Chapter 2 - Getting Answers Part 2

Zelena.

"We must have had a spy in the pack, a traitor, someone selling information to the hunter clan” said Lunaya,

“You really think one of your pack members betrayed you?” Gunner interjected,

“There is no other explanation. Besides, it can’t be too hard to believe, you yourself had a spy. Artemis was working with the Origin Alpha”

“Working with another pack and a hunter is very different” Gunner growled lowly,

“Are you defending him?” Lunaya half asked half scoffed, her voice raising in volume.

“Of course not!” Gunner growled back. Lunaya raised her hand and shook her head, stopping the argument in its tracks.

“We’re getting off topic. Artemis is dead now, what he did doesn’t matter” she said calmly.

“You were up to the part where the hunters had you surrounded” I reminded her. She nodded and continued her story.

“I hid you in a hollowed-out tree and then fought them off the best I could. I am a very skilled warrior, your dad and Elder Maxine made sure of that. But there were so many of them, and I was quickly overwhelmed. Plus, they had bullets and weapons laced with aconite. All the fighting didn’t matter once the poison flooded my bloodstream. Even with my veins on fire and my wolf riddled with bullets, I couldn’t quit. My body gave out on me. My wolf form retreated, and I was left dying slowly in the snow as I watched the lead hunter carry away my baby”. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she recounted the events that led to my kidnapping. I was right. I knew once I heard her version of the truth, I would feel differently. And I do. I am even more angry with her.

“So, you let them take me” I said firmly, I let her feel all of the anger I was feeling.

“Of course I didn’t” she said shocked as she leaned back in her chair and gaped at me wide eyed.

“Zelena, if I could change things, I assure you that I would. I didn’t want to leave you, I was meant to raise you, train you and guide you. If I had known,

if I thought there was any possibility that you were alive, I would have never stopped looking” she pleaded,

“Yeh, but you can’t change things, can you? It's too late for that! So, can we skip the tears and the attempt at reconnecting, and just move on to you telling me what you know about these attacks?” I growled snidely.

“What makes you think I know something?” she asked me, disguising the shock in her voice,

“Because I saw the look on your face as Daniel was describing the deaths. You looked worried”

“Yes, I am worried, these attacks are happening not two days away from here. I told you that trouble usually finds the daughters of Selene. How could I not be afraid for my daughter?” Lunaya quipped back. My body tensed and my fingers gripped tightly onto Gunner’s hand. I felt my anger swirling in my stomach. I don’t care who she is, I hate that she keeps calling me that.

“Don’t call me that!” I growled lowly,

“Call you what? My daughter? Well, sorry to break it to you sweetheart, but you are my daughter. I’ve spent enough time away from you and I have allowed you more than two weeks to absorb the idea. You may not be ready, but I am, I won't hide from it any longer”

“You are not my mother. I had a mother. She kept me safe when I was being tortured. She fed me when I was hungry. She is the one that took care of me. And where were you? Globetrotting with your replacement Mate. You don’t get to call me daughter. For all I care, you are nothing, no one”. I was leaning forward as I screamed at Lunaya. More tears ran down her face as my hurtful words washed over her.

“Zelena” Gunner growled and dug his fingertips into my thigh,

“Did you not listen? She fought for you, she nearly died for you. I know why you can see it as her giving up, but you don’t know how aconite feels for a Were. Thankfully, you’ve never been exposed to it. But the fact that she was able to not just move after it hitting her blood, but also keep fighting, it shows her will power to protect you. She thought you were dead, what more was she meant to do?” Gunner said with a deep gruff voice, not his usual smooth calming tone.

“You’re defending her?” I snapped at him,

“I’m listening to her. You should try it” he snapped back. The fact that he was snapping at me, that he was defending her instead of me, it just made me angrier. He is meant to be on my side. He is MY Mate! I stood up from the chair and turned to glare at Gunner. His face was contorted, and his eyes flickered black as he glared back up at me. Fuck. He was absorbing my anger again, feeling it through our bond as well as drinking it in from my aura. The darkness was eating it up, growing inside him. The black whisps swirled around his iris, covering the bright blue. The contortion on his face was proof enough that he was fighting it. But I keep making it worse, I keep letting my own emotions take control, and it’s not helping him. I felt a soft hand grab my wrist and I turned to see Lunaya standing behind me. She gently tried to pull me back from Gunner. I growled at her and snatched my arm away from her grip.

“Zelena, he needs calm, and you are not calm. Gunner I think you need to remove yourself from the situation” she said slowly and coolly. Gunner stood from the couch, slow and steady with his movements. I held out my hand to stop him and huffed,

“You know what, you two can stay here, seeing as you’re such good friends now. Let me save you the trouble and I’ll go”. With that I turned on my heels and stormed to the living rooms double doors,

“Wait!” Lunaya shouted and I paused with my hand on the doorknobs,

“There is more, I have to tell you the rest. It’s important” she pleaded with me. I snarled and let a small growl bubble from behind my clenched teeth,

“I don’t care” I growled and pushed open the large doors with more force than was necessary. They slammed against the walls and bounced back again. Gunner called out to me as I stomped out of the front door. My heavy footsteps thudded against the wooden porch deck and stairs. I continued to march through the village, no idea as to where I was going. The pack members scurried out of my way as I walked. I looked over my shoulder and saw Tobias, following behind me. Even with his impending presence, I would guess that the foul look on my face was enough of a reason for them to keep their distance. Veering off through some of the cabins, I decided where I wanted to go. The trip was longer this time, because I was walking instead of running. I was almost about to question my sense of direction, thinking I was going the wrong way, when the flurry of colours became visible through the trees.

The flower field was still in full bloom, and just as beautiful as I remember it when Smith brought me here the first time. I flopped down in the tall grass and flowers and laid on my back. I threw my arms out at my sides and

twisted my fingers in and around the grass. The blue sky held small puffs of clouds, but not enough to block out the sun. I could still feel all of the anger and frustration and betrayal churning around inside my body. It was making my chest tight, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I dug my fingers into the dirt, scrunched my eyes closed tight, I sucked in a large breath, threw my chin up and I screamed. I screamed with everything I had been holding inside me. I screamed out all of the sadness, the anger, the frustration and the fear that had been living within me. As the deep and anguished sound left my body, I felt all the negative energy go with it. After a moment, I had nothing left. I stopped screaming and took a deep breath. I kept my eyes closed and continued to take slow, deep and soothing breaths.