The Secrets We Keep

Chapter 15

Erika

Mathias' touch was all I needed for my worry to subside. I smiled at him and looked back at Anthony.

"So, you ended up with little baby Alpha, huh? What a joke." I could hear the venom in his words, but they didn't hurt this time. I smiled at my thoughts when a voice in my head came forward.

"Oh girl, he's jealous. Can't you hear it?" The voice sounded familiar but I didn't know how to speak back to it.

" He's far from a baby, Anthony. Why does it matter to you anyway? You have a mate and your own pack to worry about. Who I ended up with shouldn't matter to you anyway."

"No but I can think of one person it WOULD matter to........ what about that Erika, have you told Mattie, boy here about Elijah?" The mention of his name stopped my heart. There is no way he would really open his mouth about who Elijah was. I wasn't embarrassed of him or ashamed, I had agreed to Anthony's term so he could have a home. Not because I didn't want him or want anyone to know about him. The room grew silent as eyes fell straight on me. I didn't break eye contact with Anthony, trying to call his bluff, but he never faltered. I felt Mat tighten his grip on my hand and I calmed down instantly.

"No I haven't. Not because I'm hiding it, but because I was keeping up my end of the deal I made with you. So if you want to play this game, why don't you tell them who he is?"

He laughed so loudly he shook the room, "Ha really? You can't do it, can you? Okay, then I will tell them." He smiled and waited for a second.

"Elijah is my son, and the future Alpha of my pack. BUT wait, there's more! He was conceived by......... this little beauty!" As Anthony spoke the last words of this revelation he managed to grab my hand, pulled me from Mathias and twirled me to face all three of the big men standing staring at me.

"Erika, you..... you had a pup?" Hearing Mathias question the statement that Anthony just made with hurt in his voice, I felt hot tears burn as they rolled down my cheeks. I looked at him and started to break down.

"I'm so sorry Mathias, it was before I even came here, I didn't even know Anthony was a wolf. I would have told you but he said he would only take care of Elijah as long as I never told anyone about him. I would have told you, I swear."

"Thats enough!" A voice boomed over everyone. I looked over and saw Alpha's face red with anger and irritation.

"Listen here boy," Alpha grabbed Anthony by the shirt and pulled him to his face so Anthony could not disregard the fire he was playing with, "you lost! This whole try to one up Mathias is over. She may have blessed you with a pup at one point, before she knew anything about this life, but she is not your mate! Mathias' mark is clear on her and you WILL RESPECT that she is no longer your concern, but that pup, IS our concern now, since she will one day be our Luna." He released Anthony and turned to face me. I braced myself for any type of hate or fury about to reign down on me, but that's not at all what I got from this large man.

"You have nothing to hide from him," he pointed at Mathias with his thumb as he placed a hand on my shoulder, "he will worship the ground you walk on no matter what your past is. In his eyes, you are the goddess's gift to earth, and no one, not even a pup from a previous relationship, will change that." Anthony scoffed and scowled at Mathias as Alpha Raymond stepped aside for Mathias to take my hand and pull me to his side. The way the sparks danced on my skin from his touch would never cease to amaze me. I felt my cheeks flush red and he leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"Looks like we have more to talk about then, huh?" I heard the calm in his voice, a tone I didn't expect, and I felt my heart steady.

"We have business to finish! Unless you would rather discontinue considering new circumstances." Anthony had a smirk that made me want to punch him square in the jaw, but I managed to keep my composure.

"No Anthony, by all means let's continue, unless you'd rather make other arrangements at this point." Mathias seemed more confident than Anthony, which made him even more attractive to me. The word mine was bouncing through my head like a rubber ball, but it wasn't my voice saying it.

"You know what? I have some prior engagements that I need to tend to. I would like to continue this, meeting another day. I'm sure Danny would be more than excited to come with me and keep the new future Luna company so there will be no further distractions from her." The defeat in Anthony's voice was apparent, and I couldn't help but be happy about it, but his arrogance covered it up to everyone else. When Anthony finally left the office, Raymond directed his attention straight to me. He rubbed his chin as he circled me, it looked as if he was trying to study me but not in a way that made me uncomfortable.

"So, you go by Erika now?" His deep voice finally broke the silence, I wasn't really sure what he meant, so I didn't respond right away, "come, come speak, you will not be harmed here."

"Well, that is my name sir."

"Please don't call me sir. My name is Raymond and I've known you since you were a pup. From what Demetrius has said, you are one of the children of Michael and Ayanna. You looked just like her. Your curly hair, and fair skin are just like hers, but your eyes are from your father, bright green and fierce enough to pier into someone's soul." He chuckled at his observation, "your name is not Erika, sweet girl. Your name is Amarie Diaz Montoya. First born child of Hunters Moon, Alpha Michael and Luna Ayanna Montoya."

Hearing their names weighed heavy on my heart, "what happened to them?"

