Chapter Twenty-Five

I woke to the sun shining into my face. Groaning, my body ached as I sat up. I reluctantly got out of bed. Crossing the room to the door, I stepped out to go into the bathroom across from my room. As I looked into the mirror, I stared at myself for a few minutes.  

That was when images from yesterday flashed across my mind. My eyes widened and I touched my face with both hands, then looked down at them.

No claws. It was all a dream.

"Get ready for school and we'll talk." Mom’s voice brought my gaze to the door. She gave me a small smile before leaving.

I did what was asked. Going through my usual ritual, I was ready for school within thirty minutes. When I came down and entered the kitchen, I went to help mom bring breakfast to the table. She waved me away with instructions to go sit at the table. 

Once we had our breakfast, she told me what had happened. After that intense headache, it was like I was in a dream like state. I saw what happened, but I didn’t fully believe it. And when I passed out and woke up in my own bed, it had all seemed like a dream until mom said it was true. 

I was still trying to wrap my head around everything when I heard the horn from Clara's car. I rose and grabbed my backpack. 

"Oh and Amelia." I paused to turn to her. She had this smile on her face, but it wasn't a happy smile, but one that held a warning. "You raise your hand to your mother again and you will deal with your mother's wrath." 

Oh. That's right. I did remember something about being mad at her that I wanted to do something -- anything to relieve that anger. I was angry at her for the things she kept from me and I remembered feeling like I was a burden to her. She did have to raise me on her own after all. Tears filled my eyes. I couldn't believe I had tried to hurt her.

Her footsteps crossed the room as quickly as she could. She wrapped my arms around my neck, pulling me to her. "It's alright really. Your behavior is normal for a werewolf. You scared me, that's all." 

"I could have hurt you, Mom." There was a break in my voice as I realized the truth of what I was. 

She pulled back, holding me at arm's length. Her head tilted to one side and a warm smile formed on her face. "Your dad wouldn't have allowed that to happen."

"That doesn't make it any right. I just--I feel so much right now." 

"I know. Your dad wants to talk to you after school. He wants you to meet up with him later, so I'll be picking you up." 

"Don't you have work?"

"Yes, but I'll be off. Actually the chaos been died down. Your father has been ambushing me for weeks now. It's why I came home late." 

"He did that, why?"

"He's just trying to come back and I said no."

"You're going to give in though right?"

"That's for us adults to figure out. Now off to school with you." 

"But--"

"No buts. This is your last year so you have to focus on your studies. Besides, Clara is waiting for you."

I left the house without another word. On my way to school, I listened to Clara talk about a crush was going to pursue. It felt good to listen to her. Almost like things were normal again. Things weren't, but there was nothing that could really be changed about that. When we arrived at school, I spotted Harris watching us from across the hall. I thought he would approach me, asking for another date, but when he turned his head to greet a dark haired girl, I figured he moved on. It was a relief really. 

I said goodbye to Clara before heading to class. Lucian was in his usual spot at his desk as we piled into his classroom. I found myself pausing to stare. He was looking really good today. When his eyes looked up, meeting mine, I was sure I saw a flicker of desire in them. Someone had bumped into me, momentarily distracting me as the person apologized. When I looked his way again, he was looking down again. Forcing myself to go to my desk, I was frustrated and conflicted from the earlier conversation with mom and the stuff that had happened. 

All throughout the day, my emotions were running rampant. Anticipation, uncertainty, worry, even desire. As I was on my way outside, I stopped by his classroom. He was walking toward the door. His gaze was preoccupied with the cell phone in his hand. A compulsion hit me strongly. One that had me moving before I could fully think about what I was doing. 

Entering the room, I wrapped my arms around his neck just as he looked up. 

His hands wrapped around my waist. "Amelia." 

It was like the black wolf was just behind my eyes. "I've been meaning to do this all day." My voice had taken on a different tone. One that sounded like me, but not like me. 

As I moved to press my mouth to his, he moved us to the side while pushing the door close. Pressing me against the wall gently, his mouth hovered near mine. "Your wolf is surfacing. She will be a handful if you don't control her." 

He wasn’t being serious. His amber eyes told me that much. "Sorry." It was all I could say. Our lips met in a hungry kiss. I wanted him, since I had him a few days ago at my house. 

