"Claire, honey, you need to come home," my mum mind-links me, a sense of unease in her voice.

I roll my eyes, ignoring her as I continue to run through the forest. I don't understand why she would ask me to come home when she knows perfectly well that I'm out looking for Acacia.

"Please, Claire. Come home" she says again, this time with a little more force in her words.

I skid to a halt and sigh, knowing I can't keep ignoring her.

"Why, mum?" I reply, slightly annoyed at this point.

"Because your father and I have some important news to tell you."

"Oh really? What could possibly be so important that I should stop looking for my sister and come home for?" I reply, sarcasm dripping from my words.

"Because it's to do with her sister, Claire" my dad mind-links softly.

Oh shit.

My stomach drops and I instantly begin running back towards our territory.

"I'll be home in an hour" I mind-link quietly.

"What is it!? What happened!?" I ask frantically as I skid through my dad's office door.

"Sit down sweetie," my mum says softly, ushering me to sit down in a chair.

I nod and proceed to sit down in the chair opposite the couch my parents are sitting on. I watch them for a moment as they give each other a sideways glance before looking back at me.

They've been crying. Oh god, it must be bad news.

"What's wrong?" I ask quietly, preparing myself for the worst.

"Nothing is wrong," my dad says with a small smile.

"What do you mean? What happened?" I ask, confused.

"Acacia is alive, Claire," my mum says with a small smile painted on her face too.

I stare at them in shock for a moment, trying to process the information I've just received.

"She is?" I whisper, with disbelief written all over my face.

"She is!" my mum says almost giddily.

"How? How do you know?"

"Well, you know how Alpha Hays was over earlier?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, it turns out he had her,"

Instantly, anger boils in me as I realise what has happened.

"HE KIDNAPPED HER?!" I yell angrily.

"No, sweetie. Not at all. Quite the opposite actually," my dad says, frowning.

"So what then?" I ask, the anger disappearing slightly.

"Well, it's a long story but-" my mum starts but I cut her off before she can finish.

"I want to know everything," I blurt out quickly.

"Okay love, settle down now," my dad says warmly. I nod, fidgeting in my seat with anticipation.

"So Grayson came over because he wanted to discuss Alpha business and he said his new mate really wanted to meet us," my dad continues, smiling. "We were also really excited to meet her so he went and got her and he brings her in and it turns out it's Acacia. Acacia is his new mate,"

"No," I say in disbelief.

"Yes! Now shush so I can finish."

I smile and mime zipping my lips shut, causing my mum to laugh.

"So anyway, your mother and I were both in just as much shock as you were when we saw her and we too accidentally made the assumption that he kidnapped her and I may or may not have strangled Grayson out of anger-"

"Dad!"

"I know. Terrible of me but I couldn't help it. But suddenly, your sister was in front of me and pushed me off him and proceeded to yell at me for touching him. It was then that we found out that they are mates and that he saved her from Zane Hardy."

"Zane Hardy?" I ask, still in shock.

"Mmhmm," he says with a sad smile.

"Turns out it was Zane who attacked us and kidnapped her. She was trapped there by him for ten years and she managed to escape about two months ago and she ended up on Grayson's territory. He cared for her and looked after her and even when Zane kidnapped her again, he went and saved her and killed Zane in the process."

"Wow," I say quietly as I stare at my parents, taking it all in.

"Yeah," my mum says, a hint of disbelief still in her own voice.

"So where is she now?" I ask, excitement bubbling inside of me.

"Ummm, she and Grayson left," my dad says guiltily.

"What?! Why?!" I ask, confused.

"Because I stupidly asked Acacia if she didn't miss us," my mum says before hanging her head.

"Muuummmmm! What did you do that for!?" I whine, annoyed.

"I don't know! I wasn't thinking straight" she says sadly.

"To be fair, I wasn't either. I was about to ask her the same thing," my dad adds.

I roll my eyes and they look at me guiltily.

"It made Acacia even more upset because, of course, she missed us," he continues.

"She then proceeded to tell us that the reason she hadn't come to see us sooner was that she was physically unwell and wasn't able to and that it was her decision to come to see us today and that we shouldn't blame Grayson for anything. She then asked for Grayson to take her home, so he did and they left."

Oh, man. Dammit.

"And now she's gone," I say quietly, defeat evident in my voice.

"Sadly," my mum says quietly.

"You never know" my dad starts, looking at both my mum and I.

"She could have a change of heart and decide to come back."

"Let's hope so" I reply quietly before slumping back in my chair and staring at the ceiling.

God, I hope she comes back.

I silently pray as I let out a sigh and close my eyes, my parents talking quietly in the background.

Please, Acacia. Please come back.

Man, I miss her. Even more, now that I know she is alive. I really do hope she decides to give us a second chance and come back.

I sigh as I flop onto my bed and proceed to stare at the ceiling for a while. At least I don't have to spend my days going on search parties for her anymore.

I begin to get lost in my thoughts when suddenly, my phone vibrates against the varnished wood of my bedside table.

I sit up, confused and stare at my phone for a moment. It's eleven-thirty at night. Who could possibly be texting me?

I grab my phone and see a message from an unknown number. Frowning, I open my phone and open the message.

'Heya, Sweetheart' it reads.

What the hell? Who is this?

I go to text back when suddenly all my questions are answered as a new text appears on the screen.

'How are you this fine evening? It's Rhys, by the way,'

I smile, heat rising to my cheeks as I think back to our encounter in the clearing.

'Hey, Rhys!' I reply back happily. 'I'm good. How are you?'

'I'm alright, yeah. I'm glad that you are doing well though.'

Blushing, I decided now is probably a good time to get ready for bed before I get too invested in our conversation.

Setting my phone back down, I race into my bathroom and start my night routine, trying to be as fast as possible.

After what feels like an eternity spent in the bathroom, I head back into my room and change into my pyjamas and climb into bed. I grab my phone and check the time before opening it up to look at my messages.

It turns out, I had spent 20 minutes in the bathroom and in that time I had gotten two new messages from Rhys.

'So you know how back in the clearing, I said something about getting to know you better' The first message reads, causing me to blush again. 'Well I was wondering if ya know, you wanted to do that tonight?'

'Sure thing' I reply back, grinning.

'Great! I'll start. What's your full name?'

'Claire Dahlia Blackwell.'

'Wow. That's such a beautiful name!'

'Thanks. What's yours?' I blush hard as I reply.

'Rhys Cohen Taylor,' he replies promptly.

God, his name is just as gorgeous as he is.

'You have a great name too!' I reply grinning as a wave of sleepiness washes over me. I mentally slap myself, not wanting to fall asleep while talking to him.

'Thanks. So, how old are you?' he asks in reply.

'I just turned 15 a month ago.'

'Damn haha. That means you could be finding your mate soon.'

'Yeah, it does. How old are you?'

'I just turned 19.'

'Oh. So have you found your mate yet?' I ask, a twinge of hurt shooting through me.

'No, not yet. But I'm sure she's out there somewhere' he replies swiftly.

I perk back up as a grin creeps its way onto my face. Instantly, my eyes begin to feel heavy and I try to fight the sleepiness but it seems to be winning.

'I'm sure she is' is all I manage to text back before I'm out like a light, happy dreams of Rhys and I filling my head.

Maybe we could be mates?

_________________________________

Hey Guys, 

I hope you enjoyed that chapter! Thanks for sticking by me through all this and feel free to vote and leave me a comment below letting me know whether you liked this chapter!!

If you feel so inclined, go follow me on my Instagram account @allamy_duffell for a look into my life outside of writing!

Thanks,

Allamy xx