The Unwanted Wolf
The Hunted Wolf – Chapter 22

ADIRA

“Baylee,” I said when she opened the door. Baylee was the luna’s assistant, and she was always around when I was younger. I always liked her. She was kind to me, even when my mother asked her to scold me.

Baylee’s eyes were wide with shock. “Adira. What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to see Luna Freya,” I said. I kept my tone formal. I was here for business, not family purposes after all.

Baylee held the door partly cracked. She looked around with an almost panicked look in her eyes. “Um, but you’re not supposed-”

“Baylee, please,” I said, cutting her off before she said the words I dreaded. “I need to see my mother. Please tell her I’m here.”

Baylee pulled her lips as she decided what to do. “I can’t promise she’ll agree to see you.”

“Tell her I won’t leave until she agrees to see me,” I said. She owed me explanations after what she did to me. I spent five years hiding, but no more. It was time to face my mother, and I wasn’t going to run.

Baylee let out a sigh. “Stay here. I’ll be back.” She shut the door, leaving Mark and I on the porch by ourselves.

Mark slipped his fingers into mine and squeezed. “We’ll get the answers you are looking for.”

I squeezed his hand back, holding it tightly to keep me grounded. I could feel my nerves buzzing beneath the surface, and it was taking all of my focus to stop that energy from surfacing.

“I’m not leaving until I do,” I said firmly. I reminded myself of all of the reasons I couldn’t just go home right now.

It felt like forever before I heard footsteps on the other side of the door. I held my breath as the door finally creaked open. It only opened a few inches, revealing a face that looked almost like my own. My mother had my dark hair, and despite her age, her skin still looked young. She had bright blue eyes, which was the only obvious difference between her and myself.

“You shouldn’t be here,” my mother said.

“I need to speak with you,” I said. “It’s important.”

“If your father sees you here, he’ll-”

“He’s not my father,” I quickly interrupted. “Alpha Lyna is not my father, which is why he kicked me out when I was sixteen. Cain, on the other hand, is my father, and I need to talk to you about him.”

Her face paled at the mention of Cain’s name. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She closed her mouth and swallowed hard. Finally, she said, “Follow me. Quickly.”

She opened the door the rest of the way and started walking through the pack house with purpose. I followed her, but my eyes instantly wandered around the house. It felt weird being back in my childhood home. It felt like walking into a memory. The walls were the same, and the common room still had the same worn out couch, but the smallest things were different. There were more plants here than before, and some of the paintings on the walls were new. It made it feel like I no longer belonged in the memory, because it was no longer mine.

My mother continued down a long hallway, stopping at one of the doors. She opened it up, and then gestured for us to go in first. The room was small and just had a round table in the middle of it that was only enough room for a few people. It must have been a meeting room for more private affairs. I entered, but I didn’t sit right away. I still felt out of place being here, and I wasn’t ready to sit.

My mother shut the door behind her, and she let out an audible breath. It was clear she was terrified of someone seeing us.

“Let’s make this quick. Alpha Lyna is out right now, but he’ll be back soon,” my mother said. She sat down at the table and waited for us to join her.

My fist clenched at her words. I wanted to call her out on caring about this man more than her own daughter, but I knew that wouldn’t lead to a productive conversation, so I bit my tongue. I sat down across from her, and Mark took a seat next to me. I stared at her, wondering how someone who looked so much like me could be nothing like me.

“So why did you come here?” my mother prompted when I didn’t say anything.

“I know the truth about who I am,” I said. “Cain told me about how you two were a couple until you got pregnant. I know I’m not a pureblooded werewolf.”

My mother’s jaw clenched. “Why would he tell you that? We agreed to keep your nature hidden from everyone, and now he goes and ruins all of that.”

“He didn’t tell me. I found out about who I am on my own when someone was trying to kill me, and my magic started to emerge. My question is why didn’t you tell me?” My anger was starting to rise, and all of the hurt of my own family betraying me started to bubble up.

“We promised to keep your true nature hidden to keep you safe. I was trying to protect you,” she defended.

“Protect me?” I scoffed. “How is letting me get kicked out when I was only sixteen protecting me?”

Her face fell at this, and her skin started to show her age as the wrinkles creased with tension. “I know this may be hard to understand, but Alpha Lyna was ready to kill you and me when he found out the truth. He had his suspicions all along. Your eyes never belonged to me or him, but when you turned sixteen, your magic started to emerge, and he could feel the difference. He confronted me about whether you were actually his or not, and I told him the truth. Well, part of the truth. He doesn’t know that you are part sorcerer, but I told him that you weren’t his daughter.

