Gradually, Arda’s shock left her and she placed the phone back onto the table. It was barely touching the table when her phone buzzed with a call from her younger sister.
Arda took a few more seconds to calm herself down before receiving the call.
“Hey, Sis,” she said.
“You’re not my sister.”
“What?”
“You are not my sister and I think it’s about time you knew.”
“Mabel, what are you talking about?”
“Ask my dad and my mum.”
Arda did not fail to notice how she stressed the word my in her statement. Before she could say anything, her sister was off the line.
For a moment, she chose to believe that her sister was joking. Arda redialed her number and it kept ringing but there was no response. She decided to call her father who received the call in a single ring.
“My dear, you’re still up late?”
“Yeah, studying.” She responded. She didn’t want to talk about her problems.
“Okay. Take it easy.”
“I will. Where is Mabel?”
“She’s around somewhere in the house.”
“Look, Dad, I know that Mabel and I barely get along as siblings but she just said something nasty to me on the phone. Now, she won’t take my calls. I need you to tell her to stop. I can’t take her shenanigans anymore.”
“What did she say?”
“That I’m not her sister. She said I should ask you and mum. She’s just talking nonsense.”
There was silence at the end of the line but she knew that her father was still there. So why wasn’t he responding? He cleared his throat and she heard Mabel’s voice in the background. “Tell her the truth dad, tell her. Mum, please tell her.”
“Dad, I can hear Mabel’s voice in the background. What is going on?”
Fear was slowly creeping up her spine. Her heart was beating faster than normal. She felt as if it was going to burst if it did not stop. “Dad, please tell me it’s not true.”
She heard her father sigh heavily.
“Sweetheart, this is not how I envisioned telling you about this but you know your sister…”
“Dad, no. Please tell me it’s not true.”
“Dear, you need to come home and I’ll tell you everything, but no matter what? You’re still our baby.”
Arda felt like her head was about to explode. A dizzy feeling was threatening to overpower her and it felt like her body was struggling to hold her.
“Arda.” She heard her father call her and it sounded distant because of the turmoil overtaking her senses. “Arda, are you still there?”
Arda could not speak. Her eyes landed on her reflection in the mirror. Who the hell was she? She had to know. She couldn’t take all the secrecy anymore. “Sweetheart,” She heard her father say. “Are you there?”
“I’ll be home tomorrow.” She said and ended the call. Then she felt tears filling her eyes and rolling down her face. She had thought that the breakup with Luke had drained her tears. She had thought wrong.
Moving away from the dresser, she walked over to the bed, her hand covering her mouth so that she would not cry out and disturb her friends. They had already held her hand over one problem. She didn’t want them doing that again twice in one night. It felt like her life was a curse but not everyone had to know that. Not even her friends, not now at least.
She climbed onto the bed, slipped under the covers, and cried herself to sleep.
Hours later when she woke up, it was to a new day. She sat up on the bed and instantly, memories of the previous night flooded her vision and she acknowledged the reality that was her life.
She no longer had a blood-related family. Her relationship was broken before it could even begin and she had a stalker on the loose.
The only important thing now was getting home so that her adopted parents would enlighten her about her birth.
Arda left the bed and began preparing for the weekend. She packed a bag and ventured into the bathroom to freshen up. When she emerged from the living room, it was with her packed bag.
Arda was not prepared for the sight that greeted her eyes. She stood, trying to absorb the shock of finding her friends with their lips locked together at the entrance of the kitchen.
When they saw her, they quickly disengaged, guilt covering their faces. Arda could not stop feeling betrayed. Luke had been right after all. And just when she thought that the surprises were over, this had to come up.
She looked up to the ceiling. “God, please who did I offend?” she asked wearily. “Who are my ancestors? And who did they offend? Am I fated to bear some sort of consequence?”
“Arda,” Jacob said so that her eyes fell on him. “Please don’t be hysterical.”
“Hysterical?”
“Perhaps, it’s a wrong choice of words but all I’m saying is that you should please calm down. We were going to tell you eventually.”
Arda looked at Karina who nodded in support of his words.
As she stared at them, she found that she was unable to decide if she was more angry than disappointed.
“Luke was right after all. He was the one that told me.”
“Arda…” Karina began.
“Look, what I don’t understand is the reason for your secrecy. I mean, what are you both hiding? I just don’t get it.”
“There’s a reason for that.” Said Jacob.
“Oh please, spare me,” Arda said wearily as she headed towards the main door. “I’m going home.”
“Arda, we’ll talk about this when you get back,” Jacob said to her. “Please don’t hate us.”
“Go eat a rock, both of you.” Arda threw over her shoulder. Then she let herself out of the house and slammed the door shut behind her.
Outside, the sun was starting to tear through the sky. It looked like the day was going to be warm and sunny. The atmosphere looked pleasant but Arda did not feel pleasant. She was slowly losing her grip on reality.
