Song: Calpol by Cavetown
Words: 1740
Published: October 5th, 2020
Third Person POV
Rayna
It has been two weeks since Diane told Rayna her sad story about Ophelia. Everything still seems to be going well, just as it was before. Rayna is getting closer and closer to becoming Harley's official Queen, so she has begun to appear in the press. Pictures have been taken of her and she's been asked questions, though she has yet to do an interview. Surprisingly, (at least to her,) she's been really good at it. She's improved with her words and speaking in front of others.
Both her physical and Queen training with Freya and Diane have been progressing really well, too.
Today, Rayna woke up early, trained, and napped afterwards like usual. She's currently painting in her art studio before lunch while Harley works in his office.
Suddenly, she gets mind-linked.
'Hey, baby,' Harley greets. 'You got a letter.'
Harley, being King, receives tons of spam and fan-mail, so he has a specific mail pile for that that someone with the specific role to do so goes through for him before it reaches him. As Rayna has began appearing in the press, she's started getting letters, too. As she doesn't have her own mail system set up yet, everything goes to Harley first.
Her fan-mail has consisted of both compliments and death-threats, so her mail has started getting sorted, too.
'It's labeled "important",' Harley adds.
Visibly confused, Rayna gets up. 'I'll be right there.'
She walks through the one hall that's between her studio and Harley's office and walks up to Harley's desk. He hands her the envelope without much thought. It's a pristine white, addressed to her, with "IMPORTANT" on it in bold letters. Silently, she sits down on one of the two black leather couches in Harley's office and opens the envelope.
She pulls out the paper and starts reading.
'Dear Rayna,
You don't know me, but I know you. My name is Brielle Robinson, and I'm your biological sister. You must have a lot of questions, so let me explain.
Our parents names were Cordelia and Byron Robinson. They were rogues, banned from their packs at eighteen and twenty for being chosen mates. They had five children. I was the third, and you were the youngest. The rest were boys.
When you were born, they could tell something was special about you. I was only seven, and I could, too. To give you the best chance at life, they left you at the nearest pack house.
Eight years later, there were only four of us left. Cordelia, Byron, the eldest, and me. The eldest's name is Christopher, but he goes by Topher. One day our parents went hunting, and they never came back. Topher and I tried to live on our own, but we realized we couldn't. We surrendered ourselves to a pack, Rising Sun. Fortunately, they took us in. They were great. They treated us as their own, gave us food, clothes, a home, and even a family.
When I turned twenty, Topher and I attended a mate ball. Mine's name was Fredrick Jackson but went by Freddy. I quickly moved to his pack while Topher moved to his mate, Riley's, pack. I knew she was perfect for him, and I blindly fell in love with Freddy. I foolishly ignored all of the clear signs and red flags. We married at twenty-two, and before we knew it, I was pregnant.
We were both ecstatic. That is, until we found out it was a girl. He wanted a son and became abusive towards me. I knew I had to get out of there for the sake of my daughter. I tried to contact Rising Sun and Topher, but Freddy had cut off any way to contact them without me realizing. Halfway through my pregnancy, I made the daring choice to run.
I was taken in by a pack and was able to contact Rising Sun and Topher. I moved back to my old pack and gave birth to my little baby girl. I named her Serenity Aster Robinson, and she's become my pride and joy.
I reported Freddy, but sadly, nothing ever came of it. I did get a restraining order against him, so he can't come close to me or Serenity.
Serenity's four now, and I'm twenty-six. Being a single mother has been the best years of my life. Unfortunately, a year ago, I was diagnosed with a disease. It's a rare, specific, fatal kind only found in werewolves. The doctors believe I contracted it at Freddy's pack, and it was too far developed to treat it. I'm writing this letter on my death bed, and by the time you get this, I'll have passed.
Hearing your story on the news, I knew it was you. I'm sure a DNA test can confirm that. Congratulations, being mates with the Alpha King and all. As my sister, I'd like to invite you to my funeral and become the legal guardian of my little Serenity from now on, as Topher is consumed by his own mate and pups.
I hope to meet you someday.
Love, Brielle xo'
Rayna sits still for a few minutes after reading the letter before breaking into tears.
