"Answer me, you monster! What are you?" Victoria snapped at Ava, who was still standing, bewildered.
"I don't know what you are talking about..." Ava said through gritted teeth.
"Of course, you know. How would you not know that you are not normal? You better confess now or you would prefer I involve my father?" Victoria yelled then started approaching her.
Without thinking, Ava turned and bolted from the room just as Victoria lunged at her with an enraged snarl.
"Run... run as fast as your legs can carry you!" That was what Ava's mind kept telling her and she did just that.
Her heart pounded against her chest as she ran.
"Guards! Stop her!" Victoria's shrill voice echoed behind her.
But Ava was faster. She darted past the surprised guards at the entrance, her strength growing stronger as she sprinted away from the Alpha Manor.
Her lungs burned by the time she reached her small house.
"Mother?" Ava called out breathlessly as stumbled inside.
The front room was empty. Ava rushed to her mother's room but found it vacant as well.
With her thoughts spinning wildly, she retreated to her own tiny bedroom and collapsed onto her bed.
"What is happening to me?" She whispered, staring at her arm where Victoria's deep scratches had been.
The skin was smooth now, as if she had never been injured.
Her mind raced with questions until exhaustion finally pulled her into a fitful sleep.
~~~~~~~~~
The following morning, Ava woke up to the sounds of spoons hitting pots in the kitchen.
"None of it was a dream..." Ava muttered regretfully as she laid still for a moment, remembering everything that had happened the day before.
"The shocking conversation between my mother and the unknown man I overheard, Victoria's attack, and my strange healing ability..." She thought.
"Well, first things first! I should get answer to my question about my father today..." She decided.
Taking a deep breath, she got up and walked to the kitchen. Her mother was preparing breakfast, humming softly to herself.
"Mother." Ava's voice was firm and Sophia turned around to look at her.
"Oh! Good morning, dear. I didn't hear you get up." Sophia smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"We need to talk." Ava said, crossing her arms.
"About what?" Sophia asked, turning back to the stove.
"About what I heard yesterday. About my supposed father." Ava blurted out.
The spoon Sophia was holding fell to the floor.
"She heard something?" Sophia thought to herself, in shock.
"I... I don't know what you mean." She denied.
"Please, Mother, don't deny this. I heard you. I heard you talking to someone yesterday about having his child. Is there another child apart from me?" Ava asked, her voice trembling slightly with emotion.
"You were eavesdropping?" Sophia asked, her face hardening.
"That is not the point! For seventeen years, you have refused to tell me anything about my father. I deserve to know the truth!" Ava maintained, her voice rising.
"Ava, please..." Sophia pleaded weakly.
"No! I'm tired of being kept in the dark!" She insisted.
And for the first time in her life, Ava felt something stir inside her - her wolf, awakening with a low growl.
Sophia stumbled backward, her eyes widened in shock.
"That is... that is impossible. You are an Omega. Your wolf shouldn't be able to..." Sophia was saying but Ava didn't hear that anymore.
"Tell me the truth, Mother." Ava demanded, and her wolf growled in support.
Sophia resigned to her fate and knew she had to talk at this point. She sank into a chair, her hands shaking slightly.
"It... it happened seventeen years ago..." She started talking.
*FLASHBACK*
Seventeen Years Ago;
Sophia walked quietly through the dimly lit halls of the Alpha Manor, carrying fresh towels.
It was late, but as one of the personal maids of the Alpha, she had learned to move silently through the house at all hours.
"What was that?"
Passing the Alpha's study, she had heard the sound of glass breaking. She hesitated, then carefully pushed the door open.
"Alpha Jenkins?" She called softly.
The Alpha sat in his chair, looking weak and horrible, an empty bottle was beside him and his eyes were red from crying.
"She is gone... My beloved wife." He whispered.
"I'm so sorry about the Luna, Alpha. Her death was a terrible shock to everyone." Sophia said gently, stepping closer.
"Is there anything you need, sir?" She asked.
"She gave me Ethan and then... just left me. How do I deal with this grief?" The Alpha had said with vulnerability and looked up at Sophia with pain-filled eyes.
One thing led to another, and in their shared grief and loneliness...
Sophia found herself in the Alpha's arms, giving him comfort and warmth....
*END OF FLASHBACK*
"Stop! I don't need all the details." Ava interrupted the narration of the memory.
Sophia wiped tears from her eyes.
"Afterward, when I found out I was pregnant, I couldn't tell him. He was grieving, dealing with a newborn son... I thought it would be better if I just left my position quietly." She revealed.
"But why keep it a secret all these years? Especially from me?" Ava demanded, gritting her teeth.
"Because I was ashamed! Because I was just a lowly maid who allowed herself to be taken advantage of by a grieving man! Because..." Sophia's voice broke.
"Because I was afraid they would take you away from me. Because I know I have no place beside that man with the difference in our statuses. I am going to be rejected, or be killed even." The tears Sophia had been keeping in started falling then.
Ava sighed heavily as she took in everything. She could feel the room spinning above her head as realization dawned on her.
"So, Alpha Jenkins is my father and Ethan, my beloved is my supposed half brother?" Ava gasped in disbelief.
Her world was shattering around her as the truth of her forbidden love came crashing down.