Chapter 24: Consequences

Shannon was jolted awake by her ringing phone. She had went to sleep without even showering, and her body reeked of sweat, cum and alcohol. Groggily, she picked up her phone. She wondered who would be calling at that time of the night. She couldn’t be sure of it, but she doubted it was more than 3.a.m. Seeing “Daddy” written in big red letters on her screen awakened her for good. If he was calling at that hour, something bad had probably happened. Guilt washed over her body, melting away whatever joy she had felt at dominating her mother and brother. She had had no intention to make her family suffer long term consequences, not ever her mother, she had to admit it now that she had calmed down.

“Shannon’s here” she said, answering the call.

“You’ve gone too far Shannon” replied Andrew’s voice, sounding extremely tired and sad.

“What? What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean, Shan… what you did to your mother and Derek… it’s sick.”

“She had it coming Dad!” replied the colossus, trying to justify her actions. “That bitch was insulting Alejandro and…”

“Don’t talk like that about your mother!” roared her father, stopping Shannon dead in her track. It was the first time ever that he yelled at her and it shook her to her core.

“Dad…”

“No. Shut up and listen. You’ve gone too far Shannon. There is no turning back, not after almost killing your mother and her baby.”

“What? I’ve never put them in danger dad!”

“Stop spouting absolute nonsense, you brat!” shrieked Andrew, making Shannon shiver as if she had been struck a mighty blow. “You broke almost all her ribs, she has a punctured lung and the doctors said it’s a miracle that she even survived, because one of the rib grazed her heart. And the fact that her uterus is intact, that the baby is okay… that’s an act of God, plain and simple. And that’s discounting the broken jaw. At best, she’s out in hospital for the next three weeks, and that’s only because she is a tough MAJOR woman… So, now, you’ll listen to me, okay?”

“…”

“Answer me Shannon! Will you listen to me?”

“Yes Dad, I will” replied Shannon, tears forming in her eyes, now that she was realizing what she had done.

“Good… Good… I’m sorry, my little Shan, it’s all my fault, really. I’m a coward, I’ve always been, and it’s why you turned the way you are now. I should have told Alexis that it was a bad idea to push you so much into the idea that might makes right, especially when you’ve hit puberty and have grown so much so fast… But I let her do that, I let her tell you that because you were stronger than anyone else, you could be meaner and more prone to violence and nothing bad would ever happen to you…”

“But that’s how society works Dad… You aren’t responsible for that” tried the gigantic teenager, her throat sore. “I should have been the one to not get so lost in it!”

“Nonsense… Nonsense… I should have made sure that you grew in a more balanced way, as a human being, but I failed you. What you did tonight… your mother could have done it, to a Minor who would have greatly displeased her. You did it to a MAJOR, and why wouldn’t you… for someone your size and strength, we aren’t so different from Minors, I guess…

“Dad… I’m sorry, really, I am” pleaded the young woman.

“No baby, you’re not. You’re sorry for me, you’re sorry because you know that no matter how much I love you, things can’t remain the same between us after tonight. But you aren’t sorry for what you did, deep down, I know it. So, hear me out. I love you Shannon, so, so much… But I’ll take Derek and your mother with me and we’ll leave you alone as soon as she’s healed.”

“What!? But dad, that whore doesn’t even like you!” screamed Shannon.

“DON’T TALK LIKE THAT ABOUT YOUR MOTHER!” roared Andrew. “She loves me, Shannon, otherwise she wouldn’t have given me two beautiful children. Her love is twisted, yes, but it’s real. Every time she has fucked up, she may have acted all cold and arrogant when we were all together, but with me, she was in tears, promising to change and get better… She never treated my like garbage or anything like that Shannon… When she told me she was pregnant with some unknown fucker’s child… Shannon, she wanted to abort, but I’m the one who told her to keep the baby, that I would love him just the same as I love Derek and you.”

“I… I didn’t know…” meekly said the Matthewson’s daughter.

“Obviously… And it’s our fault, really. We fucked up with your education, we never truly talked about that kind of things, your mother was too afraid to lose face, and you’ve become this extremely dangerous person…”

“Dad, I’m not that dangerous… I swear I can control myself and…”

“Shannon…” interrupted Andrew, “we know about your sexcapades… we know how you bruise MAJORS, breaks their bones and reduce them to whimpering slaves to satisfy your pleasure. We never said anything, because we know that in the circles you operate on a daily basis, any sign of weakness is synonymous with the loss of everything you’ve worked so hard to create. And we refused to be the reason for your downfall. We still do. That’s why we won’t make this whole mess public. For your sake. Do you understand? But you don’t know how to control yourself. Not yet. Hopefully, after tonight, you’ll make efforts to learn it…”

“Yes, Daddy… thanks you…” wept the behemoth.

