Howling Hearts

"Bang"

The door echoed through the room vibrating on each wall .I was sitting on the bed rethinking everything that had happened moments ago. I was totally taken aback by his question.

Did he think of me as that type of person? I sat there wondering and recalling every moment for at least half an hour. The door slid open slowly and i was expecting Lucian to walk in and we could fix whatever had just happened. I was disappointed to see Layla walking through the room door. The moment her eyes fell on me she ran over and hugged me so tight I thought my breath was being squished out of every pore I had on my body. "You, better not try dying on me again"

"well if u continue to squish me like this, u might be beating me to it"

When she let go at my words I took a deep breath of air.

"Good you deserve it for making my heart sink in to my a*s thinking I lost you forever" She spat glaring at me.

"You know at one point you didn't even breathe and I really thought I lost you." She whimpered as a tear slowly trickled down her cheek and fell of her chin leaving a little droplet mark on the dark green sheets of the bed. "Luckily your hot alpha boyfriend beat the race against death. He shoved me across the room and CPR'd the sh*t out of you"

I placed my hand on my chest trying to feel a hint of pain from the compressions that he had laid on my chest to revive my heart. It made me feel even guiltier at how I had handled our situation earlier.

"Anyway, enough of the sad stuff. You're back better than ever. You even have a glow... Did you and Lucian?"

She raised her eyebrows before dropping them again and repeating the cycle in a suggestive manner.

"NO! I only woke up like an hour ago"

"Oh come on no need to be so prude"

"Im not being prude... We had an argument" I said as I dropped my head into my hands, recalling every detail.

"So an hour is enough to argue but not to" She stopped mid-sentence before giving a sigh.

"Well, maybe I'll be of help". She moved closer and crossed her leg over the other, placing the palms of her hand over her top knee.

"He asked me if I slept with Asher."

""Well, did you?"

"Godess no!"

I whipped my head up, looking her straight in the eyes.

""So then what's the issue?"

"Well, I asked him what he thought and then he stormed off."

"...so why didn't you just tell him?"

"Because if he really think of me as someone that just sleeps around then he truly doesn't know me"

"Well scarlet in his defense he didn't get that much time and yet he still treats you better than Asher did"

She was right and I knew that even before she stepped foot in the room. "Layla I'm just not ready to go ahead and do it. You know I'm still a virgin and, well then, there is the dream vision thing" "Dream vision thing?"

"Yeah, this lady came to me and warned me to stay strong when Asher rejects me and to accept it since he isn't my true mate. He was a mate that I had chosen apparently" Her eyes widened and I could see the question marks forming across her face. "So how do I know for real that Lucian is my true mate?" I finally said, admitting to my biggest fear. I was falling for Lucian and I wanted him to be mine desperately, but what if he isn't my true mate?

What if I just chose him just like I did Asher? She sat there thinking for a while. "I guess only time will tell. Did you see anything else?"

"Well, yeah. I saw something that seemed to be a memory. I don't think my parents are my... real parents".

Her eyes were stunned and frozen in place, taking the form of saucers. "What did you see?"

"Well, I saw a baby being abandoned by lunar pack gates, then alpha Caleb took the child to my parents."

"Well that doesn't mean it was you how do you know for certain and not Saige?"

"Because my mother said she would name the child Scarlet"

She chocked a bit at my words. The room was silent for what seemed to be forever.

"You will have to ask your parents", she said with hesitation prominent in her voice. I just nodded because I didn't know what to say.

I knew I would have to face them at some point, but I was hoping Layla would have another way for me. "Well, I think I'll leave you to it", She said, making me shift in my seat. "Right now?"

"Well there is no better time than the present. That's why it's called a present" She said chirpy. I knew she was right.

She then hugged me and left. I was standing there wondering how to approach this situation. I found myself standing in the mirror acting out different scenarios.

"Mom am I your child?",

"Of course honey",

"No mom am I your biological child?",

"Scarlet, why are you acting up like this".

It didn't matter which scenario I played out, it just seemed to turn out that I was hurting her feelings, which was the last thing I aimed to do.

I fell back onto the bed wishing there was another way. Then it dawned on me. I could rather approach this with my dad, which would inevitably come to my mom through the grapevine and she would still hurt.

My other option was one I didn't even assume as an option not after everything that had happened, but I could maybe approach alpha Caleb and my parents would never have to know. After contemplating on the best course of action, I contacted him through Damian. Soon after, I got a message from Lucian. Obviously, Damian would report it to Lucian, as the Stormclaw family had harmed me enough and Damian was Lucian's right hand.

I can't blame him. He was just being an honest and great beta. If I should blame anyone, it was me for putting him in this awkward position. I opened the message after building up all the courage I could gather.

"What could you possibly want with anyone from the Stormclaw family?"

His message read. I could feel the anger that was storming in him and knew if I said the wrong thing he would call off the meeting for me. I thought about it for a while.

"A favor is the least I can ask after what has happened." I sent the message.

Not even a full three seconds had passed before his follow-up message hit my screen.

"What favor?"

Why was he so nosy?

"That's between me and Alpha Caleb. Further, I cannot discuss it, but I am expecting an apology from him"

"Well, if that's the case, I have no option but to join you. A meeting with an alpha I would have to be present, since you are my mate."Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

"Then you might as well call off the meeting. It's one to be held in private".

The stream of messages and arguments came to an holt. After a minute or two, he finally sent a message.

"The best I can do for you is give you a guard but you are not sitting alone in a room with any Stormclaw".

I thought about the condition that he had. There was no doubt that he would find out what we were discussing, but at least he wouldn't be in control of the discussion. "Fine", I messaged him back.

"Your meeting with Alpha Caleb will be in 45 minutes." He sent a message, but I could tell he was irritated. At the moment, I have more important matters to worry about. 40 minutes later.

I had gotten dressed in a warm beige female casual suit. When I sat down in the meeting room located on the bottom floor of the pack house, I waited.

I stared at the clock as my guard that was assigned to me stood by the door. He had brown and curly hair that was a fair bit messy.

He had also dressed for the occasion with a black suit. I could see he was buff even though his face looked innocent and ageless. Just then, the doors opened, revealing alpha Caleb with his mate striding into the room. The sight of Jade had caught me off guard. She was a good friend of my mom. Which meant she would share all the information regarding the meeting.

"Scarlet" He greeted me with a nod. Jade, however, pulled me into a tight hug, whispering "Your looking great".

I knew she felt guilty in regards to her son's action that had left me on the brink of death. "Let's sit. I have an important matter to discuss with you." I said with my hand, showing them to their seats.

As we all sat down, I could feel both guilt and awkwardness fill the room.

"What might be the matter that has brought on this meeting?", Jade said in a calm and polite voice. "My Parents".