Chapter 1 Begin Again

Olivia I didn’t really think my life would bloom like a rose as soon as I left Fallonmore, but it did. As the brand new Taffy omega, I spent my senior year at Fallonmore with far more attention than I had ever received in my entire life, but before that I was just the Taffy's beautiful girls' little sister. Nothing interesting. Most of the friends I had just wanted to use me to get close to my sisters. Anyway, since I got out of there and into the human world, my life has changed for the better. No one knows me as anyone's little sister, I'm just Oli. Not to mention that the men who have been interested in me have been interested in me because I'm a fücking interesting person and not just because of the way I smell to them. "Hi, Oli," someone suddenly greets me, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turn toward the voice and wipe my hands on my apron when I see it's Felix. I reach over the bar to give him a hug, "How's your day going?""Amazing now that I see you," I answer with a flirtatious tone and look up at him. Felix would be a perfect alpha in my clan, if only he wasn't a human. He's handsome, tall, capable and protective of me. And most importantly, all his attention since he met me has only been on me. It's literally all I ask for in a man these days, "How about you?""You stole my line. My day was gray until I saw you," he replies and my stomach clenches with excitement. I love when he says that kind of stuff, "Do you have plans for tonight?""Uhm, no," I answer, hoping that no one arrives at the coffee shop right now. At least not until Felix finishes asking me out, "Why?""I wanted to invite you out to dinner in Puerto Domingo tonight," he continues and my eyes sparkle with enthusiasm. I can't help but nod immediately. It's the first time in four years I've had feelings for someone other than Daniel. I have to milk this for all it’s worth, "Great, can Diana stay and watch Laurie? Because if not, I can get a babysitter.""Diana will stay with Laurie, don't worry. Every Friday she has a virtual date at home with her boyfriend, she doesn't go out anywhere," I explain and Felix smiles again, his little brown eyes sparkling with happiness, “So I'll see you tonight." "I can't wait. I'll pick you up at eight," he says and leaves the coffee shop without ordering anything, straight to his office in the building across the street. I spend the rest of the day in a haze of excitement, serving everyone with such gusto that my tips double and everyone wants to have a conversation with me. I don’t mind for the first time. When I get home, my son jumps from the couch and runs to me. "Mommy, Mommy," he calls excitedly and raises his arms for me to carry him, which I do. He's getting heavier and heavier every day, a little more than a normal child but I don’t let myself worry about that yet, "Hello, Mommy." "Hi, Laurie Baby," I answer and brush his long black hair back. He's only three and a half years old and he already looks just like his father. Not me, the other father, "Were you a good boy today?" "I was!" "He was, as usual," says Diana from the couch, not taking her eyes off the TV. Diana is my roommate and best friend in Delton, "Laurie is the best roommate to ever exist, much better than you." "Yes, he really is," I kiss him on the head before I take in his sweet familiar scent and put him back on the floor, "I've always told you he's a little angel... and since he is, could you take care of him tonight? Pleaseee?” Diana laughs at my plea, but nods. "Of course I can watch him tonight. I'm not going anywhere," she agrees and Laurie plops down on the couch next to her again, to continue watching the movie on the TV, "Where are you going, Miss Popular?""Felix asked me out. To Puerto Domingo," I add, so she knows the importance of the situation. My friend drops her mouth open and does the unthinkable, she pauses the movie to bless me with her full attention, "I think today will be the day. The day to make our relationship something serious.""I think so too," she nods excitedly, "You’ve been dating for three months, I think it's time.""I hope so," I sigh as I think about it, "Felix is perfect for me, an ideal man who adores me and adores my son. I couldn't ask for more.” Or maybe I could ask for more... a special connection, natural compatibility, an alpha that was made just for me by Mother Nature herself. But I had him for a while and that only left me with a son and a broken heart, so I think it's time to stop pining for him. When Felix picks me up at eight and sees me, his eyes dilate and when he hugs me, I can feel his erection against my hip. He really likes me and that's the best part of it all, the way his desire makes me feel. Maybe I'm not dying to sleep with him, but I know I can do it. It's been over four