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ChapterThirty-FiveKatyaI wake to fingers
gently moving my hair aside. Opening my eyes, I find Mateo leaning over me. I
smile up at him, and he leans down, pressing his lips to mine softly before
gently nipping my bottom lip.“Morning,” I greet
him, and he chuckles.“It’s the middle of
the day,” he whispers before fiddling with something. I look down to see what
he is doing, but I can only see his hands underneath my chin. He pulls them
away, and a chain scrapes against my neck as he turns it, making me look down
to see my pumpkin necklace.“You found it?” I
whisper, rubbing my thumb over the gold pumpkin, relief floods me that they
found the last thing my mother ever gave me. Looking down at it, I became
choked with emotion, I thought it was funny when she gave it to me, but now it
was my most cherished possession representing my parents.“One of the men on
patrol found it the other day and gave it to Ezra,” he replies before pulling
on the thin chain and holding up a blue jewel that had been added to it.“And this, this is a
piece of your mom,” he says, making my eyes snap to his in confusion. “I had
some of your mother's ashes made into a stone, so you could always have her
with you,” Mateo tells me with a smile.“That’s my mom?” I
whisper when he leans over to the bedside table and retrieves a box. He hands
it to me, and I pull the lid off to find a silver urn. It has a wolf engraving
on the side. I swallow the lump forming in my throat, threatening to choke me.My beautiful, strong
mother was reduced to nothing but ash. It was hard to picture someone like her
sitting in the cold silver urn before me. I never imagined life without her,
and now I have to face a future without her in it. I chew my lip to stop it from
quivering.Mateo cups my cheek
with his hand, tipping my head up. His thumb pries my lip from between my
teeth. “Thank you,” I whisper, not knowing what else to say. What else could I
possibly say when someone hands you your dead mother? Words fail me, and I
can't stop touching the sapphire pendant hanging around my neck.“She will always be
with you. Remember the good things about her. Her death doesn’t define her, so
don’t let it,” Mateo stresses before kissing my forehead.“Where is Ezra?” I
ask before seeing movement behind Mateo.“Right here,” he
answers. Ezra leans against the bedroom door. I knew he was mindlinking, his
eyes glazed over, before refocusing on the room and returning to their normal
caramel color.He looks troubled as
he strides over before leaning down and brushing my lips softly with his. He
pulls away to quickly glance at Mateo.“Is everything
okay?” I askHe nods. “Yes, I
need to shower. I will be out in a second,” he assures me, turning on his heel
and walking into the bathroom.I try to feel for
his emotions, but he has put a wall up, blocking me out for some reason.Mateo stares at the
bathroom door before realizing I am watching him, and he turns to face me. “He
is fine. He just heard back from patrol, nothing to worry about, he will let
you know if you need to.”I nod, climbing out
of bed and getting dressed. Grabbing a gray tank top and some denim shorts, I
pull them on. I feel great, and have this weird sensation of feeling whole,
making me wonder if the forged bond is the cause. Yet, something is off that I
can't put my finger on. Shaking my head at the strange feeling, I decided to
ask Kora. My brows furrow as I try to remember the last time I spoke to her,
maybe she is giving me space. But that thought doesn’t sit right with me. She
hadn't even shared any of her usual slew of dirty commentary and images during
the time with our mates.“Kora,” I think, pulling on the barriers of my mind to find them gone, the
realization is a little unsettling, like she has just disappeared, making me
wonder where she went. My mind only has my thoughts in it. I shake the feeling
away, knowing she will pop her head up sooner or later. It’s not like she could
go anywhere, I chuckle to myself, knowing I am being silly. “The pack run is
still going ahead tonight?” I ask as Ezra comes out of the shower.“Yes, we need some
excitement around here. Maybe next week I will let everyone back in the
packhouse on Thursdays, if you are okay with it,” Ezra asks me, and I nod. I
just want things to go back to normal.“I think it’s a good
idea,” I confirm when the doorbell rings downstairs.Walking down the
stairs to the second level, I look over the landing, and spot a figure standing
outside the frosted glass beside the door. Descending the second-floor stairs,
I head for the door, tossing it open, and stare shocked at Angie standing there,
her back is to me as she looks around. She jumps, turning when she hears the
door open.Her lip trembles and
her hands shake as she reaches for me, I step back, eyeing her. “Kat!” she
murmurs, letting out a breath of relief. “Look, I know I shouldn’t be here, but
please let me explain.”“No!” I snarl before
I attempt to close the door.“Kat, please,” she
pleads, and the desperation is clear in her voice. I crack open the door, and
she lets out a breath. Mateo and Ezra race down the stairs behind me.“I told you to stay
away from the packhouse, Angie,” Ezra growls at her as he stalks down the
steps, she bares her neck to him, and he growls deeper, but I step aside,
letting her in and motioning for her to step inside. Ezra shoots me a look,
grits his teeth, but says nothing more.“I just want to
explain, I will tell you whatever you want to know.” She turns to look at me.
