MARIA'S POV

It was the weekend and, like always, my dad was at work while mum and I were at home. I finished the last of my homework and I headed downstairs before flopping onto the couch and switching the tv on. I watched a random program and then mum came over to me and she said to me.

"Oy, feet off the couch, missy!"

"Sorry," I told her and then I got my feet off the couch.

"Listen, I'm heading to the shops for dinner, do you want me to get you anything?"

"Uh, yeah, like a word with dad so he can let me gang out with my friends during the weekend."

"Maria, I tried that for the last five times and he still said no."

I groaned annoyingly before I laid back and stared at the ceiling.

"It's not fair! for the last couple of years of my life all I've been doing is going to school and then coming straight home and when the weekend comes, my friends are hanging out at the mall or going to cinema while I'm stuck back here like some prisoner!"

"Maria, we've been over this, it's for your own good."

I sat up and I asked her.

"Yes, I know but, why are you guys so afraid of letting me go into the outside world? I am not a child anymore, you guys have to loosen the reins."

"Honey, I know what you're feeling but, the answer is still no."

I sighed in defeat and then Mum went to get her purse.

"Listen, I'm off to the shops, you know the rules, no answering the door to anyone unless it's a delivery, no escape attempts and no calls to your friends."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know."

I complained before mum left. I sighed a little and then I remembered about the memory box that I found last night. I looked out of the window to make sure she was gone and thankfully she was gone now. I headed back into the basement and I looked for the mom's memory box and I found it on the shelf where I left it last night. I picked it up and I smiled a little when I remembered the days' when mom showed me her old photographs and the items she collected before she had me but, that all changed when she freaked out one night and she told me to never look through this again and I've always wondered why until now.

I sat in the corner of the basement before opening the box and looking through the items from old envelopes which were love letters from dad, the baby scan of me, birthday cards and some old postcards when dad used to do those business trips before getting married.

I smiled a little until I found a mysterious envelope that was addressed to my mother but, the stamp was different compared to the rest of the envelopes that my parents have received. The red stamp had a crest on it but, it appeared to be...royal? I looked at the postmark and it was stamped on the day of my 9th birthday. 

'A royal crest on the stamp? weird, my mother never knew any royal families, why does she have this and how come it was stashed away in this box?'

I thought about putting it away but, I knew that my parents were being a bit protective and Mom did freak out when she saw me going through this a few days after my 9th birthday. I decided to let my curiosity get the better of me so, I opened the envelope and I read the letter.

Lyla,

It has been 8 years since the last time I wrote you a letter, how are you and Maria? I'll bet she's growing fast. Anyway, I don't know if you'll respond to this letter but, Maria needs to know the truth. She needs to know who she is and where she belongs, you and James can't keep her away from me forever. The pair of you know that I won't rest until I find her and bring her back to my home or rather HER home.

I know what I said to you in the past was painful but, please, you need to forgive me and forget all the things I've said. Tell Maria the truth, I've left her birth certificate in the envelope so this proves that you're not lying to her. I'm not expecting a reply so quickly but, don't let Maria live a lie for her whole life. I will always love you and our precious daughter.

From Alexander.

My eyes widen in shock when I read that last sentence.

'"Our precious daughter?" so, the man who I thought was my father... isn't my birth father?'

I thought to myself as I stared at the letter in shock and disbelief. I looked at the envelope and I found a birth certificate to see if what the letter was saying wasn't some joke. But, it wasn't a joke.

Name: Maria Simmons

Mother: Lyla Simmons

Father: Alexander Miller

'Alexander Miller? he's my birth father? wait...that name rings a bell.'

I looked through the box again and I found mom's yearbook. I flipped through the pages and I found the page showing the photo of the man called Alexander. I also found Mom's diary and she kept some old photos and she was also with that same guy in the yearbook picture. Mom looked happy but, it did make me wonder why she was with my step-father and not my birth father, it was odd.

Just then, the front door opened and I knew it was my mother and she had finally come back from the shops. 

"She's got some explaining to do," I mumbled with a frown on my face.

I headed back into the living room and my mother was putting the shopping away and then she greeted me with a smile.

"Hey sweetie, how would you like some roast chicken for dinner?"

I stood there in silence with a frown on my face. Mom noticed the look on my face and she asked me.

"What's the matter? don't tell me you're still in a mood."

"It's not that!"

I shouted angrily at mom who looked at me with a shocked look on her face. I held up the envelope along with with the photo of this Alexander Miller who is my biological father. Mom stared at them with a grim look on her face like she saw a ghost.

"Mind explaining this to me? why does this brith certificate have a different man's name on it? who is this Alexander Miller?"

"Where did you find that?"

"I found it in your memory box the same one that you locked away from me! is this why you stopped me from looking through your stuff?"

Mom stood there in silence and then she looked away from me. 

"I don't believe this, you're such a hypocrite! you were always telling me that lying to people was wrong and yet, you kept this from me?!!"

"Maria, please calm down, let me explain."

We sat in the living room and then Mom told me everything.

"It was a couple of years ago when I was 16. I met James when we were in High school but, he was very possessive of me and even now, he still controls me. After I graduated from High school, I didn't know what I was gonna do about James until I met your father. Alex was kind to me and then I started to notice some kind of attraction towards him, I didn't know why at the time until I fell in love with him."

"So basically, you were stuck in a love triangle?"

"Yes, but, I decided to follow my heart instead of my head. I stayed with Alex for a while until I fell pregnant with you. Alex and I were so happy when you were born, I thought we were gonna be happy forever until James came back. He told me to come back with him but, I told him I didn't want to because I was with Alex but, he blackmailed me. He kidnapped one of his friends and he told me that if I didn't go with him he would have killed Alex's best friend. So, Alex and I talked about it and I decided to leave him but, he wasn't happy about this decision."

"What did he say about it?"

"He said hurtful things to me like 'You're a traitor' or 'you chose that scumbag over me?!' and among on other things."

"Yikes, that sounds terrible."

"It was, but, what choice did I have? it was either having one of Alex's best friends being killed or leave him. After I made that decision, James told me that we live out here, away from Alex's kind. One that you were never supposed to grow up with. Even now, Alex continues to search for us, that's why he's been using his underground services to try and find me and get those letters sent to me."

"Then that explains everything, no wonder he's always constantly on my case and being overprotective of me, he was trying to stop me from finding out the truth."

I couldn't believe what I had just learnt from my mother but, there's still something else bothering me.

"There's still something you haven't told me, you said 'Alex's kind' what did you mean by that?"

"...Your biological father is a werewolf."

"What?!!" I shouted in a shocked tone.

"That's right, Maria. You're the daughter of a werewolf."