She walked over to her car, threw her bag into the back seat, slid into the driver’s seat, started the car, and drove off.
On the city streets, she appreciated the smooth traffic. She could not wait to get home and find out who she was or where she came from.
It took Arda an hour’s drive across the city during which she crossed a major bridge that linked the smaller town where her family resided with the city where her school was located.
Her home was one of the several rustic ranch houses sitting by a quiet street. The houses were a bit far from each other and lay behind a backdrop of trees and natural vegetation. It was easy to get into the woods from each home.
She knew that her family was home as she spotted three cars by the house. She joined her car with theirs and when she stepped outside, she saw her family at the door. Her parents were middle-aged and looked good but stressed at the moment. She guessed it was because of the present situation.
The tension was obvious as they all stared at each other. Then her parents hurried over to her and hugged her. She couldn’t move.
She turned her gaze towards Mabel who remained standing on the front porch. Without a word, Mabel turned and stormed into the house.
Arda held onto her parents. She didn’t feel any different about them. They had raised her even though she wasn’t theirs and she had never suspected anything because of all the love they poured on her.
“I still love you both, no matter what.” She said.
“We love you too.” They both responded and Arda knew it was the truth.
Later, they all sat inside the living room to listen to her father. Arda was seated beside her mother who was holding her hand.
Mabel sat alone, looking bored as she toyed with her fingers. Arda’s father laced his hands together and began to speak.
“It was years ago but it feels like yesterday. My favorite sport is hunting. It’s kind of like a family thing and you all know that. So one night, I went hunting during a full moon.”
Arthur flashed back to the day he found Arda and remembered everything.
***
The last thing Arthur expected as he aimed his hunting gun at a deer was to hear the cry of a baby.
Under the glare of the full moon, amidst the sound of chirping crickets in the forest, the animal stood beside a tree, completely oblivious of his presence and the danger he posed to it.
Arthur was about thirty-five years old and of average height and blessed with a kind face. Between keeping his gun aimed at the deer, he wondered how a baby could come to be in the woods in the dead of the night.
Perhaps, the baby’s mother was with it, he thought or maybe they were lost. Whatever the case, he did not appreciate the distraction.
The deer he had in his sights was plump and he could already picture the savory meal it would make.
As he kept monitoring his impending kill, it became obvious that the animal could also hear the baby’s cry.
It craned its neck, looking like it was trying to decipher the direction of the sound. At the same time, it was turning its back on Arthur. Then it leaped forth into the bushes but not before being struck on its flank by a bullet from Arthur’s gun.
The deer let out a yelp of pain and Arthur watched it blindly gallop forward and crash headlong into a tree. It staggered backward, only to hit another tree before tumbling sideways, frantically kicking out its limbs for a bit and finally going numb on the grassy ground, blood seeping out of the smoky hole from the gun shut.
Arthur could still hear the baby’s cry and it was coming from the direction ahead of him where the deer currently lay. Holding onto his gun, he hurried forward, after the desperate sound of the baby’s cry.
Arthur marched past his game on the ground and moved cautiously among the trees in the bush as the sound of the baby’s cry got closer. It caused him to increase his pace and from moving hastily, he had broken into a run, his heart racing with uncertainty. He jumped over a log of wood and a fallen tree crossing his path before sighting a hill twice his height. He could tell that the baby’s cry was coming from the hill. Could the child be alone? He wondered. Who would leave a child by itself? Standing behind a tree, Arthur scanned the area with his eyes and he was grateful for the full moon which allowed him to see quite well. He could find no one and neither could he make out any movements from the surrounding area. Quickly, he breezed forward, covering the space between him and the hill. Then he circled over to the other side of the hill and gasped as he found a newborn baby girl on the lap of its dying mother. The woman looked to be about his age. She was seated on the ground, he
“She needs to graduate. The least you can do is allow her to finish school. Then she can face her destiny.” The Elder responded.“It was easier to wait when she was focused on her studies. But now, she is open to love. I cannot explain how much that annoys me. The more she socializes, the higher the risk of exposing her identity to the enemy packs.”“I know. Still, there’s a stronger reason why you need to wait.”Gillow gave him a knowing look. “Cain and his agenda.”“He will kill the moon child to fulfill it. He will do anything to fulfill it. They know about the prophecy. They will be alert once they hear you’ve taken a mate. She will be in danger.”“I want to challenge him.”The Elder adjusted his balance on the stick. “The enemy packs need to be kept in the dark about her existence, otherwise, the reason for keeping her hidden all these years would be futile.”“I said that I want to challenge him.” Gillow deliberately ignored the wise man’s words. He was impatient.“It is not time.
