I push myself to leave the temple, I trip and stumble over my own feet but I need to move, I need to get away. Everything that just transpired to swirling into a jumble in my brain.

Everything.

Absolutely everything I have grown up, everything I believed in has been a lie. My family isn't even my family. Did they know? Did the pack know? My friends...

Was anything real?

My breathing begins to become shallow, I can't take in enough air. Is this what a panic attack feels like?

My brain and body are not communicating with each other and I misplace a step which sends me tumbling down the steps of the temple, all the way down to the bottom. I roll down almost somersaulting the whole down. I throw my hands out to protect my head.

Can I even get hurt from this? Being dead will I even feel pain. Yes the answer is a big fat yes. I groan as I untangle my limbs from each other. I have little cuts and scrapes all over my arms and legs, I think I may have bruised a rib as well. I heave out a breath as I sit on the ground.

What a mess this has turned out to be. Here I thought I did a good thing, I saved my brother from dying protecting the heir to the pack only to learn it wasn't my pack nor my brother I am the child of a goddess and goddess knows who. Maybe I should have been selfish, things would have been easier. I'm so distracted that I don't even notice the man who walks up to me.

"Okay?" He questions me but I was absolutely paying zero attention to his words. I am just captivated by the look of him. Tall, broad shoulders but not bulky more like nice lean muscle, sharp jawline.

I notice him looking at me with a raised eyebrow obviously waiting for me to respond, I hope I haven't just been staring at him forever and this was just a few seconds otherwise this is beyond embarrassing.

"Sorry?" I ask confused looking into his eyes they are beautiful, like the ocean a mix of blue and green.

"Are you okay?" He asks me. Am I? How do I begin to explain what I am?

"I'm." I pause as he offers me his hand. He pulls me up with ease, once I'm on my feet I dust myself off and straighten out my clothing. "Thank you." I smile towards him, he makes me feel at ease.

"Now why would I need to be thanked for pulling someone off the ground." He smirks, clearly this man has an ego bigger than his head. "Who would leave a lovely beautiful young lady on the ground." So he is a flirt as well.

"Lots of boys would." I smirk back to him.

"Well." He leans forward to whisper in my ear. "Lucky for you, I'm..." My insides start to churn with the sound of his voice, why is he having an effect on me.

Before he has more of a chance to make me go weak at the knees we are interrupted.

"There you are." Madeline has once again appeared from nowhere. "We've been waiting for you." I look between them, he must be someone important if he is meeting with Madeline and my.... my whatever she is.

"Looks like our time is being cut short." He winks at me and leaves me with a kiss on the cheek. Him and Madeline share a tense look that seems as though they are shooting daggers at each other.

Who are all of these people?

"I suggest you go home girl. You aren't ready for this world." Madelines eyes bore into mine. I keep contact with neither of us willing to break away first. A look passes over her features. I don't know if it's surprise, impressed or just plain bored. She is so hard to read also someone I have the feeling not to ever mess with.

I waver under her gaze, Something in me is telling me to remain as I am, the other is screaming at me to relent to her and lower my gaze. The two sides of me remain fighting but I force myself to look downwards. I do not want to make an enemy out of this woman.

She makes a hmph noise as she turns from me. Was this a test? Did I pass or fail?

I go to take a step towards her to question her, she seems more likely to talk to me then my moth- then Selene and give me the actual truth. She seems like a woman who isn't about bullshit no matter how much the truth hurts.

"Leave." She doesn't even turn to face me. "Go home." Is all she says as she disappears in front of me again.

I turn around with a sigh. Where is home now, is it with the people I once believed to be my family or is it in that temple? Or is it somewhere else entirely.

Looking around I realise I don't remember my way to the house of my old grandparents, did I walk straight here or did I come from the east or the west? I guess I'll just have to trial and error my way back.

It takes me a while but I finally manage it, I don't want to know how many times I got lost or how long I was out here for all I know is that the sun has long since set.

Anthea is sitting out the front on the porch when I arrive, she glares at me before muttering to herself and storming inside. I wonder what her problem with me is.

She slams the door to which I hear G-ma scold her, famished I make my way directly to the kitchen. I am still surprised that we can feel hunger in death. I guess I have a lot to learn, but I don't know if these are questions I should ask over dinner.

Should I just walk up and be all 'so did you know I wasn't related to you? And if so how did this all happen?' or do I just want to keep my head buried in the sand and pretend nothing happened.

"Liana!" G-ma shouts as I entered the kitchen "we've been waiting for you. How did today go?" Oh she knows alright, I can see it in her eyes.

"Now, now. Let's give the girl a break and let her eat some food first before we hound her with questions." my grandfather winks at me.

"Yes, let's eat first I am starved." I agree really just wanting to eat and ignore the conversation.

Anthea is sitting at the dining room table already with a plate full of food that looks delicious, she is looking anywhere but at me.

G-ma places me opposite Anthea on the table, I don't know what is worse sitting across from her seeing the burning rage in her eyes or sitting next to her where she could easily stab me.

The only noise coming from this delicious meal of lasagna served with a side of greek salad is the scraping of cutlery against plates. I don't want to be the first to break the silence but I also don't want to sit in this growing tension.

"Liana." Grandfather begins. "I know today has been a lot for you to take in." Anthea snorts and rolls her eyes at his statement. I just nod my head at him looking over to G-ma at the other side of the table. He glares at Anthea effectively shutting her up turning back to me.

"I know that you must have a lot of questions and we will answer them." He locks eyes with G-ma and I have a bad feeling they are about to drop another bomb on me. "But tomorrow we need to take you to the windows."

"The windows?" What in the goddess' name is the windows, honestly what is this place? I feel as though I should have had a powerpoint presentation when I woke up this morning.

"The windows are exactly what it sounds like, a window to earth. Normally we would have had all of today to explain this to you but..." He lets the sentence drop off so G-ma continues for him.

"We had other needs you needed to learn first but tomorrow will be the lighting of the pyre and it is a right of passage that every wolf watches their own, as well as this may be the only time a window is open for you to view life back on earth with the living. Windows are select only appearing for wolves whenever necessary. They aren't always open for us, we may not even be able to see your pyre." She explains to me

"This is a lot to take in." I say absentmindedly.

"We know." G-ma speaks kindly reaching across the table to take my hand giving me a reassuring squeeze. 

She opens her mouth to continue telling me about tomorrow when a knock at the door startles everyone. I take in a deep breathe and smell the most amazing scent and apparently so does Anthea. She glances at me wearing what I can assume to be the exact same expression as mine. "Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me!" she explains storming away from us.

I want to follow G-ma as she heads to the door but I have a feeling it's safer to stay, there's a chance it could be Selene and I am still not ready for that.

I was however completely not expecting who walks in behind G-ma...