*~*~*~*
Rayna rarely ever thought of her biological family. Around the same time she shifted, she harbored a small hatred for them like she had with her wolf, blaming them for the bullying for her being born a rogue, but that's passed.
She never thought she'd know who her biological family is, much less imagined meeting them, and she never really cared.
As she stands in front of her supposed biological sisters open casket, she finds herself speechless. The woman who was indisputably gone too soon in front of Rayna had lighter skin that her, but the exact same hair. Rayna turns to the pictures of Brielle scattered around, and she even had the same blue eyes.
Rayna cautiously reaches out towards Brielle, and she softly runs the back of her knuckles along her cheek. A lone tear falls down her face.
"Rayna?"
She turns around to see a male with the same fair skin as Brielle and blonde hair. She meets his eyes, and she knows exactly who he is.
"Topher."
A few feet behind him stands a woman, presumably his mate, with two little kids holding either of her hands. Rayna is surprised to see a little girl peak out from behind Topher's legs wearing a black dress.
She has tanned, fair skin and long, brown hair--just like Brielle and Rayna's. Rayna meets her eyes and is met with a gorgeous violet color. Rayna recognizes her from the pictures of Brielle.
"Hello, Serenity."
*~*~*~*
After receiving the letter, Rayna instantly got in contact with Rising Sun. They explained that everything Brielle said was true--at least, everything but them being sisters. When Brielle saw Rayna in the media, she was, as she had said, on her death bed. When she began going on about the future Luna Queen being her sister, everyone assumed she had become delusional.
Rayna had no idea how to react or how to respond. Harley insisted that blood tests be done to either confirm or deny Brielle's claims immediately. They were informed Brielle's funeral would take place in less than a week. Complications arose, and Harley was informed that blood test results couldn't arrive until after the funeral, and Rayna decided she'd go without even knowing if Brielle is her sister or not.
Then, they had questions about Serenity. If Rayna is Brielle's sister, that means Serenity would be placed into Rayna's custody. Harley told her to try not to think about it until they get the blood test results back.
Harley was adamant on going to the funeral with Rayna, but she convinced him to let her go alone. She didn't want any attention taken off the dead woman because of their rank.
After the funeral, Rayna went with Topher to the Rising Sun Pack House to work out a plan. Rayna and Topher were sure they were siblings, and Brielle stated in her will that her sister will be taking custody of her daughter. They decided that Rayna, Topher, and his family will stay in Brielle's house for a week so that Rayna can learn how to take care of Serenity. Afterwards, they will move back home.
After dealing with that, Rayna met with Harley back at their hotel. She filled him in, and they decided that Harley will go back to the castle for a few days to work and have a room set up for Serenity, and then he'll join Rayna for the last few days so Serenity will get to know him as well before they all head back to the castle.
The blood tests did come back, and they're related.
*~*~*~*
Rayna is alone with Serenity for the first time. It's still the first day she's living in Brielle's old house, but Topher and his mate, Riley, have already taught her how to take care of Serenity.
Serenity is currently just coloring at the kitchen table, and Rayna is fixing up lunch in the kitchen.
"Who are you?" Serenity asks out of the blue.
"Oh, uhm, well," Rayna stutters, not prepared for any sort of question, much less one like that. "My name is Rayna, and I'm Topher and your mommy's sister."
Serenity looks up at her. "Mommy doesn't have a sister," she says, confused.
"Mommy didn't think she had a sister, but she did. We got separated when I was just a baby, and we only know about each other now," Rayna tells her, explaining the best she can.
Serenity nods and goes back to coloring, so Rayna goes back to cooking.
"A- Are you a princess?" Serenity asks softly.
"Wh- What?" Rayna asks, turning to face Serenity.
"You talked about castles and a king," Serenity says.
"Oh." Rayna realizes that Serenity must've heard her and Topher talking about home and Harley.
"Well . . . I'm not really a princess. I'm mates with the Alpha King, and soon, I'm going to become the Luna Queen," Rayna explains. She smiles at Serenity. "I can make you a princess, though."
Serenity's eyes widen.
"I can be a princess?" she asks.
Rayna nods. She then flinches and covers her ears when Serenity lets out a squeal of happiness.