years since I last had sëx and I think it's time to get back in the game. It was time to get back in the game the second Daniel betrayed me, but my stupid body has refused to cooperate every time I've tried. And I have tried many times. Puerto Domingo is the most expensive and fancy restaurant in town and when we get to our table, I realize that what I thought is true. Today is the day. The table is decorated with rose petals, a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries and a bottle of champagne. When I turn to Felix to thank him, he grabs one of my hands and takes a step to be completely glued to me. "Olivia Taffy. Since the first time I met you I haven't been able to stop thinking about you," he begins, stroking my hand. My heart is pounding. "You're the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful woman I've seen in my entire life and these three months of getting to know each other have been wonderful, but I'd like to take it one step further. I want you to be my girlfriend." "Oh, Felix," I whisper, trying not to shiver. There are a few people turning towards us with excitement and curiosity, "You're amazing." "Thank you," he replies and squeezes me a little tighter to him, "So... Do you accept?" "Of course I do," I answer, smiling and reaching out to hug him. Felix lets out a breath of relief and wraps his arms around my waist. A few people clap and one of the waiters congratulates us as he arrives to open our bottle of champagne and serve us. The rest of the date is just as extraordinary as the beginning and I can't take my eyes off Felix. He's absolutely perfect... except he's not. And I'm incredibly happy... except not really. I'm almost twenty-two now, but my heart has belonged to Daniel since I was sixteen. Even when I was the angriest at him, when I felt the most hate at the thought of what he did to me... I still loved him. I planned my whole life around him and now I'm starting from scratch with someone who can never be him.

Chapter 2 The Truth

I spend all night enraptured in what's going on and the way I feel... like a grown woman. A grown woman who maybe has her life figured out? I don’t know if I would go that far, but at least that's how I feel at the moment. Once the date is over, Felix drives me back home and tries to get back to his car, but I grab his hand before he does. “Stay.”“Really? Are you sure?” he asks with wide eyes. I nod. In these three months we’ve been dating I haven't let anything happen between us except kisses and touching over the clothes, but he's my boyfriend now, so I can't keep denying him my body. I don’t want to keep denying him my body. In fact, all I want right now is to fück him and completely forget about the last man who touched me. “Laurie has his own room," I let him know as we walk through the living room. Felix smiles, understanding what is about to happen and as soon as we enter my room and I close the door, he attacks me. Felix grabs me by the waist and pins me to the wall to kiss me deeper than he has ever kissed me before. And even though he's a good kisser, it's not what I'm used to. I don't let that stop me from enjoying it, though. It's nice. Nice. Good. Human. But I can't keep comparing a human to a werewolf. To an alpha. That's never going to be fair to Felix. I unbutton his shirt carefully and lower my kisses to his neck, then his chest. He's not very muscular, but he smells clean. That's good. “Oh, Oli," he moans. When I end up on my knees in front of him, he lowers his gaze to me in reverence, "I can't believe how damn beautiful you are. You're not real.” I thank him for his pretty words with a kiss on his abdomen and opening his button to pull down his pants, then his underwear. And it's... cute. “You don't have to do this if you don't want to," he clarifies, stroking my hair in a tender way. Which is cute. Cute, cute, cute. Everything with him is cute. And that's what I want, I tell myself. A cute, nice man who will never betray me. “I do," I admit and I take him in my mouth. I don't want to admit this... but I don't have much trouble taking him all the way in until his tip is in my throat and his base is on my lips. Not like with Daniel. I work him until he's close to örgasm and then I pull away. Felix leans his forehead against the wall trying to compose himself as I stand up. “Wait for me on the bed," I order, trying to sound sexy, though I probably didn't succeed. I walk to the bathroom and close the door, releasing the air when I'm alone, “I can do this.” All the times I’ve tried before I’ve needed to stop before the guys can touch me, but I won’t do that tonight. I turn on the faucet to wet my face and then meet my eyes in the mirror. Try as I might, I can't help but compare the way I feel right now to any of the times I was with Daniel, even