by G. Bailey
“Rick, look, how can I believe you?” I ask, standing up and resisting the urge to pace as I keep eye contact with him. I won’t drop my gaze, not when I know he is an alpha, and my wolf wouldn’t let me anyway. I’ve never been a submissive wolf. My parents once submitted to me when I was mad about something silly. I just didn’t know I was an alpha female until then. Mum and dad said alpha wolves are rare and meant to be more powerful than usual wolves. They are meant to lead. The only place I would lead anyone is into trouble, so that can’t be true.
“That’s the thing, you already do trust me, but you don’t know why you trust me,” he says, grinning as he stands up and walks to the door. “Come over to our house and meet the others in the morning. They will want to meet you, and we need to sort out a way to make you seem human.”
“Are they as scary as Josh?” I ask quietly, not wanting to touch the subject about how I trust this hottie already. I’m sure it’s just a wolf thing and nothing to do with how damn sexy, protective and stunning he is. Rick laughs, and I resist the urge to shiver at how nice his laugh sounds.
“No one is as scary as Josh,” he winks at me, and walks out the room. I wait for the front door to shut before collapsing back on the sofa, not having a clue if I am right for trusting the handsome next door neighbour. Or if I just made a big mistake.
“At least the wolf neighbour bought pizza,” Sophie comments, sitting on the sofa with the box and practically inhaling it all as I pace near the old brown fireplace. I shake my head and go to the window, shutting it before closing the curtains, which are still a little too dusty for my liking. Once I find the vacuum in one of the boxes, I can sort that out. I look back at Sophie, wondering if it would be worth asking her if she knows anything.
“Did mum and dad ever say anything about other packs? About a castle and a queen of the supernaturals?” I ask Sophie, trying to make my tone gentle, like I am asking about an everyday thing as I open one of the boxes and take out the red blanket. Though I’m pretty sure I fail at it because my voice comes out high pitched. I suck at this.
“Nope,” Sophie says slowly, her tone quiet. I stop, glancing at her as she puts the pizza box down and hurries to get up. “I’m going to my room, I was just hungry.”
“Night then,” I reply, as she smiles at me before walking out of the room as quickly as she can. I watch her go, knowing she might be lying to me or just wanting to avoid talking about our parents. Who knows? After putting the blanket on the sofa, I pick the pizza box up and take it into the kitchen, turning the light on and sliding it on the side. I look around at the wooden counters, the island with stools in the middle, and I notice it must have been cleaned recently but just not well enough. I open the cupboards and am relieved to see someone has wiped them down, and there is some washing up liquid left in the cupboard by the sink. At least the estate agent brought a cleaner in like I paid them to do. I grab the box with the kitchen things in and put all the things away before pouring myself a glass of water and walking out of the room.
I pause next to the boxes, seeing the small one on top that is all we have left from our parents. It was left in the will, but I haven’t had a chance to open it because planning the funeral, leaving university and packing up the old house took up too much time. Or I just haven’t wanted to open it yet because part of me is scared what might be inside it. I lock the front door, before picking the box up and going up the stairs. I pass by Sophie’s room, but the door is firmly shut, and I doubt she wants to see me anyway. I know there are only two bedrooms, and I walk to the third door, opening it up and switching the light on. There is a plain wooden bed with a sheet-covered mattress on top, a dresser and a matching wardrobe. The window in this room is small, but it lets in moonlight through the thin white curtains. I shut my door behind me and kick off my flat shoes, before resting the glass of water on the dresser. I take the box to the bed with me and sit down, crossing my legs as I look down at the box. I know I need to open it to see what my parents left. Mum and dad always knew there was a chance they could die. We are shifters in a world that wants all supernaturals destroyed, so it’s logical they left important things in a will.
I shake my head and tell myself I need to open the damn box and get it out of the way. I pull the Sellotape back, opening it up to see two letters in envelopes and one tiny ancient looking jewellery box. I pick one letter up which has ‘Sophie’ written on it. I put it to the side and pick up the other one, which has my name written. I run my finger over my mum’s handwriting, trying to hold in any tears, knowing I have to be brave and open it. I open the letter rapidly, knowing it’s like ripping a Band-Aid off. It’s better to do it quickly. God, I need some chocolate ice cream or a muffin. Or anything at this point that is high in calories and I will regret the next day. A trip to the shop is the plan for tomorrow, before meeting the other neighbours. The letter is written on flower covered paper that I remember my mum always using to write anything on. When I was a kid, I used to love to borrow some to draw on. Pretending to be like mum was a fun game. I swear she had an unlimited collection of this flower paper because she never said no to sharing it with me. I take a deep breath for courage before I start to read the note.
My sweet Adelaide,
First off, I love you. Please remember that always as you read this. I love you so much, and so does your dad who is sat here watching me write this. You might not understand all this, but know that loving you was something that was true throughout all the lies. It’s the only thing I feel like I told you the truth about. I do not know how to explain everything in one letter, but I must try because, if you are reading this, death has found me. I was not born on Earth, and neither were you. There is a world called Frayan, and it is attached to Earth like many other worlds. Frayan is the land of the Fray or fairies, as humans know them. There are many names for the people and creatures I used to live with. Two days after you were born, my beloved alpha, a wolf fate, died saving his people and queen. I had grown up with him, he was like a father to me. I would have died to save him, if I were given the chance, but his death was so swift, no one could have prevented it.
