I sighed to myself and got up rubbing the sleep from my eyes and changing into some comfy leggings and a dark blue sweatshirt. I needed some water. I tiptoed to my door cracking it open. The guys and Avery would be asleep in the bedrooms down the hall so I made sure to sneak down the staircase as silently as possible. When I reached the kitchen, I grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it up. After I had finished the glass of water, noise from outside the front door made me freeze. I set the cup down and made my way toward the entryway.
Our door didn't have any giant windows in it but it had a small circular screen like a peephole the size of a golf ball that maximized the view from outside. The car was still parked in the driveway and I couldn't see anything but trees. I sighed to myself and was about to turn away when I saw a flicker of movement outside. I blinked making sure I hadn't imagined it. Sure enough, a few seconds later the sleek figure of a wolf came from around the back of the car. It sniffed the ground before flicking its gaze toward me.
My hand shot to my mouth. I knew he couldn't see me but once he had stood up tall he was incredibly large. As large as my father's wolf. His yellow eyes bore straight into mine. His coat was a dark gray making him blend into the night but as I stared at his fur I realized he had long scars all over his body. A large scar across his muzzle and chest made me shiver in fear. Suddenly, he looked away once again sniffing around. I wanted to open the door and chase him off since he wasn't Shade Pack. But if he was dangerous I stood no chance against his size.
I grabbed for the door handle willing myself to face my fear. If I was to be Luna I couldn't let this scare me. Before I could unlock the door and open it, however, a hand clamped over my mouth making me writhe and fight to get away. I tried to scream in terror but it was too muffled. Suddenly, Max's face was in front of mine and his finger was to his lips motioning for me to be quiet. My heartbeat slowed and my panic subsided. Max let me go convinced I wouldn't scream and pointed to the door.
I watched out the screen as the wolf made his way to the far side of the car and then turned disappearing into the night. I sighed in relief.
"Okay, we should be okay now," Max whispered making me look at him.
"Who was that?" I asked. He shook his head.
"I'm not sure. But I saw him from our window upstairs. He was looking at the door which made me think he sensed you." Max explained. I glanced out the door again confused.
"Sensed me? He could probably smell that I'm here since well I live here but sensed me?" I looked at Max confused.
"Yes. Females who are going to be Luna's give off a strange feeling. It makes us aware that we are near someone in charge. With the Alpha, well he gives off an overwhelming presence when near him regardless but most recognize him as the Alpha right away. With a Luna, it's harder."
"And why don't I know that?" I asked. Max shrugged looking away. But I knew why. Since my mom was human and wasn't Luna long, I hadn't experienced the feeling. And no one in the pack spoke about her. Then again now that he mentioned it I realized I did feel pretty weird when near the other Luna's at festivals. I always thought it had something to do with the absence of my mother.
"I have to warn Allen right away." Max breathed turning towards the hallway that branched off towards the master bedroom. I followed him not wanting to be alone. He knocked on the door. My father answered right away. Obviously, by the looks of his clothes, he hadn't been sleeping.
"Ah, Max, what is it?" He asked frowning when he saw me. "Aylin, are you okay?" I looked away nodding.
"Sir, there was a trespasser outside. I made sure Aylin was not spotted but I believe he sensed her." My father frowned even deeper when Max had finished his explanation.
"Shit." My father walked passed us towards the front door mumbling incoherently to himself. "I mean they would know she lives here from her scent but if they sensed her... they know she saw them."
"He didn't react though." I pointed out when my father looked out the front door.
"They want you to see them." My father growled under his breath.
"What do you mean?" I shook my head confused. Max was a step ahead of me though.
"The council doesn't know about her mother?" He asked. I fought the wave of anxiety blanketing my thoughts. My father didn't say a word he just continued looking out the window. A whole minute had passed before he sighed and lead us towards the dining room.
"No, they don't know." He said once he had sat down at the table.
"How?" I asked. It seemed impossible to keep something like that from the council. They kept the records of all the pack members. Max and I sat down across from my father waiting for him to speak.
"Your mother, Cecelia, grew up with two wolves as parents. She didn't know they were wolves since they had separated themselves from pack life and she was adopted. She was around your age when she finally found out. Her name had been entered into the record under the council as their daughter. Since both of them were wolves and didn't belong to a pack her genetics weren't being worried about by the council. Not until she met me at least." My father sighed rubbing his eyes. "I met her at a festival when her parents had decided to join River Pack. That's when I got to know her and-" he trailed off. He hadn't talked about my mother like this before. Not even when I asked.
"Anyway, at that point the council hadn't bothered to check her genetics since they had already had an existing record of her." My father explained.
"Couldn't they smell her as human?" Max asked echoing my thoughts.
"After living with them for so long, her scent was a mix of both her mothers and her fathers at that point. Of course, she couldn't be separated from her parents for many days at a time or her scent would give her away.
"That's so strange. Our noses can be fooled that easily?" I asked. My father nodded.
"Humans are our blind spot, Aylin. We are powerful creatures but centuries ago we descended from humans as well. It's just like how you go nose-blind to Max or myself. You can still smell us when we get further away from you or you've been away from us for a long time but when near us you start to block out our scent." What my father said made sense but it still made me feel uneasy.
"Do I have a strange scent?" I asked. My father shook his head.
"You're still like us, Aylin. Just because your mother was born a human and couldn't shift it doesn't mean you are any different from us. Once Cecelia's parents exposed her secret to Henry, he believed that offspring between a human and a wolf would be weaker. A disgrace to the packs. He's obsessed with power and strength in genetics."
"What happened to her parents?" Max asked, once again he beat Aylin to the better questions she should have been asking.
"Henry killed them." My father breathed. My blood turned to ice and my hand shot to my mouth. Max was gripping my shoulder tightly but I couldn't feel it. I felt numb. I had put two and two together. Tears welled as I willed myself to ask.
"He killed her too, didn't he?" I whispered. My father's eyes were misty now. He was on the brink of tears as well making me want to gag. I looked my mother's killer in the eyes without even realizing it. Even sicker my father did too and didn't do anything about it all these years. Max grabbed me sensing my urge to flee but I shrugged him off. The walls were closing in and all I wanted was to escape. I always thought she had just left. Up and abandoned me.
I wanted to run into the woods far far away but the idea that the wolf was still out there scared me. I ran to my room instead to search for the box that I hadn't looked at since I was twelve years old. To my dismay, I didn't find it in my closet, under my bed, or anywhere else. I choked back another sob. Of all the times for it to go missing.
With one more idea, I scrambled down the stairs and ran towards my father's study. I slammed the door and began digging through the shelves in the closet. Finally, after five minutes of having no luck, I saw the white shoe box poking out from behind a bunch of other boxes of papers. I ripped it down and fell to my knees.
Opening the lid, I pulled out the picture. The picture was of me, at age two, sitting on my mother's lap at the table in front of a pink birthday cake. My mom was smiling wide with her hazel eyes and blonde hair. I closed my eyes wishing I could have remembered that moment without the picture.
I had spent so many years mad at her because I believed she had run away. All this time. I punched the carpeted floor in frustration. The rest of the shoe box contained more pictures of her and a tiny photo album that she kept of her and my dad. I threw it aside not wanting to see my dad's face but it had landed open to a picture I hadn't remembered seeing. The photo was taken at one of the Eclipse Festivals. Three teens around the age of sixteen were holding sparklers their faces slightly familiar. I looked closer realizing it was my father, my mother, and to my surprise Marley. Marley knew my mother when they were kids?