Chapter 11 Tears and Truth.
Zoe's POV
My feet moved before I could think. Following her. Each step sent pain through my body but I didn't stop.
Climbing the stairs slowly. Holding the railing.
I reached the top. Looked down the hallway and saw Scarlett disappear into a room at the end.
I waited. Caught my breath. The pain in my chest was getting worse.
Then I moved forward. Down the hallway. Toward that door.
It was slightly open.
I peeked inside.
Scarlett stood by her bed. Her back to the door. Her shoulders shaking.
The bed was covered in photographs. Old ones. Faded. Some torn at the edges.
She picked one up. Held it close to her chest. Cried harder.
I pushed the door open quietly. Stepped inside.
She didn't hear me. Too lost in whatever memory those pictures held.
I moved closer. My eyes on the photographs spread across the bed.
A young couple. The man looked strong. Handsome. The woman was beautiful with kind eyes. They looked familiar.
Babies. Two of them... Wrapped in blankets.
Children playing in a garden.
Then one photo caught my eye.
Two little girls. Around the age of two. Both with blonde hair. Big blue eyes. I'm in this picture. There are pictures of me at this age back at home and this is really me... This looks like I was cloned into two and put into a picture.
My hand reached out. Picked up the photograph.
My hands were shaking.
Scarlett gasped.
She spun around. Saw me standing there and holding the picture.
"You shouldn't be here," she whispered.
But there was no anger in her voice. Just deep, deep sadness.
I held up the photo with shaky hands. "Why am I in this picture? And why am I two?"
Scarlett's face broke. Like something inside her shattered.
She sank onto the bed. Her hands covered her face.
"You and Olivia."
The world tilted.
"What?"
She looked up at me. Tears streaming. "That's you, Zoe. And your sister."
I stared at the photo. At the two identical little girls smiling happily.
"I don't... I don't understand."
Scarlett patted the bed beside her. "Sit. Please..." She begged.
My legs felt weak. I moved to the bed. Sat down slowly. The pain in my chest was nothing compared to the confusion in my mind.
Scarlett picked up another photo. The couple from before. Why do they look so familiar?
"This is your mother and father," she said softly. "Alpha Damson Aaron and his mate."
I looked closer. My heart stopped.
I quickly grabbed my locket on my neck and opened it with shaky hands. Now it makes sense. This is them but maybe when younger. Tears rolled down my cheeks.
"Your mother gave birth to twins twenty one years ago." Scarlett's voice shook. "You and Olivia. Born on the same night. Under the full moon."
I couldn't breathe.
"But then came the attack." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Vincent Dylan. Your father's beta betrayed your father. Brought enemies to the pack."
My hands clenched at the mention of Vincent Dylan. Jeremy's father.
"That night, so many people died," Scarlett continued. "Your father. Your mother. Warriors. Women. Children."
She picked up the photo of the two babies.
"I was your nanny. Both of you. Your father's last words to me were ' No matter how bad it gets, save my daughters.'"
Tears fell onto the old photograph in my hands.
"So I ran," Scarlett said. "Into the forest. With both of you in my arms."
She looked at me. Her eyes red and swollen.
"But not long into the journey...You became so weak, Zoe... Dehydrated. Your little body was burning with fever and before I knew what was happening you lost consciousness."
Her voice broke.
"I ran for hours looking to see if I'd see someone... anyone to help... You got colder. I could feel you slipping away in my arms." She wiped few drops of tears.
"The nearest pack was days away!" She sobbed. "I had to choose. Save one for certain. Or risk losing both trying to carry you further."
My chest tightened. Not from the wound. From something much worse.
"So you chose to leave me," I said. My voice flat. Empty.
"I chose to give you a chance!" Scarlett grabbed my hands. "I found a safe spot. Under thick bushes. Hidden. I wrapped you in my shawl. Left you there. Praying... begging the Moon Goddess that someone would find you. And I used my waist knife to cut myself... And with it, I wrote your name on your forehead and left you hoping someone might find you. Someone who could help you."
"And they did," I whispered. Thinking of my foster mother, Amelia. The woman who found me. Raised me. The one who I called mother.
"I see that. When I saw you that night... I didn't know what to think. Didn't know what to believe or how to feel. I wanted to come hug you but I don't know... a part of me was scared of this truth... that it's really you and how do I face you after knowing I left you... So I came at you the way I did to feed my curiosity." She said sobbing so bad and looking pitiful.
"That's why I left your room that day after the truth came out because everything was too much on me... I couldn't tell you all these stories because I'm scared you'll hate me."
She touched my face gently.
"Every time I looked at Olivia, I saw you. Wondered if you were out there somewhere. If you were alive. If you hated me."
I looked down at the photo in my hands. Two identical babies. Both smiling.
Sisters.
Olivia was my sister.
My twin sister.
Scarlett wouldn't stop crying and now I could see her shaking.
So I pulled her into my arms. Held her tight.
"I'm so sorry, Zoe. I'm so, so sorry. I did what I thought would save you both. But it tore you apart."
I sat there in her arms. Staring at the photographs on the bed.
Pictures of a life I should have had.
A sister I should have known.
A family that was stolen from me.
Tears ran down my face. "Where is she now? Where is Olivia?" I asked as I gently pulled away from her embrace.
Scarlett's face changed. Fear replaced the guilt.
"Two months ago, she disappeared."
My blood went cold.
"What?"
"Our pack was invaded by some pack we still don't know yet... Everywhere was scattered... Lots were hurt, including the Alpha and Olivia herself who was fighting beside him. After the attackers left, we were able to help everyone who got hurt healing but we looked everywhere for Olivia but no trace of her." Scarlett's voice shook. "We searched for days. Found her bloody clothes by the river. So much blood. So much." Her voice trailed off.
"You think she's dead?" I asked, scared.
"We don't know that for sure." Scarlett stood. Walked to the window. "But we believe so and now I think there's more to be worried about."
"What more?"