though I know it's not fair. It's absolutely unfair to compare the strength of wanting someone you're compatible with on an animalistic, magical level to being with a mere human. It's never going to be the same. But still, I'm not completely disgusted or something. I want to do this. I take off all my clothes before I leave the bathroom and when I approach Felix on the bed, both of us being completely naked, I'm flooded with an immense urge to run and hide because this is not the man I really want and my wolf resents me for this decision. Instead of doing that, I force myself to smile and lie on top of him, letting him kiss me and touch me as much as he wants because the man I really want doesn't deserve my fidelity. He doesn't deserve anything. Only to suffer and live without me. Daniel used me to get to my sister. He befriended me for the simple purpose of sneaking into my family and get to her, he let me fall in love with him knowing that I was never his target and once I opened my heart to him, he casted me aside to marry my sister. I will never forgive him. ➿➿➿➿ Sunday morning comes and Felix takes me and Laurie to a beautiful park for a picnic like a happy little family. He doesn't leave my side at any time, except when he gets up to play with Laurie, chasing him around the park. Being a teen mom on my own in a new place was extremely difficult. So much so that I have no idea how I managed to do it, if I'm being honest. All I wanted was my family by my side to help me, but my pride and hatred wouldn't let me bend. I had to go through the pregnancy praying nothing bad would happen because I had no one to help me. And when I was ready to give birth, I had to spend all my savings to bring in a midwife from the clan to perform a clandestine C-section in my own apartment because I refused to give birth normally, risking mine and my child’s life. No one in my clan knows I have a son, no one in my family. And every day that goes by, I know it will be worse when they finally find out, but I can't tell them because I know they will start asking a million questions about who the father is. My family knows all the alphas in the clan, I can't make up a name or blame it on someone else. And I can't say it was a human because that would be way worse. “Oli, your phone is ringing," Felix suddenly alerts me, snapping me out of my thoughts. The call comes from an unknown number. “Hello?”“Olivia," says a powerful female voice and my whole body goes still. “What a pleasure to be able to talk to you.”“Lucinda," I whisper and my older sister makes an annoyed sound in her throat. Lucinda is the eldest of my sisters, the only alpha female in the family, “How are you?”“I know you don't care, so I won't answer or waste more of your valuable time," she spits, angrily. Felix meets my worried eyes and puts a hand on my leg when he senses something is wrong, “You have to come back to Fallonmore. It's very urgent... it's awful for you to find out this way, but Father is dying. We need you here.” I get completely silent and still for almost a minute, my heart on pause and my eyes burning. I can't believe this. “What happened to him?”“An attack on the borders. Someone from another clan targeted him," She explains and I know I've missed a lot because according to the last I knew, we were completely at peace with the other clans, "Do you have enough money to come here?”“Yes, I do,” I answer and my hands start sweating when I realize that my secret will come out. “Lucinda... I know you won't believe me, but I'm not a complete ässhole. There is a reason why I haven't been able to come back.”“What is it?” She demands, although I can feel her anger subside a little. I squeeze my eyes shut and apologize to Felix to stand up and move away from him a bit, “Sister, you can tell me. I’ll fix it.” I wish she could. “I...” I take a breath and let it out, “I have a son. His name is Laurie, he's three and a half years old.” Lucinda gasps and struggles for words for a couple of seconds, until she can speak again, and then she asks the question everyone will ask: “Who is the father?”“If I tell you... can you promise to help me hide it?” I ask, my voice low and unsure, "Please, Lucinda, you can stop people from asking me.” “Tell me who it is," she demands, "And I'll decide if it's worth keeping the secret or not.” “Oh, it's worth it believe me,” I roll my eyes, shaking my head. “The father is Daniel. Daniel Griffin.” “Daniel? Clara's husband?!” She exclaims out loud, “Fück. Fück, Olivia. Fück. This is bad. Really bad.” Tell me about it. “I know," I whisper, as she continues to lose her mind, "Do you think it's worth it?” “Yes. I'll see to it that people stay out of your business," she promises, "But please come home as soon as possible. We miss you. We need you here.” “I'll be there soon.”

