Reunion pt3

Both men stared at the speechless Tessa, waiting for her to say something but she just stood there in awe, trying to process the news they just broke to her. "I'll leave you both to it" Kieran said and walked away, giving them a chance to reunite. He shut the door upon his exit so they could have their privacy.

Silas stood still, not knowing what to do or say. He was finally where he wanted to be all his life, in the presence of his baby sister. He had finally found her and brought her out of the hands of those who took her. His most important mission was finally completed. He had finally fulfilled his promise but now that he was in her presence, he didn't know what to do or say to her.

Tessa on the other hand couldn't believe what was going on. It felt as though her life was getting more complicated as more buried truths were being unearthed. It was one big twist and reveal after another and it was getting hard to digest and believe. It made her wonder what else might still be waiting for her in the future.

"I have a brother?" Was the first sentence she managed to force out in her shocked state.

Silas cleared his throat. "It's nice to finally meet you...Tessa" He replied, feeling a bit nervous not knowing where the reunion was going to lead.

"I have a brother?!!!" Tessa blurted out, louder than before, feeling more surprised.

"That is the case. I suppose it's hard to take all of these I....." He was cut off by Tessa jumping on him and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. He was taken aback by her action. That was the least reaction he had expected to get from her. "I must say this isn't the reaction I was expecting" He stated

"I've always wanted a brother" Tessa replied, her eyes welling up with tears whilst holding him in a tight hug. After some few seconds of silence, she broke the hug, sniffling. She began wiping the welled up tears from her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Silas asked with concern on seeing the tears in her eyes, but he was replied with an unexpected strong punch that landed on his stomach. He groaned from the impact, clutching his stomach. "That was also unexpected" He pointed out, still recovering from the punch.

"If you really are my brother, then where the hell have you been all these years? If I was taken and being raised by them, then why didn't you come for me? Why hide away all these years? Why join the others to torment me all these time? Why didn't you introduce yourself sooner? Why didn't you tell me the truth sooner? Why let me be raised by the same people who killed my parents?" She blurted out amidst tears, forgetting to breathe.

Silas stared on and waited for her to be done. He understood her. That was the reaction he was expecting. Those where questions he had anticipated but still he knew his answer wouldn't satisfy her. He decided to ask the obvious. "If I had told you the truth before now, would you have believed me?"

"Yes! No! I don't know! But at least it would kick-start a series of thoughts and questions that would have led me to the truth" She blurted out her reply.

"I suppose you might be right" He replied calmly.

Tessa stared up at him, staring at his eyes through the mask. She became curious. Moving closer to him, she stretched out her hands, reaching for his mask. "Can I?" She asked with a parched voice. Silas nodded, not saying a word.

She placed her hands on the mask and slowly lifted it off, exposing his face. She was immediately taken aback by his looks. The resemblance they had was uncanny. He was the male version of herself. Same gray eyes as hers resting on his diamond shaped face. His dark long silky hair was tied into a bun. A feature she hadn't noticed before since they always wore their hood.

Her eyes immediately fell on the scar across his left eye and her face immediately housed concern and curiosity. "What happened?" She asked, reaching for it with her finger. He stopped her hand just before she could touch it. "I'm sorry" She said.

"It's fine. It's the scar I got the day we were attacked and you were taken away" He explained.

"Do you mind telling me what happened on that day?"

"Well, there isn't much to tell. You already know the most of the story, Kreed has told you. But....on that day, father decided not to go with the others. He didn't want to leave mother alone with us both, he said his gut was telling him to stay. He hated being away from you...." He paused

Tessa caught a hint of smile on his lip that disappeared just as quickly as it came. "I was just a baby, right?"

"Two weeks old. Mother was still fragile. Every she-wolf from our clan is fragile for at least three weeks after birth. That was one of the reasons father didn't want to leave her alone too. He stayed behind. It was almost nightfall and I could tell he was worried when no one was returning yet. He was getting restless and mother was trying to calm him down whilst also trying to calm you down cause you were crying nonstop" He paused again and moved toward the wall and leaned against it.

"Then what happened?" Tessa asked curiously, sitting on the bed.

"Then we heard a knock on the door....Father went to get it. Mother and I were focused on you, trying to make you stop crying. Her singing and I making silly faces"

Tessa smiled, it felt as though she could remember the moment as she tried to imagine it.

"But what we heard next was a loud growl. It was no doubts father's. Followed by a loud yell telling us to run. Immediately, you stopped crying and became very quiet. Without hesitation, mother picked you up, grabbed my hand and tried to make a break for it through the back door. But when we got to the kitchen, she heard the backdoor being forced open. I have never seen her so scared. Not for herself...but for us" He stopped when he saw a tear rolling down Tessa's cheek.

"Go on, don't mind me" She urged, sniffling.

"She panicked and did the best thing she could in that situation. She quickly opened the kitchen's cupboard and hid you inside. At this point she couldn't fight the tears back anymore. Sure you were safe, she grabbed me and made her way hurriedly to our bedroom. We could hear father still struggling with whoever the intruder was. She forced me into the closet and begged me not to come out no matter what. "You have to stay alive Silas, for your sake and your sister's sake. Protect yourself and always protect her" was the last words I heard from her. She shut the closet and ran out of the room" He stopped and turned away from Tessa toward the window.

"Are you okay? You don't have to talk about it right now if you don't want to" She said with a voice full of concern.

He turned to face her with a blank expression. "I did as she said and stayed hidden. All I could hear was screams and violent fighting. Soon it became totally silent. I thought maybe they were gone but then I heard voices and just then you started to cry. That was when I panicked. I tried to remain calm and stay hidden but mother's last words kept ringing in my head and like I was no longer in control of my body, I ran out of the closet and toward you. I came to halt at the living room when I saw our parents' bodies laying lifeless in their own pool of blood. I couldn't stop to mourn them just yet, I had to save you. I heard them in the kitchen discussing about taking you away. Angrily, I picked up a piece of the broken center table and ran into the kitchen to protect you. But I was no match for an Alpha and his right hand Beta. The Beta clawed my eye and drove the stake into my chest. I passed out and when I woke up, they were gone along with you" He sighed.

Tessa wiped the tears off her cheeks, sniffling and burying her face in her palms. That was too much information that had successfully broken her down. She felt heartbroken, betrayed, used and used. The man she had loved growing up and called her father had brutally murdered her parents and kidnapped her, raising her as his own. The truth was too twisted for her to handle all at once. "Can we stop for a minute? I need to be alone right now"

"Of course. I know it's all too much. So take the time you need. I will be with the others outside" He replied, walked over to where she was and picked up his mask, put it on and walked out of the room.

As soon as the door shut close, Tessa fell on her back on the bed, staring at the roof with tears rolling down the sides of her eyes. Her life had become a total mess. As complicated as it could be. She wished that was all there was to it. But that was all it was, a wish.

NB: Your comments are appreciated. Who are you rooting for in the coming war? Who's your favorite character, male and female?