Chapter 138 - AT HIS COUSIN'S PACK II

Derek nodded at his uncle's greeting with his face totally blank of any emotion. He didn't want to let out that he felt like ripping the older man's lips which he had used to laugh evilly at him, especially for sending his cousin after him, to spy on him. He just kept mute, while staring at the place which had been his home at one time, before the world had fallen.

He watched as his cousin answered questions about his pack and all the things that had been happening there, as if he was absent, as if he wasn't there. He wondered why all the questions and its necessity to the betterment of his uncle's pack. The older man didn't even ask about his cousin had been faring. But he pretended like he didn't notice. He just looked around the sitting room, the faded paintings, the rusty sculptures, and the worn out furniture, not really thrift worthy, but still a bit worn out. He wondered why it was this way. Why his uncle hadn't been able to keep up and maintain the pack house which had lived down many generations.

It made him remember his grandmother's statement, the mother of his father who had died sacrificially during the last pack war; she had always said that a person's environment was a reflection of the person's character and inner thoughts. Based on that certain proverb, looking at his uncle's living room, he could deduct that the man had an unkempt character or whatever denotes unkempt.

"Derek…" His Aunt, Jan, called him.

"Yes, Aunt…" He replied, wearing a genuine smile this time around. 

"How are you doing?" He asked, sincerely interested in her reply, although he knew that she would reply with the customary 'I am fine.' Sometimes, he sensed that the latter was too submissive to her mate. Of course, they were mates and so too joint and loyal to each other; but few times he wished that his aunt would oppose his uncle's decisions sometimes, having an opinion of her own, like his mother would.

"I'm fine." Jan replied with an honest smile of hers. She had missed her mate's nephew. He had been her favourite relative, before her mate went all out in dividing them, a division she hadn't been able to do anything.

"How are you too?" She asked, ignoring her mate's scrutinizing gaze.

"I've been okay." Derek answered, keeping her gaze.

"That's nice. How's your mother, and everyone at home?" Jan asked.

"All good. They send their regards." Derek replied, with a small smile. He wondered whether his aunt knew that he had a little sister now. He wasn't sure if his uncle had told his mate about his little sister, Eva. There is only one way to know then.

"Eva too…" He said, staring at his aunt and Curtis to see their reactions. Their reactions told him of the story which he had thought could be true. Their befuddled looks confirmed the notion that his uncle hadn't told his family about his little sister. No wonder, Maya had been surprised when she had seen Eva for the first time. But why was he doing that? He wondered, casting a very short glimpse at his uncle, who he noticed was staring at him heatedly.

"Eva??"

"Who is Eva??"

Jan and Curtis asked simultaneously, to the mini shock of Maya. She hadn't been expecting her brother to know though. But she had expected her mother to have known. But it seemed that her father had kept them all in the dark. Or had he forgotten it because it wasn't a necessary detail? Well, she didn't know. Her father was one complicated being.

"Eva is Derek's little sister." She replied, before Derek could answer the question, while staring blankly at her father.

Jan and her son opened their mouths and closed it, as the same train of thoughts ran through their mind. When had Melvina given birth? And why were they unaware of it? They thought, looking at Maya and Derek for answers as if the duo could read their thoughts.

"When did she….???"  Jan stuttered, feeling a bit droopy as she considered the fact that her friend had a baby, and she hadn't sent a message across in her ignorance. She wondered if her mate had known. She felt like he had.

"She is five years old." Maya stated, allowing her mother to do the calculation herself.

Jan soughed unhappily, as she did the calculation herself. Through the mind link, she asked her husband if he had known, of which he had replied in affirmative.

Taking a deep breath, as she tried to rein in her temper and cover up the look of melancholy on her face, she wore a faux smile and continued her conversation with the duo on the same sofa.

"I hadn't known. How is she?" She asked, wondering how the little one would be.

"She is bubbling with life." Maya replied with a smile, slightly amused as she remembered the look on Eva's face as she had told her that she was leaving for her place for a while. The little girl had held on to her skirt, putting up the tears again. She had only calmed down, when she had told her that she would be back the next day.

"…Would love to see her someday." Curtis stated honestly, still astonished that he had a baby cousin whom he hadn't known of. From the smiley look on his sister's face when she had mentioned the little girl's name, he was sure that the girl was a charmer. He had always wanted a younger sibling whom he could spoil. He smiled as he saw it as a reasonable excuse to go to Derek's birthday party, which would be coming up in few days from now.

"I see…" Derek muttered, scrunching his eyebrows as he stared at his male cousin. He had never seemed to trust the blonde guy. He thought the dude would be like his father; like father like son. An apple doesn't fall far from its tree. Maya had barely escaped.

"Yeah…" Curtis said, with a smirk already on his lips which Maya found troubling.

"Let's go Derek. Let me show you where you would be staying." She said in effect, standing up sharply from the sofa. She had already communicated with her mother on which rooms were clean out for visitors.

Derek happily obliged, standing up in quick succession, in a bid to follow his favourite cousin out of the living room, when suddenly he remembered the gift he had gotten for his Aunt. He wasn't staying long here, and so wasn't sure if he would come across her again.

So, halting in his movement, he brought out the small gift box which had somehow fitted in his jeans pocket, then turned back towards the direction of his aunt. He walked steadily towards her, dropping the small box in her hands when he got to her.

"What is this?" Jan asked, surprised as her mate, and her son who were still sitting in their respective positions.

"A thank you gift." Derek replied with a toothy smile.

"Why are you thanking me? We haven't seen for seven years now." Jan queried, trying to understand the reason for the gift.

"Exactly." Derek stated, confusing his aunt the more. She was still not getting his point.

"Thank you saving me seven years ago." He said, almost laughing out loud, as he saw the look of indignation on his uncle's face. HaHA. Did the old man think that he had forgotten? Of course not. He could never forget it. Apart from serving as an appreciation to his aunt, the gift box would also serve as a reminder to his uncle that his past deeds hadn't been forgotten by him. He would pay him back in his own coin, when the time was right. His father might have forgiven and forgotten; but not him. He was not his father.

"Derek…it was nothing. You didn't have to do this." Jan stated with a smile, while caressing the gift box, despite the fact that she was a bit nervous and uncomfortable. Although she was glad that the young man didn't hold her in contempt, she was still unhappy that her mate would be on the receiving side of his wrath soon. She had remembered that eventful day like it was yesterday.

Her mate had overthrown his younger brother during the pack war, while they had been fighting to reclaim their territories which had been under violation by vampires and werewolves from other packs. She hadn't even known what he had been planning until that fateful day, and she hadn't been able to 'unmate' him, even though she had been repulsed by his actions, especially when he had almost killed his nephew with the samurai sword which had served as an artefact in their living room. She had stomped into the room then, and had stopped him from committing a murder which would hunt him, her and her children; and she hadn't wanted that. She hated the revenge syndrome.. He had said later that it had been for their good; but till now, she was yet to see the goodness.