Chapter 3
Melanie Pov
As a kid, I used to ask my mum where my dad was, but only got ignored. At times, I would stay awake till late, thinking just maybe he left for work and he'll be back.
So I had to wait just in case he appeared.
With my mum's absence, which was almost every day, I couldn't ignore the longing I felt in my heart. Not even once did my mother let me believe she loved me; she never attended parent meetings at my school either.
All the responsibility was left to my nanny, whom I appreciate so much. She has been more than a mother to me.
I could watch other kids with both their parents. How they interacted with their fathers, the love and admiration in their fathers' eyes, and their smiles. I wanted that.
I wanted the love and protection only a father could give. I wanted a warm hug from my father because my mum never gave me one.
I yearned to experience what it felt like to have a father who would be proud of me and love me.
I wanted my father to show me homework and drive me to school every morning. Instead of hard face guards.
One day, I was so determined to know the truth from my mother, but she brushed me off harshly. She said that my dad was gone and he never wanted me. That to him, I don't even exist. I was only seven by then, and she didn't even care about hurting that little girl's feelings.
I stopped pestering her, but still kept my hope. That may be, just maybe one day he'll come for me. And I held on to that maybe tightly.
When I started working, courtesy of my mother. I hired investigators to help me find him, but they always came back with zero results.
My childhood was full of sadness. Hopelessly waited for the miracle of having parents to happen, but unfortunately, it never came.
When I turned seventeen, I gave up the hope of ever knowing him and stopped wishing my mum would love me.
I accepted the fact that not all parents love and want their kids, and I stopped wishing my mother were home. That's when I found myself a penthouse in the city, which I'm moving into today when I get the hell out of this place.
I'm sick and tired of my mother's cold heart and her lies. She can have the empty house to herself from now on.
No kid deserves to feel the way she made me feel. Look at the man before me. He's just like her; he never cared.
He knew I existed and did nothing but stay away for seventeen years, and now here he is claiming to be my father.
He was never there when I needed him, too bad for him because I don't need him anymore.
When I think about it now, it was he who didn't want to be found.
Yet here he is, magically dropped from whichever hole he's been hiding in for 18 years, to claim me as his daughter.
Why does the universe hate me?
"How come?" Alpha wonders, looking from my supposed dad, and back at me with doubting eyes.
"I will explain later," the man says with a sigh. His gaze is still on me.
Who are these people anyway? Do they know each other? Was this a setup?
How will humans interact with wolves without hurting each other?
Am I finally going to die? Or worse, am I dead?
My mum will not even care. No one will notice I'm gone, except maybe my boyfriend. I can't find my friends or my guards. Did they plan this or something?
"No, no, no, this can't be happening, please let me go," I look at Alpha with teary eyes, silently pleading with him to release me.
The man looks down at me, tenderly stroking my cheek. His features are covered with concern, and I wonder why. He gently wipes away my tears using his thumb, while his other arm is still holding my waist protectively.
"No one is gonna hurt you," he assures me, but I don't trust anyone right now. I just wanna go home and forget anything ever happened. And remain safe in my own house.
It's like being in a dream. A nightmare that I'm trying to wake myself up from, but I can't. Sadly, this looks real. I have never been in a situation like this one before.
"What is happening?" I worriedly whisper, looking around me. All the people at the party are now wolves.
"We need to get her out of here," my supposed father pleads with Alpha.
This is bad, really bad.
"What are you, people?" I shout in exasperation because no one is saying anything.
Alpha looks at the one calling himself my father, and they seem to be communicating with their eyes.
Weird, weird.
He sighs and finally speaks,
"You are in a pack of werewolves, sweetheart," he answers calmly.
Sweetheart?
Pack of werewolves? Does that mean they live with werewolves or something?
"You live with werewolves, " I calmly ask him. I'm trying to understand what he's saying. Nothing here makes sense to me.
"No, everyone here is a werewolf," he softly says back, pointing at the wolves staring at us.
This is not possible.
" Where are my friends and my guards?" I fearfully look around me to no avail.
Four wolves come forward, and before I could react, they turn to my best friends and my two guards.
Them too?
No, this is not real.
This is not happening.
My two best friends are werewolves, even my guards?
Am I that stupid to have never noticed?
All this time, and they never said anything to me.
I look at them with teary eyes, shaking my head, am I that thick in the head?
Why didn't they tell me?
"Mel, we are sorry we didn't tell you." Lily breaks the silence, crying like I'm doing. Even my guards? Oh, God!
Is my father one of them, too?
I look at him to confirm my suspicion, silently begging him to say no, but he nods yes.
How?
If he's a wolf, does that mean I am too?
No. I'm a hundred percent human. It's my first encounter with these kinds, and I'm sure I couldn't have known they existed if I hadn't pushed the twins to invite me to the party.
What about my mum? She must also know. She can't possibly have a baby with someone she knows nothing about, or maybe it's the reason they broke up. Perhaps she found out and decided to run for her life.
And why is Alpha calling me mate, and more importantly, why is he being nice to me when I just met him?
What does mate mean to them?
All these questions with no answers make my head hurt.
"Can I go home, please?" I don't want to be here anymore.
My eyes silently beg Alpha, who doesn't wanna let go for some reason. When I get out of here, I am gonna run for my life, and I won't look back ever.
How can wolves change to humans and vice versa? I have never heard of that in my entire existence.
He looks unsure, like he's thinking hard about it. What if they keep me here for good?
Or eat me. Wolves eat meat, right?
Please, God, help me. If I get out of here alive, I won't do anything wrong in my life. I will even admit the truth to Jake, please just help me.
"I won't tell anyone, I swear," I assure them in a pleading tone.
Maybe it's their secret, that's why no one has ever heard of their kind.
"Let her go, Aiden, obviously, she's not okay right now," my supposed father says, and for the first time, I appreciate his presence.
So the handsome man holding me is Aiden? Aiden Alpha? The names don't match, but that's not important right now.
Aiden runs his long fingers through his hair with a tired sigh. He seems to be battling with his mind about the idea of letting me go.
"Please, Aiden." he shivers when I murmur his name as his eyes darken. Aiden stares down at me with so much affection that it scares me. I just met him, but he's behaving like we've been long-time lovers. This is really weird.
Stop looking at me like that.
He pulls me to his chest with both arms secured around my waist. Once again, his face finds my neck, and he inhales deeply.
I don't understand why he's behaving this way. I'm also supposed to be scared of him, but strangely, I find comfort in his arms.
I don't understand my emotions at all. I feel drawn to him, yet I just met him; his presence, for some reason, gives me a sense of safety, comfort, and warmth.
He reluctantly pulls away with yet another sigh. He looks at my father again, doing the communication thing with their eyes.
Aiden brings his eyes back to me, kisses my temple, and finally lets me out of his arms.
Thank God.
I take a stumbling step away from him and head to the car. Right now, I just want to be alone, cry my eyes out for the betrayal of those I trusted, and sleep for a very long time.
If possible for the rest of my life. I can only hope the events of today don't haunt my dreams.
With one last glance at everyone, especially my friends who are sadly looking at me with guilty eyes, I quickly open the door to the car that my guards came with.
I don't miss the look of pain and longing in Aiden's eyes, and it makes me somehow uncomfortable.
Weird Weird.
As soon as I look away from him, a sharp pain goes through my spinal cord and to every inch of my bones. It disappears after a second, and I sigh in relief.
What was that?