The Secrets We Keep

Chapter 13

Mathias

When I picked up Erika and Zeric I noticed something about her. Something about her changed. Her scent was different, or it wasn't hidden anymore. She smelt of lilac and honeysuckle, my senses were on an overdrive, breathing her in.

"Mate," Maddox yelled in my head, "she's mate! She's a wolf Mathias! And she isn't masked so we can smell her!"

"Maddox calm down! She doesn't know what a mate is."

"She feels it too though! I can smell it on her!"

"Maddox, we need to wait. I don't want to scare her and neither do you," even though I was just as excited as my wolf was, I needed to wait and not ravage her like an animal. I needed time to explain to her what I am and what she was to me.

"So, Mat do you want to see the eclipse tonight? Its supposed to be a blue super moon." Her voice was music and it gave me goosebumps all over. I nodded at her happily but then I realized.... Erika was a wolf.... holy s**t! Today is her 18th birthday and a full moon!

"No! We cant!" I yelled at her and I didn't even mean to, but I started to freak out knowing she was going to shift for the first time. It was exciting, I was going to be with her for her first time. I was going to see my mate shift before anyone else would ever see her in wolf form. Then I realized her brother was going to shift for the first time too.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell, but wait babe, I need to talk to you when we get there. Its important. s**t, Erika your parents!"

"Okay, Mat, calm down. What's wrong? And what about my parents?" I checked what time it was to see if I was going to make it to the lake house before they started their shift. I was lucky and realized I had 2 hours still and the lake house was only 30 min away. I hauled ass to get there with enough time so I could try and explain to them, all that I knew.

Leanna

As my home filled with elders, I knew when they were alphas, I felt an unsteady feeling in the pit of my stomach. The unsteady feeling changed into relief when Uriah and Alana came to tell me how they couldn't find the twins. By the look on their faces they knew exactly where they were, and they were safe for now.

Dante gave Alana and Uriah a death glare for unwelcome information about the twins. He slammed his and on the table we were sitting at, causing me and the kids to jump slightly. We knew it was coming. We just didn't know how loud it was going to be. Alana's hazel eyes were filled with the same rebellious look as Erika's would get in a situation like this. She was dressed in a beautiful dress that hugged her torso in a corset like fit, with jewels covering it, the bottom flowed elegantly down to the floor with a slit that opened up to mid thigh and silver shoes to compliment the silver on her dress. She wore it confidently with a smirk that was begging for trouble.

Uriah was handsome as can be. He was in a suit with long black sleeves under. He looked older than he was and had many compliments from the elder mates on his appearance. Once I was done admiring my children, I came back to reality and remembered how much trouble they could be in. I was waiting to make sure all the elders were in the conference room with Dante, but a sudden familiar scent caught my attention and sent chills up my spine. I pulled my kids behind me and the scent grew closer.

"Well, Leanna," I heard his voice chuckle, "are these the twins?"

"No Rolland, as of right now, the twins are missing. This is Alana and this is Uriah."

"Alana huh?" He laughed, knowing my children didn't know what all this was about. "You know Alana, you look an awful lot like someone I once knew when I was younger."

"Rolland, I believe Dante is ready for you in the conference room. So if you don't mind, I must speak with my children." Before he had a chance to say anything else, we started for the back and, like always, curiosity got the better of Uriah. He asked a million questions and finally came to the conclusion that they weren't humans. I made them leave and said I would explain everything to them once I found them.

As soon as I got them out of the back door, I made my way back to where the elder mates were hoping none of them noticed the lack of teenagers present. Of course, that was short-lived when the elder Demetrius' mate came to me.

"So, my dear, what was Dantes' plan?" She startled me to say the least.

"Luna Maya, well I don't know what you mean, but alpha Rolland is here, and he is an evil man. So if you'll excuse me."

"Well, his son is a good boy, and from my understanding, he already has a pup, in line for alpha. I don't think Madrids are any type of threat right now." Luna Maya was always very calm and she never lacked wisdom.

"OK Maya, where is your baby sister then?"

"Listen, Iris, Naya is aggressive, but again, they have very little say in their pack since their son is alpha. My nephew is not his parents. I'll let you in on something. His son's mother is a rogue. Packless and he loved her, he even kept the pup so the mother wouldn't have to worry about raising it on her own." Maya's words hit me like a train.

"What's the pup's name, Maya?"