“Please just hear me out, Kat,” Angie begs again, and I motion with my hand for
her to step away from the door, so I can close it. She steps aside, her eyes on
Ezra and Mateo as if she is waiting for them to do something.Ezra shakes his
head, clearly not happy. “Don’t leave her alone with her, I need to go take
care of something,” Ezra orders Mateo, stalking over to the hallway stand and
grabbing his car keys from the white glass bowl that sat on top. He glares at
Angie, but doesn’t say anything more to her. Mateo gives him a nod before Ezra
slips out the door, closing it behind him.I glance at Angie,
she chews her nails nervously. “Come on then,” I tell her, walking off toward
the kitchen.“Go on, you want to
talk to her,” Mateo prompts, and I glance over my shoulder to see Angie dart
after me.She follows me into
the kitchen, and Marge puts the kettle on as she prepares whatever she is
making at the counter. She reaches for me, and kisses my forehead. “Hey,
Marge,” I greet.“Luna, you look
better today.” She nods before her eyes dart to Angie.Angie ducks her
head, and Marge gives her a disappointed look, then averts her gaze back to
what she's doing.Opening the
cupboard, I grab some mugs, and Mateo walks over to the table, pulling a chair
out. He motions to the chair. “Sit,” he orders Angie, and she does before he
takes the chair across from her, falling into it and folding his arms across
his chest as he watches her.Angie turns her
attention to me as I ready the mugs. “I just wanted to say I am sorry, Kat, I
took the first lot of photos, but that was it. I told Jackson I wanted nothing
more to do with it. The rest was Madeline, I swear.”“Why?” I press her,
and she lets out a breath while I pour the hot water into the mugs before
stirring them.When she says
nothing, I peer over at her. Red streaks decorate her face with her shame. “I
was jealous, I know that isn’t an excuse, but once I saw you at school with
Jasmine, I realized how wrong I was. I told Madeline I wanted nothing more to
do with it, but she said if I told you or the Alpha, she would pin it on me,”
she croaks out, running her fingers through her hair before she continues. “I
knew you wouldn’t believe me after what I did, so I just hoped Madeline would
have a change of heart and realize how wrong it was, but she wanted Ezra. She
didn’t care at what cost, she said you took her spot, that she should be Luna.
I swear to you, I had nothing to do with your mother's death. If I had known, I
would have told you, that was all Madeline.” Angie pleads her case.Yet I couldn’t help,
but still feel betrayed. She pretended to be my friend, making me question if
the friendship we had built was based on a lie. Was she only friends with me
out of guilt for what she had done? How would I be able to ever trust her again
after what she had done? Yet by the look on her face I can see the remorse. She
truly is sorry, whether that was for being caught or genuine I couldn’t be 100%
sure.Mateo glances at me
and I grab our mugs, carrying them over to the table, setting one in front of
her. “I’m truly sorry, Kat.” she whispers again, barely audible, dropping her
gaze.“So am I,” I reply just as
softly. She looks at me questionably. “I didn’t just lose my mother, but a best
friend. I'm not sure I can trust you again.” She chews her quivering lip, not
sure what to say to me. “I guess time will tell,” I add, taking my seat.