21 Years Ago

I sat alone in the darkness, waiting for Joshua to return. I had sent him several messages but received no response. As the night wore on, my anxiety grew, and I began to worry that something terrible had happened to him.

Exhausted, I eventually fell asleep, only to wake up a few hours later. It was already 7 am, and I knew I had to hurry if I was going to make it to school on time. However, the emptiness I felt because Joshua was still missing was overwhelming, and I struggled to hold back my tears.

I got ready as quickly as I could and headed down to the dining room, where my parents were already eating breakfast. However, I was still annoyed with them for what my mother had said, so I left without a word.

The cool morning air did little to ease my worries as I made my way to school. When my best friend, Salem, arrived, I put on a brave face, not wanting to burden her with my problems.

However, Brit's constant attempts to communicate with me made it impossible to ignore her messages.

Then, out of nowhere, Joshua appeared, and my heart leaped with joy. 

I ran to him and wrapped my arms around him, grateful that he was safe. His scent, a mix of the forest and his unique aroma was like a soothing balm to my frayed nerves.

I whispered to him, "Joshua, mom didn't mean what she said."

He replied, "It's okay, bels. I have to go to my friend's park to investigate something."

As I bid farewell to him, I turned around to find Salem gazing at me with a bewildered expression on her face, clearly puzzled about what had just transpired.

"I can hardly believe my eyes, Bella. When did you patch things up with him? I thought he wasn't treating you like a big brother but he is. I'm so happy for you," she exclaimed.

But then, she stopped abruptly and looked at me inquisitively.

"By the way, where is your mate? I haven't seen him around." Her question caught me off guard, and I couldn't help but gulp nervously.

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't tell her that my mate was my brother and that I kissed him and loved it.

As the thought crossed my mind, I felt my body shudder and my face flush with embarrassment. 

I knew that my friend, Salem had noticed my reaction, and I could see the curiosity in her eyes. "Oh, I know that look," she said with a smirk. "Where is he? I want to see him, Bella."

I could feel my heart racing as I tried to come up with a believable excuse. My mind raced with possible lies I could tell her, but I knew that I couldn't hide the truth forever.

Her mate suddenly swept her from the ground and planted a big fat kiss on her lips and then she suddenly drew him down for more.

I was grateful for the interruption and then I quickly used the opportunity to escape.

As I briskly walked away, I felt the heavy weight of guilt tugging at my mind, threatening to pull me back to where I had been just moments before. 

I couldn't bear to look at her face again, not after what I had done. I knew that the truth would have to come out eventually, but not now, not when the pain was still too fresh.

During lunch, I sat across from my friends Salem and Luke at a busy café. The sun was warm on my skin, but I felt cold inside. 

I wanted to tell them about my mate, the one who had been struggling with so much lately, but the words wouldn't come. 

He was my brother!

I knew that bringing it up would be like opening a can of worms, and I wasn't sure if I was ready for the consequences.

As we sipped our drinks and nibbled on our food, I kept stealing glances at the people around us, wondering if anyone else was carrying around a secret like mine. 

I sat silently, staring blankly at the steam rising from my cup.

I felt like a fraud, pretending that everything was okay when it wasn't. Why was I even overthinking everything? After all, everyone has a secret to tell. 

Suddenly, Salem's hand grabbed mine and squeezed. "Bella, are you okay? You've been very quiet since we came here. Is everything alright?" I could see the worry in Sarah's eyes and the sharp pain of guilt returned. 

"Your mate didn't reject you, did he?" Salem asked, but I didn't respond. I had been avoiding talking about my mate for a while now, and it was weighing heavily on me.

"Where is that son of a bitch?" Salem stood up, ready to confront the mate who had caused me so much pain. I tugged her back down.

"Salem, calm down. I have not seen my mate yet, and that is what worries me," I quickly lied. It could be the truth anyway since my brother couldn't be my mate even though our wolves said otherwise.

Maybe my real mate was out there. I just needed to confront my parents about it.

Shaking her head, she hugged me. "I am so sorry that you have to go through all this, you'll find him one day."

We finished up and headed to class for the remaining classes of the day.

We were done with the classes and as we said our goodbyes and parted ways, I couldn't shake off the sadness that had settled deep inside of me. 

I wished that I could be someone else, someone who didn't have to carry around the weight of secrets and guilt.

On the way home, I thought of interrogating my mum. I wanted to ask her if Joshua was truly my brother.

I got home and my parent's cars were parked outside. We lived far from the other pack members.

Entering the quiet house, I wondered if my parents were just sleeping or if they had gone to a meeting or something because the house was so quiet. 

As soon as I entered the house, I noticed a strange silence that confirmed my suspicion that the twins were also out probably with our grandparents. 

I made my way to my room, where I dropped my bag and went straight to Joshua's room. His scent was so overwhelming, and I couldn't resist taking off my top and wearing one of his instead.

However, as I stood in Joshua's room, I couldn't help but overhear my parents' voices coming from their room. 

I could sense that they were talking In whispers. Where there other people in the house? I began to feel uneasy.

As I listened more closely, I heard my mom whisper, "Do we have to tell him? He has already begun suspecting. I almost slipped up, and Bella almost found out."

My curiosity piqued, and I moved closer to their room to eavesdrop. I could hear my dad's voice getting louder than usual as he said, "Why do you always have to mess things up? We did what we had to do 21 years ago to save our pack, remember? Do not slip up again."

I couldn't help but wonder what had happened 21 years ago. I wasn't born yet, so I had no idea what they were talking about.

My mom replied, "I'm sorry. When he gets back..." but she stopped abruptly, and I moved back to my hiding spot.

Suddenly, my mom interrupted their conversation. "I can perceive Joshua and Bella. They must be back. We need to end this conversation now. I need to talk to Joshua." 

Before I knew it, the door to my parents' room opened, and I quickly ran into the closet close to Joshua's room, hoping to avoid being seen.