“He was furious. He felt betrayed and lied to, and he was ready to kill you out of embarrassment of being tricked. I convinced him to kick you out instead. It was to protect you. I could let anyone replace out the truth of who you really were.”

Her voice was desperate as she explained her decisions. Under normal circumstances, the stress in her voice would have made me feel sympathy, but not in this case. She was trying to justify her actions, but all I heard was fear and excuses.

“You convinced him to kick me out,” I whispered as that statement truly settled in. “It was you who convinced him to tell your own daughter to leave and never come back or she’d be killed. That’s not the actions of a mother protecting her daughter. That’s the actions of a woman trying to sweep her affair under the rug.” Tears started welling up in my eyes. I was angry and hurt in a way I wasn’t prepared for.

Mark’s hand slipped onto my thigh, and his touch was comforting. It helped me take a breath and regain my composure just a little.

“It wasn’t an affair,” my mother said. Her voice was softer now, almost broken. “I loved Cain, more than anything else in this world. It broke my heart leaving him the way I did, but it was all to protect you. I know it doesn’t feel that way, but I swear it’s true. I gave up the love of my life to keep your true nature a secret.”

“Why?” I asked. “Why was it such a big deal to keep my identity a secret? It’s not like you actually care about me.”

“You don’t understand anything. You’re just a child,” my mother snapped.

“I’m not a child anymore. I was when you kicked me out, though. Did it break your heart when I left? Or were you relieved that I was no longer a concern for you?” I could feel myself getting out of control, but I couldn’t stop it. Nothing my mother said to me right now would fix the way she treated me.

“I was relieved I no longer had to stare into your eyes and be reminded of Cain, reminded of what I had to give up for you to protect you,” my mother admitted. She stopped talking, eyes wide. She didn’t mean to say that, but her reaction told me every word was true.

I swallowed hard, unsure of what to say in return. To my mother, I was just a hindrance all of those years. I was a secret she was forced to keep, instead of being with the man she truly loved. I couldn’t imagine having to make that choice. My child or Mark. It would be heartbreaking, but I would never see a child as a burden, but that was the way my mother saw me.

My throat was dry, and I could barely replace my voice. “If you loved him so much, then why did you choose to protect me? It would have been better if you had picked him, not me.”

Luna Freya’s face hardened. “It wasn’t that simple. That prophecy about you, if it was true, then that would mean the world was in danger if your true nature came out. If you really are the Daughter of Moon and Magic, then we had to do everything we could to stop the Son of B***d and Magic from replaceing you. If he replaces you, then it could mean destruction to everything we know.”

I stood up, not needing to hear more. She confirmed Cain’s story, and I finally understood why she treated me the way she did all of these years.

“Well, he has found me, no thanks to you.” I turned to Mark. “Come on. Let’s go. I think we’re done here.”

Luna Freya stood up. “What do you mean he found you?”

I stopped at the door and looked back at her. “Your plan didn’t work. Abandoning me didn’t protect me, but don’t worry. I’m not your responsibility. I don’t need your help.”

I opened the door, but when I heard Mark speak up, I paused, surprised.

“You made a mistake,” Mark said. “Your daughter is the most amazing person I know. I can’t imagine the decision you had to make, but when you chose your daughter, you should have truly chosen her, because you are missing out on someone wonderful. I can’t even imagine how she turned out the way she did with you raising her, because she is not only strong and independent, but she also cares about those around her deeply. I hope you regret your decisions.”

Mark grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room, heading straight for the front door. I was in complete shock at what he said to Alpha Freya. Hearing him stand up for me like that made my heart swell with happiness. I felt lucky to have found him. Even if I didn’t have the family I wanted growing up, I knew Mark was all the family I needed.

We walked out of the pack house quickly, and I didn’t hear any footsteps following us. I had a feeling this might be the last time I saw Luna Freya, and while part of me was sad at the thought, I didn’t care at the moment. I hadn’t had a relationship with my mother in a long time, and she made her decisions clear today.

Mark opened the door, but he paused when there was a tall man standing on the other side, looking shocked that the door opened so suddenly. His hair was a light brown, and his green eyes burned with anger.

“Alpha Lyna,” I whispered, my heart pounding against my chest.