Chapter 24

The battle is over. Roman has ordered his men to return to their pack.

We’re all gathered around a table, the air thick with tension.

I can’t tear my eyes away from my mom. She’s sitting next to me, her hand in mine.

Roman is on my other side, and Alan is seated across from us. I can feel everyone’s gaze on me, but all I see is my mother.

She’s alive.

I hear Roman shift in his chair.

“How?” His question is simple, but I know exactly what he’s asking. I gently pull my hand away from my mother.

How did she survive? Why didn’t she come back for me? My mother looks at me, her eyes filled with sorrow.

“Mom? How are you still alive?” She breaks eye contact, her gaze dropping to the table. I hear Alan, or rather my father, start to speak. I shoot him a look that says ~shut up~.

My mom begins to fiddle with her black dress. I can see the scar on her face now. It runs from her hairline to her jaw. Somehow, it makes her even more beautiful.

“I met your father on my 18th birthday, all those years ago. I was 19 when I got pregnant. It was early, and even though I loved having a pup, your father had just become a warrior.

“Every day, I was scared he wouldn’t come home and I’d have to raise you alone. Back then, we were fighting for more territory.

“Your uncle, the man you know as your father, believed he had the right to a larger pack. Your father fought alongside him, while I stayed home taking care of you.

“You were such a good girl, such an angel. Even as a baby, you hardly cried. As the years passed and you turned four, we had our territory. It was all thanks to your father.

“He fought every battle, planned every attack. One day, we were at home and you were playing in your room with your dolls, you loved dolls so much. Someone invaded our home.

“I never saw his face, but he attacked me first. I was bleeding so badly that I couldn’t fight anymore. Your father fought, but the man managed to escape.

“That’s when you came downstairs. I told you to run, in case the man came back. He was unlike anything we’d ever seen before. Not a wolf or a witch, but not a human either.

“When your uncle arrived at our house, he didn’t believe your father. He thought your father had attacked me. So he killed him. With my last bit of magic, I managed to save us both.

“When I woke up, we were far away from the pack. Your father had managed to get us away. But you had listened to me. You ran. I wanted to get you back so badly, but neither of us could.

“We were all alone with nowhere to go, and your uncle had an entire pack. For years, we’ve been gathering rogues to form a pack strong enough to get you back. Every day of my life, I have thought of you.

“Every day, I have prayed to the Goddess to bring you back to me. Please, you have to believe me, believe us... It hurt me so much. I could barely eat or sleep. I could barely think straight.

“When I heard the Prince is your mate, I knew we couldn’t wait any longer. You’d be surrounded and fiercely protected. Your father went to get you. And now. Now I finally have my baby girl back.”

Tears are streaming down both our faces now. Roman has put his arm around me, and with his other hand, he’s making small circles on my back.

“But... you could have come back! You could have told them what really happened!” My mom grabs my hand again, and this time I let it stay.

“Sweetie, there are so many things that you don’t know. One day I will tell you everything, I promise. But right now I just want to hold you and get to know you. Your father has told me that you’re very strong. Are you happy?”

My sobs grow louder as I shake my head.

“No, I’m not happy. My whole life. Everything. Everything has been a lie. My best friend knew, the woman I thought was my mother never said anything. All my life I had the urge to fight.

“All I wanted to be is a warrior. I never knew why, it was just how I felt. My heart... My heart knew though my memories had failed me. I was fighting to get my family back.

“How am I ever going to forgive any of you? How am I going to forgive my parents for leaving me? How am I going to forgive mom and dad for lying to me my whole life?

“How am I going to forgive my mate for not accepting me? How am I going to forgive my best friend for keeping the most important thing in my life from me?

“I have lost everything this week. I have lost my trust, I have lost my faith, I have lost my strength and I have lost my family.”

I stand up, tears of fire streaming down my cheeks. The falling drops burn my clothes. “Because now… now I don’t know who I am anymore. And that scares me, but it also hurts me like I’ve never been hurt before.”

Roman tightens his grip around my arm, standing next to me.

He slowly turns me around and cups my face in his hands.

I can hear my tears falling on his skin, burning through it but he doesn’t even flinch.

“You are an Alpha. You are the one who stands in the middle of a storm to fight for what she wants, to fight for her pack, to fight for strangers.

“You will fight to find what you want. You are the most annoying, beautiful, smart, frustrating woman I have ever met in my life. I know.

“I know I hurt you because I was hurting. I know I took it out on you, I know I tried to protect you in a way that broke you. But as you told me, you don’t need protection.

“You are strong, even when you’re weak you’re strong. Come home with me. Think things over. I will always be there. I am your mate, I am your heart as you are mine. Come with me and let me be there for you, let me be your family Katelynn.”

My heart crumbles and stitches itself back together at his words. I feel myself nod as I bury my face in his neck.

He wraps his arms around me, holding me so close that all I can sense is him. His scent, his warmth, his presence. It's comforting, it's safe.

Suddenly, a loud thud on the table jerks our attention away.

“No. You’re not taking my daughter with you.”

I glance at my father. His arms are already sprouting hair, a sign of his agitation. My mom rises from her seat and approaches him.

She places a gentle hand on his arm, and the hair slowly recedes. She whispers something into his ear, and his expression shifts to one of sadness.

“Please, don’t go. I’ve waited so long to see you again. You can both stay here. But please, please, don’t go.”

Her voice is weak, tired. It mirrors how I feel. My mother, my real mother, the woman who was supposed to be dead, is standing right in front of me.

But I don’t see her as my mother.

She wasn’t there when I scraped my knee falling off my bike for the first time. She didn’t make me soup or watch movies with me when I was sick.

My father didn’t shield me from harm or reprimand me when I got into fights.

They are my parents, and they hold a place in my heart, but right now, my heart aches because of them.

Without uttering a word, I take Roman’s hand and we leave the room.

The sound of my mom’s sobs echo in my ears, and my father’s comforting words tug at my heartstrings.

Roman remains silent as we descend the stairs, pass through the gaping hole where the front door used to be, and head back to the place I now consider home.