CHAPTER 2

~ NATALIA ~

I never thought my world could crumble down with just a single phone call that I received from them. 

I had been waiting for this call for the past 10 days. It was a call from my mother, Veronica.

I was so happy when I received her call. Finally, I was getting to hear from my parents.

“Hello, Mom!” I chimed, making my way out from the kitchen towards the drawing-room. 

Knight was just behind me, following me like my shadow. He was annoying sometimes. No. Most of the times. He always invaded my privacy and pestered me to tell him everything. I mean it when I said EVERYTHING. 

“Hello dear, how are you?” I heard my mother’s voice. 

It was weird. It was like she had been crying for hours. This made me worry and I halted in my way, refusing to walk another inch.

Instantly, I asked. “Mom! Are you alright? Is everything alright?” 

I turned to face Knight who was now sitting on the couch in front of me. He was still watching me. His eyes were narrowed down as he focused hard and tried to guess what my mother could be talking about.

Same old nosy Knight. I rolled my eyes at his behaviour.

“Excuse me.” I excused myself and turned around. I made my way upstairs and then into the washroom of my room. Stepping inside the washroom, I closed the door behind me. Hopefully, Knight was not going to follow me into the washroom.

I could sense that something was wrong with Mom and I could not talk to my mother about something so personal in front of Knight. I could not bring myself to get him involved in everything in my life yet.

“Mom..” I nibbled my lower lip and held my phone tightly against my ears when I didn’t hear anything from my mother. 

All I heard was a flicker of a lighter as she lit a cigar. It was my mother’s habit. Whenever she got upset, she smoked cigars and this thing was giving me more anxiety. And then I heard her sobbing.

My heart clenched at the sound of my mother’s sobs. 

Why is my mother crying? What happened that made her cry?

I started pacing back and forth worriedly in the washroom. “Mom, would you please tell me what happened? I’m sure I heard you crying just now? Why haven’t you and dad called me for the past ten-day?” 

My question was answered with a heart-wrenching sob and then there was a long silence. I pushed the phone away from my ear to see if the call was still on. It was. 

Mom's voice suddenly appeared from the phone. “I’m getting married.”

Okay, now it was my turn to go silent mode on her. I just shook my head. My mom would never leave her habit of pulling my leg. 

“Mom, I must say this time I really do not appreciate it if you pull my leg in this awful way…” I said sternly. 

“I’m not pulling your leg, I’m getting married today.” She said, sniffling. 

“You know, I don't like it anymore and stop acting so serious to make it feel more real. How can you get married when my father is still there?” I sat up on the edge of the bathtub, confusion and a different type of fear crawling under my skin. 

“Your father--” She stopped and now I could sense she was suppressing her cries. 

“What happened to my father?” My heartbeat quickened, horrible thoughts started popping up in my mind. I forced myself to push all of them at the back of my mind.

“Your father is dead, Natalia.” She finally broke into hysteric cries that even jolted me to my bones. 

“What the hell are you saying, mom!” I roared at her.

“Yes, Your father- he...he died. Our pack is under attack by Alpha Romeo Velasquez and his Rigel Pack.” She choked in between her sobs. Her voice was cracking at the end of every word. I got up but my body went numb. 

I know who Romeo Velasquez was. He was the most terrifying Alpha with the biggest pack territory. It is said his pack members were as ruthless as him. They never spared anyone. Alpha Romeo had an obsession with the success of his pack and he wanted to rule over all the werewolf's lands. 

“Mom! Please tell me it’s a lie.” I begged her to say it was all a lie. 

I did not want to believe it at all.

Everything was alright!

My father was still alive and our pack was safe.

“No, it’s not a lie. He- he attacked our pack. Every pack has surrendered in front of him and some have joined hands with him. It all happened in all those days when you were away from here, my child. Our Vega pack was the only one left that never surrendered to him. Then he attacked us ten days ago... ”

My hands trembled and sweat covered my back. I could not believe what my mother was saying. My vision blurred with tears of anger and grief.

“The fight took place for too long. Our soldiers lost their lives at the hands of Alpha Romeo. Your father took part in this fight. I begged him to not fight against Alpha Romeo but he didn't listen and he...he ended up losing his life, fighting bravely against Alpha Romeo and his pack…” What my mother was saying shook me to my core. The whole world started revolving in front of my eyes.

“After your father’s death, Alpha Romeo enslaved our pack and he is forcing me to marry him if I still want to be the Luna of this pack. He said he would spare the lives of the remaining pack members.” My mother cried out, her voice was wheezy.

I could sense she was having difficulty breathing after telling me all of this. I could not see my mother right now but I was sure she was devastated by my father’s death. 

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?! I would have saved him.” I yelled at her as tears started soaking my face and some ended up falling on the soft rug under my feet.

“It was your father’s decision, Natalia. It was the only way we could keep you safe and alive...Your father knew if we would have told you earlier, you would have come here without thinking for a second. But then what, Natalia?” My mom stopped, her silence was telling so many things, “Then you would have become a slave of Alpha Romeo.”

“Natalia, my dear daughter, what I’m trying to say is.... Never show up here. Just forget everything. Forget what you once had in this pack and live your life with your friends like a normal girl. That is what your father always wished for and that's what I wish for now.”

“NO! I do not accept this. Vega pack is mine. I’m the heir and now the Alpha of my pack. And as a true heir, I will get it back from that monster Romeo.” I spat my decision, curling my fingers into a tight fist to control my raging wolf that was growling to come out and destroy everything.

“You will not do anything like that. In an hour, I’m getting married to Alpha Romeo and he has promised me that he will protect our pack. Please my dear do not do anything that could be a threat to your mother’s life. I’m sure you do not want to lose me just like you’ve lost your father.” Having said this, she hung up the call.

My body was shaking in anger and misery. I threw the phone on the giant mirror that was showing my pathetic reflection and it shattered into pieces. My knees gave up and I fell on the floor. 

I was crying when I heard Knight barging into the bathroom and he gasped after seeing what I did. He hurried to reach me and bent his knees to sit down

“Baby, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?” He grasped my shoulder and made me stand, and checked me if I was hurt anywhere.

I lost everything. My pack. My father. My family and everything. But I still had Knight by my side, he shouldn’t know and get involved with the matter of werewolves. I didn't want him to get involved in our world. 

“Nothing Happened.” I lied bravely and even threw him a weak smile that I barely managed to force out of me.

A fire was burning inside me now and I would make sure that this fire consumed Alpha Romeo before dying down.