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.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt
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
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmthat 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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