Atticus ^(Jon Kortajarena)
Quentin ^(Emilio Flores)
Father used to take me to this one place on the east coast. It was a hideout of sorts, we'd lay after a big heist or a bad job. It was near the water, the ocean. Every day he'd try to get me to swim but I won't. I never liked the water and I refused to step foot in it.
This is what my father hated the most about me. I was weak. I am weak. To this day I can't swim and I hate the water. But the ocean was beautiful. A big mass of blue nothing. It was filled with life and adventure, but so unknown.
I don't know why I loved looking at the ocean, but I did. I loved watching the waves and learning about the tide.
Make me get in the water? That's where the issue was.
"Lena, come on, it's no different than a pool."
"I hate the pool!" I'd argue with him. "And lakes and rivers and ponds. I don't want to swim, daddy!"
"Emelina! You will get over this ridiculous fear! You are a warrior! Warriors fear nothing!"
In his eyes, my primary undoing was my fear. He was right. The water is what made sure Barrett caught me that day. He trapped me without even knowing it.
And that brought me to this. Waiting on a DNA test. A secret DNA test that Alpha wouldn't explain to the medical professionals that took it. All she said was to run my DNA for any partial matches through any system they could. Now, this also meant they would find my criminal past so maybe this wasn't a good idea on my part.
"Tell me about your... father," Caroline looked uncomfortable sitting in the chair as she asked the question.
"He was a thief, like me. He taught me everything I know about lying and stealing. He hated weakness and did everything in his power to weed it out of me. We never stayed in one place long, he was always looking over his shoulder for another Alpha, another pack, another officer. Anything that would make us get caught."
"Sounds like a rough childhood."
"It wasn't all bad," I lie to myself and her. "He loved me. Or I think he loved me."
"Is Emma your real name? The one he called you?"
"No, I lied about that as well. Emelina Whitechester is the name I went by with him and on all my official documents."
She smiled to herself. "He kept your name at least."
"So you just... accept it without the test?"
"Oh, no, I still need the test to be performed, but I mean. Look at us, Emma--"
"Lena, please. If you know my real name you have to use my real nickname."
"Lena," she smiles as she said it. "Look at you and then me. We look like mother and daughter."
"I never had a mother. He told me you died"
"So we all thought each other was dead. A great story for the grandkids," we both laugh at her joke. "I'm sorry I stopped looking for you. The night he left, well your room had so much blood in it the doctors said you had to be dead."
"I guess he wanted me alive."
"Do you have a mate? Did he succeed in cutting out your bond?"
"No, I--" My throat feels tight. Why did my throat feel tight? "I left him."
"Why? Mates are--"
"He never explained to me what mates are. He raised me to distrust everyone. To lie to everyone. So when Barrett came into my life I ran away."
"Do you miss him?"
"I don't know," I reply slowly. It's strange to talk to someone like this. Dad and I never talked like this. Caroline's... well she's my mom.
"Did you get to know him, even a little, before you left?"
"We spent most of the time questioning each other. I was his prisoner."
"How romantic," she says sarcastically.
"I know," we both laugh some more before a nurse walks in.
"Alpha," she bows before looking at me cautiously. "Um, the results are a bit... strange. Miss Dallas here got a partial match, a family relation in the pack. Um. She's, well, she's your daughter."
Before I could think, her strong arms are around me. She is hugging me. Dad never hugged me. And while I enjoyed Barrett's touch, he never embraced me. This woman, my mom, she is hugging me. Showing me affection that no one has ever shown me
"Oh, your brothers will be thrilled," she says to me while still hugging me. "And the pack!"
"What? Um," I push her away. "My brothers?"
"Atticus and Quentin. Have you met Quentin? He doesn't live at the house."
"Yeah, yeah. I fought him at training," I say to her, excluding the part where he asked me out.
I have brothers.
I've been alone all my life. Well, alone with dad. Now I have brothers. I have a mom and brothers. A family.
Oh goddess, what am I getting myself into. I didn't come to Virgin Steel for a family, I came to rob them! I was meant to simply take their Soul Iron and get out, but this changed everything.
Maybe dad was wrong and I'm not meant to be a lone wolf. Maybe I can love pack life and get over all he taught me. After all, he lied to me. He said mom was dead, he told me I was born rouge. That no pack, no one would ever accept me.
But Caroline was proof he was wrong. She accepted me.
Maybe I should tell her the truth?
No, no she would hate me. I can't lose my mom after just finding her. This was all a coincidence. Me choosing Virgin Steel was a coincidence. I will have one last lie in my life.
I'll have to call Greg, cancel his order. Two more lies. I'll lie to him, I'll keep my secret from my family (that word is so strange) and I'll be done.
What about Barrett? My wolf pushed me.
I didn't know what to do about my mate. My parents are mated and look at their situation. Utterly messed up.
Did I need a mate?
Did I want a mate?
Honestly, I have no clue. I don't know Barrett, but he seemed to care for me. I mean, he did let me out of that cell. He did let me leave. He gave me more freedom than dad ever did, even though it hurt him.
I know it hurt him. Something in me told me he was hurting. He was hurting because of me. That knowledge hurt more than anything. I hurt my mate. I hurt Barrett by running away from him.
"Caroline?" I ask after a few moments of quiet. "Can I borrow your phone?"