Some Ideas and Characters Borrowed. Storeyline is Mine - DON'T COPY!

Chapter Eight – Forgiveness

When I came round, I was back at Stonehaven - where else would Raze take me? I was wearing different clothes to what I remember and someone had re-bandaged my shoulder. I was also in a different room, lying in what appeared to be some sort of four-poster bed, which had canopy curtains that were tied back.

The last room had been quite small, but this one was nice and spacious. There was a large window looking out to the forest with a table and two chairs next to it. On the table was a vase of lilies - my favourite flower - and Raze was sitting on one of the chairs. It wasn't a big surprise to see him there.

'Looks like you got stuck guarding me again.'

'Just making sure that you don't escape again' he replied with a wink. I managed to smile weakly.

'What's the point, anyway? I'll just get found and dragged back here again' I mumbled, mainly to myself.

'Like the new room?' he asked.

'Not bad. I like the new clothes too.'

'Your other ones were filthy. What did you do to them?'

'Oh, slept in an abandoned warehouse and got chased round Albany. You know - the usual.' That made both of us grin. 'Was I really out of it for two weeks?'

'Yep. Sadly I got stuck on change the cold washcloth duty. It was awful, believe me.'

'Poor you.'

'When was the last time you ate?' he enquired.

I had to think about that question, which wasn't a good sign. 'I think some greasy food from a street vendor in Albany. Does that count?'

'Bet you're hungry then, aren't you?' he remarked and my stomach chose that time to grumble its agreement. 'I'll go and get some then.'

Raze got up and turned to leave. As he went through the door, I yelled 'And no raw stuff this time! Make sure it's cooked!' He closed the door, chuckling to himself. I didn't hear him lock the door behind him, which I suppose was a good sign.

The food came around 15 minutes later, but it was not Raze who brought it. It was Alcide. This was the first time that I had seen him since the crazy monster bit me and I didn't know how I should act around him. After all, I had treated him like my father all my life and all he had done was lie to me.

'How are you feeling?' he asked.

'Ok' I replied. Short and simple.

'Look Max. I know you must hate me for what I did and I apologise. I would have told you, but I was ordered not to. I know you must be extremely disappointed with me.' I gave him one look and it was enough. 'I know I don't deserve to ask you, but I am really sorry and I want to know if you could forgive me.'

'Forgive you?' I stammered. 'Excuse me, but you spent around 10 years travelling around the world to America with me. Doesn't that count for anything?'

'More than you could imagine. I know how you must feel but I can't think of any excuse great enough. I never meant to hurt you and I'm sorry.'

'Why did you lie to me? You could have told me. And mum…'

'I know I should have told you. I wanted to tell you, but as I said before, I was ordered not to. Your mother also wanted to tell you but she didn't get the chance. That was why she wrote the letter.'

I was silent for a short time but after a few minutes I quietly replied 'You owe me a birthday present.' I didn't look at him as I replied but he interpreted the meaning correctly.

'You're actually forgiving me?'

'Only if you promise to never keep secrets from me again. Next time you won't be so lucky.'

He set the tray down, walked over to me and enveloped me tentatively in a bear hug. 'I hope there will never be a next time.'

'So do I, because if there is I might not forgive you. And, you might end up with a few broken bones.'

'Thank you, Max. You don't know how much this means to me.'

We then sat there in a comfortable silence as we ate the food between us. I was actually surprised that I had forgiven him so soon, but I did sort of think of him as my father. Anyway… he was happy and so was I.

Alcide went on to tell me about his life. His real life, with nothing left out. He was born in 1890 and was turned into a Lycan by Lucian when he was thirty years old. This came as a shock because Alcide said that Lycans live forever. Did I really want to live forever? Another question, did the crazy monster need to have a connection with everyone I knew?

I also found out that Lucian and Alcide had a telepathic link so they could speak to each other mentally. This was because Lucian had sired (turned) Alcide and to do this they shared blood and memories. I would have this link after the first time I changed, along with his memories. As you can guess, I hated this idea. The longer I could put between now and my first change, the better. My mind was the one thing that no-one could have. It was mine and I wanted to keep it that way.