Chapter 3 Back in Town

After giving my temporal resignation to my boss and promising Diana that I will continue to support her with rent, I head to Fallonmore with my son... and my boyfriend. Felix still doesn’t know the truth about who I am. The real me. And has no idea that I'm taking him into private territory. To a werewolf clan. I know I have to tell him at some point, but not yet. I can't risk him getting scared and deciding to leave me to face my family and my poor decisions on my own. I couldn't. Besides, once he sees that werewolves are more civilized than average humans, maybe he'll decide we're not as scary as Hollywood make us out to be. “I have another question," Felix says, squeezing the hand he has on my leg while I drive, "Will Laurie's dad be there?” Uff. Yes, he will. “Uhm, I don't know," I mumble, scratching my head, "God, I'm so damn hungry... Are you hungry, baby?”“A little," he replies, not noticing my pathetic attempt to change the subject, “How much longer till we get there?”“About forty minutes. There's a burger place as soon as we get into town, we should go there. You'll love it.”“Sure. Whatever you want.” We spend the rest of the way listening to music and talking. And as soon as we get to Fallonmore, the scent of home and family makes me feel warm inside. This is where I’m supposed to be. I look at the back seat and see Laurie, looking around and sniffing everything with his little button nose. I roll down the windows a bit so my son can smell the rest of his family and his real home for the first time. There are guards around the entrance to the clan, but they don’t say anything while I drive past them, they just take notice of the car and the clan stickers I still have from back in the day. “Holy shït, I was imagining something abandoned and old, but it's all very nice. Very, very nice," Felix comments a few minutes later when we finally reach the main street where my clan's town begins, “I mean, since it's so hidden.”“Yeah, these people like solitude. They never wanted to expand to join the city.”“I kinda get it, now. Rich people love their privacy… oh, is that the place you were talking about?” he asks and points to Mrs. Weyster's restaurant. In nod and pull in. To my incredible luck, there's no one here yet. It's barely eight in the morning on a Monday, most people are at work. I get off with shaky legs that don't stop shaking as I put Laurie down or as I walk into the restaurant. The second my butt touches the seat, Mrs. Weyster appears from the kitchen with a big smile. “Olivia, is that you?” She asks and I have to get up to greet her with a hug. “Where the hell have you been, Little Taffy?”“I got a job in the city and had to move there,” I lie, even though she can smell it on me. I hope she's polite enough to not call me out on it, “This is my boyfriend, Felix. And my... my son.”“Oh? You had a son?!” she asks excitedly and I know soon the whole town will know. Mrs. Weystar will tell her daughters, they will tell their friends and they will tell their families. And in less time than I would like, everyone will know. However, the fact that I've introduced Felix as my boyfriend stops Mrs. Weyster from asking who the father is, “I cannot believe your momma didn’t tell me about this beautiful little pup. What’s your name?”“Laurie.” my son answers. “Laurie," she repeats with a sweet smile, "What do you like to eat, Laurie? Your mommy liked nuggets, back when she would come here with your grandparents at your age.” My son shakes his head in confusion at the mention of grandparents. “I-I like nuggets, too.”“And a couple of burgers for us, please" I add. Mrs. Weyster nods and heads back to the kitchen, “Uff.”“Do I have grandparents?” My son asks as soon as we’re alone. Felix just looks at me, waiting for my answer too. “Yes," I answer, "You’re going to meet them today. You also have four aunts and maybe some cousins.” Or even half-siblings. But I definitely don't want to think about Daniel having children with Clara. No. I also don't mention that he also has grandparents on Daniel's side. Two uncles and who knows how many other people at this point. Much faster than I expected, we finish eating and we have to go to my house. I'm not ready at all, but I have to get moving. I drive slowly through my clan absorbing all that has changed but especially what has stayed the same. Nostalgia like I've never felt before makes my eyes wet, but I don't let tears fall. “Everything is so damn fancy.” Felix mutters, looking at the houses and pretty landscaping, “And the houses are mansions. Damn, Oli. You didn’t mention you were rich.”“My dad is the mayor, actually, so my family has a lot of money… but I don’t,” I mention. And adjusting to living paycheck to paycheck was also incredibly hard for my spoiled äss. Felix looks at me for a second like he’s realizing something is not right between me and my family and I know the conversation between us needs to happen very fast. “That house smells like us," Laurie says from behind me as I park in front of my house and although Felix looks quizzical at the comment, I get excited. I forget my nerves for a second, open my door and get out to pull my baby out of his booster seat. “That is our house, Laurie. Look at you. You’re a big boy with your big boy nose," I squeak, caressing his precious little nose and making him laugh, but the cute moment doesn't last that long because I hear the door open and then a lot of footsteps towards us. It's been almost four years but I still recognize those voices. "Look who finally decided to come back." Stupid bïtch Clara. "Who even invited you?" Carolina. "It was about time you showed your stupid face around here." Lucinda. "Oli Rolli!" And that’s Rosie, the youngest and sweetest sister, running to catch up with me, but as soon as I turn to them with a child in my arms, the four girls stop and shut up. The first to react is Lucinda, who was already aware of the news. She takes a few steps until she reaches us with her full attention on Laurie and reaches out her hands to hold him. “These are your aunts, Laurie," I inform my son to calm him down when I smell his uneasiness, "This is Lucinda.”