"They were betrayed my dear. Rogue werewolves attack your packlands and ravaged everything in their wake. Your father fought valiantly and was a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, we suspect someone close to your family was the reason for his downfall. Your mother," he smiled brightly, "was my friend. We had known each other since we were pups. She was a beauty, inside and out, and she lived for her children. She got all of you out and made sure you were all cared for. The three Alpha children, the one beta girl pup, and a newborn boy. We don't know where he came from, but I have my suspension."

He carried on with his story about my pack and my parents for well over an hour. By the time he was done, I was a blubbering mess. My father loved me, and he made sure to show me every day. There was always a hole in my heart and I never understood why, but after today, everything changed, and I knew it was for my parents, my real parents.

"So how did we end up with Leanna and Dante?" Now that I knew they weren't my parents, I wanted to know how they ended up with us.

"Well, this is only speculation. The last time I saw your mother, she didn't have any of you with her. My guess is she gave you all to your cousin Iris, and one of our old guards, Dante. Leanna is Iris' middle name. She was the Gamma female of your pack. Her fated mate's name was Carter Woods. He was a fierce warrior, brave and loyal to no end." I looked at Mathias and saw he looked like he was struggling with a battle in his mind, until he had a question of his own.

"So did you know all this time that they were alive?"

"Honestly..... no, Ayanna was supposed to bring them all here, she said that Iris and Aaron had them all safe but were waiting for her. When none of them made it here, we went back to see if they made it out and that's when we found everyone. Michael was found close to the border of his territory, and it was, well, a s*******r if we are being honest. As for Ayanna, we found her in the room you and your twin shared." When he talked about the room, an image of the blood-soaked abandoned house flashed into my mind.

"What did the room look like?" I asked immediately.

"Well, it had both your beds, a large white dresser....."

"She bled out?" I interrupted him without even meaning to and the corners of his mouth slanted downward into a frown.

"Yes..... they slit her throat with a silver blade and coated it with wolfsbane to make sure she wouldn't heal." I looked down at my feet as I fiddled with my hand, when I suddenly felt sparks ignite on my arm from Mathias' touch. It brought me comfort, and eased the ache in my heart for parents giving their lives for us.

"So you said you had a suspicion about Uriah?" Mathias was trying to help me get anything out of him possible.

"Ahh! That's right. That's the young one. I believe him to be your uncle Liam's boy. We found your aunt Amelia's body, with her baby cut from it, and it was nowhere to be found. My question for you now....... where is Liam and Amelia's daughter?" I wasn't sure who she was, then I remembered my cousin Lauren and my uncle.

Lauren and I were always told we resembled each other enough to be sisters. "I have a cousin, her name is Lauren. She lives with her dad...."

"She is in the care of Iris and Dante at the moment." The old man interjected as he walked into the office, "Iris has her at their small ranch in between borders. As of yesterday, she is aware of her parentage, and Iris was instructed to bring her here but, she doesn't seem too trusting of anyone at the moment."

"We can go for her, my mom trusts me, and my brothers and sister. If I can promise she will be safe, she will be more willing to come as well." After hearing everything, I wanted to help. I wanted to belong, and the only other person who could help was my mom, or my cousin. It's strange because I knew she always loved me like she was my mother, but I think it was more that she felt obligated to, so she could honor Ayanna and Michael.

"Well, if you feel like you can make it happen, go home, and bring them both here," I stood up to take my leave with Mathias when we were stopped once more."And Amarie, we can find a way to get your pup back with you if it is something you wish."

I smiled at Alpha, and nodded in appreciation. Mathias and I went back to his room and started to get ready, in hopes of bringing what was left of my family back together. I fixed my hair so it was in a tame curl instead of its natural-air-dried state. Mathias led me to the hospital building next door to check on my sister and make sure my brothers were holding up OK. We made it through the front doors only to be met by Mathias' uncle, James. Eager to see his nephew since he didn't come to get checked out after the fire. Mathias assured his uncle that he was fine and he didn't need any type of check-up or test run to be sure.

"Nephew, you really should let me just run a couple."

"Uncle James, I'm fine, I promise! I shifted and even Maddox says we are fine." Mathias' uncle was still giving him a slight glare, not believing him, and then he noticed something and he smirked, and tried not to laugh by covering his mouth.

"What are you laughing at?" Mathias looked at James, slightly bugged with him.

"Oh, I see why you feel better." The second he said it, he pulled Mathias' collar and started to laugh uncontrollably, "so is this tiny she wolf the pretty little thing that left that on you?"

"Hi, I'm Erika," I reached to shake his hand, but instead I was greeted with a bow.

"Luna, it is an honor to meet you." I blushed at his gesture as it went from a bow to a warm embrace. I wasn't sure how to feel about it but it made me smile, it was welcoming. When he finally released me, I looked at Mathias, who had a huge smile. I blushed and looked back at his uncle.

"Oh! Your sister is down the hall, third door on your left, she is doing perfectly fine and should be ready to move into the pack house by this afternoon around 2." He bowed, then looked at Mathias, "you, I need to speak with."

