Sienna
I rose, quickly stopping her halfway from her kneeling position.
Somehow, the sight of Gemma crying negated most grudges I had long held agains ther. She was my sister after all, and a part of me still knew that.
I led her to sit on the edge of the bed as she began to spill what had happened in the past six years. And as I listened, my countenance grew darker by every moment.
My father had, it seemed, screwed up royally. Not only had he ruined the pack by making the wrong investments and draining the pack of more than 60% of its wealth,, but he had ruined relations with most of the neighboring packs.
Then she told me about herself, her marriage to Victor.
And that broke my heart the most, causing tears to well up in my eyes.
"I lost my child," She sniffled, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "A daughter."
"I… I'm sorry," I found myself saying.
I couldn't help it. Even though I hated her, I was a mother myself. I could never imagine my own children being gone, not ever.
But then I asked, "How did that happen?"
What she answered shocked me tk my core.
"I had to give her away. I had to make sure no one found her. You don't know how scared I was…" She lifted her gaze to me. "She had your eyes. Exactly like yours. A witch."
It struck me, and my cheeks flushed with rage. I closed my eyes, sighing sharply.
Gemma reached out to me once more but I pulled my hand back.
"You gave your child away?" I kept my voice low but my anger was palpable.
"I had no choice," She cried brokenly. "It was the only way I had to- to keep her away from all of this! I tried to hide her features but each time I felt awful. She was so beautiful. She was just like you. A-And I knew that Victor, that our parents… they would rather kill her than let another witch live."
"Victor wouldn't harm his child," I blurted out, not because I refused to believe it, but because I was still in shock.
He wouldn't do such a despicable thing, right?
"He's cheated on me, Sienna," Gemma scoffed, her tears streaming down, though she wiped them valiantly. "I think I don't know what he's capable of anymore."
I fell silent. Everything about her seemed diminished now more than ever. Her snarky voice, her mocking laughter, all were gone. She had suffered the brunt of everything.
A mirthless, pained laughter almost left my lips but I stifled it and covered my mouth with one hand. Once I was no longer a willing scapegoat, they didn't become one happy family after all. Instead they turned on the weakest one among them.
They were absolutely disgusting.
"What does this all have to do with me? Why force me to return?" I asked, clasping my hands together. I handed her a silk handkerchief, which was nearly crushed from my previous fiddling with it. She wiped her tears, her face flushed.
"I thought you already knew and that's why you ran," Gemma whispered. "Don't you remember what happened all those years ago?"
My heart skipped a beat. Did they somehow find out about how I had gotten pregnant?
"What?" My voice was calm but underneath there was an edge of anxiousness.
"You stole from someone, Sienna. The Wolf King. And he came looking to collect."
My body froze.
The Wolf King? I had heard tales about him. I knew back then that he was going to arrive in the Greyhound Pack. But I had never laid eyes on him before.
"That's impossible," I said, shaking my head. "I couldn't have stolen from him."
"But you did. He was furious. He threatened us all to find you." She lowered her voice. "Sienna, he has broken off all alliances with us. Everyone now makes fun of us. Neighboring packs don't even give us the time of day anymore." Gemma bowed her head.
I parted my lips to reject the notion, but suddenly a thought came to my mind. And my heart dropped.
That couldn't be him could it?
My stomach churned with discomfort.
I had stolen something from that man. Only some cash though, enough to get me far away. I wasn't a fool enough to steal big sums and get caught.
It was impossible, rather improbable… but it was the only thing I could think of.
That night when I was drunk and found my mate, I had not asked for his name had I?
His handsome features came to mind, still blurry from my dazed memories.
"Sienna, the Wolf King is really upset. Victor has this idea that, maybe, the Greyhound Pack would return to its former glory if he gives you to him. To face the consequences on our behalf."
My eyes snapped to her.
"To use me as a hostage," I sneered.
Of course he was so foolish.
And so, so troublesome.
But that wasn't the main thought in my mind. How was I to tell Gemma, or anyone, that the man I stole from six years ago, the Wolf King… was my mate?
I glanced at my triplets, still playing. And I felt like my world had crumbled.
I needed to leave here. I didn't know how but I knew staying here and waiting for the Wolf King to come was a death sentence. I had to return t the human world, to keep my children away from him, away from everyone.
"Gemma," my voice was low. "I have something to tell you."
I couldn't keep this from her, not when she was my only potential ally in this place. I knew we had never gotten along before now, but if there was a way that she would help me, if there was any chance at all for us to work together… then I had to tell her the truth.
"I… what happened those years back," I spoke, my body trembling. "I didn't steal from the Wolf King. Not intentionally, Gemma. I had stolen from my mate."
…