Two Years Later

A soft snore stirred me from my sleep. Feeling confused, I rolled towards the sound, opening my eyes and staring into the face of a man that I barely knew. How had I ended up in this situation? Why did this continue to happen to me?

Rejection… A small voice in the back of my mind whispered, sending a shock of pain through me. 

Two years, it had already been two fucking years and somehow the pain still felt fresh, like it had just happened yesterday.

Cursing I sat up, letting the blanket that was covering me fall to my waist, revealing my bare breasts. Small hickeys lined my nipples and chest. It looked like I would need to cover them for the next week while working.

Feeling a sudden surge of annoyance rush through me, I slowly got out of bed and began to look around the floor for my clothes. My shirt was ripped, but my pants were still wearable.

Sighing, I picked up the guy's shirt and threw it on before pulling on my pants. Taking a final look at the man that was still sleeping soundly, I turned and tiptoed out into the cool and clear night.

I needed to get home soon. There was no way that my younger siblings weren’t wondering where I was since I was usually home around 1 or 2 am on the nights I worked.

Pulling out my phone, I confirmed that it was well past 2 and quickened my pace.

As the night air slapped me in the face and cleared my still sleep-hazed mind, I found myself wondering why the hell I kept doing this. Why did I allow myself to sleep with random men to forget the pain? Why did I keep trying to erase the emotions I felt when his face popped into my mind? Where the hell did the strong and independent Thia get off to?

She’s gone… The voice murmured, laughing. She became a weak bitch thanks to love.

"Love." I spat out the word, tasting sour on my tongue. "What the fuck is love?"

Love did nothing but ruin you. It made you a fool, and it wasn’t for me. Sure, I had found my mate two years ago, but that didn’t mean that I was in love. On the contrary, I hated him and wanted nothing to do with him.

Liar... The voice cackled, causing my heart to plummet to my feet. 

"Shut up."

Shaking my head, I tried to push away my negative thoughts as my quick walk turned into a jog and then an all-out run.

Physical excursion was a good way to forget everything that was plaguing me. I just needed to run and feel the wind against my skin. The urge to change rushed through me, but I suppressed it since I was in an area mostly inhabited by humans.

Why was I somewhere with humans? Because I decided to forget everything and make a living for my family, I would get a mundane job bartending at a human club that I had visited a few times in my teens.

Of course, lycans usually didn’t need to take up jobs in the human world because we could take up jobs in our packlands, but I wanted to have a way to escape from those lands.

Don’t get me wrong. It didn’t have anything to do with dissatisfaction towards the pack or our alpha. I loved Haidan, and I couldn’t have asked for a better leader, but seeing her mate Antoine was a bit much for me.

Why Antoine’s twin had ended up being my mate was a mystery. The goddess seemed to have a sick sense of humor. And that man hadn’t hesitated to reject me and disappear for the past two years, leaving my heart in shreds.

So lost in my thoughts, I didn’t realize when I arrived home until I looked up to find the lights in the living room still shining brightly.

"Shit." I hissed, realizing that one of the kids was still awake.

Stopping in my tracks, I took in a few calming breaths before beginning to make my way up the porch. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my keys and began to unlock the door, only to be stopped as it flew open and bright gold eyes surrounded by a round caramel face with wild dark curls cascading around it appeared.

"THIA!" Chloe wailed, rushing forward and wrapping her little arms around my legs. "Where have you been? Theo insisted that you forgot about us."

"Never." I murmured, reaching down and picking Chloe up and hugging her close. "Haven’t I told you before to not listen to your brother when he says things like that?"

As if realizing that he was being mentioned, Theo appeared, his hazel eyes narrowing while he took me in like a stern father.

"You’re late." He huffed, crossing his arms across his chest. "Where have you been?"

"Nowhere that a child should be concerned with." I chuckled, moving into the house and closing the door behind me. "Where is Leah?" I asked, looking around the brightly lit living room.

I had left Leah in charge of watching the twins, and she should have been with them.

"She wasn’t feeling well, so she went to bed early." Chloe responded, frowning.

"Not feeling well?" I repeated as worry began to claw at my heart. "Is she in her room?"

Kneeling down, I placed Chloe on the ground and looked up the stairs towards where the bedrooms resided.

"Uh huh." Chloe said, nodding so rapidly that her curls began to bounce against her forehead. 

"You two head to your rooms. I’m going to go check on Leah and then will come tuck you in."

Placing my hand on Chloe’s head, I rustled her hair before stepping aside and watching as she and Theo made their way towards their room. It was only when they disappeared from sight that I quickly headed up the stairs, two at a time, and made my way to Leah’s room.

An uneasy feeling was beginning to rush through me, and my heart was starting to beat rapidly. How could Leah be sick? Lycans rarely get sick, and when they do get sick, it only meant one thing…

Taking a deep breath, I braced myself as I heard the sound of movement within Leah’s room. Nails ran along the door and a low growl found its way to my ears.

It looked like Leah was going through her first change, and I needed to make sure that she stayed in her room and away from the twins.