"Oh no dear, Rolland refuses to let anyone know." I was about to make a break for my room to change when Dante called me to the conference room.

Dante

"Leanna! Come in here!" Lucas and Arya were with me, observing how things work and how to make demands. All that was missing was their mother. As Leanna walked through the door something about her was not quite right.

"Yes, my mate?"

"Come sit, there is a lot to discuss about the twins." She never took her eyes off my pups, sitting off to the side looking like she was ready to make a break for it. "Is something the matter?"

"No Dante, I just don't think it's appropriate for the pups to be here while we discuss their siblings."

"Oh you can cut the s**t Iris. They know they aren't their brother and sister."

"Dante...... what are you doing?" I saw the confusion building and I couldn't help it, but it brought me amusement.

"Lucas and Arya need stability, they need a pack and the safety a pack brings them. Its time we let the elders decide what to do with Erika Zeric and Alana." I laughed at how she thought this wasn't going to end at some point. A voice broke the stare down between Iris and myself.

"So where are the children now?" It was Rolland looking like he had just won a prize hearing this information. "Why aren't we trying to re-introduce them to a pack? I would gladly welcome them to mine."

"They need to be in their own pack, Rolland, or at least a pack with family in it!" Elder Demetrius boomed from the other end of the table.

"And does your pack have any of their family?"

"Enough!" Leanna finally spoke from the doorway. "These kids were orphaned, they need to be where they are protected! I know where they need to go and I will send them when it is time. But right now I'm more worried about finding them." I admired my mate. We may not have been fated, but I wouldn't trade her. She was from an alpha line and she always had an authoritative demeanor.

"I may not have birthed them, but they are still mine. Elder Demetrius, Erika has taken an interest in Mathias, and has befriended Danae. I feel she will do best in your pack, if you......." she was cut off by a laugh.

"Iris, are these pups the children of Michael and Ayanna?" The room grew eerily quiet, and my mate grew defensive.

"How dare you mention my family and laugh? Their parentage is no concern of yours!" Without a second thought Rolland was on his feet and smirking at her.

"I know exactly where these pups are." Without a second to spare, he was gone. At that point, I wasn't concerned about what happened, all I wanted was a better life for Lucas and Arya. I hadn't realized it was almost dusk, Erika and Zeric would shift tonight and they wouldn't know how or what was going on. Again, I didn't care after all they'd done. They were blessed by Ayanna's lineage and they'd manage fine. I looked at Lucas and Arya, who looked worried.

"What's wrong my pups?"

"Are Sissy and Zeric going to die?" Before I could answer, I felt a sting burn my face.

"You bastard! Do you know what you've done, dante?!"

"That will be the one and only time you get a shot at me!"

"I don't care! We swore to protect them and you just gave who they are away to a room full of elders! Any of them could be responsible for the fall of their pack!" She was hysterical.

"What are you talking about?"

"I think Rolland is the one who killed Michael! I also think they killed Liam, Carter and Ayanna! And you just handed them right over to him and Naya!" I didn't know if Rolland was the one who destroyed hunters moon, but my mate was distraught. I didn't blame her, but we didn't even know where they went. So I didn't see the point in worrying myself.

"Elder Demetrius, don't you recognize your son's own warrior?!" As soon as I heard her voice I snapped my head and looked at the man that was once my alpha. Years of fighting with magical twins changed my hair from what was once a chestnut color to now completely grey. One eye was discolored from a fight with Erika that left me blinded in it. I looked more like I was 50 than 40.

"Oh no, Iris, I recognized him. I just didn't know he was trying to buy his way for those two pups by sacrificing children. Now that I know who the children are, I must pay my son and grandson a visit."

"Demetrius Mathias is with them." I looked over to my mate and was shocked at her revelation.

"The boy Erika has taken to is the future alpha of White Moon? Ha, this just keeps getting better, huh?" Maybe the girl wasn't as foolish as I thought.

"Iris, you need to get to them before Rolland or Naya does! He won't stop till he has them chained under his control."

I was defeated this time and I felt like I failed my pups. I had to find a way back into a pack so they would be safe. Suddenly Lauren walked in and Demetrius recognized her immediately.

"Auntie, uncle," she bowed and was ready to speak, but was pulled to the side by Demetrius.

