/PART TWO~ Paranormal: Too Close To Home (Multi-Bandom FanFic)

I walked around the bayou to clear my head, trying to understand what went wrong between Kenya and me. She was everything to me. From the moment I met her, I knew I loved her; I still loved her, but she and I weren't the same as we were before. She kept her true identity from me for four years, she lied to me about her past, and then she died.

There was only a moment of pure bliss we shared, and that was when she fully accepted me as her mate. I wanted to be everything for her, because that's what she deserved, but I ruined it. I shouldn't have kept her memories from her, I knew that now. But I did it to protect her, at least, that was what I keep telling myself. Deep down inside, though, I knew it was out of jealousy. 

I was envious of how much influence Rachael had on Kenya, even without her memories. I took every precaution, and I was extra careful to keep her memories locked away. I did it to keep her close to me, but my plan backfired. It didn't bring us closer together, it tore us apart. And space...space was going to kill us. Kenya and I knew what she was like. If she had more space, then she'd have more of a reason to move on.

To snap me out of the dejected daze I'd fallen into, I bumped into someone. I quickly muttered an apology before realizing who it was that I had bumped into. An immediate scowl appeared on my face. "What are you doing out here, Brendon?" I folded my arms over my chest. "Isn't it past your curfew?"

"Treaty says I'm not your prisoner anymore, Bruno, nor am I your teenage daughter, so no, it's not," He sneered in return, mirroring my stance, "And to answer your first question, I needed to take some steam off, so I decided to take a little walk. What about you?"

"Same thing," I muttered, hating the fact we shared something in common. Actually, come to think of it, we had a lot in common, and although the very thought that this imbecile and I had similar situations disgusted me. Our likeness could be beneficial for me, maybe for the both of us.

However, the words I wanted to say wouldn't come out. I couldn't converse with him as if we were friends. We'd both done things to each other that would never lead to us chatting with one another, let alone forming a possible friendship.

An awkward moment of silence passed over the two of us before Brendon told me he'd see me around and continued his walk, brushing shoulders with me along the way. I stood there for a second or two before I spun around and shouted out to him, "Brendon, wait!"

The wizard stopped in his tracks, keeping his back to me. I dared to take a few steps forward and asked, "How do you do it?"

"How do I do what?" He mumbled, remaining facing away from me.

"How do you love someone who doesn't love you back?"

Brendon stood there for a long while, his hands clenched into his fists and his breathing steady and regulated. With a heavy sigh and the release of his tightened hands, he answered, "You just do, Bruno. When you love someone, you love someone. You can't help it. And sometimes, you can't help who they fall for either. But in the end, loving someone means you want what's best for them, even if that person isn't you." He finally looked back at me. "Sometimes to love a person means to let them go, let them be happy."

"But what about you and Rachael? You guys were together for a while, right?"

"She's a teenager again, Bruno. She doesn't remember what happened, any of if it. All she knows me as is the annoying boy who she couldn't get rid of at the coven, the annoying boy who took her into the sky and let her fall." He turned around, his arms crossed. "Why does it matter to you, anyways?"

I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, in disbelief that I was seriously contemplating opening up to him. "I-I'm kind of going through the same with Kenya, except I didn't kill her like you killed Rachael." The wizard narrowed his eyes at me. "What? It's true. You and everyone else knows it."

"You know, Bruno, there's a reason why you feel like everyone's turning on you," Brendon scoffed, "And it's exactly this. You're an asshole and you can't handle being vulnerable. It makes you very hard to relate to, and - quite frankly - like as a person. I heard Jack challenged you, and my god, I'm so glad he did. The wolves need a new leader, someone who actually cares about them rather than their survival. We're all people, Bruno, and I feel like sometimes you forget that. We have feelings, hearts, and you treat us all the same, like we're just pawns in some game you're playing. And then you expect us to treat you with respect and bow down to you, as if you deserve that. But the only thing you deserve is to die."

"I could say the same about you."

"Well I guess you couldn't say that you've tried like me, could you?" The wizard sneered. "Trust me, Bruno, I've tried to kill myself many times. Deserving death is something I've come to accept, but for some stupid reason, I can't seem to welcome it. You, on the other hand? You're not special like me, or like anyone for that matter. You're just a desperate, lonely, angry, unloved son of a bitch."

"Go to hell."

"Again, I've already tried," He said with a shrug of his shoulders, walking backwards away from me, "Good luck with you and Kenya, though, I hope she never loves you." And with that, he spun on his heel and turned away from me, disappearing into the darkness of the night.

I walked for a while longer thinking about what the wizard said to me. I recalled my actions since and before Anthony's death. Kenya, Brendon, and Jack, they were right. I'd become so controlling, so angry, and I'd hurt so many people around me. I guess I just wanted to prove myself as a strong leader, a strong wolf, and mate since Kenya was taken. With all that time apart, I'd become so broken, yet she managed to remain strong. She deserved someone strong like her, and that's what I wanted to be for her, but instead I ended up becoming possessive and prideful.

"Bruno," I heard my name be called. I looked back and saw the woman I'd seen once before standing a few feet away from me. "Just the person I was looking for." God her resemblance to Kenya was uncanny as she placed her hand out to me. "Kenya's mate, correct?" She cocked her head to the side.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met," I stated, unsure of her intentions and uncertain if I should confirm her statement.

"We haven't," She replied, sticking her hand out, "I'm Kenya's mother. I've heard a lot about you."

"I'm afraid I can't say the same about you." I reached out and took her hand in mine, shaking it with an uneasy feeling forming in my stomach. The second I wrapped my hand around hers, she tugged me close to her and pulled her other hand out from behind her back. Her fingers were wrapped around a gun whose barrel she shoved into my side, cocking the weapon and making it ready to fire. I slowly looked down, swallowing the lump in my throat. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Just helping my daughter," She hummed while pushing me deeper into the forest.

"You know there are wolves on patrol everywhere, and if they hear your gun, they'll come after you."

"Already taken care of, honey," She informed me, "The only people left are all busy at that campfire. No one knows we're here, and by the time anyone rushes out here to see what's happened, it'll be too late." She smirked as she ran a hand through my black hair. "Maybe that human my daughter is so fascinated with will be the first one out here, and I'll leave the gun for her to find. And when Kenya comes out after her, she'll see you and think that hunter killed her beloved mate. Although, from earlier this afternoon, it didn't seem like she loved you at all."

"You bit-" I went to flinch at her, but I was quickly reminded that she had the upper hand as she dug the weapon further into my side.

"Let's just stay calm, Bruno dear. I don't want to ruin the fun."