Filed to story: Sorry Alpha I Am Wolfless Novel
“Riviana.” He called out to me again and I saw just how happy he was to see me.
“Hello Edmond, it’s been a long time.” I was looking into the eyes of my father. Into eyes that were identical to mine.
“Hello Riviana. How have you been?” I was looking for the snide edge, the evil man’s rage, something. However, he just genuinely seemed to be curious about me.
“Why do you want to know? What does it matter to you? What kind of sick pleasure would it give you to know that?” I didn’t want to tell this man anything about my life. I didn’t want to have him knowing anything about me and my family. Yet, I also couldn’t help but think that he was somehow hurt when I asked him that.
“I deserve that. I have never been a kind person. I caused heartache, fear, pain, loss, anything and everything but happiness. There never were any good things that came from me. Well, except for you, Riviana. You and the children that I never let have a chance at life. I know that I was wrong. I know that I was a bad person. I have come to terms with that and understand it. And I do not expect you to ever forgive me.”
I was staring at him with wide eyes as I listened to what he had to say. This man before me looked just like the father that I killed years ago. He sounded just like him. And I know that it was him without a doubt.
There was just one problem. This man didn’t act like the father that I killed years ago. The things that he was saying was nothing like the father that I had taken out of existence. What had happened to him? Why was he so different from the Edmond that I had known before? Who was this new man here?
And asking myself those questions, I took a closer look at Edmond as he stood at the very edge of his cell. I took a really close look at him and assessed him based on what I had learned here in the underworld so far.
Edmond was looking at me with clear eyes that were filled with sorrow. His face was calm but sad at the same time. There was no tension. There was no anger. There was nothing but sad acceptance and calmness.
Oh, and he was shining with a bright light that was nearly perfectly white.
That right there was probably the biggest shock of my entire life. I was looking at my father and he was clearly not the same person that I remembered him being. He had, believe it or not, repented. Somehow or another, he seemed to have rid his soul of all evil.
“E..Edmond, what happened? Why are you so different?” The words came without me even planning them. I didn’t mean to ask him, but I did.
“I am in the Hall of Damnation, Riviana. I am in Hell. Literally. I know that I fucked up. I know that I did things that I shouldn’t have. When I first died, I spent weeks inside the Hall of Self-Reflection. While I was in there, I saw all of my crimes replayed before my eyes. I saw the lives of the hundreds of thousands of people that I killed. I saw the destruction that I caused over the course of my long, long life. I know that I was the one that was the problem, not them.”
“It wasn’t just you, Edmond.” I hung my head, remembering what I saw earlier as well. “Your parents didn’t give you a chance. If they had, your life probably would have been different.”
“M..my parents?” He sounded confused, like he didn’t think I knew anything about it.
“You are not the only one that was in that hall. I saw things too, and some of them had to do with you.”
“That is flattering.” He smirked, but then he seemed to think about something. “Why are you here, Riviana? You are not dead, are you? And you certainly wouldn’t be here in Damnation. What is going on?”
“I am here to stop Hekate from escaping. She wants to destroy the world, and I need to stop her.” His eyes went even wider than they had been before. “Do you think I can’t do it?” I glared at him.
“No, I know you can. I have faced you myself. I just never thought about the fact that I was here in Damnation with Hekate. I used to want to see her so much, now I regret that. You know, Riviana, if I could go back, I wouldn’t have done the things that I did. However, if that were the case then you wouldn’t be here. And I know that the world would be completely lost without you. You are what the world needs. And even though I didn’t have noble intentions at the time, I am proud to say that I helped bring about the person that the world needs. I am proud of you, Riviana. I am glad that you were stronger than me and ended me. Because without that, I would never have been able to see the world this clearly.”
“Edmond” Was it bad that my heart was breaking right now? Was it bad that I felt sorry for my father? Was it bad that I felt horrible about the fact that he would be stuck here forever even though his soul had turned pure? What did these feelings say about me?
“Don’t look at me like that, Riviana. I am where I belong. I am in the afterlife that I made for myself. I am just glad that not all of my children perished. And I can see here that you are extending your family.” He looked at the boys around me. “They look like your mate.” He was smiling like a proud Papa. And I realized then, that they were indeed his grandchildren but he would never get the chance to actually meet them.
“These three are as of yet unborn. I am currently pregnant with them.” I explained it to him. “I have three other children at home as well.”
“That is amazing. You are living your life to its fullest, Riviana. Thank you for not letting me stop you.”
“Mommy?” Zayden came forward and held my hand.
“This is my father, Zayden. He is your biological maternal grandfather. But you won’t meet him after you are born.”
“H..hello.” He spoke to Edmond tentatively and Zachary and Zander followed suit.
“Hello boys. Are you protecting your mommy? I hope so.”
“Sh..she is protecting us.” Zayden answered him, being the closest to him.
“She does like to do that, doesn’t she? She is strong, so you stay with her and do what she says.”
“Mmhmm.” The boys nodded and hummed in agreement.
“Take care, Riviana. It is time for me to go. It is time for my punishment.” He stepped back into the shadows of his cell, another one that was so dark I couldn’t see what it was. I sensed another shadow reaper, but I didn’t see it this time. And unlike Solanum, Edmond didn’t cry out at all. He was completely silent while he was being tortured.
“Come on.” I ushered everyone along on our flying wind.. I didn’t want to stick around for this.
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Riviana
****
That feeling that I thought would go away after having seen Solanum in her cell, the one that was telling me to move slowly through Damnation, it was gone. Whatever it was that wanted me to move slowly, it had been focused on my father. I wonder if I was just supposed to see how he had changed. To see what he was like now.
I don’t know why I had to see Edmond. I have absolutely no idea why my father was so important at the current moment. It’s not like I was going to save him while I was here. It’s not like I was going to say that he deserved to be given another chance because he had repented. I mean, it definitely wasn’t like I was going to advocate for him to be reborn because I thought his soul might be able to do better with parents that loved him. None of that was true at all. Nope, none of it.
Or at least I was telling myself that it wasn’t true. The problem was, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about it. I knew that it was wrong to be thinking these thoughts, but I knew that he was a bad man that had done terrible things. But he was also changed. He was a soul that realized what he had done wrong. And if he were reborn, I am sure that he would be able to live a better life. He just needed to be given a chance.
