Chapter 3
"If you find me not within you, you will never find me. For I have been with you, from the beginning of me." – Rumi
Rose's POV
“Wha…what’s going on?” I asked, confused.
For a moment, I wildly scanned the room, half-expecting my mother’s doppelg?nger to appear as well.
The man who looked exactly like my dad stood up and wrapped me in a bear hug.
“My daughter… my dear, Rose….”
He squeezed me so hard I thought I might break in half. When he let his hands fall to his sides, I realized I couldn’t breathe. I was too stunned.
“D…Dad?” I choked out. “You… you’re dead...” I trailed off blankly, my mind struggling to process the reality standing right in front of me. My lungs felt tight.
“No, child. I’m alive and kicking,” he said, his deep green eyes—a mirror image of mine—twinkling with warmth. This really was… my father?
“But… but…” I stammered, my thoughts racing as I struggled to breathe. I shook my head, feeling myself become dizzy from lack of air.
I COULDN’T brEATHE!
My father was alive?
“Give her some space!” the young man from before snapped, pushing my dad back with great fervor.
“Goddess Ezra! I told you this wasn’t a good idea!
Look at her!” His deep blue eyes pinned me with their piercing gaze.
“Rose, look at me. I want you to breathe.” He breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, and I did my best to mimic him. “Good….good girl.”
At once I felt my cheeks heat over his words. Ah crap. Why was I such a goner when it came to hot guys?
“In and out…just like that.” He was still focused on making sure I was getting enough air into my lungs. “You are an idiot!” His voice turned positively glacial as he turned to stare at the man who claimed to be my father. “Springing something like this on her in this manner was a huge mistake!”
“She is my daughter Aiden!”
Aiden. His name was Aiden. But there were more important things to focus on right now.
Like the fact that Auntie Hilda had lied to me about my parents’ deaths!
“Rose, honey.”
Auntie Hilda finally spoke up as she tried to hand me a glass of cold water. She looked as pale as a ghost. “I… I think we need to have a talk… Rather, I need to tell you… tell you everything from the beginning.”
A strangled noise escaped my throat as a mix of rage and confusion crashed over me. Had I been lied to all my life?
But right now, my overwhelming curiosity won out over the fury clawing its way up my chest.
And so, in response to my silence, Auntie Hilda began her story…
A story that sent my knees buckling and my anxiety sky rocketing. I sat dully on the couch between Auntie Hilda and Ezra, trying to process everything. All this time, Auntie Hilda hadn’t been paranoid. She had truly been worried someone was going to kidnap me!
“You….You lied to me my entire life!” I hissed furiously, checking the urge to scream and yell.
Because amidst this story, I also realized how much my aunt had given up to keep me safe.
She had turned into a werewolf! She hadn’t tried to find a significant other and start her own family, devoting her life to making sure Estelle’s daughter lived to become the next luna.
“It was only supposed to be for a few years!” Auntie Hilda cried out pleadingly. “We were supposed to go back once our pack alpha and beta had gotten everything under control.”
"Only you never managed to get everything under control."
The words cut through the room, harsh and accusing.
I turned my gaze toward Aiden, sitting in the recliner chair. He was clearly upset. So was I.
I looked into his blue eyes which were filled with bitterness. And it struck me than that he was my…mate?! Oh shit.
"Instead, my father is dead, and now you’ve dragged me all the way here to meet a stranger.
.." He barely spared me a glance, as if he had far more important things to do than be here.
Then, he turned his gaze back to Ezra. "I thought I didn’t have a mate.
You hid all of this from me. I had a right to know. "
My indignation flared at his words.
"You had a right to know?" I shot back sarcastically. "What about me? Didn’t I deserve to know the truth about my parents…my mother…my..." My voice wavered as I stared at the stranger claiming to be my father. "...dad?"
Ezra nodded tearfully and pulled me into a hug.
"I’m so sorry. I wish I could have told you sooner," he choked out, his voice thick with emotion. Tears spilled from his eyes as he held me close. "We kept hoping we’d catch the culprit. I knew they were watching me, waiting for me to lead them to you. It’s why I couldn’t even come here to you.
How could I put my daughter in danger! We had no choice.
You had to go off-grid. Hilda was kind enough to leave the pack and keep you safe.
She even…she gave up being human for you, Rose.
" His voice was raw with emotion as he gently patted my head.
"I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping Rose safe," Hilda said, directing her words at Ezra before turning to me. "I’m sorry I had to lie to you."
I hesitated before leaning into her embrace. "I’m still angry over the lies, Auntie Hilda," I admitted shakily, squeezing her tight. "But thank you for always being there for me. You’re the closest thing I’ve ever had to a parent. You…you’ve given me so much love...I..."