During that traumatic two weeks that I had been unconscious, all of the things from the house in Syracuse had been boxed up and brought over. In one corner of the room was my pile of boxes. I didn't like it much, all the things I owned put into boxes in a corner. It just made my life look insignificant. Also, not washing since that time and running round Albany had left my hair all tangled and my skin filthy. I didn't want to go near a mirror.

Alcide pointed out that in this room, I had my own bathroom so I could clean myself up whenever I wanted. I found a T-Shirt, a pair of faded jeans and some underwear in one of the boxes, went into the bathroom and locked the door behind me.

The bathroom was nice. It wasn't huge but it wasn't too small either. There was just enough room to walk around between the facilities. You could probably even lie down on the floor, with room to spare, if you wanted. At one end there was a luxurious bath and if that wasn't enough, there was also a shower cubicle in the opposite corner with a toilet next to it. Attached to the wall in the middle of the room was a sink with a mirror above it.

The décor in the room was simple but pleasant. The bath, sink, toilet and the shower were white and there were a few indigo, violet and lilac candles dotted around on the surfaces to add some colour. The walls were a pale shade of lilac, with a violet boarder running through the middle. It was a warm, cosy room. On the towel rack next to the sink was a set of lilac towels to match the room and on the shelf above the sink was a set of toiletries that included a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hairbrush, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and some body lotion.

I put the clean clothes in a pile on the floor and then walked over to the shower to turn it on. As it heated up I undressed and threw my dirty clothes into the wash basket, grabbed the hairbrush, shampoo, conditioner and shower gel off the shelf and stepped into the shower. I had to wash my hair three times to get half of the knots out and then I started to work on my skin. I scrubbed it until it went red and the water ran clear.

Then I turned the shower on full power and luxuriated in its warmth. For some reason I started to cry and I couldn't stop so I just sat there until I started to feel numb again. My skin started to go all wrinkly so I got out of the shower, dried myself off and got dressed. I then walked over to the sink and brushed my teeth several times to try and get the faint taste of blood out of my mouth. It wouldn't leave. I examined myself in the mirror and found that I was a little paler than usual. Bags were starting to form under my eyes and my hair was still an unruly mess. I grabbed the hairbrush and went to sit on the weird four-poster bed and tried to sort my hair out.

After a few minutes of unsuccessful trying to untangle my hair, Alcide entered the room. He probably had got bored of waiting but I was happy to see that he had brought more food. I was still so hungry! Even though I had a higher metabolic system than most people, I had never needed to eat this much. Alcide offered to deal with my hair, so I sat there peacefully, eating my food as he attempted to straighten it out. This scenario brought memories of my childhood back.

When I was a small child, my mother used to sit me down like this and brush my hair for me. I found it relaxing. I used to feel safe when we were like this; sure in the knowledge that she wouldn't let anything bad happen to me. Now she was gone… Apparently I had been lost in thought for some time because Alcide had been trying to get my attention. 'Huh?' I stuttered as I snapped back into reality.

'You haven't heard a word that I've been saying, have you?' he chided.

'Um… not really. Sorry.'

He laughed. 'I've been trying to ask you if you want to go down and meet Raze in the training room. Clay will be there too. It will be a good opportunity for you to meet him and get to know more about him.'

'Umm… Ok.'

'What's on your mind?'

'I miss her… I wish mum was here now. I know it's pretty stupid, since I got used to her being gone a long time ago. But still… I miss her.' I looked down, not wanting to meet his eyes.

Alcide raised my head so that I did meet his eyes. 'It's not stupid that you miss her. I miss her too, from time to time. Your mother and I were great friends. We trusted each other. I want you to be able to trust me again. I know I probably don't deserve it, but I want you to know that I am here for you if you need me.'

'I know,' a single tear trailed down my cheek, 'and I do.'

Alcide wiped away the tear and enveloped me in another one of his bear hugs. 'Thank you' he whispered. We sat there, like that, until I decided I was brave enough to face leaving my room. The training room was my favourite place and I hoped that we didn't run into Lucian on the way down.

In the training room, just like Alcide had said, was Clay. I would finally meet Lucian's adopted son. He was my opposite, as where I was dark, he was fair and light. Fire and ice would clash. This would be interesting; I knew it.

Thanks for reading amd I hope you enjoyed it. Hopefully there will be more soon and it would be great if you could review it. Thankyou to everyone who already has. Tricky.