“They smell like us," he mentions and Lucinda lets out a smile, taking him from my arms to hold him and burying her nose in his neck, scenting him. “What's going on?” Rosie asks, still unmoving. "Is he yours? W-what? How?” “Olivia, explain this," Carolina pleads. And then Clara comes closer with her stupid face full of tears, looking excited. I want to fücking punch her. “Oli, can you tell us what's going on?”“This is Laurie, my son. And this is Felix, my boyfriend," I introduce when I feel him beside me. Suddenly all eyes are on him and they only have to sniff a little to realize that... “Please be careful with what you say.”“He's not... the father, is he? It can't be.”“No, I’m not the father," Felix laughs, sounding nice and cute and taking a step towards them. They give him a couple of emotionless waves and look at me with eyes full of intensity and questions. “Can we touch our nephew?” Rosie asks sounding annoyed but respectful. Lucinda is the only alpha among us and she can do whatever she wants, like take possession of my son, “Please?”“Okay, but," she says, her voice charged with power. So much so that it subdues the four omegas present and forces us to listen to her, “Olivia doesn't need her ears being eaten with questions. Laurie is her son and that is all we need to know. No questions about the father will be accepted.” My sisters are immediately filled with morbid curiosity, but they accept Lucinda's words and then take turns holding and scenting Laurie. My stomach contracts with hatred and guilt when Clara carries him. I have no reason to hate her and that's what fills me with guilt. She is my sister. Five years older than me, but we were always close... until that night. When Clara smells Laurie, she stops for a second and my heart does the same. I know she can smell her husband, too, but if she doesn't think there's reason for my son to smell like her husband, I don't think she'll make the connection. Precisely, a second later she pushes that aside and smiles toward her nephew... and stepson, I guess. Ew. “Come on in, guys," Lucinda invites us as Felix pulls our bags out of the trunk and we climb the stairs to enter my house.

Chapter 4 Reasons

Everything is still the same in the house. The walls were recently re-painted the same cerulean blue that my mother loves. There are a couple of new frames on the photo wall, but I don't stop to look at them. The couches are new, too. Lucinda walks us to my old room where absolutely everything is still the same, so much so that I gasp when I walk in and my brain plays an awful trick on me because it makes me smell Daniel’s scent. It's been years, his scent can't still be here. But everything else is. His football, the tennis shoes he left here the last time he slept over… and all of the pictures of us that I pathetically decorated my room with because I was so fücking in love. Oh, god. I don't know if what I feel most right now is pain, embarrassment or just plain hate towards Daniel for making everything in my life revolve around him, but all of those emotions are fighting inside of me to win. “Mom didn't want to change anything. She's been waiting for you to come back any minute, ever since you left," Lucinda explains. I can clearly smell her annoyance and frustration with me, just as she can smell my nostalgia. My sister points to my desk with Daniel's things and to our pictures. “Now that I know the missing piece of the puzzle, this whole... altar makes more sense.”“Ha, ha, ha.” I fake laugh, without an ounce of amusement. Felix walks around observing everything without paying much attention to us because he's carefully studying this part of me that I never talked about. “It’s such a teen girl room," he teases and bends down to inspect the photos, "Who is this guy?” The Devil. “Daniel. He was my best friend... and now he's Clara's husband. Clara, my sister," I explain with an extremely fake smile that I've been practicing since I knew I was coming back here. “I was eighteen when I left.” Pregnant and confused. Sad. Heartbroken. Cheated on, betrayed. Hating my sister and my lover, my so-called best friend. My so-called fated mate. “Felix, how about you make yourself comfortable while I talk to Oli about our father.”“Yes, please. Talk about whatever you need to talk about," he says, settling in my bed, "I need to send some emails.”“Okay, baby. I'll be right back," I say and give him a deep kiss before I leave this blast from the past that won't let me breathe. I walk next to my sister until we get to my father's office and only when I'm locked with her, I manage to release all the air I had stuck, “Fück, Lucinda. This is so hard.”