“I have to go now.” She said and watched his eyes drop briefly to the pig, before returning to hers. “You don’t want the game anymore, I see.” “Please, let me go.” Arda’s fear of him was mounting. He did not respond. Instead, a small grin split his lips. Then despite her ear defenders, she heard the howling of wolves in the distance. Arda turned and made a run in the direction she had come from and before she could leave the little clearing and hit the denser part of the forest, she felt strong arms pulling her roughly back against a firm, muscled chest. She opened her mouth to scream and felt a hand covering her mouth. She started struggling and felt herself being moved swiftly and before she knew it, she was being held sturdily against a tree. Her back was against the tree and he was standing before her, keeping her captive with nothing but his sinewy body. Her frightened eyes stared pleadingly into his and she felt them watering. Gillow could feel his heart melting with mercy
“What I need right now is the truth from you,” Gillow told her. “What other dangerous thing have you done apart from sleeping with the enemy? And by dangerous, I mean anything that exposes her identity.” Karina recalled the tattoo program that Arda had insisted on participating in. It seemed harmless at the time and now, she doubted that Gillow would see it that way. She was afraid of what he would do if she mentioned it, so she shook her head. “No.” “Are you certain?” Karina nodded. “Yes.” Gillow pushed the barricade aside and stepped into the prison cell while she backed off and pressed her back to the wall but he kept advancing towards her until he was standing directly before her. Her breathing became erratic, her chest, rising and falling rapidly. She knew he was searching her mind, listening to her soul and she focused her mind on the ocean. The ocean…the ocean…the beauty of the ocean. Karina gasped as in one swift move, he held her captive against the wall with his body.
Karina whimpered with pain. She was tied to a post in a different prison cell. Her arms and legs were secured to the post and she was in the middle of the room, her back, covered in welts formed by a whip. The penance guard who was standing behind her with a whip was looking at Gillow for further instruction. “Mercy…mercy…” she kept muttering weakly. “Let her go,” Gillow ordered the man. He was reclining against the bars of the penance cell. And now he walked over to Karina and circled over to face her. She had her eyes on the ground, her skin, sweaty, her breathing, unsteady. Gillow was still mad at her. He had trusted her to guide his mate and report to him any danger that might affect her. She was supposed to report everything to him right from what she ate to her school results. So far, she had done that but he wasn’t built to tolerate laxity. It wasn’t in him to be gentle. It was that kind of trait in a leader that weakened a pack and he was glad he possessed none of it. “Ka
Arda had not bothered to look at the road because she had spent most of the past thirty minutes crying. Her cries ceased for a moment, her eyes cast down with grief. Through it all, Karina held her close and kept giving her words of encouragement. Karina kept telling her that everything would be okay. She kept telling her not to be afraid. This helped to calm her down a little but it did not take her fears away. Many questions were in her head and she looked at Karina. “They are so big.” She whispered her eyes on the men dominating the front seat of the car. “I’m really scared. Is the Alpha like them?” The only person she had seen with their kind of stature was that overconfident hunter she had crossed paths with but had first seen on her date with Luke. The very stranger she had felt a powerful connection to, so strong it scared her. And he was even taller than these men. Karina pulled her closer to herself and hesitated, refusing to respond quickly to Arda’s question. How could s
Blinded by her tears, Arda did not bother checking out her surroundings until the guard carrying her, kicked a door open and set her on her feet. Then he backed away from her, let himself out, and shut the door behind him. She rushed back to the door and tried to open it but it did not budge and she knew that she had been locked inside. Arda wiped her tearful eyes dry with the back of her hand. Feeling like her face was not dry enough from her tears, she lifted the bottom of her pajama top and wiped it. For the first time, she let her eyes dwell on her surroundings. The Alpha’s room was not what she expected. Deeming him callous, she expected a bland room but it was far from bland. She had thought it would be featureless and empty or at best, large and disordered but it was not so. Yes, it was large but it was cozy, pleasantly curtained, immaculate, and fragrant. Since the building was a castle, she had expected medieval furnishings but the room was not entirely so. It was modern w
Her voice was soft and placating as she continued trying to calm him down. “It’s me, moon child, your mate. Please don’t hurt me.” She knew she would say anything to get out of the dangerous situation she was currently in. Arda could no longer feel the movement of his teeth on the side of her neck and saw that he had gone still. Slowly, he pulled himself off her, letting her go. Then he took a step back from her, the crimson color of his iris turning back to silver. Tears of relief filled her eyes and rolled down her face. Her heart was still thundering with fright as she kept staring at him. His features didn’t soften but at least he was not attempting to hurt her. "You said I will be safe here," she whined. "This is the safest place for you." "Yet you almost...killed me." "Something inside you calmed my desire." "And what if next time it doesn't?" "I don't have the answer to that question. That is why we have the Elder." "The Elder?" “He is our Diviner. Tomorrow, you will