"Audrey? Oh dear girl, you look just like Liam and Ayanna. But you also look just like your mother." Lauren was at a loss for words. She looked from who she knew to be her aunt to Demetrius unsure of what was going on. Iris just kept her head down looking like she was ready to kill.

"Demetrius! None of them know their names given to them by their birth parents, and I am sure they prefer to be called by the names they were raised by." My mate was fiercely protective over the pups in her family line, and she abided by the rank they were born to.

Not once did she ever tell Erika no, she always tried to guide her and Zeric. She raised Alana to be a beta female, in which she was a great support, and back up for Erika and Zeric. Uriah, on the other hand, she raised as if he were a Gamma like her fated mate Carter used to be.

We weren't sure of his parentage but since Ayanna was caring for him she had to teach him something. Lauren was raised by Aaron, and just like Alana, she was always great at having Erika's and Zeric's backs. I wasn't sure why she was sent to us all of a sudden, but I'm sure my mate won't tell me after this, but Lauren will mention it at some point. I was pulled from my thoughts when Demetrius spoke again.

"You insult the late pack they were born to lead by calling them anything but their given names! And now that I know who these pups are, they will be reunited with the world they should have been raised in. Not this human life you both filled all of their heads with!" Demetrius was very opinionated and he always had been and he felt like we failed.

"That girl is named Audrey Monique Diaz," Demetrius pointed at Lauren or Audrey, or i guess whatever she'd prefer to be called, "the daughter of Liam and Amelia Diaz, the Beta family of the Hunter's Moon wolf pack! And her family did not sacrifice themselves to have their memories insulted by the likes of you two!"

"Careful Demetrius, you may be an elder, but I am the last Diaz descendant, and the last Gamma of that pack. For them to have any chance, they will need me and my advice. If you plan on helping them, YOU will want me on your side." Iris wasn't the luna of a pack but did have alpha blood flowing through her, which made her very dominant and brilliant at taking the lead when necessary.

"Rolland already....."

"You shut your mouth Dante! My children will not go with that man. White moon pack will be the best choice for them! When the time comes, they will rebuild their pack and they will not fall the same way my family did." With that she took her leave, probably to dress out of the masquerade like dress she wore. I looked at my niece, and knew she had so many questions. It was odd, I got along with her rather well, especially considering I didn't get along very well with the children I raised. I figured it was due to them being blessed and I feel like in some way they knew they were more than just special.

"Uncle," Lauren stepped in front of me and looked at me with curiosity. I cupped her delicate face and smiled at her, "what is going on?" The dress she wore was very similar to Alana and my mate's. The difference was only in color. It was a magenta and it complimented her tan skin and beautiful light brown eyes. She looked just like them.

"Lauren, we have a lot we must discuss, but right now is not the time. We need to find your cousins before it is too late."

"Before, what is too late?"

Mathias

We pulled up to the lake house. The rest of the drive was deathly quiet. I received a text from Alpha on the way up here, making me aware of what Dante had planned for the twins. I was furious that this man was planning on using MY mate as a way to make good in a pack. When we went inside, I was carrying mine and Erika's bags. As we entered the front door, she grabbed my hand, causing me to drop our things and she pulled me up the stairs giggling the whole way up to a huge room. The second we were in the room, she shut the door and locked it.

"What are you doing?" I tried to ask her before she jumped on to me, causing us to fall on the bed.

"You wanted special right? What's more special than a birthday? And if I'm being honest, I've been keeping myself from going at you as soon as I got in the truck." Before I was able to answer, she slammed her lips into mine. I felt sparks on every piece of skin that made contact with her. I had so much I needed to tell her, but at the moment all I could think about was how much I wanted her. We had been holding back since the first day I had her alone in my truck, and right now the mate bond didn't allow me to tell her no.

I cupped her face and pulled her closer to me. I flipped her over so she was on her back lying down. I felt like we fit each other perfectly. I started kissing her everywhere I possibly could, starting from her lips, making my way to where my mark would be when the time came. I heard her moan the second my lips grazed her sensitive spot, I could smell her arousal, and it only caused me to lose more control. I grabbed her hips and kept them from moving as I kissed her from her neck down to the low cut of her shirt that showed just the right amount of her breasts. She tried to rock her hips but I held them down. Feeling her urge as she tried to move, only fed my lust for her body. I wanted every inch of her and before I even meant to, I ripped her shirt off and admired her beautiful breasts.

