Calix gazed at me, his eyes filled with worry. He was scared of my reaction. I was trembling a little. We were in the cool deep part of the pool. Calix attributed my trembling to the temperature and held me close to his warm torso. He moved across with me to the warmer shallow sunlit section. He kissed me trying to warm me up. I kissed him back instinctively.
I broke away from him quicker than he would have liked. He frowned.
“Alex knows about this too?” I asked.
“Yeah,” mumbled Calix. “He and I were wondering when we should tell you. We’ve only known since shortly after becoming alphas after our birthday. We didn’t grow up knowing this. We couldn’t tell Felix as Alex knew he would blab or blurt it out to you whenever there was a heated moment and we wanted to develop a good relationship with you first and start making you happy. It’s been torture keeping this from our brother and you. We’re triplets! And you’re our mate! The bonds are so intense, but we were waiting for the right time. We didn’t want to hurt you anymore and you were already so overwhelmed by us. I’m sorry, Chasity, for not telling you right away but I thought it was best and so did Alex.”
Calix was pleading with me with his eyes. I was not angry with him just stunned. So there was a real reason for the Luna’s hatred of me! She had hated my mother before me. She thought my mother had ruined my father, her little step-brother. I remembered the day my parents dropped me off so vividly. I had tried to block it out but I couldn’t. It remained a clear as day memory, visiting me in the form of a nightmare from time to time. Like a red stain on white fabric, it ruined me.
Flashback (Warning: Adult themes - Substance Abuse)
My Mommy and Daddy were arguing. Was it my fault? I clutched my teddy bear to me tightly. I told him it would be fine, don’t worry about anything.
“Chalice, we have to go!” Instead Daddy, tossing clothes in a suitcase.
“And we can take Chasity with us, Chase!” Said Mommy.
“No! If those men find us, they won’t show any mercy! Not even to a little girl! The last person that double-crossed them ended up getting their whole family done in!” Yelled Daddy.
My Mommy sighed.
“Can’t we wait a bit and talk about this?” She pleaded.
“No! There’s no time!” He said.
“But Ronnie paid them off!” She replied.
He laughed sadly. “But we saw something I shouldn’t have.”
“We were half gone when we saw it. We were baked,” she said, lighting a piece of paper she had rolled up
He snatched the piece of rolled up paper and threw it away.
“Not now! For God’s sake, Chalice,” he yelled.
“You’re stressing me out, ok! Sorry! I won’t!” She promised.
She started helping him pack.
“How do we know they won’t come for Chasity even at the pack house?” She asked. She looked worried.
“They’d never! They’re tough but they’re not stupid. They fear the Alpha just like every other werewolf. If they broke into his house to get at her, they’d be declaring war on the whole pack and Alpha would have them killed,” he explained.
“Why can’t he have them killed now?” She asked.
“I was shocked he even let Ronnie pay my debts. He’s not gonna kill for me too unless his family is threatened or insulted,” he said.
“What if they hand Chasity over to them?” She said, her eyes filling with tears.
He hugged her. “They’d never do that. Ronnie’s not a monster.”
“She hates me though! She’ll probably hate our little girl,” she said.
“Ronnie loves me. She’ll make sure Chasity has a fighting chance. She’ll make sure she finishes school and has food and shelter. I can’t say if they’ll be close. Ronnie is a strange one. She hated her stepmother but took care of her for over six months of her being ill. She’s cold but she’s dutiful,” he said.
“I don’t like her,” she insisted.
“We can’t take Chasity. She’ll be in too much danger! We’ll call every now and then when we get somewhere safe to check up on Chasity!” He offered.
“And when will we get back to her?” She asked, looking up at him, tears falling down her cheeks.
“I don’t know,” he said, his voice cracking a bit. There were tears in his eyes.
They bundled me up in a warm coat and drove through the snow with me in the backseat of the car. It was night-time. It was dark. I was scared. I hated strangers. I was a shy girl. I had teddy. That was my only friend. I hated school and I missed a lot of days because Mommy and Daddy would be too unwell to take me sometimes. They would sniff the white powder. It looked like flour. That made them sick. They would smoke the rolled up paper and drink the drink that burned. I tried a sip once. It burned my throat and made me sick. Why were they making themselves sick? They had tablets that looked like candy. I liked chocolate but not candy so I did not try those. Those made them happy though. They would dance and laugh.