“It’s not the only thing we needed to discuss… I don’t know how to sugar-coat it so I may as well go and tell you this in one go. I’ve called Jules and told him what happened already.”

Shannon felt as if a great chasm had opened under her and she was falling in. She was still lying in her bed, but her head was spinning and a sudden lurching in her stomach almost made her puke, right here, right now. Why? Why as he called them? It was a family matter, how could he…. Now I won’t… Alejandro… Oh God… She heard a terrible wail and it took a moment for her to understand that she was the one producing it.

“Shannon? Are you still here? Shannon!?” her Daddy’s voice sounded both distant and terrified, and she had to answer, for his sake.

“I’m… I’m here… But why! Why did you do that dad!?” cried the fantastic MAJOR

“For Alejandro’s protection” replied sternly her father.

“What… rubbish is that” managed to spout Shannon between her sobs.

“Shannon… you’re dangerous… Maybe you don’t even realize it, but you are. You are prone to burst of violence, and you don’t stop until you’ve gotten what you want when it’s the case. You broke a poor guy his two arms in broad daylight four months ago…”

“He molested me! It was my right to defend myself!” screamed the titanic MAJOR.

“Sure… but you had no need to break him like you did just because he was a pervert who smacked your ass in public. And yet you did. You get off by using violence Shannon, and it’s far too dangerous for Alejandro to be around someone like that. At least, that’s what I think and I’m sure that Jules and Ofelia will agree with me.”

“But I wouldn’t ever hurt him!”

“Had you ever wanted to hurt your Mom before today?”

“I…”

“Answer me Shannon!” ordered Andrew.

“No… No, I didn’t, but…”

“No but, my baby girl” hushed her father. “That should be proof enough for you. You are an apex predator Shannon, you’re basically above every other human on this good old Earth. That’s what your Mom taught you, and I consented to this education. You take what you want, when you want it, and nobody can stop you, else you break them. That’s why you and Jules’ son can’t be together. He will refuse to bond with you as it’s his right, and at one point or another, you’ll lose it and hurt him bad. That’s who you are, Shannon, and that won’t work with Alejandro!”

“Yes it would! I love him! I love him more than anything in this world; I love him so much, despite knowing him so little! I wouldn’t have to be violent with him, because he is so small and frail that my tendencies to dominate my partners don’t require brutality to be satisfied Dad! With him, I can be calm and sweet and still be the dominant partner” pleaded the young woman.

“And how do you know that? Have you fucked him already Shannon? Because it would have been a terrible thing to do and I would be disappointed in you, more than you can imagine if you have…”

“What? Why? It should be the proof that I can control myself around him!” whined the giantess.

“No baby. It would be proof of the contrary. One day and you’ve lost control and forced him to have sex with you… That’s not good, not good at all. That boy has a strong will, we all saw that at the restaurant, but I’m not sure his mind is as resilient. After what he went through as a kid, I’m afraid he is more damaged than even he knows. If he gave in so easily to your pressure, I’m not sure you’re what he needs.”

“But he liked that Daddy! I saw him; I could read his mind, even without bonding with him properly. And he is in love with me! We are meant to be together Dad! I know that, with all my being. I can make him happier than anyone, and he can keep me on the straight and narrow! Together, we would be perfectly balanced! My Alejandro needs me, I know it!”

“I’ve known of another person who talked like that, long ago…” mumbled Andrew, clearly more worried than ever before.

“What? Who?" asked Shannon, a flash of jealousy chasing away her tears. Who had dared to talk like that about her Alejandro?

“Joseph Mac Ferlan” bluntly answered her dad.

“I’M NOTHING LIKE THAT… THAT MONSTER… THAT DEGENERATE!” replied Shannon in a deafening shriek, her anger at the idea to be compared to the MAJOR who had almost destroyed Alejandro taking the best of her.

“Yes you are baby…” said her father with incommensurable sorrow. “Perhaps you don’t even realize it, and it’s worse than anything I could be afraid off. But have you heard yourself. Your Alejandro? He isn’t a pet or a doll Shannon… How can you hope to better Minor’s status in our society if you even think that the one you proclaim you’re in love with is your property? That’s sick, and you must know it, baby girl.”

“No… No, you’re wrong. Mac Ferlan was violent toward everyone who approached Alejandro, I… I’m…”

“The same” said Andrew coldly. “You almost killed your mother because she was drunk and expressed her views about Minors, but more precisely Alejandro. Tell me Shannon, how long do you think that that young man will put up with your possessiveness if you become a couple? How long before he decides that he has had enough and wants to go away? Hum? What would you do then?”