He left behind a heavily pregnant mate.
I am bound to tell you no more, but I know you need answers. I knew one day you would ask the questions without me saying a word. That one day your true powers will reveal themselves, or worse, she will find you and tell you a twisted version of the truth before killing you.
I planned ahead in this event, and in the attic of the home we have left you is those answers.
In the box is something left to me by my alpha…your father.
Please wear it. It belongs only to you now.
I cannot tell you of your mother, oh I wish I could. I wish so many things that I feel like you will learn in the most painful ways. Life is not fair to you, and oh how I wish I could change it, my sweet Adelaide.
They both would have been so proud of the young woman you have grown into.
The answers lie in the attic, though it might take you a while to figure it out. The Fray make promises, and those promises are woven in powerful magic…remember this.
I promised never to tell you who you are…it was the only way I could keep you safe all these years. I am sorry I cannot say more.
Protect Sophie please, and never let her know this. She is your sister, just not in blood, but I hope that means little now.
This is your secret to bare, and your past to find.
Remember, I love you. Remember to never trust anyone, especially not anyone who is different like you. Trust must be earnt and promised. Fray make promises, child.
Never go to Frayan. Things worse than death wait for you there, my sweet Adelaide. So many have died so you can be here. Do not let that go to waste.
Live.
Love.
Be free.
And please don’t hate us for never telling you.
Love you always. Mum and Dad.
I drop the letter on the bed, my shaking hands j
ust hovering where I was holding it as I repeat several parts of the letter over and over in my head. Mum and dad were not my real parents. I wasn’t born on Earth. Someone wants me dead, and there are so many unanswered questions in this letter that I will never be able to ask anyone about. Until a tear drops onto my hand, I don’t notice how completely frozen still I was. They weren’t my biological parents. I repeat the same thing again and again. My biological father is dead, and god knows what happened with my mum. I suppose she is dead as well, or why wouldn’t she come back for me? It takes me a few seconds to realise I’m the reason they have run from packs, from everything all these years. They didn’t want anyone to know how different I am and risk me getting found. The way mum speaks about my biological father, it is clear she thought him as pack. Mum and dad left everything behind to save me. I can’t process how my father was dead before I was born, and I have no clue who my mother was.
I stare down at the letter, reading the last line again. Love you always. Mum and Dad. Despite this, they were my parents. Mum and dad were always there for me, always loved me, and that must have been real because they never made me feel like I wasn’t their child. I had a lovely life growing up, even moving around all the time. This letter changes nothing about that. I take a deep breath and lower my shaky hands to the box, holding the edges as I calm myself down. No matter my birth, my parents loved me. I know that I’m more upset they never told me all this, but if magic stopped them, how could I blame them for that? Mum said she did it to protect me…but protect me from who? Where the hell is Frayan? I shake my head, knowing that I won’t get those answers by sitting here.
I wipe my tears away before picking up the small box. I open the lid, revealing a bracelet. It is made of gold with three red gemstones in the middle. The stones glow for a second when I run my finger over them, and I wonder what kind of magic is in these. I glance at the letter for a second, before clipping the bracelet onto my wrist. The stones glow once more when it’s clipped, before going back to their ruby red colour. They match my hair, oddly enough. I look back into the box at the last letter. The letter for Sophie. I can’t even acknowledge that she isn’t my sister by blood, because it means nothing important. Blood is nothing compared to a bond made with love. I wipe my eyes one more time before getting off my bed, walking to the door and opening it. I walk down the corridor to Sophie’s room, and knock two times. I wait for a few moments before she opens the door slightly and frowns at me. Sophie has gotten ready for bed, even though it isn’t that late, and I wonder if she was napping before I woke her.
“This is for you, from mum and dad’s will,” I tell her, lifting the letter and showing her before she can say a word. She stares at the letter for a while, before shaking her head.
“I can’t read it…not yet. It doesn’t feel like they are really gone, and if I read that…it might be true, and I don’t know how to cope with it or anything that letter says,” she says, her words filled with a heartbreak I understand too well.
“I’ve just read mine, and you’re right. This is going to be hard to read,” I admit to her.
“Will you keep it for me?” she asks, and I can only nod before she shuts the door. I stare at the old wooden door for a few seconds, before looking up at the attic door right above me. Tomorrow, I find out whatever is in this house that mum and dad wanted me to find, and tonight I can cry before putting a brave face on and being the woman my parents raised me to be.
“Who is she?” Josh demands, the moment I walk in the door. He is stood in the middle of the corridor, his arms crossed, his black wings spread out as his slightly glowing blue eyes wait for my answer. I bet he has been pacing here since he left Adie’s, knowing Josh. I shake my head at him and head to the lounge, and straight to the bar. I need a drink. I don’t know what happened when I caught Adie in my arms on her driveway, but the need to protect her was overwhelming. There was this almost instant connection, and the only thing I can imagine is that she might be my mate. I can’t know for sure until my wolf sees her, but I’ve never had that kind of reaction to anyone before. I hear Josh following me as I go up to the bar and grab the bottle of Scotch off the counter that someone has left out. I grab two glasses before pouring the drink, hearing Josh tapping his foot behind me.
