And Then There Were Four
Chapter 30

The last thing I expected when I woke up early in the morning was for the smell of bacon to waft in the air, and for my stomach to start growling. I wasn't sure how I felt about everything that I had learned the night before. I was angry and had every right to be. Time to go home. Groaning, I rolled over and turned on my phone, letting it power up as I made my way towards the ensuite bathroom. As much as I wanted to relax in peace all day, I knew it wasn't possible.

I had to face the guys today, and I needed to replace the courage to do so.

Notification after notification my phone chimed in a chorus of tunes as I brushed my teeth, and by the time I picked it up. I noticed the number of times people had tried to get a hold of me. The guys, my father, Allison... All of them tried to contact me as if something happened.

Shoving my phone into the back pocket of my jean shorts, I slipped on my shoes and raced downstairs. Caleb's well-toned body stood over the stove as he slaved away to making breakfast.

As much as I wanted to cut out and run, I felt bad about leaving when he worked so hard and decided against it. "Good Morning."

"Oh, well good morning." He replied with a smile as he looked over his shoulder, "I hope you're hungry."

"Yes, I am. Thank you for this."

"It's no problem. I figured you would have to leave right away this morning so I decided to make you something to eat before you did leave." Caleb never ceased to amaze me with how sweet he really was.

To think that his mate rejected him broke my heart because it was obvious he had a lot of love to give someone. "You're amazing, Caleb."

"Well, I like to think so." He replied, causing us both to laugh.

As the morning crept on, breakfast finished with laughing and great food, and eventually, I was wishing him goodbye. "Thank you so much for everything."

"No problem. You are welcome here any time."

Nodding my head, I hugged him tight one more time. The feeling of his arms wrapping around me and pulling me in for a tight embrace made me feel like I was hugging a long-lost friend. "I will see you later," I whispered as I pulled away from him. "Time to go walk through the fires of hell."

He chuckled, shaking his head as he watched me, "give them hell, tiger."

Oh, that's what I plan on doing...

Pulling into the driveway, I should have known that there was going to be nothing but chaos, and before I barely made it out of my car, James and Hale were at my door,

"Where have you been!" James yelled, catching me off guard as Hale tried to pull him away," do you understand how worried we have been about you!"

I figured that Tal on or even Damian would be yelling at me, but for James to yell?

"It's nice to see you as well," I replied with sarcasm, slamming my car door and making my way towards the back door heading for my cottage. If the guys thought I was going to accept them yelling at me then they were sadly mistaken.

I wasn't in the mood for any of it.

"Ivy, please... wait." Hale called after me, "we were just worried."

"Worried?!" I scoffed, spinning to face him, "so worried that you kept me blinded about my commitment to you instead of explaining the truth?"

Fvck y'all. I mentally responded as I spun back on the path and continued to my home. I knew what was expected of me, but at the same time, I wasn't going to just play by their games. They claimed to care, but they told me nothing. Caleb had to explain it all to me.

It's all bullsh!t.

"Ivy, please stop..." Hale's words fell on deaf ears as I opened my cottage door, and slammed it behind me, making sure to put the locks in place.

I knew I was acting immature, but I had prepared myself on the entire ride over here that I would come home and sit down and talk with them. Then James and Hale had to come out and just piss me off. The two out of the four that I figured would never do such a thing.

"Go away, Hale." I responded when I heard him call out to me again, "when you guys learn to talk to me properly then we discuss more!"

His groan of protest was met with a victory smile on my behalf. I may have been small and weak in some eyes, but I wasn't. I was a strong individual, and I didn't have to take crap from them like I did.

I wish Kate were here to let me vent, but when the semester ended, she took a few weeks to go home and I was left without someone else to really talk to.

There was one person though I had not spoken to in a few days that I wished was with me more than anything, and that was my mom. Picking up my phone, I lay on my bed and dialed her number.

"Hello?" She said softly through the phone. The sound of her pain was evident in her voice and made me want to come home to take care of her.

"Hey, mama. How are you feeling?" I asked, trying to lighten the subject.

"Oh, my dear. I am doing perfectly. Just tired from work."

I wasn't sure when she was going to stop lying about her situation, but I knew it was because she didn't want me to worry about her while I was at school. She was such a selfless woman in that way, and it killed me because if she died, I would regret forever not being able to be there with her on her last days.

"You need to rest, Mom." I bit out through hidden tears, "how will you ever be ready for a permanent vaca when I get my degree if you're working too hard."

The ongoing joke made us both laugh as I used the back of my sleeve to wipe away tears.

"So how are things with those boys? Are they being nice to you?" I had slowly begun to tell my mom about how school was, and the new friends I had made but not about werewolves.

That just wasn't something normal.

"They are okay, I guess. They always like to try and start arguments with me."

"Well, if you remember correctly." she started with a smile, "you were not that easy to live with before"

I feigned hurt at her comment which caused her to laugh, "I was an angel when I was younger."

"Yes, well all Lucifer was once an angel too."

My mother had a point, and hearing like this warmed my heart. It was almost like how it had been when I was younger. Back before she got diagnosed with cancer. I couldn't imagine my life without her, but a part of me also said that we had to keep up with only the good memories. "I just wish they wouldn't hide things from me. They like to keep too many secrets." I muttered trying to figure out how to fix my current situation.

"Well, they are werewolves, Ivy. It's time you accept them as their Luna."

Shock and curiosity filled me with my mother's words.

How in the hell did she know what they were, and how they were connected to me.

It was impossible... wasn't it?