“He wouldn’t leave me… I… I would be good for him Dad, I know it” said the massive teenager, her cheeks once more wet with tears. “He wouldn’t have any reason to… to turn his back on me, and even if he did…”

She tried to say that she would be okay with it, but she couldn’t finish the sentence. It would have been a lie and she knew it. If Alejandro walked on her, she would try everything in her power to keep him. The very idea that he could leave her to go with someone else… it awakened something nasty, something ugly, inside of her, something which was clawing at her mind and her guts, making her feel sick and dirty…

“I would… I would force him to stay with me, physically if I must…” she gasped, putting her hand on her mouth in horror.

“Yes you would… But you wouldn’t stop there, right my baby girl?” asked Andrew, with so much sorrow in his voice that it only added to Shannon’s suffering.

“I would… Oh God… I would bond-rape him!”

It was too much for the massive teenager. Her belly went into a revolution and she shot up, rushing to the restroom, her phone still in hand. She barely managed to reach it in time, but she vomited in the toilet’s bowl. It wasn’t just some bile; it was all her food from the restaurant, and more. She had the impression that something black and oily was expelled from her, she felt as if she was getting thinner and thinner, almost as if she would disappear if she kept emptying her bowel.

For long minutes, the only sound she could hear was the gurgling and disgusting noise she made while puking. The only odor she could smell was the repulsive mix of acidic fluids, alcohol and half-digested dishes. She didn’t know how long she remained like that, even once she had nothing to throw in the bowl, stuck in place by the horrible realization. I’m like Joseph… I’m a monster… I’m… I don’t deserve to be around people, around Minors, around him…

“Shannon? Shannon are you still here!?” screamed her father in the phone, left to rest on the cold tiles.

“Yes…” croaked the colossus, her throat and mouth burning.

“Good… good… Listen to me Shannon. I know that you’re in shock right now. But you must make the right decision. You said you love Alejandro Ferrand, yes?”

“Yes, Dad. I do” sobbed the giantess.

“Good. So, if you really love him… if really you only want his happiness, then you must let him go. Let him find someone kinder, someone who won’t put him at risk. If you lose your temper once with him like you did with your mother tonight, you would kill him, so do the right thing, Shannon… please…”

“I’ll… I’ll do it dad, I swear… I… I’ll leave Old Creek tomorrow…”

“I’m so, so sorry Shannon” whispered her dad before cutting off the call.

Shannon Matthewson, MAJOR among MAJOR, teenage billionaire, one of the most powerful people in the world, curled into a ball and cried until she fell asleep.

-----------------------------------

“What happened?” asked the Minor.

Alejandro had slept wonderfully, just as the previous night and had expected a good day to follow such a perfect night, but instead, he had found his whole family sitting in the living-room, pales and really tired-looking. Her mother even had a haunted look on her face that he hadn’t seen since… Since the years just after the Incident; what the hell did happen? What the hell did Shannon to make them so afraid? The Minor had no need for a college education to realize that only she could be the reason for such worry.

“Something has happened to the Matthewson…” begun Ofelia, before breaking into sobs, which left her oldest child shocked.

“Mom? What…”

“Shannon assaulted and almost killed her mother” said his dad, his voice hollow and distant.

“I’m sorry… what?” asked Alejandro, not sure he had actually heard it right.

“It’s true ‘Rando” intervened Lindsey, her eyes red and swollen because of her tears. “Apparently, there was an argument and Shannon lost it. She broke all her mother’s ribs or something. And apparently, she did worse, but…”

“But Andrew didn’t want to talk about it” said Jules quite firmly, cutting short his daughter’s explanation.

“Where are they now?”

“The Matthewsons have left Old Creek, save for Shannon, apparently. Andrew called back ten minutes ago and apparently, she’s still at the hotel, but should leave soon; Andrew told me that she has had a nervous breakdown or something when he called her during the night, and she isn’t answering his calls anymore” explained his father.

“Good. Then we have still time to go there” said the Minor quite calmly, expecting the reaction which followed his words.

“No! We won’t go there!” roared Ofelia, roused from her horror. “I refuse to put you into this much danger!”

“Have you lost your mind son?”

“Bro, get back in your room!” growled Alaric, “We’ll take care of it…”

“I knew it! She has bonded you, otherwise you wouldn’t want to go see her!” shrieked Lindsey.

Alejandro patiently waited for them all to stop screaming, standing still, and a slightly bored expression on his face. As he expected, this reaction quickly silenced them. Sometimes, he forgot how easy it was to play MAJORS, especially his family. And sometimes, like this morning, he felt like a maestro. I’ve got to put things straight with Shannon anyway, so sorry guys, but I won’t let you prevent me from seeing her, at least one last time, even if she’s really lost it.

