Rowan stood in the middle of the kitchen, red-faced with fury.
I had expected her to be sad after her visit with Alex, but she had clearly moved through the ‘five stages of grief’ quickly and was now at ‘anger.’ She had taken the coffee mugs, bowls, and drinking cups out of the cupboard, and lined them up neatly on the counter.
She reached for a drinking glass.
“Rowan, don’t even think about it,” I said, putting my hand up.
“Hmm, I thought about it, and you know what I think, Cade? I think I hate you!” she screamed as she chucked the projectile straight at my head.
I ducked just in time to avoid having it shatter in my face, sliding on my knees across the floor and kneeling behind the island, which provided cover from her missiles.
Talon laughed, catching her attention. She aimed the next one at him and threw. It narrowly missed as she screamed, “I hate you too!”
“What the fuck did you do, Cade?! Why is our pet throwing dishware at us!? Seriously, what have I missed?” he said, hiding behind the counter with me.
“For the last time! I’m not your pet!” Rowan screamed, throwing another bowl at the wall just to satisfy her fury.
“Idid nothing. Her friend Alex said he didn’t want to come back here or see her again. She’s upset about it.”
The front door swung open as Killian and Ryker rushed forward, hearing the commotion from the hallway. As soon as they cleared the entryway, Rowan leveled a bowl at them, only missing because Talon yelled, “Duck!” which sent them both to the floor. They stood behind the wall for cover.
“What the fuck is going on!?” Ryker yelled. “Why is Kitten throwing things at us!?”
“Cade pissed her off,” Talon yelled back as Ryker chuckled.
Rowan was sobbing by this point. Her speech was unintelligible, interrupted by hiccups and gasps as she hyperventilated and tried to take in breath. I ducked around the island, trying to glimpse her, but she saw me peek around the corner and sent another mug my way. If my math was correct, we only had one mug left, and I needed it for my morning coffee.
“Rowan. Stop throwing things. Now!” I commanded using my alpha bark.
She resisted as hard as she could. I watched her pick up the last mug, and aim for the silver of me that wasn't obstructed by the island counter, but she couldn’t force herself to throw it because of my bark. Instead, she let it slide from her hands and shatter on the floor, creating a sea of chipped porcelain shards around her bare padded feet.
“You all ruined my life! I hadsomething.It wasn’t much, but it wassomething!I had friends, a band, and a home! You all expect me to live here with you and take the scraps you decide to give me. You took my friends, you took my band, my hobbies, my passions! All you want to do is fuck me, and feed me, and reward me when I’m a good girl, like a little omega pet. I’m a fucking person!”
She sobbed harder. Talon and I stood knowing she couldn’t throw anything else at us, just as Killian and Ryker emerged from the hallway. She grabbed a bowl, tried to aim it and, when her body wouldn’t let her, dropped it to the floor again. Blood was dripping from where one shard had cut the top of her foot.
“I’ve spent my whole life alone! I’ve never had many friends, no family besides my dad, who died, and because of you, my one loyal friend never wants to see me again!”
“How is it my fault he doesn’t want to see you, Rowan? Loyal? More like spineless! I didn’t tell him he couldn’t; he made that decision on his own! He’s the one who abandoned you. Some friend he is, supposedly the best friend you’ve ever had, and he tucks tail and runs when given the chance!”
“You threatened him, Cade! And you!” She turned, leveling a finger at Ryker, who put his hands up in surrender. “You wanted to send him to the colonies! I hate you all for driving him away. You are all kidnappers and murderers! Why couldn’t you all just let me go and continue living my life!”
“Murderers?! Who exactly have we murdered, Rowan!?” Ryker asked, trying to keep the humor from his voice, but a small chuckle slipped out, which infuriated Rowan.
“MY FUCKING PLANTS! You killed my plants!” she screamed at him with rage.
Picking up another bowl, she grew frustrated when she couldn’t nail Ryker with it. She cradled the bowl in her arms, sinking to the floor. Her emotions were volatile, and she was gradually working through the ‘depression’ stage of grief. The bowl tumbled out of her hands to the floor as she tucked her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, and started wailing.
“Plants need water. I can’t water them because of being kidnapped by you psychos, so they're dead. Even my cactus is probably dead at this point.” She cried even harder at the thought of her wilted cactus. Her tears became muffled as she buried her face in her arms.
Fuck,this was not how I had expected this to go.
Chapter 31: Killian
Rowan curled into a ball.
Little Crane wrapped her arms around herself.
She was trying to find comfort.
