Chapter 6: Ayla
The moment the door was closed, I sank to the floor. It was no longer sobs that escaped my body but soul–shattering
screams.
She said I abandoned her.
Theo made it sound like I spent my teen years partying and getting into trouble. She said I dropped out of high school.
She said I wasn’t a sister to her.
The betrayal was soul–crushing.
I had given up everythin Purchase completed
I screamed and let the tears flow freely until my body ached. As soon as it felt like I could breathe without being stabbed by a red–hot dagger, I pulled myself up and started moving. I- only had a few hours to get my things and get out of Greytooth territory.
I had made myself a rogue. I didn’t have a pack anymore. And I had no idea where I was going to go. All the borders on this side of the territory sat right against other pack lands. To get out of one, I’d have to enter another. But it was my only option. Trying to get to unclaimed territory was too risky. I would have better luck on foreign pack land than on the land I just severed ties to.
After leaving a note for Zeff, I packed up and drove home. There was something I wouldn’t leave behind. Plus, I had to take care of a few things. Despite the betrayal, I wouldn’t
leave Kylee and my mother with nothing.
I pulled into the drive, only taking a minute to take in my childhood home. I got out and rushed inside. I went to my room, grabbing a file box with essential documents. I retrieved the small fire–proof safe from under my bed. I tapped in the code. Using my laptop to print some things out, I signed some forms, wrote a handwritten note, and put the documents back in the safe.
I was signing the house over to Ma. I had bought the debt and paid off the mortgage two years ago, but I would have no use for the place now. I doubted Ma would come back to stay here now that Kylee was going to be Luna. But at least this way, she can sell it instead of letting it fall into disrepair and
rot.
I transferred some funds to her bank account and sent an email explaining it would be enough to cover Kylee’s tuition for the coming school year and any additional expenses for the ceremony. If she continued her college education after this year, Theo would have to be responsible for that.
When that was all done and taken care of, I grabbed a few sentimental items and keepsakes. Although, the list shrank dramatically in light of recent discoveries. At least I was traveling light. I loaded what I wanted into my car but had one more thing to grab.
I went around the side of the house, opening the door to the little gardening shed to find what I needed. Then I started the trip to say goodbye to my favorite place in the world.
I got to the pond and choked down the sorrow that
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threatened to take over once again. I was done with that now. I needed to stay focused on finding a way to move forward. Considering my new and unexpected status, I thought about going through my ritual again. But the last time didn’t seem to work as it used to. Or maybe I’m here because it worked too well.
I was definitely not the person I was a week ago. I no longer had a pack. I had no hope of a life with my fated mate. I had learned just how my family really saw me. And my wolf had left me. She had retreated deep inside me. And I let her. She needed to heal, and I wouldn’t try to reach her until she was ready. But that was just another part of my identity ripped away from me.
Either way, I turned away from the water and knelt at the base of an oak tree. Taking the trowel I had found in the shed, I started digging until I heard the sound of metal hitting metal. I finished clearing the dirt away and pulled out the metal lock box. Opening it to check the contents were still safely tucked inside.
I breathed a small sigh of relief. Inside the box was a picture of my father and me, a small container holding some of his ashes, and a velvet pouch containing a ring. I grabbed the contents, not bothering with the box now.
By the time I returned to my car, it was later in the day than I felt comfortable. The Greytooth Pack may not be the largest in population, but they had one of the biggest territories. The closest border crossing was nearly two hours away. And I needed to be far away before Zeff got home. I couldn’t have him tracking me down.
Especially since I didn’t give him much of an explanation.
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But it was better this way. I wasn’t going to risk him cutting ties and going rogue as well. Because he would. He would hold Theo responsible, and he would never stay in a pack with an alpha he didn’t respect, let alone hate. This way, the note left would have just made it seem like I got cold feet about us being together.
I drove to the outskirts of town and got on the highway. From there, it was practically a straight shot to the border. I was grateful at first, but after about an hour, I realized the monotonous ride only left my mind wondering and worrying and thinking about things I didn’t need to think about.