“That’s all?” he asked cynically. “You don’t want to scream some more? I’m sure it would do good. I’ve heard that expressing one’s feeling are a good first step toward healing old wounds. Or perhaps I’ve read it, I don’t really remember. Not that I had any need of such knowledge in my life, am I right?”

“Alejandro…” begun her mother, but he cut her off.

“I want to go and see Shannon because I want to understand what happened, first hand. You can’t make me change my mind about it, at least not without forcing a bond on me. Would any of you dare do that to me?”

He glared at each and every member of his family, until their faces reddened with shame. He didn’t like using this argument, it made him feel dirty, but he hadn’t the time to play this game by the rules. He needed to see Shannon; partially because he was in love with her, even after those revelations, which frightened him to no end. But mainly, because he wanted to make sure that she would keep pushing for her campaign. This thing mattered more than him or her or their feelings. It was strange how an idea of a better future could grant so much bravery to someone like him.

“We could force you into your room” mumbled Alaric, looking dejected.

“So, you would use your strength to prevent me to talk with someone who could use her strength against me? That’s not exactly a master plan…”

“But what else can we do!?” roared Alaric, his face contorted in fear and shame. “She’s dangerous to you bro! I can’t… I can’t let you rush into danger like that! I failed you once, I wouldn’t be able to bear it if… if a second Incident happened!”

Alejandro was a little taken aback. Now, that was something new, a facet of his twin that he had never seen. The Minor calmly approached his sitting sibling and placed his valid hand on his knee.

“Hey. You’ve never failed me, okay? You saved me, Al’. Had you come a second later, Mac Ferlan would have made me his little toy. Do you get it? Every time I see your scar, it reminds me of how much I fucked up and how much it has hurt you… Don’t ever think again that you’re responsible for the Incident. Okay?”

“Yeah… Okay…” mumbled Al’ before hiding his face in his hands and crying like a child. It hurt Alejandro, but he had to push trough his pain. He had to be sincere with them all, it would be the only way forward.

“I’ve something… something really important to say. To all of you, about what happened yesterday. I… I know it will probably shock you, but I swear it wasn’t my intention. Neither to make you afraid for me, or even for those things to happen but… yesterday, Shannon and I had sex and…”

“WHAT!?” screamed his Mom while his Dad looked thunderstruck. Even Alaric stopped sobbing for a moment, and Lindsey had gone so pale that she may as well have been dead for weeks.

“I know! I told you, it wasn’t my intention at first, and neither was Shannon’s but… things turned that way, that all. Anyway, what matters is that, over the course of the day, I got to… I don’t know, peek into her mind?”

“You were bonded” said Jules with a hollow tone.

“No! Dad, I think I would have known if I had been. Joseph nearly did it, and I could feel him everywhere. Inside my brain, my bones, under my skin… I could read him, just as deep as he could force himself in me… With Shannon it was nothing alike. It was just… her feelings, how she felt about me. It was more like… like a tempest, brutal and powerful but not drowning. Her core being and mine never bonded. She could read my mind, at least my surface thoughts, but that was all…”

“It’s already terrible enough, mijo” whispered Ofelia. “If you had been able to truly see her, she would have probably made you her slave… Andrew told us that she has…”

“Sexual partners she abuse and treat like crap? Yeah, I know it, I learnt it yesterday” interrupted the Minor, mildly annoyed, adding another shocking reveal to his family’s worries. “So, I knew what to expect when… when we did what we did. Now, I just need to talk to her, and perhaps, to confirm things. Like, how I felt about her, if I can trust her, that kind of things…”

“But how could you even believe that you could trust her!?” whimpered Lindsey. “She’s… sick!”

“Perhaps. But when she could have hurt me, when she could have bond-raped me, and there was a time where she could have done so easily… she didn’t. She was very careful, she retreated to her own mind to protect mine… it has to mean something. And I want to make sure that she will promote Minor’s interest in society. Whatever she may be, whatever she may have done… this campaign of her, it’s important. Dad, Mom, for the first time in years, it made me dream about the future. For the first time since the Incident, I feel that I... I could do something of my life. Please, you have to let me save it, if I can…”

“You know there would be only one way for you to be absolutely sure of who she truly is, right?” replied his Dad after a moment of silence, his voice full of concerns.

“Yes. Yes I do. I won’t lie, it scares me, a lot, but I’m willing to risk it… with sufficient preparation.”

“Preparation? What preparation?” asked Lindsey. “What are you talking about you two?”

“Well, Little Lind, you complained about it yesterday, so I think it’s fair that you were my partner in this, don’t you think?”

“What do you…”

“It’s bonding-time with your Minor brother, little sister” said Alejandro with a half-smile.