“Have a drink,” I tell Josh and take my own drink to the sofa, sitting on the edge and sipping on it, feeling the burn all down my throat which is damn soothing. What kind of fucked up world is it that my possible mate turns up next door to me when I’m on a mission? I would usually tell Josh, but the way he reacted to Adie, I don’t think telling him she might be sticking around in our lives forever is the best idea.
“Who is she?” he demands, watching me closely. Josh and I grew up together after the war, and there hasn’t been a day we haven’t been in each other’s lives. We literally shared a room as my stepmum took him after he lost his dad, and it was the same for Mich and Nath. We made our own pack, made our own rules and never kept secrets from each other until shit went wrong last year. This mission was meant to help us bond, but that never happened, and now I’m not even sure telling Josh this girl might be my mate is a safe idea. Shit, I don’t think telling Nath and Mich is smart either. None of us want to fuck up this mission, and she could do just that.
“Adelaide, a shifter. Her and her sister walked into the wrong village, that’s all. They aren’t anything to do with our mission,” I tell him what he wants to know, “though her parents left her that house, and I think you should look into her parents’ past and see who they were. Why they would leave a house here for their kids.” I might regret asking Josh to look them up, but he is the best with computers, and he can find anything about anyone quicker than anyone I know.
“Freddy—” Josh starts off, picking up his drink and leaning against the bar.
“You know I hate you—or anyone—calling me that,” I groan, before downing my drink. Only my stepmum and uncle call me that now, purely because I can’t make them stop.
“Shit, old habits,” Josh says, downing his own drink and looking at me seriously. “Adelaide is damn dangerous to have here right at this moment.”
“I am going to contact my aunt and get her to come take Adelaide and her sister to the castle,” I tell him, knowing that is the best thing to do. Even if she isn’t my mate, this place isn’t safe. If she is my mate, there is no fucking way in hell she is staying around here and risking her life. “I would ask Winter and the others to take them in, but with the baby on the way…I think it’s best we don’t worry them. If any of them think we have blown this mission, they will pull us back home and all our work is lost.”
“That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” Josh snaps, looking frustrated. “We have been here four months, and we are so damn close.”
“My aunt will help, quietly,” I say, and shrug my shoulders. “The problem will be solved in a week.” I think back to Adie, the moment I caught her in my arms and felt a buzz run over my skin as I looked into her green eyes. She is damn stunning. A woman any man could lose his mind over, and she had to move in next door when we are on a mission. If she was a girl I bumped into back home, it would be a different story.
“Until she goes, we should give her and her sister a protection crystal just in case,” Josh grumbles. “I will get Nath to make one for each of them tomorrow.”
“She doesn’t scent as just a wolf…did you notice anything?” I ask, wondering if Josh could pick something up that I missed.
“I can’t see auras, so no. She looked like a typical gorgeous red head to me,” he muses, and I refrain the primal urge to beat the shit out of my brother for calling her gorgeous.
“I don’t know what she smells of. Even her wolf scent is off. Which is weird considering the amount of half breeds I have met growing up,” I say, moving past his statement about Adie. It’s not like we haven’t shared women before, so I know he wouldn’t fight me for her. I don’t even know if she likes me back, so I don’t know why I am wo
rrying like crazy.
“All the more reason to get her the hell out of here, brother,” Josh retorts. “Call and make it happen.” I watch as Josh storms out of the room, wondering exactly what is making him more pissed off than usual. He never reveals his powers, and yet he was close to it at Adie’s house. Josh doesn’t let his wings out often, only defensively, and that is odd on its own. I pull my phone out my pocket and call my aunt, waiting as it rings and rings. The scotch didn’t help the feeling in the back of my mind, and I try to think about the last time I had blood to drink. It must have been last Monday. I need a real drink, and it might calm me down a tad.
“Hello, my boy! How are you doing, laddy?” My aunt’s thick Scottish accent comes down the phone, and I chuckle before answering her. Hearing her accent always makes me feel at home somehow.
“All good. I need a favour,” I say quickly, getting straight to the point, and she sighs.
“I could have been guessing that, Freddy,” she replies. “Go on, out with it.”
“First off, don’t be telling Uncle J or Winter…or dad about this. You know how they overreact,” I remark. Dad has a temper when his family is threatened, so does Uncle J, but his wolf has more of a bite, and Winter still treats me like a kid she needs to protect. I love them, but they don’t think rationally, and I know they think this mission was too much for us to do so young. Winter and her mates would have done this mission if she weren’t pregnant, and I know they are just looking for a reason to pull us out of this.
“They do not overreact, boy. The last time you asked me not to tell them something, we ended up with one burned-down cottage, a wad of humans who were missing their hair, and two random goats. I wish I had told them, now I think back to it,” she says, and I cringe, remembering Nath’s eighteenth birthday party. That was a good night, just not so much of a good morning when we realised how crazy the night had gone.