“I know," she mutters, putting a hand on my back as I try to pull myself together, but I just get worse and worse as it all comes crashing down on me. I'm not here just to suffer for Daniel and my mess of a life, I'm here because someone attacked my father. “How's dad?”“In a coma. Mom is in the hospital with him. The doctors are doing their best, but they told us there was very little chance of him coming back to us," Lucinda informs me, still stroking my back as I cry silently, "Do you want to go see him?”“Please.” Rosie stays to take care of Laurie and I beg Felix to wait for me in my room and not go out until I return. The hospital is small and full of familiar faces, but Lucinda and I don't stop to make conversation with anyone. We walk straight to my dad's room and when the nurse opens the door, my mom rises from the couch with an expression of complete surprise, covering her mouth with one hand. I guess Lucinda hadn't told her I was on my way. “My baby," she whispers in disbelief as she slowly approaches me. My tears come out again, "Mother Nature heard my prayers.” My poor mother shouldn't be praying to see me when I only live four hours away from her. I'm such a bad person. “I'm sorry, mommy,” I cry on her shoulder, hugging her like she's my lifeline, “I'm so sorry, I didn't know what to do. I made a mess and I didn't know how to fix it, so I ran away. I'm sorry.” My mom doesn't say anything, she just holds me and tries to calm me down. I can smell her relief at having me here and it makes me feel worse. “That doesn't matter at this second, Oli. What matters is that you're here when we need you the most," she says in a low, broken voice, pulling away to take my face in her hands, "Your daddy needs you. He'll know you're here, even if he doesn't come back to us.” I nod and turn away from her to walk to the gurney where my father lies. I stifle a sob in my throat and drop onto the couch next to him to grab his hand and squeeze it. His neck is bandaged so I venture to imagine he was attacked by a wolf in battle, right in the throat. A lethal injury. Usually one bleeds out and dies within minutes, so the fact that he's here, fighting for his life, gives me a little hope. “Keep fighting, Dad," I whisper, squeezing his hand, "You're going to be fine and you're going to come back, I really believe it. You have to come back so you can give me the scolding I deserve for being a shïtty fücking daughter.”“Hey," my mother complains from the doorway where she's leaning, frowning despite her tears, "I think he'll be fine too. He's a strong alpha, like an oak. He just needs his body to rest for a couple of days and he'll be back.” Lucinda nods, but looks down and says nothing because she doesn't share our positivity genes. Not just because she's an alpha but because she's the oldest daughter and therefore the number one killjoy, the one in charge of ruining all our fun. So I won’t let her negativity consume me, I seriously think our father is not going to die. “When did this happen?”“Yesterday morning," my mom answers and I turn to Lucinda. “You called me as soon as it happened? How did you get my new number so easily?”“It wasn't easy at all. Robbie found your social media a year ago and from them he found your number," she explains. Robbie is her husband, the best IT guy in the clan, “But since I know you didn't want to be contacted, I didn't do it until this shït happened. If you weren't here and the old man died, I was never going to be able to forgive you.”“Lucinda, please," my mother pleads, "There's plenty of time for complaining, but not now. I couldn't bear to see my children fight while I lose my mate.”“You're right, mother. I'm so sorry... but there's something incredibly important Olivia has to tell you," she starts and then burns me with her damn psycho alpha eyes, "Tell her the whole truth. She has to know.” I stammer and shake my head, but my mother narrows her eyes at me and Lucinda crosses her arms. “Come on, Olivia.”“Uh... well, uhm,” I take a breath and look around, searching for the words, “Do you remember how Daniel and I were close for a long time?”“Aha...” my mother answers, confused, “He was your best friend.” I thought so too. “Yeah, well. Uhm,” I swallow and dry my wet hands on my pants, “When I turned eighteen and presented as an omega.... Daniel and I realized we were compatible.” Lucinda closes her eyes with stress. My mom breaks away from the wall, her eyes wide as saucers. She's in shock and I haven't even started the story yet. “For months we had an intimate relationship," I mumble through my teeth, not wanting to talk about this with my mom, but if I'm going to explain myself I have to do it right. My mom is about to explode, “We were together every day, in every sense of the word and suddenly... one day we woke up together in my bed, went about our business like any other day, except that Friday was my dad's birthday. We had a big party at the chapel, remember?” My mom and Lucinda know exactly where I'm going, they're both in shock now. This is a piece of the "puzzle" that Lucinda didn't know yet. “As you may well remember, that day Daniel got down on one knee and asked Clara to marry him,” I continue, feeling the damn knife stuck in my back like every time I remember the situation. Both women are still dumbfounded by my story, “At that moment while everyone was celebrating, I slipped into the house, grabbed a backpack with my stuff and left.”

