"There you go," Chris' mom says, placing a steaming cup of coffee in front of me.

I take a sip, put it back down and toy with its handle, thinking about how I should start this.

"What do you want to know about my son?" Chris' mom says, making my eyes go wide.

She laughs. "I've been young, too, once. I know you're curious to know some things about him. And I'm afraid Chris is not exactly an open book kinda guy."

I give her an embarrassed smile. "I'm sorry if I'm stepping on any boundaries."

She laughs again. "Honey, there's no boundary when it comes to you and him. You're the only one who has every right on him."

I look up at her confused.

Her smile looks a little guilty. "He asked us not to say about this to anyone yet. But since you're here yourself, wanting to know about him, I think it's safe to tell you this."

"Tell me what?"

"It's been over a month since Chris had declared to me and his father that he wants you as his mate."

My mouth gapes open. "But he didn't tell me that!"

She sighs. "I don't know what's going on in his mind either. But we respected his wish to keep his declaration just between us for now."

"But... But how could he say that to you and then go out with Jennifer in front of me?"

"Chris is going out with Jennifer?" his mom asks with a frown between her brows.

Now that I think about it, I don't think I've seen Chris go on a date with Jennifer, except for that one time when we all went to the movies.

"Kind of," I tell her.

She opens her mouth to say something but the doorbell rings. She places her hand on my thigh. "I'll be back soon, we need to talk about this," she says and leaves.

To distract myself I pick up the coffee and move around the house. But my thoughts are plagued by Chris' confusing actions.

I absentmindedly walk past the shelf full of photos, only to abruptly backtrack to its front and take a good look at the photo that caught my attention.

Seeing the woman's face I stand frozen till the cup slips out of my hand and shatters on the ground.

Hand slightly trembling I grab the photo and bring it close. The boy in the photo is Chris. The man behind him is Chris' father. And then...

"Sorry about that. So where were we?" Chris' mom says coming in.

I quickly get down to clean the mess.

"That's okay, leave it, Belle. I'll have it cleaned later."

I steady my breath and ask her calmly, "Who is this?"

She leans and takes a look at the picture. Her face turns sad before it looks back at me. "I think it's best if you hear it from Chris himself."

"Please," I quickly say, letting my emotions slip out. I'm desperate.

Chris' mom sighs. "Okay. But before that, I need to know something from you."

"What?"

"Do you love my son?"

I'm momentarily surprised by the unexpected question. Then I look away from her, feeling my face go warm. "Yes," I whisper.

"You want him as your mate?"

"I do."

She gives me a hug. "In that case, I'll tell you who that is." She looks at the woman in the photo with an emotion I can't read. "That's Chris' mother."

I can't believe my own ears.

"The one who gave birth to him. She passed away when Chris was younger."

"I— I—"

She smiles understandingly and strokes my head. "You couldn't have known. Most people think Chris is my biological son. I never correct them. He's as good as one. Also, his mother passed away before we moved into our new pack house at this side of our land. Not a lot many people had met her. She was sick and mostly bedridden. I met Chris' father a few years after her death. I wish I hadn't become a part of their family like this, but I'm glad they are my family now. I've always raised Chris as my own son."

"She died because of her sickness?"

"Yes."

"What was Chris' relation with his mom like?"

"Like I said, Chris is not exactly an open book. I never heard him talk about her. I'm sure her passing away still hurts him. But he keeps the pain to himself."

I look down at the image of the woman whose spirit tried to hurt me and Chris. I came here looking for answers about what's on Chris' mind, instead I now have way more questions than I did a minute ago.

Was she a good person? I want to ask. "How was she like?" I say.

"I've never met her," Chris' mom says. "But I've heard she was very beautiful and graceful. My husband loved her a lot. They both were fated mates after all."

"Are you married to Chris' father?"

She nods.

The title of Luna always goes to the mate of the Alpha. But under special circumstances it can go to someone who undergoes a wedding ceremony with the Alpha.

"If you don't mind me asking, have you ever met your mate?" I ask.

The wedding ceremony will severe any mate bond either of them have with anyone else, establishing in its place a matrimonial bond between the bride and groom.

"No. I never found my mate."

I leave Chris' home with the identity of the ghost I've been trying so hard to track down. And I feel the worst.

I head to the general store and grab some ingredients I need for my next step in finding out the truth. Perhaps the answers to what's bothering Chris and why that ghost is after us are the same.

In my room I start arranging the ingredients to perform the spell. A witch in my pack, who knows I can see ghosts, taught me a spell to summon spirits.

It can only be done when you know the identity of the spirit you're summoning. That's why I badly wanted to find out who the stalker spirit was, so I could summon and confront her on my terms.

I sit down to perform the ritual when someone urgently starts ringing the doorbell.

Outside the door is Bob, one of Chris' friends. "Chris and Joe are figting at the bar!" he says out of breath.

Apparently my day can get worse than it already was. I immediately leave with Bob to the bar.

Inside, I see that their friends have already managed to pull apart Joe and Chris before they kill each other. Blood is dripping down from their faces.

"What happened?" I ask them in shock.

Chris looks at Bob. "Why did you bring her here?!"

"Don't shout at him!" I say, "Why did you two get in a fight?"

That's when Jennifer rushes in. News of Chris and Joe's fight had reached her, too. "What's going on here?" she asks in as much shock as I was in.

Ignoring our questions, Chris and Joe continue to glare at each other. Their wolves are dangerously close to surfacing. Their respective friends stand close to them in case they need to be stopped again.

With all the tension in the place, it's best to get one of them out of here. But for some reason, I feel like if I approach either of them it won't take long for the fight to resume. So I keep standing where I am.

