TWENTY-ONE | BLOOD TIES

*"I know, Marissa! Don't you think I know that?!" The man arguing with mom stands with his back to my opened door, they're trying to stay quiet, but my hearing has gotten so much better recently. "I can't keep putting you two in danger like this." His outline is fuzzy and I can't see him too well because of the light coming into the room is too bright. But I can make out messy black hair and his pale skin.*

*"She's your daughter!" Mom hisses, her eyes red rimmed and hair in a messy bun. Why is she crying? "How can you just leave her? Leave me?"*

*"You know why. The Coven-"He begins but mom cuts him off.*

*"You'd put those suckers before our daughter?" Now she's pissed.*

*"That's not what I meant."*

"*If you walk out on us right now, she'll never forgive you* –I'll *never forgive you." Mom warns*.

"*You can't give me that. I love you both, so much. Can't you see I'm doing this for you two? After what happened with Craven, it's only a matter of time. What about your mother? She's going to find out what I am sooner or later*."

"*Then we'll leave the Pack-*"

*"No. Scarlett needs to grow up with her own kind-*"

"*Which is why you should stay! How can I raise her by myself? I don't know the first thing about-*"

"*She won't even know about my side until she's seventeen. She'll seem part human until then." The man sighs, shaking his head.*

"*You know my mother won't allow her to live – even if she thinks Scar is part human." Mom's voice is shaking now. "Why can't we all run away, join a new pack and start over*?"

"*Do you know of any Packs that would accept me?" He asks, sighing again. "I'm sorry, Riz." He wraps his arms around mom, holding her as she bursts into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. "I'll find you both before she Blooms. I'll make it right. This is only temporary, I promise*."

"*Okay." Mom finally agrees, pulling away from the man. "Okay. Temporary." She echoes, and the man takes her hands, bringing her knuckles to his mouth and kissing them tenderly*.

"*Momma?" I crawl out of bed and go over to them. Now I can see the man more clearly, his clean-shaven face and warm jade eyes. He looks familiar, but I can't remember who he is. "Who is he?*"

"*H-he's your Daddy, sweetheart. Don't you recognize him?" Mom frowns, the tears leaking from her eyes as she looks back at the man. He gives her a sad smile before releasing her hands and knees in front of me.*

*"Daddy? I don't remember him." I frown, trying hard to remember, but it's like there's a wall and I can't find the door to open to get to the memory of my dad. Is this man really him?*

"*Hey, sunshine. You're not gonna be able to remember me for a while. But you know what?" He takes my hands gently. I blink, their cold touch relieves the aching in my head and I can see his face better – recognize him now. How did I not recognize him before? "I love you.*"

*"But why?" I feel something in my chest ache. Daddy's really leaving? Why? Did I do something wrong?*

*"Well, you see Daddy has some friends that need his help right now. They have very special powers that make it dangerous to be around other people, but Daddy has special powers too. Right now Daddy is the only one who can help them, do you understand, sunshine?" He asks me, gently squeezing my hands. I nod, but there are tears forming in my eyes. He's really leaving*.

"*When will you come back?" I ask, rubbing my eyes*.

*"I don't know yet, but it'll be okay. I'll always be watching over you and your mom, even if you can't see me." He tells me gently, releasing my hands and gently waiting away my tears*.

"*Is that one of your powers?" I ask, sniffing. He smiles, tapping my nose playfully*.

"*That's right, sunshine." He leans forward and kisses my forehead. "I love you.*"

*"I love you too, Daddy." I say, a little sleepy now. I yawn and look at mom who's crying silently now as she watches us*.

"*We'll be together again real soon," Daddy tells me, picking me up from the ground and takes me back to my room. "Be a good girl for your Mommy, okay?" He adds as he sets me down, tucking me into bed*.

"*Okay." I murmur, my eyes feeling heavy. "Can you sing to me, Daddy?" I ask, yawning again. I like it when Daddy sings*.

*"Sure, sweetheart." He smiles sadly. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray," he sings my favorite song. I smile sleepily and start to sing along with him as my eyes begin to close*.

"*You'll never know, dear, how much I love you..." The world falls away into the darkness*.

- - -

I wake up in an unfamiliar room, my head pounding as I sit up. I wince, trying to process my latest remembered memory. It doesn't fade out, like I half-expect it to, so I know it wasn't a dream. My jaw works slowly, thinking about what this could mean... It fits. Sort of. Mom said Dad was a human. A man who died, yes, but who was a human.

I get up from the bed, hearing whispering voices beyond the door.

I see a woman sitting at a round table with Alpha Salvador and a man. The woman's strawberry-blonde hair is streaked with silvery-grey, tied up in a high bun I'm so used to seeing neat. But right now there are stray locks of her hair spilling out of places, her blue eyes seem a deeper color than the last time I saw her - though maybe that's because they're puffy and red-rimmed.

The man is the same one from my memories. Dark hair slightly longer, yes, and his eyes aren't the right shade of green...but it's him. Not one day older. Tanner, maybe. But if my theory about what he is is correct, this *look* is just a façade.