Wasting no time, I went to work and showed the same amount of appreciation for each cupping them both as I placed my mouth on one of her n*****s and gently started to massage it with my tongue and suck. She moaned loudly and I felt her hips buck beneath me.

"Mmm Mathias! I want you, please!" Hearing her beg for me right now made me completely ready for her. I made my way down to right above her shorts. I started to unbutton the shorts she was wearing and pulled them off. I continued planting kisses down to her core, she was ready for me, and her scent drove me wild. I kissed the inside of each thigh, making my way to her center. I brought myself back to her lips and they opened for me, welcoming me to taste every inch of her mouth. Her hands were wandering around my body and made their way down to my jeans. She wasted no time undoing them and sliding them off me. Once they were off, I placed myself at her entrance still locked in a passionate kiss I didn't want to break, but I had to make sure she was happy with the direction this was going.

She smiled at me as if she had been waiting for this her whole life. She nodded in approval and I wasted no time entering her. She was warm and so so tight. The second I was inside her she instantly arched her back and let out the sexiest series of moans I've ever heard. I felt her legs wrap around me as I began thrusting deep inside of her, and her nails started to dig into my back as she screamed out with pleasure. I was almost at my peak when she suddenly switched places with me and, oh my goddess, this girl was made for me. She was on top of me slamming her small frame down on my fully extended erected membrane.

"Erika don't stop." I told her as I held her hips while she rode me. I felt her tighten around my shaft and I knew she was close.

"Oh my god Mathias, I think I'm gonna... agh!" She couldn't finish her sentence so I took over again and flipped her back under me and crashed into her with everything I had.

"c*m baby, c*m for me," I said into her ear and she did exactly that.

"Mathias! I'm cumming, oh my......ugh!" I felt her body start to shake and I felt her start to tighten again and that's when it happened. I had my face buried in her neck. I didn't mean to, but something inside me said it was now or never. I elongated my k-9s and dug straight into her the beautiful spot where she was meant to bare my mark. She screamed out louder than I expected. Her body shook as she peaked in her c****x. She started to breathe normally again for the most part and I sealed the mark I left on her. I looked at it heal and I felt accomplished with the way it looked till she spoke.

"Umm mat did you bit me?" She sounded a little worried and then I remembered she had no clue what just happened.

"Well I, uh.... um yeah, yeah I did."

"Oh goodness did you break skin!"

"Kind of but its all healed up now!" I felt panic settle inside my chest. She got up and started for the restroom so she could look at it. I jumped up to stop her and try to explain what happened. "Wait Erika I need to talk to you. I wanted to talk before all of that, but I mean, you can't go back, right?"

"I'm sorry Mat, you're right, what is going on?"

"Ok, so I don't even know how to start," I took a deep breath and looked at the beautiful girl I just mated with and just let the words flow. "So, baby, I don't think your parents talked to you about everything they should have. So what just happened during s*x, umm I marked you. And it's because you're my mate, and I'm a. We are, umm.... Well, we are werewolves. The tingle you feel when you touch me is the mate bond. That's the reason we were so attracted to each other before you turned 18." I sat quietly waiting for her to say something but she just stared at me and then out of nowhere she let out a gut-busting laugh.

"Mat what are you talking about? There is no such thing as werewolves."

"Sweetheart, I'm serious. Tonight is your first shift. It happens on your 18th birthday. Please believe me, I'll show you if you want."

"Ok, then prove it." She threw my pants at me, got dressed and then sat on the bed gesturing to me to go ahead.

"I'm not a circus trick Erika! I'm a wolf and so are you! And right now I need to tell you everything they told me, and I need to make sure you're safe, so after this, we need to go home. Like my home! Deal?"

"You're a wolf?" She looked at me as if I was on drugs and waited for me to explain what I had to her.

"Ok so, Leanna and Dante aren't your parents. We think you and your brother and sister are from a pack that was destroyed by a power-hungry alpha who was hell bent on using you, Alana and your brother for his own benefit."

"Why do you keep saying Brother? I have two." She sounded annoyed asking.

"We don't think Uriah is your brother. Your parents only had three children, twins and a younger girl. The 2nd son died shortly after he was born."

"Who is we? And you still haven't shown me proof."

"Fine Erika, I'll show you." I grabbed her hand and walked with her out of the room so I could lead her outside, but it was short-lived with a cracking sound, and a screaming Erika.

"Mathias, something is wrong." I looked at the time and I realized it was happening.