"What the fuck is that supposed to mean!"

Caleb sighed. "When I was in college, I was pulled aside by a strange person. They showed me weird things and called them visions of the future. I was told that my firstborn son was destined to be abused by my own hands, his mother as well, and the mother of my second son."

Matteo was fuming at this point. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" he hissed. "You're not supposed to follow along! That bastard was messing with your mind. You're supposed to change the future outcomes by making sure not to do what you saw. You're a fucking piece of shit."

He set my feet on the ground and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. I blinked in surprise. I guess he was going away to find an empty storage room he could shift into his animal form.

I looked back at the foolish man and walked over to him. "You're really stupid, you know?"

He raised his eyebrows. "And what does a brat like you know?"

"I'm not a brat, and I actually know a lot."

Caleb offered the seat next to himself. "Tell me something, then."

I plopped down on the chair and scooted back, holding Viola in my lap. "Well, Matteo has been suffering from mental trauma ever since you started abusing him. He cries a lot because of the pain you've caused him. Only a moron would purposefully hurt their child because someone told them to. You're supposed to cherish the ones you bring to life, as well as the one who helped."

"You seem like you've been through this before." he mused.

I played with Viola's arms. "Yeah, I have. It's a really horrible thing to wonder 'Does Mom really love me?' when she's slamming her fist into my stomach and punching my face."

Caleb was quiet, then he asked, "Was your mom told to do it?"

"Who knows. She seemed to hate me because my daddy left after I turned three." I chewed on my bottom lip, my ears lowered against my head. "That was something she couldn't stop, but he had no choice. He had to leave, but he didn't take me with him. That was his biggest mistake and his biggest regret."

Caleb released a shaky breath. "Are you with your daddy?"

"I live with him now. But it was only until two months ago did my cohabitation start with him. For fifteen years I was brutally abused by my mother in our house. I could never escape. All the while, I wanted to die. I wanted to kill myself, Caleb. I had nothing to live for. No friends, no family that I was aware of, no money, and no place to go."

"What kept you alive, then?" he murmured.

"The hope that my mother actually loved me. That tiny sliver of hope kept me from driving the knife into my chest or slashing my wrists. I thought to myself, 'Would she feel sad if I died? I don't want to make her sad.' And yet, she abandoned me in the best way. I found people to love who loved me back, I found my daddy, and I have a family. I can't say I've had the best life, but I know what parental love feels like and it feels so damn good." I whispered, tearing up.

Caleb sniffled and lifted his right arm, wiping at his eyes. "I really am a screwup."

"Yeah, you are." I replied with a teary-eyed chuckle. "Matteo doesn't know parental love, Caleb. He can't control his emotions and they get out of hand. He hurt one of our family members pretty badly, so now they're both thoroughly traumatized. Can you guess what he did, Caleb?"

The man shook his head.

"He raped someone, just like you." I said softly, and Caleb's eyes widened slightly. I released a slow breath. "And he knows now that what he did was wrong. At the time, he was upset and confused, and his rational mind blanked. He had watched you rape his mother—again, and again, and again. Those memories were buried deep inside his fragile, broken mind, but they were unearthed and he hurt himself and our family member because of it."

Caleb was frozen as he stared at the ceiling. His heart rate picked up, but he was still breathing.

"Yeah, I'm a fucking idiot." he croaked, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I never wanted this for my family."

"Then why did you do it? Why did you follow that person's instructions!" I growled, glaring at his face.

"Because—!" he swallowed thickly and turned his head. "If I tell you, something bad will happen."

"Like things aren't already bad enough?" I hissed standing up and grabbing his hospital gown. "Speak, you fool!"

Caleb clenched his jaw. "I saw Matteo's death."

My fingers uncurled. "What?" I whispered breathlessly.

His eyes shut tight. "If I didn't abuse my family, they would die by someone else. If I didn't make them leave me, they would die. Paula and Sara... I-I loved them! I loved them so much, but I wasn't allowed to! This is my punishment!"