I glance at Jennifer, and weirdly she also doesn't go to either of them. I was hoping she would. Even if it was to Chris, I was hoping she would take one of them out of here. But she doesn't move.

Begrudgingly I make a decision and approach Joe. With no romantic feelings to distract I would be able to calm Joe down and make him tell me what happened.

But Chris grabs me. "Where do you think you're going?"

Joe charges forward but his friends hold him back. He smirks. "Can't you see?" he says from the arms of his friends restraining him, "She was coming to her mate."

What th—

Before what Joe said could sink in I'm jolted by another surprise when Jennifer goes to him and slaps Joe across his face.

Dear God, what's happening today?

"What did you say?" she says.

Joe looks at her angrily. "She's my mate. I told my parents to—"

Another slap falls across his cheek from Jennifer. This time it was louder. She starts pounding on his chest, shouting, "How could you do this to me?!"

Joe finally has it enough. He grabs her hands and says, "Isn't this want you want? You want Chris. And now I want Belle. We both get what we want. Isn't that what you want?!"

Jennifer looks like she's going to pass out over Joe's chest from the weeping.

He pushes her away and leaves. Jennifer runs after him.

Dumbfounded, I look at Chris. "What just happened?"

"Before that," he sternly says, "tell me why the fuck Joe told his parents you were going to be his mate?"

"How would I know?! He told me he was going to declare Jennifer as his mate."

"Then why didn't he?"

"How on earth would I know? Are you doubting me?!"

"I'm not doubting you. But I told you to stay the fuck away from him. If you had list—"

I grab Chris' t-shirt and crash my lips over his before he starts to annoy me further. Jennifer today had taught me boys shouldn't be allowed to speak unnecessarily. Instead of a slap Chris gets a kiss from me. He immediately kisses me back.

When the boys in the bar erupt in a cheer, I push Chris away and leave.

"What? That's it? The discussion is over?" Chris shouts at me. I can hear the smile in his voice.

"Go to hell!"

Back in the house, I don't see Joe and Jennifer. I'm guessing they are going to make up or break up for good this time. I hope it's the former.

Drinking water from the fridge, I look upstairs where my room is. With so much happened today I should probably wait till tomorrow to do the ritual.

But then, I won't have a peaceful sleep tonight knowing what I know and not have the answers. I return to my room and perform the ritual.

When I open my eyes after repeating the incantation for the last time, I'm in a bright living room. I hear a child and move to my right. I see the view of an infant in his mother's arm at the couch.

"I can never get tired of seeing him smile."

Lo and behold, my stalker ghost and I finally meet again. She's standing at my side, looking at her memory from long ago.

"He wasn't smiling much when you were strangling him," I say, reminding her why we're here.

She smiles at me. I feel mocked and get angry. "You almost had me run over by a truck! Why are you after us?"

"Almost being the key word," she says.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You think you would've gotten close to him without me?" she says.

I frown thinking that must be a sick joke.

She smirks. It almost gives me goosebumps seeing how similar her smirk is with Chris'.

"Are you out of your mind? What do you mean you got us close?" I say.

She turns to the infant Chris in front of us. "He used to smile a lot," she says, "But then he got hurt, betrayed and became cold. I couldn't leave him like that. I couldn't move on after my death. I prayed for years he would find happiness again.

"Then you came into his life. You know, my son had seen you a few times before his eighteenth birthday. Each time his gaze lingered on you. I knew right away he liked you, but he never approached you, and you never noticed him.

"The day you were mated with him, I thought his hurt was over. But unfortunately you were also mated with Joe, and Chris stayed away from you again.

"I wasn't going to let fate punish my child for the mistakes I did. I had to find a way to bring you two together.

"I saw you one day talking to your childhood friend's spirit. That's when I learned of your gift. So I decided to make use of it."

So much feels wrong with what Chris' mom just said that I don't even know where to begin. "Couldn't you have just come and introduced yourself instead of terrorizing me?!"

She gives me that smirk again. "That would've been boring. Besides, I had to know if you cared about him, too. What better way to measure love between two people than see how scared and worried they are for the other's safety?"

There's nothing this woman could say that can justify her torments for me. But I've something more important to ask about. "Why did Chris stay away from me?"

The surrounding changes and I'm in a garden with her. In the distance I see her past self come around a tree. She looks a little older, and weak. A man comes with her, and they kiss.

I gasp recognizing who he is.

Her ghost beside me speaks. "My health got so worse I barely fulfilled my duties to my son and mate. I resented my painful life. I lost my way. I was ready to do anything to make me forget my pathetic existence that was nothing but a burden to my family."

After a while of letting it sink in I ask, "Chris knew?"

I hear her soft cry. "He found out. I hurt my child that day. My angel. I broke it off, but the damage was done. Chris was never the same again. Even on my deathbed I could tell he was disappointed in me."

"Then the reason Chris stayed away from me is—"

"He wanted to punish Joe for what Joe's father did. He wanted to hurt Joe through Jennifer."

I sit down for a second.

She moves to my front. "What I did was far worse than Chris' actions. Chris is not proud of what he did. He was a hurt child. And he was hurting alone. He never told anyone about it.

"But he's now changed, Belle. Because of you. I'm very sorry for what I put you through. But unfortunately we realize the value of something only when it's getting away from us.

"I don't want you and Chris to lose each other, like I lost the trust of my child and made myself undeserving of the love of my mate. Because I betrayed my mate I even lost my wolf in the afterlife.

"Let your love guide and strengthen your bond. I hope you understand what I'm saying. You both need to come clean with each other. I'll always watch over you two. I'm grateful you're his mate. You've a beautiful soul, Belle."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. When I open them again I'm back in my room. "No, no! I'm not done yet. Come back! Please come back!"

But she's gone. And in the back of my mind I know I'm never going to see her again.