Bonus Chapter 10

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*Author’s note:*
*Hello, my little wolves!*
*Sorry it took so long for this chapter! Life got a little hectic, but I’m happy to say the wait is finally over and this chapter introduces a brand-new POV! I’ve been itching to explore this character’s perspective, and I’d love to hear what you think.* 
*Howl at me in the comments! (iykyk) haha*
*Thank you all for your patience and support. To make it up to you, updates are officially back on track!*
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*Subscribers get exclusive bonus chapters, and early access to all the good stuff.*
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***Wren***

“Don’t forget to use sunscreen, Wrenny. You got your dad’s human skin—his side of the family, through and through! Though he tans like leather, you? You’re just like your aunt Allie, with skin so delicate it flushes at the thought of sunshine.” A soft chuckle. “When you were small, I’d slather you in so much sunscreen, you’d glisten like a little snowball. Remember when you were little, and we went to the beach? I’d have to chase you with a parasol!” I hear my mom laugh on the other side of the line, and I smile at the memory. “Hat, everything, and still—poof—instant sunburn! I swear to the Goddess, you got so red in the sun that it was like you had the sun all to yourself.”
“I know, I’m applying it dutifully! I don’t need reminders that my skin sucks mom,” I say with a teasing tone, sinking onto the bed in my new room. The other side sits empty—for now. 
I don’t know if I’ll be sharing the room with someone else or not. But at a training center this prestigious, I know I won’t be alone for long. The Diamond Claw pack’s Training Center is one of the most renowned on the entire continent after all.
“That’s true, but it’s better safe than sorry. And if there’s a super sunny day, just grab a hat for good measure.” 
I laugh now, shaking my head. This is ridiculous. “I’m going to be fine, Mom. What’s gotten into you?” 
Mom has always been worried about me, this is nothing new. She called earlier to fuss over details she’s already asked about twice. At first, I thought it was just missing me, but ever since Dad told me my sister Lily has returned to our pack, I get it. I know it’s been hard for all of them, especially my mom. That hollow space in our family hurts her most.
My fingers dig into the mattress.
I want to leave here and go straight to Blackmoon. I miss my family and Lily, but I can’t. If I leave now, I’ll lose my spot, and it’s very competitive to get in here. 
Three years until reapplications—three years I can’t afford. By then, I should be finished, not starting over at eighteen.
“I know you will be fine, Wrenny. Your dad and I raised two…” Mom trails off with a flash of pain in her voice. 
The sentiment flows so easily, and then she catches herself. 
My heart aches.
“You raised two wonderful daughters, Mom. Both of us imperfect in our own ways.” 
Moon Goddess, I’m so tired of being treated like the perfect one. 
I take a deep breath. “And if Lily wants to talk to you, you’re going to need to engage with her. Forget the past, Mom. Just please don’t pretend it never existed.” 
My eyes water. 
“It hurts...” Mom says. She’s trying to be strong, but I know she’s crying right now. I can hear it in her voice.
My chest hurt so much.
I sniff, gritting my molars so I don’t cry. Partly because it angers me that Mom’s way of coping is pretending that her past never existed. 
Like she can just… erase it from her life. And Lily’s. 
It’s so bizarre and shitty. It wasn’t my mom’s fault. Her fake fated mate is the only one to blame, but my sister... Goddess... It’s just a big mess all of this. But I’m not about to tell Mom how to grieve her past when I was not even there. 
“Promise me that you will call me. Please. I can come home if you want to,” I say, even though I can’t.
“I promise, Wrenny. I promise. But don’t worry about us here, focus on your journey there. The Diamond Claw is perfect,” my mom says to ease the lingering tension. 
“Yes, it’s perfect here,” I add. Years spent smoothing things over have made me an expert, but it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to see that I’m on edge today. 
I don’t know what will happen in the next three years. I wish I had found my fated mate like my sister. It was so easy for her to meet Az when she was still a kid. 
But that wasn’t my case. If he’s here... Goddess, I feel like I have butterflies dancing in my stomach just thinking about this possibility.
“...about the Black Moon Festival later. But you know how your dad is.” Mom giggles, and only then do I realize I wasn’t paying attention. “Oh, sweet Wrenny. I miss you so much!” I can almost see her smiling right now. “I hope we can visit you soon... Maybe Lily and her mates will come with us.”
Mate*s*. Not one, but two. 
While I have none. 
*When will it be my turn?*
“I miss you, too, Mom,” I say, opening a sad smile. I do miss her. I have the best family in the world. 
“Your Aunt Allie had a dream about you, but she didn’t want to tell me earlier. Allie said you should call her.”
Aunt Allie can see what will happen in the future through her dreams. 
It’s one of her powers. 
I immediately sit straighter.

