Chapter 6

Grey POV

I woke up this morning in a better mood than I have been in a long time. I decided to listen to my therapist and take some antidepressants. I needed to change my life and return to my children's lives. I was spending extra time on my appearance before my children arrived from home camp. I miss hanging out with my little girl. Well, she's not so little anymore. Where has the time gone? Just yesterday, she was ten years old, it seems like. I was sitting on my bed, trying to think about her birthday party, struggling to remember one party.

"You have been drunk the majority of the time. I'm surprised you still know you have children," Derrick laughed at me.

"I'm not that bad of a father," I refuted his claim.

"If you say so," as he returned to the back of my mind.

As I stood on Beta Anthony's porch, I could hear them talking about camp. The joy in their voice was infectious. Before knocking on the door, I heard Libby say she learned the meaning of being a Luna, and Louis said he won Nightshade Blade in a fighting competition.

"I would like to see what fighting skills this prick has learned," Derrick said, coming to the front of my mind. He was eagerly pacing in my mind, ready to take control at the sight of Louis.

"Can you leave him alone? He hasn't said or done anything to get you angry."

"I'm going to leave him in a body bag." The way Derrick sounded it, I knew he meant business. I shoved him out so he could not hurt Louis today.

Regaining my composure, I proceed to knock on the door. Stepping into the house, all the laughter stopped. All eyes looked up at me from the dining room table, but Louis was not among them. It was a sigh of relief. I did not feel like fighting with my wolf for control and finding a seat at the dining room table, glancing at Libby while she was eating lunch with Beta Anthony and Kim.

When Libby got up to clear the table, I took the opportunity to hug her. Libby stood there stiff as a board. I continued to watch Libby as she cleaned up the kitchen. She reminds me so much of her mother from the way she looks and talks. It brought back memories of my wife and the good times we had. Those memories seem to settle Derrick. It's been a while since I heard silence from him. It felt good to have a moment of peace.

"Libby, would you like to go for ice cream with me?" Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. She looked at me like I had grown three heads, and then she looked at my Beta as if silently asking for permission.

"I would love to," she seemed nervous, but I expected that with how I have been acting lately. We enjoyed our father-and-daughter time at the ice cream shop. Libby continually talked while we were there. When I would bring up Louis, she would avoid that part of the conversation. It was like he was invisible, and she didn't know much about her twin.

Later that evening, we went home and watched movies. It was a great day, except Louis, who continuously avoided me at every turn. I went upstairs to Louis's room to see how he was doing and if he needed me to do anything for him. I knocked on his door, but my knocks went unanswered. I felt heartbroken that Louis couldn't even spare me five minutes of his time.

"I know I have not been the picture-perfect father, but at least today I was trying," I yelled at his door. No matter what I said or did, Louis still refused to acknowledge my existence. After standing at his door for a long time, I decided to go for a walk.

When I walked outside, I saw Louis on the swing set. I chuckled to myself. I was banging on his room door, and he was outside the entire time. Walking to the swing set, but he tried to run away. Grabbing ahold of his arm, "Could we talk for a second?" He was speechless that I was not causing him any harm.

"I overheard you tell Beta Anthony's a Nightshade Blade. Did you enjoy the wrestling class at camp?"

"It was cool. The kids there had a lot of different talents." Scratching his head nervously.

It was surprising to hear him talk. This is the most he has spoken to me in years. I could tell he didn't fully trust me enough to let his guard down as he shuffled back and forth. Leaving him outside to enjoy the summer and walking around the community, I noticed how much it had changed. It used to be full of life, and now it isn't very interesting. No one was outside on their porches, no kids were running around, and most shops were closed. I don't know how long I walked, but I found myself at my wife's grave. It's been a while since I visited her. I sat there long, crying and begging her for forgiveness. I woke up the following day in my wolf form. Derrick was crying and angry that he could not protect her. He was asking her how to heal his broken heart. He needed her to take his pain away. I felt terrible for him. I never gave him a chance to grieve. It was all about me.

By the time I made it back home, everyone was at the kitchen table eating breakfast. It was my first time eating food that Louis cooked.

"Louis, this meal was delicious. I'm sorry for judging you before." He was utterly shocked by my compliment, especially since I was against him learning how to cook.