***

"I've been waiting for fifteen minutes.  What were you doing?" My mom asked after I had gotten into the car.

"Sorry," I apologized quickly, trying to search for an excuse. "Clara was talking to me."

"I saw Clara with some of her friends," she said.

"Fine I just had some things to do." I looked ahead, hoping she'll let it drop.

She was quiet for a moment. Then she started the car. "I know this is your last year, but please try not to be consumed by your mate. I'm not ready to be a grandma yet."

"Mom."

"Just saying. I have been there. I hope you're using protection."

"Do we have to have this conversation now?"

"Yes. We do." 

And the ride was spent with mom lecturing me all about being protected. She even went as far as telling me facts about female werewolves and conceiving. That it didn't usually happen unless under specific conditions, but that it could happen anytime. I didn't know where she had gotten her information, but I was relieved when she reached the destination.

As I looked out the window, I noticed she brought me to another field that was surrounded by forest life."Why does he want to meet up out here?"

"He said he wanted to show you some things."

"Well I guess I'll see you later then," I said as I got out of the car. 

She leaned toward my side. "Try not to be too hard on him."

"Said the woman who won't let him into the house." A smile was on my face.

"Older adults' affairs."

"See you later Mom." Closing the door behind me, I headed in the direction I felt like I had to go. I had reached the forest part when I heard the car turning around. 

"Amelia," came the voice of my dad.

I saw him ahead and walked in that direction. Once I was close enough, I asked, "You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah. I have some explaining to do. Come on, we can sit over there." He then added quickly, "If you want." 

I followed him over to a fallen log. We both took a seat, looking forward. Silence settled between us. I watched him out of the corner of my eye. He was rubbing his chin. Most likely he didn't know how to even begin this conversation. 

I decided to nudge him in a direction. "So why did you leave us?"

"I had to. That's the quick answer." He dropped his hand from his chin to settle beside his other hand. "My best friend had turned feral. I had to stop him from taking a lot of innocent lives."

I looked at him then. He must have felt my eyes on him because he looked at me.

"One drop of human blood can turn any werewolf wild, Amelia. It's why we strive to maintain control over our beasts. Or rather, the animal part of our minds."

"This friend must have been very important."

"He was. He was my beta--my right hand. Somehow he had tasted human blood and he killed several of our friends in the process of escaping. He didn't have a mate either to tame the beast before he lost his humanity." 

"A mate, huh."

"The mate bond is very strong and important, but without establishing one, with either your faded mate or chosen mate, a werewolf is often vulnerable to so much. Just as well as if he or she were to physically lose that mate. It's a complex phenomenon, but we werewolves were made to thrive just like everyone else."

I found all of this weird. There was so much to this world that I knew very little about. 

"Anyway, Gustin would have been hunted down by the emperor's council and then my secret would have gotten out."

"Wait, there's an emperor in all of this?" I looked at him once more. I couldn't believe this.

"Emperor Conrí of Europe." He smiled cheeky, but it disappeared as quick as it came. "He ensures the secret of werewolves existence remains a secret by any means. He is also responsible for that forbidden rule about mating humans. If word got out that Gustin had gone feral, he would have sent one of his emissaries to investigate. From there, it would have only been a matter of time." 

I looked back forward. Frustration ran through me at his selfishness. "You left to keep your secret."

"I left to keep my family safe and to keep a promise to my best friend."

"Your death was keeping us safe?"

"Yes--No. I actually didn't think that far ahead. I mean at the time, I was hoping to play off my death as a sort of prank after taking care of Gustin. I wasn't expecting to be gone for so long. I know it doesn't erase anything, but I'm sorry about disappearing for that long."

"I guess I can understand why you did it. You just have to convince mom now."

An exhausted sigh left him. He ran a hand through his blonde hair. "Your mother isn't going to let this go. I might actually be stuck living out here. Do you-could you?"

I shook my head. "She already told me to butt out." 

"Yeah," he said in a defeated tone, "I guess I kind of figured she would tell you that."

I leaned my head against his shoulder. Closing my eyes, I suppressed the tears that wanted to fall. "You have a lot of making up to do and missed birthday presents, but I forgive you, Dad." 

I felt his arm wrapped around my shoulder. I missed him, even though I didn't quite remember him. 

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