RHEA's POV:

A week has passed since I arrived at the pack house.

Azrael and Kronos insisted that I get settled before showing up at Pack dinner.

Even though we had spoken, every time I tried to see Kronos, he was always out on patrol. I tried different times but did not prevail. It was always the same guard who would tell me, "I'm sorry, Rhea. Alpha Kronos is not here today."

He was avoiding me.

But why?

Word has gone around that Kronos found his mate. Many of the pack members were eager to meet me. I kept to myself and didn't go into the main house of the pack.

Honestly, I wasn't sure they'd approve of me.

I have to have my Luna Ceremony to mind link with everyone. The bond with my pack members has weakened, and I've been gone for too long.

So now I'm not able to mind link anyone. The ceremony should fix that, though. After speaking with Kronos, he agreed to let me help him and do Luna's duties. However, to do Luna's duties, I had to participate in the ceremony to be Luna.

He promised to set up the Luna celebration this week. The pack dinner was tonight.
I'd finally get to see everyone again after so many years.

I sighed, closing my book and missing my best friend, Coco. I wish I had someone to talk to about everything.

Coco has been busy with Azrael. Because of that, I haven't had the chance to ask her anything. Why didn't she tell me anything?

That conversation with Azrael and Kronos had me up and running for answers.

For ten years, I lived away from the pack, and all this time, something was happening to my mate.

To the pack.

So many lies.

And I had no idea about it.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Coco enter my room and sneak up on me.

"Boo!" She said, attempting to scare me.

I stared at her, frowning.

Seeing that I wasn't spooked, her shoulders dropped in disappointment.

"Aww... it was easier to scare you back then. Now that you're grown, it's gotten harder." She whined.

Shaking my head, I muttered, "Why didn't you tell me what happened to Kronos?"

Coco's eyes widened at my question. "How did you—"

I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation. "Seriously? Are you concerned with how I found out? Spill the beans, Coco. Why didn't you tell me the events that took place while I was gone?"

Coco nervously laughed, "Geez, Rhea. Did you not get enough sleep or something? I was gone for a while, but I'm here now. What happened?"

I glared at her, "Please don't play jokes anymore, Coco. Stop the lies."

She looked to the side in shame. "I-I honestly..." she sighed. "I didn't want you to feel any more than you already did. You were a child, Rhea. I can't say more than that.

"All this secrecy is stupid." I spat out, upset. "After all this time, I'd occasionally asked once in a while, 'How was the pack?' You would tell me they were fine and nothing special was occurring. I feel lied to!"

"For your protection, Rhea!"

"What if I didn't need protection? We're werewolves! We deal with tragedy and death all the time. If something happens in the pack, let me know! Now, I'm the only one in this pack who must live ignorantly, not knowing anything. I feel like a child, and I'm twenty-two years old!"

Coco frowned with tears in the corner of her eyes. "Rhea, I think you forgot what state you were in when your parents passed. You wanted to join them. Had I told you any more than I needed to, you would've met them in the afterlife soon after! You were incredibly unstable. It took us years of therapy for you to get to where you are now."

"You don't remember how I found you in
the..." she cried, barely coherent. ".. the bathtub? I feel as though it was yesterday. I swore I'd protect you, and I failed that day. We had barely managed to save you."

"I did lose a lot of blood that day. They had to do a blood transfusion." I mumbled, not liking that she was right.

Coco approached me and touched my shoulders before leaning in to hug me. I timidly embraced her back, soaking in her warmth.

"I always saw you as my little sister, and I still do now. You are family to me. Maybe I was wrong for not telling you, and I'm sorry. But I had reasons not to."

Silence filled the room as we hugged each other.

Everything she said wasn't a lie.

I probably wouldn't have been able to handle it. I was only thirteen years old when I moved in with my aunt. Coco, who babysat me while my parents were alive, followed me. She told me it was her job, babysitter or not.

She has lived with me up until now. Coco had been with me through thick and thin. My aunt soon gave the apartment to me and moved to another country with her mate. She wanted to explore the remaining of her life.

Eventually, Coco and I moved back into the pack house. It was getting too expensive with inflation. Coco protested, but I reasoned with her about her mate. They wanted to live together, and she only stayed for my sake.

Plus, I had stayed away from the pack house due to my fear.

A world without my parents. I thought that if I had stayed at the pack house, their deaths would have become too real. That they were gone.

But they are gone, aren't they?

Now I met my mate, but nothing is going as planned.

The world wasn't fair.

I finally cracked, my tears running down my face.

"I'm sorry... it's just a lot right now. I heard that your mate is your other half, and they would treat you amazingly. But Kronos seems like he's just being tolerant of me. He hasn't done anything like reject me or be mean to me. He's just closed off, and when I try to understand, he shuts me out. I'm not getting answers and don't know what to do. We don't do anything like an average werewolf couple would do. He's completely avoidant of me."

Coco squeezed me gently, patting my head like she had always done. "Shhh, I'm here for you."

Her words only made me cry harder.

After a few minutes of tears, I softly pushed Coco out of the hug and slapped my face to regain control of myself. "Thank you, Coco."

"Anytime, girly." She winked, giving me a thumbs up. She rubbed my red cheek, sighing.

"Regarding what you said, Kronos has his reasons. I know he adores you."

At this point, I rolled my eyes. "That's probably the fiftieth time I heard that word. Kronos's body language says differently."

She smiled fleetingly, "I know, but it's the truth. He will open up to you, I'm sure of it... Just be patient with him. Kronos endured a lot within the ten years you were gone."

I nodded, acknowledging her words, before staring blankly at her. "Will you promise to tell the truth from now on?"

Coco nodded, moving her fingers to cross over her heart. "I promise, pinky swear."

Satisfied with her answer, I leaned in for a hug again. She embraced me back, patting my head.

I am and always will be thankful for her existence.

Suddenly, a knock reasoned through my room. Coco and I quickly turned our heads to the sound. She sniffed the air and realized it was her mate.

"It's time for dinner, guys," Azrael said behind the door.

"We're coming!" Coco responded, tugging on my hand. "Let's go introduce you to the pack."

Dread filled my entire being. Coco noticed and softly smiled. "Hey, it's just dinner. We have your back if anything happens, okay?"

I nodded, strengthening my resolve.

It was just dinner... she said.

Only dinner.