We pulled up to a huge mansion covered in snow. The snow kept falling like the tears on my cheeks. They walked with me to the front step. They put me on the porch. They hugged me tightly. I asked them to hug teddy. They hugged him and they cried some more. They blew kisses as they walked back to the car. They had left my suitcase with me on the porch. They gestured for me to ring the doorbell. They got in the car watching with the headlights on.
I pressed the doorbell. A little boy answered. He smiled at me. I liked his smile.
“Hi,” he said. “Are you selling cookies? I want three boxes for me and my brothers”
“No!” I sniffled, annoyed. “I’m supposed to ask for Luna Ronnie.”
“My mom?” The little boy asked. I shrugged.
“I’m Calix. My mom is Luna Ronnie. My father’s the Alpha!” He said. He was boastful.
I shrugged looking back at my parents’ anxious faces. They wanted me to hurry up. Something bad could happen
“Get Luna Ronnie now!” I said. Calix ran off to get her.
“Who is she to you?” Said another boy who came to the door. He looked the same as Calix. Twins?
“I don’t know,” I said. I didn’t know. I thought Ronnie was Dad’s friend or something. I had never met her. I didn’t understand the conversation I had snooped on earlier.
“I’m Felix,” said the boy.
“Ok, whatever, please get your mother,” I said.
Felix looked really angry but huffed away. Their Mother, Luna Ronnie came.
A third similar boy was peaking out. Triplets!
“Alex, go inside now!” She said. The third boy ran away. It was just me and her. She started to cry.
“What’s going on?” She sniffed. My father cried harder looking at her. He started to drive away. The Luna noticed my suitcase.
“Where’s he going?” She demanded, crying. I said nothing. I didn’t know.
“STOP!” She screamed. She ran into the snow. The car sped off. “Don’t leave! I can help you! Please! Don’t leave me! Chase! CHASE!!! DON’T GO! LET ME HELP YOU!!!” Luna Ronnie tripped and fell in the snow, sobbing, on her knees.
She stayed like that until the car disappeared in the darkness. She let the snow fall on her. I could see her breath. I was crying too but quietly. A man came outside and ran to the Luna. I could tell he was the Alpha. He picked her up and put her on their feet.
“Where are they?” He boomed.
“They’re gone,” she wailed, her voice hoarse from screaming and crying. The Alpha spotted me. He was big and scary. I was afraid.
“She can’t stay here!” The Alpha said.
I was scared. I knew unwanted children go to orphanages and people treat them badly and no one adopts them unless they’re babies. That’s what someone told me once when we watched Annie, a movie about orphans. Annie got adopted though. She was special and a good singer. I loved that movie.
The Alpha walked up to me.
“We’ll inform the pack police and they’ll organise what to do with her,” he commanded.
“No!” Said the Luna, walking up to the porch. A true Luna could not be commanded, even by her Alpha. I knew that. Every pack child was taught the basics about pack laws.
The Alpha was angry.
“She stays with us, until they come back for her,” she said.
They glared at each other.
“She’ll earn her keep,” he said.
“She can do chores,” mumbled the Luna.
“She’s not to play with my boys,” the Alpha said. “Think of the bad habits she must have.”
“She’s a little girl…” began the Luna.
“I don’t care. She can stay but she’s not our new daughter so don’t act like she is,” the Alpha said.
The Luna looked at me. “She looks like her mother anyway.”
“Hmph,” said the Alpha. He took my bag inside.
“Chase was a good boy before…he really was…a sweet boy…like my Calix,” Luna said.
“Yeah, sure, whatever,” the Alpha said near the doorway. “He’s not a good boy now. He’s a grown man with bad habits.”
The Luna walked inside.
I stayed on the porch, crying
“Hurry up!” Said the Luna. “Too much cold air is getting in.”
I went inside and she closed the door on my old life.