Chapter 40: Call from the Past

Aurora

I spent the rest of the evening with Aspen, Max, and Gamma Remus—who insisted that I drop the formality and just call him by his name.

I agreed on the condition that he also avoid using the title of lady or luna around me. There was no way that I’d accept it.

I was home by nightfall. It felt weird entering the house when there wouldn’t be anyone there to greet me, but I had to get used to the idea that my family was gone.

Once I got inside, I headed to the kitchen to put down my groceries, but then I heard the phone ringing; I rushed over to the corner where we kept it in the living area and answered it.

“Hello?”

~”Thank Goddess! Where have you been?! I was starting to panic here!”~ Emma’s voice boomed over the line.

“Em? What’s the matter?” I asked her.

”What do you mean WHAT’S THE MATTER?! I’ve been worried sick. Mom called me and told me that you had been kidnapped and now you’re the Luna?!” she shouted.

“What the hell, Rors? Why didn’t you tell me that you and the alpha imprinted?!”

I sighed in exasperation. ~Not this again,~ I thought, rolling my eyes.

“It’s a long story, Em,” I answered as I walked into the kitchen to unpack my groceries.

“Well, I’m all ears. What the hell happened? I’ve been Facetiming you for ages, but I couldn’t seem to get through,” she asked.

I remembered that my phone had been taken away the day I got kidnapped, and I’d never gotten it back.

“It got lost during the whole hostage situation, Em,” I told her.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were Alpha Wolfgang’s mate? All this time I thought you only had a crush on him. Was that the reason why you went to live at the mansion?” she asked.

“Something like that. I couldn’t tell you cause my so-called mate had forbidden me to tell anyone that we had imprinted,” I answered, unable to help the hurt I felt.

“Why? What was the problem?” she inquired, making me even more exasperated.

I didn’t want to go through this again.

“Because I’m an omega, that’s why. He was ashamed of me because of my background. Look, I really don’t want to go over this again,” I told my best friend.

She fell silent for a moment.

“I’m sorry, Rory,” she said finally, and I instantly regretted my attitude toward her. She hadn’t known anything.

“I’m sorry, too. It’s just that everything has been so overwhelming,” I answered truthfully. The last few months had been so overwhelming that it almost felt surreal.

“I can’t even imagine how it must have been for you. But I’m really proud of you. You see? I’ve always had faith in you and your strength!”

I could almost picture her smile through the phone.

“It wasn’t such a big deal. I did what I had to do to survive,” I told her.

“Are you kidding me? That Klaus guy was the one who killed Alpha Wolfgang’s father, and you totally kicked his ass!” she exclaimed.

“Again, I did what I had to do, Em. I’m sure you would’ve done the same, or even better than me,” I told her, rolling my eyes.

“Of course not! When are you gonna realize that you are as capable as I am, or any other wolf out there. For goodness’ sake, you freaking killed the most wanted rogue!”

I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped my mouth. “Oh, Em. You don’t know how I’ve missed you.”

I truly did. She was my first and best friend, and ever since she’d left to study, I’d been lonely. At least, until Max, Aspen, and Remus had become close to me.

“I’ve missed you too, boo. You have no idea. Ever since mom called and told me about the kidnapping, I’ve been worried sick.” I could hear the anxiety in her voice.

I really didn’t want to talk about it, so I decided to change the subject.

“So, how’s school?” I asked her.

“Oh, it’s been a bit exhausting ever since we started finals. But I’m almost done, and I’ll be home for spring break,” she announced, excited.

“Ooh, I can’t wait!” I told her. And I really meant it. I really missed having Emma around, even if sometimes she was a bit too much.

But I guess that’s what made us best friends. Her enthusiasm and euphoria were the perfect balance to my shyness.

“Me either, boo. I gotta go, but I’ll call you later, okay? In fact, I’m gonna be checking up on you every five hours, so you’d better pick up,” she warned.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Sure, Em. Love you,” I told her.

“Love you more, boo,” she said before hanging up.

I had planned on occupying myself once more in the kitchen, unpacking the groceries, but then I heard a knock on the door.

Before I even opened it, I knew who it was because Rhea was jumping up and down excited.

“Oh great.” I turned around and decided to ignore it. Pretend like I wasn’t home.

But I guess Cronnos must’ve had the same reaction as Rhea.

“Aurora? I know you’re in there. Could you please open the door?” Wolfgang pleaded from the other side.

~“Come on! Let’s just hear what he has to say, please?”~ Rhea pleaded. I didn’t answer back.

“Fine. I’ll just leave these here at the door. I hope you like them.” He sounded almost defeated.

I felt his footsteps move further away. I waited a few minutes before I opened the door just enough to spot what he had left for me.

I was instantly surprised when I saw a beautiful bouquet of roses from the mansion’s garden lying on the doorstep.

~“Oh, Aurora. They’re gorgeous!”~ Rhea exclaimed as I held them up to my nose and took a whiff. They smelled magnificent.

A lone tear fell down my cheek as I looked at them. Why couldn’t he have been this way the moment we’d found out we were mated?

Why had I been put through all that torture, just because I was beneath him?

Sadness turned to anger as I felt my blood boil. I looked at the roses in my hands, remembering every torment I’d gone through. Then the most shocking thing happened.

The roses suddenly burst into purple flames.

I threw them to the ground and stomped on them until I got rid of the flames, but the shock was still there.

~What the hell just happened? Did I do that?~

~“Rhea?”~ I sought my wolf to see if she knew what had happened, but she was as clueless as I was.

I looked at the now-burned bush of what once had been a beautiful bouquet, still questioning how that had happened.

I’d thought of burning them, and they’d suddenly caught on fire on their own.

Had it happened because of me?