Chapter 20 The Talk

*Diana*

My dad told me to sit at our dining table while he prepared the hot chocolate he promised me before we had our talk. I was nervous. I didn't know what to expect. I rub my sweaty palms on my jeans and fidgeted to find a more comfortable position.

It was strange for my father to ask Ethan to his office. It was the first time we all had met him, yet my father had a long talk with him. He came out of his office clearly disturbed.  On the other hand, Uncle Mike seemed to be in good spirits when he came out of the office, rather optimistic. He even gave me a wink when he left the diner saying he was going straight home to dip his feet in some soothing bath salts.

My dad placed a mug of hot chocolate topped with a big serving of whip cream in front of me. He then added some chocolate syrup on top just how I liked it. He placed his mug in front of his chair and sat down. He took a sip and sighed looking up at the ceiling of our dining room.

"We haven't put up a tree for Christmas yet. We'll go on Saturday and pick out the biggest tree we can find. We can spend the day together since you'll be on Christmas break."

"Sure Dad. I'd like that. I'll tell Didi I won't be coming in on Saturday then."  He nods his head and sighed again. I guess he was trying to find the words to tell me what I needed to know.

He takes out his wallet and places a small photo on the table. He pushes it to me so I can have a better look at it. It looked old and worn out on the edges. He must have kept the photo with him for a long time.

I pick the photo up to see a woman with blue eyes and the same color hair as mine laughing while she hugged my dad from behind. My dad, who looked very young, was also laughing, his hands on her arms. They both looked so happy. I looked at my father and I knew who the woman in the picture was.

"I know you have never seen pictures of your mother and I have never shown you this photo which I have kept hidden all these years. I rarely talk about your mother because it hurts when I do. Not just because she's gone, but because partly, I'm to blame."

"Your mother, Amy, was an ER nurse at a local hospital in New Jersey. My brother Chase was sent to the OR for surgery because of a certain injury and that was when I met your mother. She was beautiful, had a good heart, tired herself out at the hospital so she could help save a life. "One life gone is one life too many." That's what she always said whenever I tried to ask her to spend more time with me." He rubbed his forehead with his fingers like he had a terrible headache. Then, he cleared his throat so he could continue.

"When she told me she was pregnant with you, I rejected her, the pregnancy. It was the biggest mistake of my life. When I finally realized this, it was too late. Your mother didn't want anything to do with me. She kept throwing all my gifts away, rejecting all my calls, she even hid from me when I came by to visit her at the hospital." I stared at him stunned. My dad didn't want me? Why?!

He looked at me and saw the expression on my face and he shook his head. "I know what you're thinking. Why didn't I want you at first, right?" I nodded my head. I was feeling a bit angry at my dad for doing that to my mother, but there had to be an explanation.

"Your Uncle Mike isn't my brother. We aren't Sullivans. My real name is Lucas Brent Lockwood. I was the Alpha of a wealthy pack situated in New Jersey and New York."

"Dad, are you telling me my whole life has been a lie?"

"Yes and no. Hear me out first. There is a good reason why we had to go into hiding."

"Hiding? As in witness protection program? My gosh, Dad, are we in danger?"

"No. This is something entirely different although we are somewhat in danger so to speak. They killed your mother and tried to kill me and your Uncle Mike and you when you were a newborn infant."

"You said you were an Alpha. Is that a code used by the mafia? Were you part of the mafia?" He chuckled. I saw him relax a bit.

"Ah, no. I was part of a pack. A pack of werewolves." I started laughing at what he said.

"You're joking, right? You got me there, Dad." He was getting back at me for the vampire joke although his face looked pretty serious.

"It's not a joke. I am werewolf and you, part werewolf. Your mother was human which makes you what they call a half-breed."

"You make me sound like a dog. Half-breed. Thanks a lot, Dad."

"Enough of the jokes, Diana. I know you're doing that as a defense mechanism. I am wolf, your Uncle Mike and Nana are wolves, you are also a wolf. Back then, it was forbidden for a wolf to consort with a human and produce an offspring. You were usually banished from the pack for that to live as rogues."

"I was about to be the first Alpha to break that rule, to take your mother as my mate, to become my Luna. My father and brother conspired together so that would not happen. They killed your mother hoping you would die with her. When you survived, they killed your mother's human family to kill you. I, your Uncle Mike and another Alpha from a neighboring pack saved you from the massacre. Since then, we have been in hiding, hoping my former pack would not come looking for us." 

"Dad, did they try to kill me for being a half-breed?" I didn't want to keep looking over my shoulder because wolves wanted to kill me for something that clearlt wasn't my fault. I was who I am and I could not change it.