Tears overtook me, gratitude swelling in my chest. I owed her so much! I never wanted to be a burden and here it seemed that’s exactly what I had been to my aunt. She couldn’t date, couldn’t socialise. All because someone might find out my true identity. How could I stay angry at her?
Then suddenly, as if struck by lightning, I pulled back.
"Wait…wait…that means…you guys…I’m…we’re werewolves?" I sputtered, struggling to grasp the revelation.
"Yes, we are." Auntie Hilda grinned. "Bet you didn’t see that one coming. Your werewolf gene will activate when you turn twenty-one. Dr. Danvers, our pack doctor—you used to see him for yearly check-ups in a secret location when you were little—he says that when you shift for the first time, that’s when your werewolf abilities will awaken. You’ll have super strength and super speed. "
“And here I thought you were just athletic," I muttered, clearly not over how I’d been blatantly lied too.
Auntie Hilda laughed nervously, trying to smooth everything over. "Trust me, honey, even by werewolf standards, I’m the least athletic person in the pack. Now, Aiden, come here and meet your mate."
My eyes widened as the rude boy from earlier stood up with an exasperated sigh.
"Mate? You…you…there’s got to be a mistake." My mind scrambled for a reasonable explanation. No way did I have a mate!
Aiden raised an eyebrow, looking unfairly attractive as he did so. Clearly, he was in total agreement with me.
"I wish," he replied lethally. "I mean, come on… Let’s just leave her here. She’s got a nice life. At least it looks that way to me. Why drag her into this mess?" He ran a frustrated hand through his silky, wavy hair.
I stared at him, stunned.
"You’ve come to get me?" I asked my father sharply.
"Our alpha died, and Aiden has taken charge of the pack," Ezra explained. "We need to bring our luna home so you can begin preparing. You’ve been gone far too long, Rose."
"P...prepare? Prepare for what?" My head started to spin. This was too much.
"For the mating ceremony!" Auntie Hilda squealed excitedly. "Natural born wolves have their first-turn at sixteen. When they turn eighteen, they can sense their mates and–”
"The what?!" I shrieked, cutting off her babbling as the words “mating ceremony” finally sunk into my brain. No way. Absolutely not.
"Rose, since you grew up with humans, you’re not used to our traditions.
Even for me, the whole mate concept was foreign when I talked about it with Estelle, but you need to give it a chance," Auntie Hilda said gently, glancing at Aiden nervously. “Rose, werewolves can be very territorial about their mates,” Auntie Hilda continued placatingly. “Don’t say something that might make Alpha Aidan angry.”
But instead of anger, Aiden smiled. He looked relieved that I wasn’t jumping at the chance to be his mate.
"See, Ezra? Let’s go. Everyone has a right to choose their mate—"
"You only say that because you haven’t felt the pull of your mate yet, Aiden," Ezra said quietly. “It’s different because she doesn’t have her wolf yet.
Werewolves have their first shift at sixteen and can sense their mates at eighteen, but it’s different for you because your mate doesn’t have her wolf yet.
Things will change once her dormant wolf begins to emerge.
I know you think you’re in love with Lexia—"
"I don’t think so. I know," Aiden snapped. His voice was clipped, his expression unreadable. Then, stiffly, he continued. "Now that I’m Alpha, I think it’s time for you to retire and join the Council of Elders.
My brother is next in line to be beta, Ezra.
You’ve done your duty well. Let’s go home and—"
"Aiden," My father’s voice was firm. "I’m taking my daughter home. It’s time she learnt about the pack and trained with her people as the future lu—"
"She isn’t the future luna!" Aiden snarled.
For the first time, I wholeheartedly agreed with him.
"Would you dare defy the will of the Moon Goddess?
" Auntie Hilda whispered. "Since our pack's first alpha and luna, it has been decreed that our luna is born with the phoenix mark. It tells the pack who to protect. Luna gives the alpha power and keeps him grounded. She was born on pack soil and has the power to speak with her dead ancestors. That knowledge is vital for the alpha and the pack’s future.
Without your luna, Aiden, you are weak. You will never be able to tap into her latent power. "
"Oh, come on! She’s part human. You really think she has any latent power?
" Aiden scoffed. "We’d be lucky if she manages a decent shift.
" Then, after a pause, he added, "Besides, I want to choose my luna.
" His voice was heated. He glared at me for a moment.
My face paled and panic filled my being.
Shift? I would have to shift into a werewolf?
! What if Aiden was right and I could never shift?
As he glared at me, his expression slowly softened.
"Can we talk in private?" he asked after a weary sigh.
I nodded numbly and followed him out onto the front lawn, anxiety still shooting through me over the prospect of shifting when I turned twenty-one.