Chapter 56

The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 56 ~ATTICUS~

My blood was boiling, and my heart was pounding against my chest. I wasn’t sure what the hell I’d just witnessed, but it was f*****g crazy. Autumn wasn’t a typical werewolf. I’ve never seen power that intense before.

She’d commanded Anya to hurt herself. There weren’t many people I knew that could do something like that.

Why did she do it?

Anya apologized to her. She made it clear that it was a mistake; she told her that she didn’t intentionally throw her into the pool.

Then why did she react that way? But more importantly, who the hell was Autumn Rivera?

How was she capable of doing something like that?

Anya clings to me in fear, “did you see that, Atticus?” She cries. “Autumn tried to kill me. To kill me! I accidentally pushed her into the pool, but she purposefully tried to end my life. She’s a monster! She isn’t normal!”

I held her tight against me. It terrified me of what I’d just witnessed. I was terrified when I thought that I wouldn’t be able to save Anya’s life.

I wasn’t sure what had caused Autumn to stop, but I was glad she’d done it. Anya wouldn’t have been alive if I didn’t get her to finally listen to me.

That wasn’t the only thing that had terrified me, however.

Something else would be the reason why I couldn’t f*****g sleep tonight.

It bothered me that it scared me more when I saw Autumn drowning in the pool than when I thought Anya would die.

I couldn’t sleep last night because of the things I wanted to do to her. To kiss her, hold her, keep her close to me, and much more f*****g things that were inappropriate considering I was dating Anya.

f**k, none of those things were appropriate as long as Anya was still the woman in my life.

My heart was still racing wildly, primarily because of Autumn.

Why?

What the hell was wrong with me? I should be pissed with Autumn for what she’s just done. Instead, I couldn’t find it in my heart to be angry with her. I was startled and upset with myself but not her. My feelings were a cause for concern. What was going on in my head? And my heart? I felt like they were at war with each other. Neither knew what my body wanted.

“What happened to her?” Clarissa demands when she sees Anya shaking in my arms.

“Autumn tried to kill me!” She hissed.

Clarissa’s eyes widen, but she isn’t surprised by Anya’s words. I expected her to say something in return, but she did nothing.

Instead, she’s suddenly panicking. I can see the fear increase in her eyes. It seems like Clarissa knows something that she isn’t telling the rest of us. Maybe Autumn explained to her that she wasn’t just a werewolf because I’d never seen a pure-blooded werewolf that could do something like that.

“Where is she?” She demands as she looks behind us for her.

“By the pool, but you shouldn’t go there. It’s not safe—”

I don’t get to finish the sentence as she’s already racing for the pool. I should have known better than to tell her. She was already close to Autumn.

Ah, damn it. But it was better that someone was out there taking care of Autumn. I f*****g hate that it couldn’t be me.

What the hell was going on in my life? What direction did I turn from here? Should I be angry that Autumn just tried to kill Anya, or should I be worried about her? She looked like she’d lost all control of her body.

It’s crazy, but I feel like I know her. I somehow know that Autumn would not intentionally try to harm Anya. That wasn’t the kind of person that she was. Anya didn’t seem to think so, however. Whatever happened before I lost my memory must have pushed them apart.

“Atticus!” Anya cries. “I don’t want to stay here. I don’t want to be near Autumn. Either she goes, or I go.”

I stop walking, “are you asking me to kick her out of the house?”

She sighs, “would you want someone that tried to kill me to stay in your home?”

I searched my mind for the correct response even though the answer was supposedly an easy one. If it were anyone other than Autumn, I would have been able to answer within a split second. But this was Autumn that she was talking about; I didn’t know how to respond.

“What happened to her?” Damon demands as he takes her from me.

I rubbed the back of my neck; I wasn’t sure that this was something I wanted to tell my brothers. And this time, it wasn’t Anya I was trying to protect; it was Autumn. I didn’t want anyone to know what I’d seen.

“She tripped,” I say before I can stop myself.

She looked at me like I’d betrayed her, and I winced. I wasn’t sure what came over me; I was so desperate to protect Autumn that I chose to lie.

“That’s not what happened.” She snaps.

“She hit her head a little too hard.” I continue to lie. “I wouldn’t listen to what she’s saying.”

Anya gapes at me, and I know I’ll pay for this later.

“Get her to your room or mine. Whichever you please, and get a doctor to check on her.”I tell him.

He nodded, but I could see the worry on his face as he looked at me. What had my brother so edgy? I’ve never seen him look that worried over me in the past. Did the accident cause this reaction from him?

“I don’t want to go to anyone’s room!” She snaps. “Carry me home, Damon. I don’t want to be here anymore around people that do not care about me.”

I watch as Damon walks away with Anya still in his arms.

When she was out of my view, I couldn’t stop myself as I rushed back to where I’d left Autumn earlier. To my disappointment, she’s no longer there. Clarissa must have taken her inside. Her clothes were wet from falling into the pool the last time I saw her, which meant they probably went to get her outfit changed.

I always thought that something was wrong, but now I was sure about it.

I pull out my phone and search for any news about my accident. I’ve done this before, but I was hoping that there would be at least one article that would help me figure out the truth.

Autumn was not just Anya’s friend to me; these feelings I had for her were strong, and they weren’t going away. It meant that I was right all along; whatever they were keeping from me included Autumn. She was a big part of the lie. And I was not going to rest until I found out the truth.