"No. They tried to kill you because you are my heir. You are destined to be the Alpha of the Lotus Pack."

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*Diana*

I just finished taking a warm shower. I still had some homework left, but I didn't have the concentration to do it. My head was swarming with all the information my father told me.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I was wolf. Well, part wolf. My dad told me when I turn 18, my coming of age, I will shift for the first time into my wolf. He said it was a painful process, something I will never forget in my entire life. When it happens, I need to be prepared. My bones will break, my body will morph to form the wolf that lived inside of me.

I grab my blow dryer and start drying my hair to get ready for bed. Sleep was the last thing on my mind, but I had to get some rest. Tomorrow, Ethan will be here to pick me up and I didn't want him to see me with black circles under my eyes. I could hide it with make-up, but it will never work...I didn't know how to use make up in the first place.

My father was astonished I never once suspected I was different. I rarely was sick. My wounds would always heal so quickly. The voice I heard in my mind. He asked me if I had heard a voice and I nodded my head at him.

"When did it start? The voice?" He watched me with interest wanting to know more about the voice.

"That time when I got lost in the mall. I think I was eleven or twelve." His eyes widened in astonishment. I had kept it hidden from him for so long.

"And you didn't tell me? I thought I was the only one keeping secrets in this family."

"I was scared you'd put me in a mental institution. Hearing voices isn't always a good sign."

"I see. Has this voice ever told you anything about yourself, about me?"

"Not really. Only recently has the voice been more, uhm... interactive. She tells me about the blood moon and my coming of age." And my virginity, but I didn't want to tell my dad about that.

He nods his head. "Anything else, pumpkin?"

"Nothing else."

"Well, we need to go see your Nana. She'll explain more about the Blood Moon. For now, that's enough information for one night. Diana, honey, please forgive your old man. You and I have always been a team. I hope you still see me the same way even after I have told you the mistakes I did with your mother. I loved your mother. The pain of her loss still haunts me every day." He gets up and picks up our empty mugs and places them in the sink. "You should get some sleep. You still have school tomorrow before you go on break."

I put away my blow dryer, turn off the lights and climb into bed. The moonlight was shining into my bedroom, glistening rays sparkling. I get up and walk towards the moonlight, my right hand reaching out to the light.

I gasp. A symbol of a flower appears on my arm. It sparkled under the moonlight. I touch it, completely mystified that I had a marking as beautiful as this on my arm.

"It is the symbol of the lotus flower. A sign of purity. It was given to you when the Moon Goddess blessed you with a part of her." The voice inside my head told me.

"It's beautiful. I never knew I had it." I sighed. "I'm scared. I don't know what lies ahead."

"Do not fear, dark wolf cub. For when the sun leaves this world, the world fears you. Sleep now, Diana. There is nothing to fear."

I walk back to bed and climb under the covers. I wasn't expecting to sleep, but I felt my eyelids go heavy and I let myself drift off to sleep.

There is nothing to fear.

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*Lucas*

After Diana went upstairs to her room to get ready for bed, I called Michael to tell him I had told Diana she was wolf.

"How did she take it?" Michael asked hoping she wasn't angry that we had kept secrets from her for so long.

"I think she took it fairly well." I sigh. "Honestly, I don't know, Michael. She told me she has been speaking with her wolf since that day I lost her in the mall. Remember that day?" I had called him to come to the mall to help me sniff her out.

"Yes, I do. Her wolf must have sensed her fear and had come to help her. If I remember, she was the one who found you, right? Her wolf must have taught her to track your."

"Have you ever sensed her wolf, Michael?" I wanted to know if he had felt what King, my wolf felt. My wolf had sensed the strength of Diana's wolf and had told me it lurked in the dark and watched with keen eyes.

"No, but Nana has. Reason why she only sees Diana during the day and not at night. Diana's wolf scares her. Well, Nana grew up with the story so, I can't really blame her. Anyway, we'll see when she turns 18. Lucas, it would be better if we plan a trip away from the town for her 18th birthday. At the cabin Grandpa has near Lake Sebago. Bring Ethan. If they are truly fated mates, Diana's wolf will know him." Great. I had to bring him, too.

"And before she shifts Lucas, make sure you pray for forgiveness to the Moon Goddess. If the stories are true, both of us will be the first to bear the brunt of her punishment. Both of us, Lucas."

I didn't like the idea of Diana ever hating me. But I made mistakes, costly mistakes. Now I had to pay for them even though I have been, all these years.