"Jenna?" A hesitant knock came to the bathroom door. "Please, just... talk to me?"
Jenna stood in her small bathroom, leaning on the counter that had her sink. She'd locked herself in the room about ten minutes prior, not wanting to even look at Devon or his stupid boyfriend— who claimed to be her uncle. She felt betrayed, lied to, by her best friend; someone she had trusted with everything. Was their whole friendship a falsehood? Was any of it real?
[ { Ten Minutes Earlier } ]
"I'm sorry, you're what?" Jenna asked, flabbergasted.
"I'm your uncle. Your biological father was my brother," Grant repeated. She shook her head.
"This is all nuts, you realize that, right?" she asked, her voice not coming out as strong as she would have liked.
"I do realize this sounds insane, yes," he agreed gently. "Especially to someone who was raised away from a pack, with humans. That's why I sent Devon— my mate —to you, to watch over you and protect you, and at some point teach you who you are."
Jenna slowly pulled her hand away from her uncle, turning eyes filled with betrayal on Devon. She couldn't think of anything to say to him in that moment that wouldn't crush him, and as angry and hurt as she felt, she didn't want to do that. Instead she just stood up, glaring at his guilty, pleading face.
"How could you?" she asked in a whisper before turning on her heel and storming to the bathroom, where she slammed the door shut and locked it.
[ { Back To Present } ]
"Jen, please," Devon whined. "I'm so sorry."
"Sorry?" Jenna muttered, chucking with no real humor.
Her anger had just lessened to a simmer, but his pleading apology brought it back to a boil. She unlocked the door and flung it open, hardened eyes glaring at her 'best friend'.
"You're sorry?" she mocked. "What are you sorry for, Devon? For lying to me, deceiving me? Or are you apologizing for pretending to be my friend while funneling information about me to some long lost blood relative?"
Devon's mouth had dropped open and his eyes widened almost comically. Then his expression changed from surprise to irritation, and a very animal sounding growl came from him.
"Jenna Lynn Kirkland!" Her eyebrows raised when Devon used her full name. "How dare you say I pretended to be your friend! I love you." She grit her teeth and looked away from the tears shining in his eyes. "You are my best friend. I may not have told you everything, but my friendship was real. I didn't fake that, and if you for one second think that I would, then you don't know me at all!"
The air between them was charged with tension, and Jenna swore she could feel the hairs on her arms prickling. She couldn't look at him, because one look into those watery, hurt eyes and she'd crumble. She would forgive him instantly, gather him into her arms, and soothe the tears and pain away. Jenna just wasn't ready to forgive yet, petty as it may be.
"What did you expect me to think, Dev?" she asked quietly, her bravado from moments ago gone. "I just found out the person I trust most in this world kept a huge secret from me. Was I supposed to shrug and just be okay with that?"
"You were supposed to give me the benefit of the doubt," he said, and she almost flinched at the waver in his voice. "You were supposed to at least hear me out. That's what friends do."
This time, Jenna's eyes were the ones shining with unshed tears, only falling when the sound of Devon walking away reached her ears.
Jenna glared out of her bedroom window at the beautiful, sunny day outside. The weather couldn't even have the decency to reflect how she feels and just freakin' rain. She leaned her forehead against the glass and pulled her knees tighter against her body where she sat on her bed. Her eyes were so tired, having spent most of the night tossing and turning with her brain going 80 miles per hour.
After her conversation with Devon, she ended up crying in the bathroom. She took a shower to wash away the tension, frustration, and tears. No one bothered her as she opened the door and tip toed to her bedroom wrapped in a towel, but she could hear their whispered voices in the living room. She didn't catch the words, and didn't stop to eavesdrop.
This whole situation was so confusing, and felt surreal. She felt that any moment she would wake up and this would just have been a strange nightmare. With each minute that passed, her hope that this was all a dream dwindled, and Jenna felt her mood worsening.
She'd fought with Devon, and they never fought. It didn't help that he was right, that after being so close for as long as they had been, he deserved her trust that he would never do anything to hurt her on purpose. Unfortunately, knowing he was right only made Jenna angrier. She didn't want to be wrong, and it irked her that she was.
After who knows how long of Jenna brooding out the window, a soft knock sounded on her door.
"Jenna? It's your Uncle," came his deep baritone, and she sighed. She got up and unlocked the door, but walked away without opening it, and flopped back on her bed in front of the window. She heard him open the door, and noticed from her peripheral that he didn't come in, but stood in the open doorway.
"I know you're upset, and I can't begin to imagine what you're feeling," he said. Jenna glanced at him. "I'd like to be a part of your life, if you'll let me. I could tell you stories about your birth parents, give you pictures of them."
Now he did move into the room, and sat on the edge of her bed. His voice dropped in volume, but didn't quite qualify as a whisper as he continued.
"Admittedly, I need your help, Jenna. Remember how I told you that you have a sister, a twin?" I nodded, but didn't speak. "Alpha Tristan still has her. I believe he's the one dosing her with wolfsbane, and I've heard whispered rumors of some pretty severe abuse. With him being the Alpha of his pack, there's nothing that can be done about it." Grant paused and took a deep breath through his nose, to control his anger, she suspected. "But, she's my niece as much as you are, and I can't continue to let her live like that. Something has to be done, someone has to stand up to that bastard."
Jenna bit the inside of her cheek. She didn't know her sister, didn't have any kind of emotional connection to her, having only known she existed for less than a day. But... knowing there was a girl somewhere being harmed, and knowing that girl was family... she felt compelled to help. How could she ever meet this person and get to know her if she didn't help save her?
"What can I do?" she asked.