Scarlett
When you haven’t heard from your parents for the last one month and now, when they pay you a secret visit, they find out that you have found your mate and you’re already marked.
I was trying to grasp how my parents would be feeling right now, sitting in front of their killer daughter. Was it necessary to understand their emotions when they couldn’t care less about my heart? Absolutely no.
Although it’s tough to hate the people who loved you since your existence in the world. I still loved my parents despite how they abandoned me and blamed me for Rhea’s death which was right perhaps. If it wouldn't have been me away from the pack, she wouldn't have got killed by a rogue.
“Does your mate treat you right?” My father finally opened his mouth, his eyes glinting with remorse.
I shrugged, hiding my pain. “Does it even matter to you?” Laughing, I rose to my feet to leave them alone. I couldn’t play pretend games anymore.
Doctor Asher and Kia took good care of me when I fainted, Rachel told me when I came back home after Kia checked my pulse and gave me some herbs and medicines before letting me leave their hospital, though the vibe of the hospital was far better than the place I was standing currently.
They were a lively and happy couple just like how my parents used to be. I missed them so much when Rachel and Greg kissed each other goodbye and I walked into them while they were having their moments in the kitchen thus I decided to go into the kitchen only when I was alone in the house.
“Don’t be rude to your father, honey,” my mom beckoned me to shut my mouth and sit beside her.
I couldn’t help but giggle at her expectations, she even considered that we could sit and talk like nothing happened. I wish I could tell her how everything had changed for me since the day my sister died and their verdict didn’t help me either. Nothing was the same as before anymore, it was awkward to talk to my parents now.
“You guys should tell her the truth, now,” Layla broke into the room, opening the door and walking like a Queen. Layla was my previous pack’s doctor, she was such a friendly and amazing person. I missed her so much.
“I missed you, Layla,” running to her, I jumped on her like a kid. “Thank you so much for coming here. I need to talk to you about something.”
“I believe we need to talk,” said Layla as she fondled my hair. When all my friends shifted and I couldn’t shift, since that day, Layla had taken good care of me like a mother. Her husband had died in a war and she had a beautiful daughter whom she lost during an attack.
She motioned me to take a seat beside my mum and I rolled my eyes before obeying her. My mom kissed my forehead and uttered, “you have got skinnier. Rachel isn’t taking good care of you.”
"Coming from someone who left me to be on my own," I couldn't resist the taunt. "At least, I'm grateful to Rachel for taking me in."
My mom's eyes gleamed with pain, her eyebrows shot up as she was taken aback by my sarcasm. I was like broken glass, the shards of the glass will hurt you if you touch them and my mum was pretending to care for me just like touching the part of my heart where I was hurt.
"Scarlett, don't do this," Layla beseeched, shooting a pitiful glance my way. "I was the one who asked your parents to send you to Rachel's pack."
Jerking my head to Layla's way, I tried to decipher what she just demonstrated. She had a straight face with no guilt, her icy blue eyes met mine as she split her lips to say something but I shook my head and mouthed no.
"You should hear her out, honey. The half-truth is dangerous," my father said as he read my hurtful face.
"Why? Why is everyone telling me this damned line that half-truth is dangerous?" I hissed, I had lost the hold of my temper. "If so then, why do you guys keep things from me? First, you pretend not to care, then, you come back to me to tell me the truth? What am I supposed to do now? Do I look like a pretty child to play games with? Let's play the pretending game, first, then, we'll shock her with the truth, giving the best excuses for our deeds." I kept blabbering to my heart's content. I needed to let all these thoughts out before they could suffocate me and swallow my being.
As I shrieked, I felt a sharp pain in my head and heart. The voices in my head seemed like a fog that was covering my mind and the multiple scenes started playing in my head.
In one picture, a cute boy was playing with a girl and then, a lady came and told him while sobbing that she was his fiancee.
That boy asked the lady while tossing the ball away, "Mum, is she my mate?" His eyes twinkled with joy as he pointed to the girl with whom he was playing.
His mother replied no and he pouted sadly, "I'll marry only my mate."
Another clip that started playing in my mind was a teenage boy who was working out and a girl who looked like a younger version of Chloe was hitting on him. He rolled his eyes at Chloe, ignoring her.
That boy was sitting on the rooftop, holding a bottle of vodka in his hand. He screamed out, "I want my mate Moon Goddess. Can you please do magic and undo my engagement?" He was too drunk to remember that he was a grown-up and dreaming of impossible things to happen as a kid.
This was my Klaus. He didn't enjoy being betrothed to the Alpha King's daughter but endured this torture for years and wished for a mate only.
Mind-link had started working and our memories were clicking though we were farther from each other. Within an hour, the duel was going to start and I was stuck here with one more mystery to solve.
As I had wielded my head in my hands while getting access to his mind-link, my mother had held my hands so I wouldn't fall from the couch.
Rachel and her family had left us alone to provide us with privacy. All the pack members must have gathered in the packhouse to cheer their Alpha in a duel.
"You got access to an Alpha's mindlink?" My dad questioned, his brows scrunched up. As if he was finding it impossible for me to have a mind-link from the other Alpha.
“Her mate is an Alpha,” Layla gushed, making my father nod in understanding. “So when did he mark you?”
“He…he is in so…much pain,” I managed to utter despite the burden on my head and pain in my heart which caused me to think about how he was dealing with the pain he was feeling. Although soon I realized that we just swapped which meant he also would be able to see a few parts of my life and the memories that hurt me so the pain was doubled up.
My mom stood up from the couch, giving the space to Layla who asked everyone to leave the room. Layla held me and appealed, “take a deep breath and come back to the present. Put a barrier in your mind so he won’t get to know about our talk,” she advised and I followed whatever she suggested. It gave me immediate relief but my mind couldn’t stop wondering why he was feeling so much pain when I was in his present mind-link.
“Has the duel started?” My words were spoken to myself as Layla just came and she wasn’t aware of the situation in the Black Moonstone pack.
“You mean Alpha duel?” Layla questioned, rubbing my hands gently and I nodded. “So it's true. We heard from Rachel that you’re mated to Klaus Nelson, the future Alpha who is betrothed to the Alpha King’s daughter,” she sought my response.
Her eyes had the hint of motherhood for me, we both couldn’t shift so we had grown a special bond as time passed by. She was a wolfless werewolf which was a rare case and I was a lantern, a late bloomer whose wolf was somewhere but I couldn’t figure out where.
Layla cleared her throat and smiled. “What have you decided to do about your mate’s complications?”
“I don’t know, he is a mysterious guy and I’m a mess,” I confided, trusting her. “He is risking his life for me but I’m too scared to trust him again. Life has been tough after my sister’s death.”