Chapter 5 Sweet Omega

“Oli...”“That's not all, Mom. Two weeks later, I found out I was pregnant,” her breath stops completely now. She raises a hand to cover her mouth dramatically and looks like she's going to fall to the floor, so Lucinda reaches over to hold her up, “I had my son in my apartment, alone and devastated. I wanted so much to be with you but I didn't want to see Clara or Daniel's face, so I stayed away. Laurie is three years and six months old, he's at home right now, with Rosie.” My mom doesn't move for almost a full minute as she rattles off the information I just provided, but when she finally does, she pulls away from Lucinda's arms and once again hugs me. “You shouldn't have gone through that alone," she says when she releases me, "You should have at least called me. You were just a child, giving birth among the humans. That’s so dangerous, Olivia.”“I called a local midwife. Alison. She took care of me," I say, as if it changes anything. My mom shakes her head again. “Does Daniel know? That he has a son?”“No," I shake my head, "I haven't spoken to him since that morning.”“Daniel deserves to know," Lucinda offers, earning a scowl from me. Daniel doesn't deserve shït from me, “Of course he's a douchebag who played you and Clara, but Laurie is his son, Olivia. He has to know that. Clara too.”“Give me some time,” I beg, “I'll tell them... they'll figure it out eventually anyway, but I'm not ready yet.”“What was your plan, Oli? Never to come back? Never to tell us about Laurie?”“No... to be honest, I didn't even have a plan. I didn't know what to do so I just let time go by," I admit and my mother shakes her head, "I know it just made everything harder, but I couldn't risk seeing or talking to Daniel. It hurt too much.”“And now?” My mom asks, "Are you ready to see him now? Daniel is part of the family”. Ouch. “I'm not saying this to hurt you," she continues, "We see Daniel every day, basically. You could run into him at any moment.” “There's a chance that he can tell Laurie is his son instantly," Lucinda adds, "So I recommend you talk to him before he runs into Laurie and that happens. The confrontation will be worse in that case.” Ugh. I don't want to talk about this. I am totally and absolutely not ready to have a conversation with Daniel yet. I hate confrontation. That's why my life is the way it is. “Okay, I'll do it soon,” I mumble, but it's a lie and they know it. “I'm sorry! It's just too hard.” “I can do it for you," Lucinda offers, always ready to stick her hands in the fire for whoever, "I can handle that awkward conversation for you. I can even talk to Clara.” “That would be better," I nod, feeling a weight lifting from my shoulders, "Yes, Lucinda, please take care of that. And tell Daniel that maybe we can make some deal for him to meet his son at some point, but don't let him come near me yet.” My mom lets out a regret-filled sigh and walks to my dad's side again. “Frank, wake up and help me with this one, please," she begs, raising a hand to stroke his unconscious face. “This is a mess only you would know how to fix.” My father would just force us all to do the right thing. I definitely don't want that. “Lucinda, I’ll just ask you not to run to Daniel and Clara's house to tell them this ASAP, let things happen as they need to happen,” I beg, earning another reproachful look, “Look, I'm here with Felix. My boyfriend. He's human and I don't want any awkward conversations around him.”“What?! You have a human boyfriend?” My mother exclaims, exalted and approaching me with wild eyes. I've literally never seen her this angry before, “Why?!”“Because he's a good man who treats me like I'm a diamond, Mom. He's a man who would never do to me what Daniel did.”“But... you'll never feel for a human what you felt for Daniel. He’s your fated mate. Having a natural compatibility with someone is the realest thing you could ever find. No one would ever compare," she explains, as if I didn't already know, "You'll never get over Daniel as it is, but specially not with this human. You need another alpha.”