I made Viola land back onto Matteo's bed at home, then clambered onto Caleb's bed. The man shook his his head, gripping his hair with his working hand. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he sobbed aloud. I straddled his legs and pushed his head back, holding his head in my hands.

Daddy told me that, like him, I could do anything I put my mind to. It wasn't just a mental pep talk. No, he was saying that my magic power was so strong that I could do anything I wanted to. And now, I want to see what Caleb saw.

I knocked my forehead against his own and soothed his mind with a trace of my magic, then entered his mind seamlessly. I thought of late seventies and when Caleb met that strange person he talked about, and suddenly I was sucked into the memory.

__________________________

I looked around me. There were a bunch of people with really casual, older-style clothing and wore odd hairstyles. I chuckled to myself. I really was in a memory.

My field of view was higher, so I was riding inside Caleb's mind.

"Caleb!" called a woman. "You're late!"

Caleb turned his head in a flash, so I was disoriented. But I was able to see traces of Matteo in her face. So she was Matteo's mother, and the one who was raped and abused until she eventually died from cancer after being divorced by Caleb. What a sad, unfortunate fate for that beautiful woman.

The woman was slim and had black hair, lighter blue eyes, and lips that curved into a mischievous smile. I could see why Caleb would be attracted to her.

"Come on, Caleb!" she pouted, tugging him along.

I was jolted along with him, but his gaze never left her. He was smitten. Then why—?

"Hold your horses, Paula. I need to do something."

Paula quirked her lips down. "Fine, but hurry up. Everyone's waiting on you."

"I know, but someone needs to talk to me. See?" Caleb turned his head and pointed at someone who was waving at him.

"How do you know he's waving at you?"

"Because he pulled me aside earlier, telling me he wanted to say something to me."

Paula huffed. "Okay. See you soon."

Caleb blushed and smiled. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

She shooed him off, then my eyes bounced with Caleb's own while he jogged over the stranger. He leaned on the brick wall and stared at the dark-haired, dark-eyed young man.

"So, what do you need, stranger?"

"I have something to show you."

A hand slapped over Caleb's eyes, and images filled his mind in front of my eyes as well.

Pools of blood filled our senses. Pain and agony wracked our body. Paula's pale face and lifeless eyes filled our vision. Matteo's neck was slashed open, his teenage body flopped over the sofa. Sara's neck was broken in a horrible way, and a young Markus had been stabbed in the heart.

Vomit rose to my throat.

Caleb's voice came out as a muffled scream, and our field of view rose from the floor. Our eyes met with bright red, and a cruel smirk appeared as a bloody tongue slid over thin lips.

The images ended and Caleb yanked himself away from the dark-haired person.

"Wh-what was—?"

"That was your future, Caleb. Everyone you love will die if you don't do what I tell you."

Caleb shuddered. "H-how—?"

The dark-haired man smiled coldly. "It was something I was born with, and I figure that this will be helpful to others. Your future is particularly brutal. If you want your future family to live, remember these instructions. And if you tell anyone what transpired here, your life will end just as brutally as your family's lives."

More images appeared, and everything made sense. I closed my eyes and let the memory come to an end.

__________________________

I breathed a sigh as I opened my eyes. Caleb was sleeping in my hands. I set his head back and moved off his lap, then bit back my yelp when I was tugged into Matteo's lap.

He buried his nose in the crook of my neck and curled his arms around my body. "Anwyll..." he murmured.

"Hi, Mattie." I smiled gently, pushing my fingers into his hair. "Your father was telling the truth. I watched his memory. It was brutal. Everyone was murdered by someone with bright red eyes. I'm guessing it was a sadistic demon or vampire."

Matteo sighed. "Why, then?"

"He was trying to push you away and make you leave. He wasn't allowed to tell anyone, otherwise everything would go according to the future."

"How did you find out? If he told you—!" he paused when I tapped his lips.

