Six

RAELYNN

         I was fuming as I drove to my childhood home. Everything that had happened earlier kept replaying itself in my head like a nightmare stuck on repeat. Although I'd expected foul play of some kind, the party had been more terrible than I'd imagined. What's worse is that Rai had shown up.

He was the last person I'd expected to see, and yet, my heart had gone out of control the moment I'd seen him. All that pain and grief I'd chosen to bury had swelled to the surface.

Tightening my grip on the steering wheel, I took a deep breath and willed myself to be calm.

Even so, I couldn't shake off my emotions. I could still remember the way he'd looked at me. He didn't seem to have changed much. His hair was a little longer than usual, and there was a different sharpness in his stare.

On arriving at the house, I stormed into my room to pack up my things.

I heard the door creak open, but refused to pay attention to whoever had just walked in.

"Rae, what's wrong? Won't you stay a little longer?" I heard my father say, and I turned to look at him.

"I'm leaving. I can't stay here any longer," I said, and his eyes widened.

"Did something happen at the dating party? I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I just wanted--"

"Dad," I said through gritted teeth, and he grimaced.

"Something must have happened. Please calm down, Rae. Let's talk about it," he said, and I stared at him, disgusted.

There he was, pretending to be concerned about me. At this point, I couldn't help but wonder why my mother had married him in the first place.

"Why didn't you tell me it was not just a dating party? Why didn't you tell me you invited a herd of pigs to the party and made them think they would marry me?" I demanded, and he furrowed his brows at me.

"I wouldn't do something like that to you, Rae. I will admit that I was desperate. But it really was a dating party. You were supposed to date only one Alpha. I didn't…”

"What did I expect? Of course, you haven't changed," I snapped, turning away from him to resume my preparation to leave the house.

"I know you don't want to listen to me. But you should at least wait until tomorrow morning. There's a situation going on in town. The authorities have put a curfew in place," he said, and I groaned in annoyance, glancing at the wall clock, which read 09:48 PM.

"Fine. I just want to be alone right now," I said, and he nodded.

Quietly, he exited my room, and I sank onto my bed, burying my face in my hands.

Deciding to leave by the next day, I freshened up and lay down on the bed. My phone suddenly rang out.

A grin worked its way onto my face when I saw that it was Klaus who was calling.

Picking up the call, I leaned back on the bed, my smile widening when my children's faces appeared on the screen.

"Hi, Mommy!" they beamed, their eyes glowing with glee.

"Hi, girls!" I said, and they giggled.

"When are you coming back?" Savannah asked.

"Tomorrow," I said, and they cheered in delight.

"Don't forget the chocolate," Suzie pointed out with an innocent look on her face.

"Of course, I'll get you some."

"Mummy, you don't look happy. Did you meet Daddy?" Savannah said, and I blinked, unable to hide my surprise.

I'd never told them about Rai. In fact, they didn't know that I was once married.

"Why do you think I met your daddy?" I asked, and they both went silent.

At this point, I was more curious.

"Suzie. Savvy. Tell me what you know," I said, and they sighed.

"We kept asking Uncle Jay if he knew our daddy. He got mad and told us not to talk about Daddy because Daddy is a bad man," Suzie said.

"Uncle Jay said Daddy made you cry. We don't like Daddy. We just want you to be happy," Savannah frowned.

It was unexpected. Jay was Klaus's beta. I didn't think he would spill the tea to my twins. They seemed to be taking it well though.

"It's okay, Mummy. You can tell us if you met him. We will get revenge for you if he makes you cry again," Savannah continued, and Suzie nodded.

I smiled, warmth filling my heart. They were so perfect.

"Do you even know what he looks like?" I teased, and they both nodded.

"We can ask Uncle Jay," they chorused, and I grinned.

"Don't worry, okay? I'm happy. I have you two after all," I stated, and they giggled.

"We love you, Mommy."

"I love you too, my babies," I beamed.

"Can we have goodnight kisses?" Suzie said, pouting at me.

"Of course, sweetie."

Grinning from ear to ear, I kissed the screen of my phone, and my girls burst into giggles.

"Goodnight, Mommy!" they said, and the line went dead.

Turning over on my back, I stared at the ceiling. I was happy now. And I wanted it to stay that way for the rest of my life. Rai was in the past now. He meant nothing to me.

I closed my eyes and let myself drift into slumber. That night, I dreamt of a perfect family with a faceless man.

The next morning, I woke up irritated because even though the man in my dreams had been faceless, I could tell that it had been Rai. After my morning routine, I grabbed my belongings and headed out of the house. My father stepped out of the house, a worried look on his face.

"Will I see you again?" He asked, and I shrugged.

"Maybe," I said, and he heaved a sigh.

"I'm sorry for everything. I really am," he told me, and I cracked a smile. Right then, I sensed that I was being watched.

"I should get going now," I said, placing my things in the car. When I entered the car, I noticed the car parked a little distance from the house. I had a feeling that I was being stalked.

So I drove the car down the street while monitoring the car following behind me.

Deciding to confront my stalker, I stopped the car and stepped out of it. My stalker stopped driving as well.

Taking a deep breath, I came to a halt and waited for my stalker to appear. The door opened, and a pair of black heeled boots stepped into my line of vision. I looked up only to find that my stalker was no other person than Nadia.

In her poor attempt to appear less conspicuous, she'd donned a hooded leather coat and black pants as well as a pair of sunglasses. Even so, I'd recognized her right away.

"I didn't think you would stoop this low. Clearly, I was wrong," I said, and she scowled at me. Then she took off her glasses.

"I heard rumours that you were still alive," she said, and I chuckled.

"Oh really? Didn't you come running after me because you believe that I'm a threat?" I said, and her expression darkened.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You are a lowly wolf with nothing to your name, you're not worthy of being a threat to me," she hissed.

I snorted in amusement. There it was, the childish behaviour she'd always hidden behind her mask of innocence.

She wouldn't have confronted me if she didn't think I was a threat to her relationship with Rai. I was tempted to tease her about it. But I was in no way interested in Rai or his relationship with her.

"I should get going. It was nice catching up with you, Nadia," I smiled, turning away from her.

I'd barely walked a few feet away when she yelled at me.

"Stay away from Rai! Know your place, bitch!" She spat, and I rolled my eyes.

"Goodbye to you, bitch. I hope we never meet again," I drawled, and she growled at me.

I ignored her as I made my way to my car. As I hopped into my car, I decided that I would return to the city and leave my past behind. If only I knew how wrong I was.

...

"Doctor! Doctor! Please, help us!" Someone yelled. I was in my office reviewing a patient's chart when I heard the sudden chaos that had suddenly broken out in the building.

Rising to my feet, I hurried out of my office and hurried to the emergency unit.

Rose rushed to my side, a worried look on her face.

"Is the patient a human or a non-human?" I asked.

"A non-human. He's a werewolf. He was brought in by his girlfriend. He's been running a fever. He's bleeding from his eyes, ears and nose. He seems to be in a lot of pain," she said, and I winced.

"We still don't know if it's a contagious illness or not," Rose added.

"What pack is he from?" I asked.

"Black Claw Pack," she said, and I stiffened, a feeling of foreboding resting on me.