Chapter 22
Mother, please don't say that. Just give me more time and I can accomplish my mission. It's difficult to gain the Alpha's trust. You know that," Janine said, her voice filled with terror.
Cerelyn sighed, her face still burning with anger and disappointment. "You know I can't defend you when the group dismisses you."
"Mother, I'm not asking you to defend me. I'm just asking you to help me ask for an extension of my grace period."
"What about your father? I don't know where he is, which of our leaders is hiding him, or if he is still alive."
Janine was shocked and confused upon hearing this. "Mother, what do you mean? I thought my father was safe, as you said when we last met?"
Caught on her own tongue, Cerelyn blushed and quickly blurted out an explanation, "I mean, yes, he's safe-"
"Mother, is it true?" Janine asked, her anger rising. Cerelyn had forgotten that Harbon was the only reason Janine was in contact with them.
Cerelyn, realizing she had lost her alibi, used her defense mechanism and retorted, "Don't question me about your father. Do you think that his safety is not my concern?"
Janine was no longer convinced. She felt doubts, and it filled her heart with fear and concern for her father. She knew it was useless to discuss with her mother, so it was better for her to humble herself and say goodbye to get away from her mother's presence.
"If you have nothing more to say, I have to leave. The leaders of the group have a meeting later, and I have to attend." Only these kinds of excuses could save Janine from her mother.
Janine couldn't fully imagine why the Hecata Clan, which included one of Giovan's Shadow packs, was so angry. She knew that vampires and wolves were mortal enemies, but the Hecata clan hoped to overthrow the Shadow pack.
Janine believed that the Hecatas had a deeper reason to do this besides being mortal enemies of two opposing races.
She sobbed in worry for her father when she entered her room. She was exhausted and didn't want to add to it.
Sometimes when she was alone, she thought of fighting her mother, but every time she remembered her father, she lost. Even more so when she remembered Crema. Unbeknownst to everyone, she knew Crema went to Paris. With her intense insecurities about Crema, she was ready to watch her die or suffer. She didn't blame anyone else for her current situation but Crema, and she hated her cousin. She couldn't explain the intensity of anger she felt towards Crema.
She didn't know exactly where in Paris Crema went, but it was easy for her to find out if necessary. Right now, the search for the woman was frozen because her mission to save her father was more important.
Crema was nervous about what was going to happen, and she knew she had to leave this place. She was totally strong, so she would just go back to her old condo unit in the city center. Maybe her alibis would be enough to convince Jay when he saw her.
She needed to go back there to live a normal life with her children with nothing to hide. She took medicine before she left their pack, and she could use it to control and delay the sudden transformations of her children.
They had to pretend to control being wolves while they lived in the human world.
Because only through this could she ensure their safety, especially her children's.
She had no plans to say goodbye to Hanna; tonight they would run away.
She paid six months' rent in advance here, but in order not to embarrass Hanna, she would still leave cash in the envelope and an explanation letter for her. She would also apologize for leaving so soon.
She reached for the pen and paper and wrote her apologies to Hanna. Her letter was brief and also informed her that their departure was an emergency.
From her wallet, she took $5,000 and put it in the envelope. She knew it was a lot of money, but it was nothing compared to the security this house had given her until she gave birth safely.
All day, she did nothing but prepare the things they would need for the flight back to the city. She booked a cab that would come about 500 meters away from home. They would wait for him there so that Hanna would not notice when the car stopped in front of her compound.
While passing the time, she glanced again at her children, who were both fast asleep.
I filled her heart with joy, but with it came trepidation for the days to come. She hoped that their entire pack had completely forgotten about them, especially Giovan. But the guilt feeling was there every time she remembered her parents, especially her mother.
*Ring Ring Ring...*
Her phone rang, which awakened her from her deep thoughts. When she reached to see who was calling, she was quite stunned. Hanna was calling.
"Hannah?" she answered with a hesitant tone.
As usual, Hanna was still talkative. "Graciela, I'm sorry for calling you on the phone because I didn't have time to say goodbye to you earlier."
"Okay," she said as she waited for what Hanna had to say next.
"I'm here at the airport, and I'm going to fly to America. I'll probably stay there for a month because my brother has a problem." When she said that, Crema breathed a sigh of relief. The timing of her departure was like an answered prayer because she no longer had to run away in the middle of the night.
"Oh, sorry to hear that, Hanna," she answered.
"That's why I called you to let you know you can call the number I will send you when you have a problem at home," Hanna said.
"Oh, okay, Hanna, thank you for minding me even after you had to leave." It was true in her heart that she was happy because of Hanna's kindness. If she didn't think they would question her because of the children, then she would probably live there until her kids grew up.
"No problem, Graciela. I'll see you in a month, then. Don't worry about the bills; I have spoken to the person in charge already," Hanna quickly informed.
"Ah, is that so? Okay, thank you very much, Hanna," Crema said. She turned to Zachary, who was moving, and got worried that he might cry again, so she instantly pressed the end button for the call.
Hanna couldn't hear the baby crying.
Because she found out that she changed her plan, she called the cab driver again and sent him home ASAP. They were leaving early; they didn't have to leave on the run. She fixed herself first, then the twins, and carefully walked around the house after putting her phone down. She made sure that there was no sign of her giving birth; even though she was far from their pack, she still didn't lose her mind to be careful and make sure.
*THUD! *
She heard a loud bang from the back door. Suddenly, she was nervous and had a strange feeling. She quickly locked the room where the children were sleeping and cautiously headed toward the back door. If the crash brought danger, she was ready to go to war. She could only protect her children from danger.
The door was partially open! Obviously, someone had gotten in. She braced herself and whispered to her wolf that they might have to change forms.
"Crema?!" a voice called out. She was sure that the owner came from their pack. She got ready before slowly turning her body to face the one who called her name.
"Shit!" This was definitely Janine's dog! How did he find her?
She didn't let him recover from the shock of seeing her; she quickly let go of him and hit him with all her might, causing him to fall to the floor. They wrestled, but she didn't let him get the better of her. She was a Luna with unique strength, and she wouldn't lose to an Omega!
He was strong because he was a man, but she was stronger; she was sure of that. When she had the chance, she reached for the silver samurai that was under the dining table. She positioned herself to pierce his heart with it, but before she could do so, he spoke, even though it was difficult for him.
"Just a minute, Crema. I'm not here to hurt you; I'm here to make sure you're safe."
She grinned, waking up in disbelief. How did he follow her despite the pretenses she made? Who did he take orders from to watch over her?
"This is no time to joke; who sent you here?" she asked strongly while the force of pinning him down was still the same. The samurai was waiting, which she could bury in his chest anytime.
"Your mother and Janine dismissed me, so I turned around and went to your mother carrying me and Janine’s secrets." When she heard from her mother, she was a little stunned. Is what he says true? But what if not? What if he's just playing tricks on her to discourage her?
"My mother wouldn't do that; she doesn't know I'm alive, and even more, she doesn't know where I am, so how did you follow me?" she sneered at him; his presence gave her a lot of worries. What if he's not the only one who knows where she is? What if he's not the only one here?
Ah, she couldn't think of anything else; she would assume that her mother sent him; no one could know that she was alive. She couldn't let anyone know about her life, especially others who didn't know that she had kids! She would kill him!