"Ssh, magic, remember? He didn't say anything much to me, so I believe the rule is still in play." I chuckled, kissing his head.

Matteo's chest vibrated with a deep rumble, his gentle kisses to my neck made me shiver with need for a deeper kiss on my lips. I bit back my needy mewl and snuggled into his arms.

"Mattie, how are you feeling?"

"Strangely calm." he murmured. "When I saw you with my old man, holding his head while he cried... I felt like I was looking at myself. It hit me, Anwyll. I had become my father."

"No, Matteo, you hadn't quite reached that point. But you had gotten awfully close to it."

Matteo hummed. "I don't know about that."

"I do, so just trust in me."

He chuckled and leaned back. "I do trust you, my little wolf. I really do. I just don't trust myself."

"I know, Matteo. You clearly told me that last night, you cock-blocker."

Matteo inhaled sharply and began to cough, which made me giggle. He started his revenge through tickling, so I bit back my squeaks of laughter and squirmed in his embrace.

"You look happy, Matteo."

Everything froze. Matteo was tense, so I relaxed and patted his head. My bull managed to uncurl a bit and look at his father's face, which had tear tracks snaking down his cheeks.

"I...don't have any excuses, Matteo. I am sorry from the bottom of my heart, and I know you will continue to hate me until the end of time. I expect and welcome my death by you, Matteo."

Matteo was tense. "Shut the fuck up." he hissed. "You don't have a right to decide when to die. You don't deserve it after what you did to us!"

I knew what he meant by "us," so I didn't say anything.

Caleb's bottom lip trembled. "I-I know."

My lover gripped my midsection tight enough to show he was furious, but not with me. The way his body tensed and his muscles bulged told me he was desperately trying not to shift again.

"Caleb Knight, I can't stand you." spat Matteo. "I hate you with a passion."

Caleb nodded, shedding a tear. "I know." he whispered.

"I wonder if it had been better if you left us to die than to let us wallow in our torment and despair."

Caleb flinched and shook his head. "No, Matteo, don't talk like that. You don't know what I—!"

Matteo was about to say something else, but I pressed a finger to his lips. "Mattie, Caleb is trying to say that you should be happy that you're alive and strong. I know what he saw and, because of it, I know that I am happy that you are alive. Yes, his actions were unforgivable in the eyes of many, but I know why he did it. He was able to be with you and Paula, your mother, because he did as told. He was able to watch you and Markus grow up. He is being able to be with Sara for as long as he's allowed. All of this was so that he could let you all live in exchange for his death later on."

Matteo and Caleb were quiet. Father and son said nothing to each other. Matteo flipped my body around so that my face was pressing into his neck, then stood and walked to the door. He opened it and paused.

"I'll be back to talk tomorrow." he said quietly, but loud enough to be heard by Caleb.

"All right." came the soft response.

Matteo held me to his chest, so I heard the hard beat of his heart pounding away in his ribcage. He hurried out of the hospital and into the parking lot building, then fumbled with the keys as he carried us towards his car. Matteo squatted next to his vehicle and kept me trapped in his arms. I welcomed it, though.

"My beloved, you are overwhelmed." I whispered, stroking his chest.

"Yes," he gasped. "So much."

"I'm sorry, Matteo. No one deserves the life you had, and yet, it was all to keep you alive."

"I never would have imagined that was why he did those things to me. To make me stronger, I guess. When would I have died, Anwyll?"

"Early teens. You had multiple stab wounds and your throat was slashed open. Blood was everywhere, Matteo." I whispered, and his grip tightened. "Markus, as a baby, had a stab wound in his chest. Sara's neck was broken and she had multiple wounds that might have killed her had she still been alive. Your mother—!" I stopped when Matteo kissed my head.

"I won't be able to forget what my father did, but the most I can do right now is forgive him. Isn't that right?" he asked me, a sad tone underlaying the happier one. I knew he was smiling sadly.

I copied his expression. "Yes, Mattie. That's the best thing you can do for yourself and for him. Your healing starts from there."