Tonight.

I was finding the truth tonight and didn’t care who tried to stop me.

. . . . . . . . . . .

~ANYA~

As soon as I got home, I shouted for my mother to join me in the living room. I had to tell her what happened at the party tonight.

She was right all along. Autumn was much more dangerous than even she thought she was.

What she did today was stronger than even my mother. Her strength was insane; I wasn’t even aware she could do something like that.

I’m freaking out inside, and I don’t know what to do to stop myself from feeling this way.

She’d tried to kill me. Autumn tried to freaking kill me. If Atticus wasn’t there, I might not have been alive today.

It pissed me off to know that even after seeing what she could do, he never once tried to throw her out. That was the perfect opportunity for him to hate her, but for some reason, he was hesitant to do what he was supposed to do.

Atticus may have lost his memories, but his heart still belonged to Autumn. He couldn’t hide his feelings from me. It wouldn’t be long before I lost him again. And Autumn wouldn’t be easy to get rid of either. Knowing her power, I understood what this meant for my mother and me. Our plans have just become a hundred times more difficult because of her return. Why didn’t she stay where she was? Why didn’t her kidnappers get rid of her for us? Since they didn’t do a proper job, we were the ones who were left to handle her.

“MOM!” I shout even louder.

She slams the door open and glares at me, “what’s all the shouting about? And why are you back so early from the party?”

“Autumn tried to kill me!” I shout. “She’s powerful, just like you said she was. I tried to shove her into the pool like you suggested since she’s terrified of water. Atticus jumped in and saved her. But she turned into some crazy b***h right after. Her eyes were glowing, and her body shook with power. I’ve never seen anything like it before, mother. One minute I asked her what she was doing, and the next, I lost control over my body.”

“You lost control of your body?” She asks.

I nod, “she forced my hands to choke me. If Atticus hadn’t been there while she was trying to kill me, I wouldn’t have been able to survive her attack. I was not prepared for it at all.”

“How weak are you?” My mother demands. “How can you let that girl take advantage of you without fighting back?”

“I’m not weak.” I hiss. “I was just surprised, that’s all. Why would I expect something like that from Autumn? The girl has never once raised her hands at me. I didn’t think she would try to kill me for pushing her into the pool.”

My mother takes a seat on one of the chairs, and she looks like she’s deep in thought.

“Tell me more about what you saw.” She orders me.

“It all happened so quickly, and I can barely place together my thoughts,” I confess. “She was moving towards me and pointing her hands at me. I think she also whispered some spells. I couldn’t hear her. But even the water behind her seemed like it was at her command. How is that possible? The same water she was terrified of looked like it was on her side. She created waves in the pool while her eyes glowed. It looked like a rough ocean waiting to destroy everything around it. Mom, I’ve never seen anything like it. She’s almost scary.”

My mother’s face suddenly turned pale, and I’m not sure if it was just my words that caused her to look this way.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“GET ME THAT RED BOOK!” She shouts as she points to the shelf.

“What?” I ask.

“THE BOOK!” She hissed. Her hands are almost shaking, and I’m confused by her actions. What was causing her to act like this?

“I don’t see it!” I tell her. Was she losing her mind? There was not a single red book on the shelf.

“Can’t you tell there’s a spell making it invisible?” She demands as she removes the spell.

Why was the book invisible to begin with? Was it a book that she wasn’t supposed to have, or was it something that could cause trouble if it ended up in the wrong hands?

I rush forward and grab the only red book on the shelf. She takes it from me and places it on her lap.

Her hands trembled as she opened it and started searching through the pages. I’m not sure what she’s looking for, but she seems to have a pretty good idea about it. I didn’t want to disturb her; she already wasn’t in the best of moods.

She finally stops, and her eyes are glued to the page.

The first thing I notice is a drawing of the tattoo I’d seen on the men that kidnapped Autumn.

“What is that?” I ask her.

How did she know that it would be there?

“Azai.” She whispers. Her eyes were wide with horror as she repeated the name once more.

“What’s wrong, mother?” I demand. “You’re scaring me. Who the hell is Azai?”

“Azai Reign.” She continues. “He’s only the greatest sorcerer that ever walked the earth.”

The greatest sorcerer?

“I’m confused. What does he have to do with Autumn?” I ask.

“Can’t you tell?” She demands. “He’s Autumn’s father. Azai Reign is her f*****g father!”

What?

“That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard!” I exclaim. “Autumn’s parents are the Riveras; how could her father be Azai Reign?”

A sorcerer? And the greatest one to walk the earth? That was simply insane. I knew she was powerful, but there was no way her father was the person my mother was talking about. This has to be some kind of mistake.

“It all makes sense.” She says more to herself than me. “The Riveras’ were good friends with Aura. She must have begged them to take care of Autumn after she killed Azai. All this time, they had the daughter of Azai Reign under their care. This is crazy. I sensed the power in Autumn, but not once did I think that she could be his daughter. I thought Aura and her children would be dead by now. The tattoos on those men that kidnapped her, they all are a symbol of Azai’s faithful men. That’s why they came for Autumn because she is their princess. They want her to take her father’s place. This is much bigger than I thought it was.

Autumn just became an even bigger threat.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

Was this really true?

Autumn? A sorcerer’s daughter? How crazy was this?