“I know.” I answer. I don’t care, though. A little while later, we return home and my mom meets her grandson for the first time. There are tears, some complaints and introductions when Lucinda's husband arrives with their little twin boys. Alex and Rio. My nephews. And then Carolina’s husband, my old friend Harry, arrives with their newborn daughter. Hannah. For some reason in the universe, Daniel doesn't arrive. And I still have the beautiful ignorance of not knowing how many children he has with my sister. Felix comes out of my room as we start making a big meal for everyone and he meets my mom, who is somewhat nice to him, but not nearly as nice as she would’ve been if he wasn't human. We all eat together and I can't help but notice Laurie running around the backyard with his two cousins, playing and pushing each other in the dirt like pups do. “Those kids run so fast," Felix murmurs in my ear and laughs. I nod and fake a laugh, but I'm stressed because that's another difficult conversation I need to have as soon as possible. I have to be honest with Felix and tell him what I am. { Daniel } I plop down on the couch at home when I arrive, my legs weeping from exhaustion. I'm hungry, thirsty and tired after working all day, tracking the wolves that attacked my father-in-law. We were close to finding them or at least about them, but we had to stop to rest. We haven't stopped since yesterday morning when the attack happened and I can't let my men go any more hours without rest. The house is empty and it doesn't seem strange to me at all because Clara is obviously at home with her family, grieving for what happened to her father. And even though I need to sleep, eat something and take a shower, I decide to get up one more time and get in my truck to drive to the Taffy's house. I can do everything I need to do there. I need my family right now. I need to talk to Lucinda and Harry about what we found today and eat whatever my mother-in-law cooked tonight. It's one o'clock in the morning when I get to the house and there are some lights on. I walk straight to the kitchen. Lucinda, Robert and Harry are sitting at the dinner table when I arrive and they all look up. “Hello.”“You look awful," Lucinda says, worried, "Come, sit down before you drop dead.”“Thank you," I answer and do just that. “I'll serve you a plate of food," Robbie announces, unable to ignore the way my alpha äss is obviously screaming for help, "Would you like something to drink?”“Please, Robbie,” I beg and the omega moves across the kitchen to serve me, "How's Frank?” “The same, he's not awake yet,” Harry announces and shares a look with Lucinda, “All the girls donated blood and it seems to be going well, but they’re still telling us not to get our hopes up too high.” “Shït,” I complain, but I remind myself that at least he's not dead, “We're going to find out who did this. We're close. We have several leads.” “Thank you, Daniel, but you need to get some rest. Your eyes are going to disappear into your dark circles.” “Don't be rude, Lucy," Robbie complains as he sets a plate full of food in front of me. I groan and start eating as if I haven't eaten in more than twenty hours... because it's true. “Besides, there's something you should know," Lucinda continues and I turn to her, still eating because I literally can't stop, "Today....”“Lucy," her husband stops her with a hand on her arm. Lucinda turns to see him and they share a couple of glances for a few seconds, “This is not a good time. At least let the man get some sleep, okay?”“Okay," she agrees, but doesn't look very convinced, "We'll have this conversation tomorrow, when you wake up.” I have no idea what she wants to tell me, but I honestly don't care. There's so much going on right now that my head doesn't have room for anything else. Once I finish eating, I say goodbye and head to Clara's room thinking about how pleasant it will be when I can finally lie down to rest my exhausted body and sleep for hours on end. When I finish climbing the stairs and I'm on the second floor, some different scents come to me. I close my eyes and inhale, trying to decipher where those strange, yet somewhat... familiar scents are coming from. I start to follow the scent that is most prominent and calls to me the most, but I stop. This is not the time to be wandering around the house when I should be sleeping too, so I head to Clara's room, leaving that mysterious scent behind. I take a two-minute shower before throwing myself on the bed next to her and falling unconscious. In the morning, I stay asleep as much as I can, until I have to accept that the tiredness has been dealt with. I sit up in bed and stretch. It was a good night's sleep. Just what I needed. I get up and when I grab my phone from my pants I realize it's eleven in the morning. No wonder I feel so rested. I leave the room and once again, the scent from yesterday floods my head and makes me feel a little dizzy. I have to close my eyes to fill my lungs before continuing on my way. This time the scent takes me downstairs where everyone is and as soon as I get to them, I realize and understand. That scent. I remember it very well. Sweet omega. My omega. My Olivia.