4. He Was Gone

His mother's smile was the last smile Ravi had ever seen in this house and since then, everyone was either slapping, shouting or giving him commands. Thus, when Hari smiled at him, he was both surprised and startled. He didn't know why anyone would be nice to him and he was thus wary.

"I... I... I will... do it," Ravi said warily but Hari was stronger and he held him as he insisted on helping him. He helped the boy dress his wounds and asked him to sleep. He could see that Ravi was in a bad state and Hari wanted to help him.

"Sleep for a while. You will be better when you wake up," he said but Ravi shook his head. How could he?

"No. You know I can't. I have a lot to do. I don't want another beating. P-please, let me go," he said as he stood up with difficulty and Hari didn't know why but the sight made his heart ache. He wanted to help this boy but he didn't know how.

"Let me help you today. I will do the housework for you," he said and Ravi looked at him like a monster.

"You... Y-you want to get me killed? No," he refused because he knew that if the Luna was to see another person helping him, Ravi would be killed.

He appreciated Hari's good will though and walked out of the small room to go and start clearing the dining table.

Hari looked at that small room Ravi called his and wondered why it was so minimalistic. It had nothing of value except the medicine for cleaning wounds. He shook his head and promised himself to work hard so that he could leave the main house and go for college in the city. When he did that, he would convince Ravi to run away and live with him. After leaving this house, he was ready to defy even his father. All he needed was to get his footing.

Ravi went downstairs and by then, all were done with eating and he cleaned the table though he took longer than usual as his body was complaining. He did what he was supposed to do and he came to a decision: no matter what he does or did, he will never be better than his father's second family. His father will always find Jean (his step brother) and Zena (his step sister) better than him. He was done trying and he would leave them to be one happy family like they wanted.

"Mama, I am coming to join you. Sorry if I was weak and I didn't become the man you always wanted me to be," he said and wiped the last plate for the day.

It was almost eleven o'clock in the night and his whole body was aching. He couldn't even tell what part ached the most. He was done and he wanted to rest.... forever. Though he wondered if forever was long enough to heal his aching heart. Maybe, he would meet his mama again.

He went up the stairs and entered his room. He didn't lock the door because he didn't want them to have to go through the trouble of breaking it down to take his body out. He then raised his thin mattress and took a small bottle that he had hidden there. Inside was a poison. He had come along it as a mistake. This was the kind of a poison used to kill rogue wolves.

It had something called wolves bane and other potent poisons that would kill a wolf in a matter of minutes. He had come across it one day in his father's office as he was cleaning the alpha's office and when he read the label, he took some in a bottle and hid it.

He looked at the contents of the bottle and smiled bitterly. He didn't want to kill himself but what was the need of living? So that his family could have a free punching bag for whenever they needed one? No. He was tired and it was time he rested. He shed a single tear because he knew that no one would miss him. They would just employ other people to do the work he was doing and that would be it. He wondered if he would be given a burial. Would anyone attend?

He looked at the bottle again, exhaled deeply and gulped down the contents in one go. He then quickly got in the bed and covered himself. He wanted to die in his bed. One last warmth from the bed that always hugged him whenever he needed warmth and whenever he was in pain which was almost always. The bed that was now too small for his tall frame but that no one bothered to change for him.

He felt the pain. It started in his stomach. He felt like his insides were being shredded with a knife. He wanted to scream but braced himself. He didn't want to draw any attention to his room He wanted to die in peace: alone; the way he always lived. The pain was more than he had ever experienced. A wave of heat assulted him and he sweat a bucket.

He shed tears. Not of regret but of physical pain. He willed it to go away quickly. But he knew that it would be for a while and then he would be peaceful. He coughed blood on his clean sheet but he didn't care. He braced himself and when the pain became too intense, he lost consciousness. Then.... a while.

He was gone.

* * * * *

Hari was done with his nightly training and he had already eaten and taken a bath. He wanted to go to bed but then remembered Ravi. The boy was hurt and he had been working the whole day. Hari decided to go to the attic and check on him before calling it a night. He left his room by jumping out the window. He was a wolf and jumping from the second floor window was child's play for him. He didn't want to use the corridor as he didn't want his father to hear him and ask him where he was going.

He didn't wear any jacket because he was a wolf anyway and he was going inside the house. As an alpha, and one of the strongest ones in the park, he couldn't get sick not unless he was poisoned. It didn't take him long to get to his destination.

He opened the small door and he was surprised that the boy never locked his door. Was he not afraid of bad wolves? Ravi was a handsome boy and Hari had heard a lot of wolves talk about it. They knew that Alpha Philip didn't like this son but they didn't know what would happen if they defiled him. They were thus wary and that was what was keeping him safe. He knew wolves were mostly animals who were controlled by instincts especially when they were on heat. He told himself that he would advice Ravi to always lock the door from the inside.

Hari smiled at the innocence of the boy and he walked inside. The light was still on and Ravi was already on the bed. He walked gently towards the bed as he didn't want to wake him up and when he was close enough, he saw it. The blood was everywhere. He was startled and then he saw the bottle on the night stand next to the alarm clock. He took it and sniffed. Wolves bane. He could tell what it was even from a mile away.

Hari's mind stopped working for a while as it dawned on him that Ravi had committed suicide.

A pain asulted his senses like he had lost someone dear to him. Why? He still could not tell. He held his chest as he felt his heart palpitate threatening to jump out of his chest. He felt a wave of anxiety coming.

His wolf wanted to be let out and he didn't know why. But he knew he couldn't. If he let Star, his wolf, out, there was no telling what he could do. He was in pain and he could even feel Star whimpering, crying.

He stood there frozen with myriad of emotions coursing through him. He looked at Ravi's dead body on the bed and felt like he had lost his heart.

He wanted to die with Ravi too.

Why? He had no idea.