I started down the hall to find my siblings and was met by a furious Reyna instead. I was paying attention to my phone before I even realized that she was walking in my direction. We collided. I dropped my phone and looked up to apologize, but I was met with a low growl, and her getting in my face.

"Watch yourself, human!" I don't know why that should be offensive, but I couldn't help laughing at her attempt to hurt my feelings.

"Okay, is that supposed to be an insult? Because if it is, maybe you should save it for someone who wasn't human the day before yesterday." I could see her irritation grow in her eyes and she started to step closer to me as she balled her fist. I smirked at her lame attempt at intimidating me.

"REYNA!" I heard Mathias' voice boom shake the entire hospital building. She quickly stepped back and coward down to him. "Not that I think she is incapable of kicking your ass, you will not try your luck stepping up to the future Luna of this pack."

She looked at him confused, then noticed his mark, then looked at me and saw mine. Anger crossed her face, "sorry Mathias, it won't happen again." She gritted through her teeth, and pushed past us, stomping out of the building. We both turned and looked at each other and he put his arm on my back and we walked to the room Alana should have been in. When we walked in, the room was filled with giggles and popcorn being thrown all over.

"Umm what are you guys doing?" I asked, very confused at the scene I walked into with Mathias.

"Sissy!" Alana, Zeric, and Uriah all yelled and ran to hug me but it turned into more of a tackle, then a dog pile, no pun intended.

"Get off of me you crazy people!" I felt like a marshmallow under all of them. But I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. I started giggling and laughing with them, hugging each one of them. When the giggling finally subsided and they finally let me up, I saw Tyler and a younger boy around Uriahs' age.

"Oh goodness, hi I'm so sorry I didn't even realize anyone else was in here," I was about to reach out to try and shake either of their hands and was met again with bows from both of them. I looked at Mathias, and I'm sure he could tell I was getting uncomfortable.

"Umm you don't have to do that please."

"You're Luna though, we bow out of respect." I didn't expect him to talk with how stoic he had been since I met him. I felt Mathias' hands touch my shoulders, and gently squeeze. I looked back at him, and forced a smile. I didn't think about all of the titles that could come with Mathias, or being mated to him. I wasn't ready for any of it, but I didn't think saying it out loud was appropriate right now.

"Hey, so I have to talk with you three about something kind of important." As soon as I finished my sentence, Tyler and the other boy in the room walked out and closed the door.

"If you're trying to tell us you warp into an animal, don't worry. Zeric beat you to it, oh and he told us you started the fire too." Alana smirked like the know it all she is.

"Ok then, smart ass, did he also tell you that Leanna and Dante aren't our parents?" I said looking at my sister, making sure she could hear the irritation she caused in my voice. She went from a big smile to a hurt expression, Mathias and I sat and told them everything we had just learned. When we were done, Zeric stood up and made his way to the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Lauren and mom, and to wring Dante's neck." I stood up and started to run after him, trying to slow him down to calm him. I could feel his rage and it scared me. There was still so much we didn't know about our powers, so we needed to try and keep our emotions in check. I didn't want another episode like last night to happen, I almost got Mathias and my sister killed and the guilt was heavy, and I didn't want him to feel it.

"Zeric wait, we need to think about this okay, we are fine, we just need to find mom and Lauren to bring them here and make sure they're safe." I hoped my calm could help put out his fire, and for a second I thought it did, but not enough.

"They lied to us, Erika, we don't even know who we are because of them! I just plan on saving Lauren, if mom or whoever she is comes too fine but Dante and the kids I could careless about." He looked down at the floor and met Tyler down the hall, they talked for a second and they were leaving the hospital. I took a step and was stopped by my mate. I loved the sound of calling him that, "you can't go with them." I pulled my arm from him pretty insulted.

"Like hell I'm not, Dante was evil with us and Zeric is not going into that house without me!" He looked shocked at my answer, "baby, I don't want you to be put in any type of harm's way. So please just stay here and let me go."

"No! This is my family problem, not yours, and I have something to settle with Dante!" There was still so much we didn't say about our upbringing. Again, looking back on everything, when one of our fights, whether it was with Dante or anyone in the house, he would chain us up and it always burnt. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure it was silver chains.

I looked at my wrists that had scars from the cuffs he used on us, he intentionally hurt us. Knowing silver burned and weakened us, he punished us for things we didn't even mean to do. I stopped trying to calm the rage I felt from Zeric and I just let it flow through me. I ran out after Zeric and Tyler, catching up with them just as they were about to drive off.

Tyler slammed on the breaks when he realized I was in front of them. "Luna! Are you crazy?"

"I'm coming with you!"

"I'm sorry Luna, that's a no go." He said without a second thought.

"It wasn't a question." I crossed my arms, not giving him a choice. I saw Zeric smile from ear to ear because he knew Ty wouldn't be able to stop me. I walked to the vehicle and jumped in. I was determined to confront Dante, and there was no way I was going to let this opportunity get away from me. I knew my brother felt the same way, but I don't think he felt nearly as strong about it as I did,