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***Lily***

Eyes open, staring at the rough wooden ceiling, I lie on the creaky floor of the lovely treehouse Cedar built for me when I was a kid. 
My back hurts. My neck is stiff. I don’t care. The silence out here is better than listening to Poppy’s sob into Azrael’s broad chest in the packhouse. I bet they are together right now. And not missing me at all.  
*Why do I do everything so fucking wrong?*
The wind picks up through the trees. It’s cold. I could shift and keep myself warm. But I don’t. Maybe I want to freeze. Maybe I deserve it. Maybe if I lie still long enough, my thoughts will shut up and let me sleep.
A soft thud breaks the silence. Then another.
Footsteps. Graceful. Familiar.
I sit up fast, nearly smacking my head against the little window. I know that walk.
“Lily,” my mother says from below. “May I come up?”
I grit my teeth. “Didn’t realize you needed permission to show up uninvited.”
There’s a long pause, and then she climbs. Effortless. Always so damn composed. She emerges through the door like she owns the place. She stands there in her perfect black coat, her dark hair pulled back, her eyes tired but not soft.
“You’re cold,” she says, glancing at my bare arms.
“You think I care?”
She doesn’t answer. She sits. Legs crossed, like we’re about to sip tea and talk about pack politics.
“I thought you’d be at the packhouse, hon,” she says.
I scoff. “Yeah, figured you would too. That’s why I am here,” I lie.
Her lips press together, but she doesn’t snap. She never snaps first. That’s my job.
“I didn’t want to be near you while you were so angry,” she says, measuring her words. “But I also didn’t want to leave without saying what I needed to say...”
I stretch my legs out in front of me, lean back on my hands. “I don’t want to hear you. You could’ve said it any of the other hundred times we fought.”
“I try, Lily. You twist my words every time.”
“Because they don’t make sense.” I bite back. “Like how you say you love me, but can’t stand to look at me. Admit it—you hate me because I look like him. Like my father. Like your fucking mistake.”
The treehouse seems to grow smaller and tighter. 
Mom’s shoulders tense, but her face stays still. “I never hated you,” she says quietly.
“Sure. You just couldn’t stand to be in the same room sometimes. You think I wouldn’t notice the reason?”
“I saw pain when I looked at you,” she admits. “But it wasn’t *you* I hated. It was myself. For letting him into my life. For not seeing the danger until it was too late.”
“Same difference.” My throat burns. “You still left.”
“I tried to have some space when I needed it, Lily. And yes—sometimes I failed. But I never loved you less for looking like him or *her*.”
I shake my head. “You’re just saying that because you think I’ll cry and hug you and we’ll have a happy ending. But I’m not like Wren. Too innocent. Too naive.”
“I’m saying it because it’s true.” She leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “Do you remember your ninth birthday? The one where you broke your ankle in the woods?”
“No.” I do.
“You screamed so loud the whole pack heard it. I ran faster than I ever had. I carried you back myself, even though I’d just come out of a, uh, meeting covered in blood. And I didn’t care. I cleaned you up. Held you until you fell asleep.”
I remember the way her arms had trembled. The way her voice cracked when she whispered I’m sorry over and over. And that I was her sweet child.
My throat tightens, but I laugh instead. It’s bitter. “One moment doesn’t erase everything else.”
“I know it doesn’t.” Her voice is lower now. “But it’s not the only one. You just don’t want to see them, Lily.” Her chestnut eyes plead.
“You left me alone with our family!” I shout, standing. “With my *monster* father. You went off to chase your fucking guilt because of what happened to Uncle Ethan and you left me with *him*!”
She stands too fast but not aggressively. “I didn’t know what he was, a mons—”
“You *should* have!”
“I was broken too, Lily! I was trying to fix what I destroyed!”
I stare at her, panting. “Fixing your past doesn’t justify breaking your daughter in the process, Violet.”
Her hands curl at her sides, but she doesn’t yell. 
She hates it when I call her her name instead of Mom.
“I regret a thousand things. But I swear to the Goddess, I never stopped loving you, Lily. Even when I couldn’t show it right.”
I want to believe her. But I can’t. Believing her means letting go of the shield I’ve built.
But her eyes... I just find truth in there.
“You know who never made me feel like I had to earn his love? That always puts me in first place?” I say, my voice is sharp. Before I go on, she’s already blinking hard. “Cedar. Your real fated mate. I’d rather call *him* my parent than you. A thousand times.”
I hit the target.
She flinches. Not much. But enough. It’s nothing new.
She says after a beat, “I’m glad you love him, baby. Because he loves you as if you were his own. He always has.”
The softness in her voice only pisses me off more.
“Why aren’t you angry? Why aren’t you fighting me back?”