Alpha and Aurora

RORY

“Dear Rory,”

“I knew I would have to tell you this someday, I just didn’t think it would be in a goodbye letter like this.”

“As you know, I’m not your birth mother. The night I found you, in rogue territory, I was sent out to collect some herbs that could only be found in their territory.”

“I was wary and scared that night, but the little whimpers of a child took all that fear away.”

“But I didn’t just find you, I found you lying on the ground, dying. I sat with you, holding your little hands, hushing you to sleep, hoping I could make your suffering ease.”

“You didn’t cry, you just…closed your eyes.”

“And you died.”

“Or so I thought.”

“I planned on burying you back in the pack’s territory, away from the rogues. You didn’t have a good death, but you would rest in peace in a safe place.”

“I abandoned my mission for herbs and headed back, with you in my arms. I’m not as fast as other wolves, so it would take me a while to run back.”

“Halfway through my run, I almost had a heart attack.”

“I started to hear little cries cradled in my arm. I felt your pulse, and this time, you had one. You were alive. I don’t know how, but you were.”

“You died, and then you came back to life.”

“At first, I thought I must have made a mistake, I must have thought you were dead but you were really alive.”

“So I brought you back to my home, and I planned to raise you, to look after you, to love you. Your parents had left you in the woods, alone, with nothing.”

“I wanted no harm to ever come to you, but you were the clumsiest little girl I’ve ever met. Even for a human, you couldn’t walk a couple of meters without falling over.”

“One day, when you were seven, we were by the river. I was collecting some herbs by there and I didn’t notice you were playing in the water.”

“But you slipped. You hit your head on the rocks, you were lying face down, and you drowned before I could get to you.”

“You had no pulse, you died.”

“But I made sure this time. I was crying profusely, but I wasn’t going to make the same mistake as I did before.”

“You were dead. I was sure.”

“A few hours later, you started coughing up water. You were breathing and alive. This time, there was no mistake.”

“And I knew that when I had found you, you had died too. But you came back. You’re a human, and yet you keep dying and resurrecting.”

“I knew one day this would happen, that they would kick you out of the pack. I tried my best to make you feel like this was your home, and the people in it were your family.”

“But the young pups never liked humans, even though their parents brought them up on different teachings.”

The moment Nickolas became Alpha, I knew that it was only a matter of time for you.

You can’t tell anyone about this gift of yours. I have no idea what else you can do, but people, wolves, they’ll exploit it. Don’t tell anyone.

I wish I could go with you, to make sure you don’t get into trouble, but I’d only slow you down.

When I found you, you weren’t mauled by rogues, you were stabbed with a knife, right in the heart.

Someone killed you, maybe your parents, but my point is, the rogues didn’t hurt you, even though many would have passed you. And no one came near me with you in my arms.

But you can’t trust anyone. And you can’t come back to the pack, back to me. You have to run far away from here, where no one knows you. Start fresh.

Please keep safe, Rory.

I love you.

Your mama

She knew. She knew I could die and come back to life.

Why wouldn’t she tell me before now? Why give me this information now? Did she know I would die and come back so that’s why she explained? Did she know Alpha Nick would kill me?

I have so many questions and she will never answer them because she’s right, I can’t stay here. They killed me. They slit my throat.

They were ruthless.

And all because I was human.

All those years, I was terrified, powerless against them.

But things are different now.

I can’t die.

I don’t really know how, but one day I’ll get my revenge.

I’ll show them…

It’s in that exact moment that I hear the crunch of leaves behind me as the low intense sound of growling fills my ears.