When Theo found me in the yard that first day, I had no idea what he would say. His initial reaction to our meeting had me thinking he would pursue the pairing. But then his increasingly icy demeanor throughout the evening made it seem like he was thinking along the same lines I was. He wasn‘ t going to hurt Kylee for someone he didn’t know.
He loved her. She loved him. I had no idea who he was, nor he 1. We could reject each other and just go on our way. Neither one of us would have to break Kylee’s heart. I thought he was keeping me from my family to be cruel. Or maybe to make things easier for both of us.
But today, his words revealed a different motive. He didn’t reject me for Kylee. He rejected me because of her. Because he believed what she said and painted me as some
coldhearted delinquent. But why? I just couldn’t figure that
out.
Dad died in a gas explosion along with my aunt and uncle ten years ago. I was fourteen, and Kylee was nine. Our thirteen- year–old cousin, Mina, came to live with us for a while after
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their deaths. Ma was hit pretty hard by the loss, so the three of us quickly started taking care of each other. We spent every spare minute with each other. Then our financial situation changed. Kylee was entirely too young, and Mina had been through enough losing both her parents for me to put that on her. So, it was up to me to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads.
But I was still fourteen. Finding jobs that paid enough to support a family of four at the age of fourteen was non- existent. I would need to work multiple jobs, and there just wasn’t enough time in the day. So, I approached the headmaster at my private high school and confided my situation with him. I was desperate not to drop out or risk my grades dropping and losing my scholarship. My parents didn’t pay a dime of my tuition. Not that they wouldn’t. They just didn’t have to.
Because I was on an academic scholarship, I asked how soon could graduate. Headmaster Fordham was a miracle worker. He helped me test out of over eighty percent of my academic requirements by the end of my freshman year. I only had to take four summer classes to graduate a week after my fifteenth birthday. I was even able to broker a deal with him that would set the remaining three years of my scholarship fund aside for Kylee when it came time for her to attend high school.
Mina decided to live with extended family on her father’s side in a different pack around that time. It was a hard but willing decision. We had lost touch a bit over the years. However, we still managed to call every year on each other’s birthdays.
I wondered if I would be able to do that this year.
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I still ended up working multiple jobs for several years. So I wouldn’t deny that there were plenty of times I wasn’t around much. But having graduated at such a young age did open some doors for me, and it allowed me to keep the household afloat. But no matter what, I always tried to be there for Kylee as much as possible.
Everything I did was for her.
I completely lost touch with all of my school friends. I never partied. I barely socialized. The jobs I held were really the only place that happened. But I was home to take her to school every morning, and I ensured I had at least an hour to help her with her homework almost every day.
I didn’t discuss the lengths I went to with Kylee. I didn’t want her to feel bad or that it was her fault. And I didn’t want her to see what Ma was going through. She was struggling to keep any job. She was drinking daily. There were even a couple of times she racked up gambling debts that put us in some scary situations.
But I never let Kylee see any of that. It was my job to protect them.
There was so much more that didn’t add up with what Theo had said. But I didn’t get to think about it further.
A searing pain shot through my chest, making my vision go white at the edges, blinding me to a point I almost missed the figure standing in the road before me.
My heart jumped into my chest. I turned the wheel as sharp as I could, slamming on the brakes to avoid hitting them head- on. The moment I did it, I felt stupid. Within seconds, I was spinning through the air and sliding down an embankment.
w
When the vehicle came to a stop, I was upside down. I registered the smell of blood, but everything was blurry. I didn’t feel significant pain, so I didn’t think the blood was coming from me.
The person on the road!
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I scrambled out of the car and up the incline. Without Dasha, I couldn’t see well in the dark, but I could see a blurry figure moving toward me.
“Are you okay?” I called.
I didn’t catch what they were saying because I suddenly felt the world falling out from beneath my feet, and everything went dark.
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