*How could I have been so blind?* I knew there was something familiar about him when we first met. It was right there in front of me - the answer to a question I didn't even ask. The moment he looks up, though, I realize the truth.

Everything clicks into place.

"Scarlett, you're awake." Mom stands from her spot at the table, her eyes darting over to Mr. Hale and Alpha Salvador.

"Mom, Alpha Salvador," I address them briefly before turning to the last of them. "*Father*." His jade eyes flash deep green and his smile widens, that mischievous glint flares to life in his eyes.

"Mornin', sunshine." His words flare old, buried memories, stoking the embers to roaring flames I'd long forgotten. A life I didn't even remember having. A double life. Pain, not as sharp as before, pulses through my mind with each flash o the past. The cobwebs in my head are clearing the longer we keep our eyes locked.

"So, what are you?" I ask, because we're way past formalities at this point. I can feel the sting of anger deep inside, anger from the knowledge that he denied knowing me when we first met. He hasn't said anything to me since. *Why?*

"Scarlett," Mom's tone is a cross between anger and dismay. Mr. Hale/father gives me the tiniest smirk, the rest of his expression cautiously calm.

"Why don't you have a seat? You may have questions, but you were just injured. Rather seriously." He gestures to the seat beside Mom. I feel my own face twitch, my anger bubbling up briefly at his nearly patronizing tone, but one look at my mom and I break.

"How was the trip?" I ask her, walking over to take the seat beside her. I was right, she's gotten a few more wrinkles since I saw her last. Not as many as I thought, but they're there. Gracing the corners of her eyes and the sides of her mouth. Like she's frowned one too many times over the last few years. Narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Unexpected." She tells me and takes my hands in hers the second I'm sitting. The Pack bond shivers to life between us and my eyes fall closed as her emotions flow through me. Love, unconditional and gloriously warm, engulfs me like a hug. Then there's the all-too-familiar worry, something she's never bothered to hide from me, even when I was small. And finally, hope. It's so bright and unusual to feel that my eyes flash open. "But more than welcome."

"How've you been?" I ask, and she withdraws her hands, putting up a wall between us. I frown at her, not liking the secrets, but know I have a few walls of my own right now.

"I imagine you're feeling better?" Alpha Azure asks me, sensing the tension and changing the subject.

"Better?" I frown.

"You've been in and out of consciousness for a few days." Alpha Azure explains. I feel my face twist into a deeper grimace, little flits of pain flocking back into my head at the mention.

"Probably, but I don't remember..." I trail off, trying to answer his question.

"It's alright." The Alpha tells me gently and nods at Mr. Hale/father. "Your parents took care of your treatment. Unfortunately, we weren't equipped to deal with a hybrid like yourself in the infirmary so we brought you to a more private area of the territory."

"It's alright." The Alpha tells me gently and nods at Mr. Hale/father. "Your parents took care of your treatment. Unfortunately, we weren't equipped to deal with a hybrid like yourself in the infirmary so we brought you to a more private area of the territory."

"But...you have hybrids here." It's a statement, one I try not to make sound accusatory.

"Yes, but none have the lineage you do." Alpha Azure nods and looks between Mom and Mr. Hale/father.

"Lineage." I echo, narrowing my eyes at the parent who's *lineage* is a big question mark to me. He gives me a toothy grin, like he has nothing to hide. I seriously doubt that. I sigh and sit back in the chair, letting the last few minutes wash over me. I feel the familiar itching in the back of my mind and under my skin. My Wolven half is restless, annoyed at the confusing situation we're in. "Where's Bl- *Zane*?" I correct myself before I confuse the others. Mom smirks at me and Alpha Azure smiles, his silvery-grey eyes warming a little.

"Zane's in the infirmary." I sit upright, my eyes widening.

"Infirmary? Is he okay-?" Ice works it's way through my blood, spreading into my stomach and heart. He didn't seem badly injured after fighting with Ry. A little banged up, but nothing that would have required anymore than a little ice.

"He's fine, honey." Mom reassures me, leaning over to wrap an arm around my shoulders. The Pack bond between us thrums strongly, her calm emotions passing through me as if they were my own. "He's helping inventory supplies. Said something about keeping his hands busy."

"Oh." Relief floods through me and I feel my body relax.

"He'd have been by your side if we didn't make him leave from time to time." Alpha Salvador tells me, a little smirk curling at the edges of his lips as he eyes me curiously. "He'll be back in a few minutes, I'm sure."

"In the meantime, there are some things we need to discuss-" Mr. Hale/dad begins, but as he turns to look at Mom, the door at the other end of the room bursts open. Blue's standing in the doorway, breathless, eyes bright silver and searching the room. As soon as they land on me, I feel my body move automatically to stand.

"Hey-" I begin, the background itchiness fading quickly.

"How're you feeling? Does you neck still hurt? How's your head-?" Blue's in front of me before I can take my next breath, eyes wide and searching over every inch of exposed skin and reaching for the side of my head. My mom clears her throat, raising an eyebrow at the two of us before casting a quick glance at the other two men in the room.

"I'm fine." I reassure Blue, fighting the blush threatening to cover my face. I take his hands between mine and give them a firm squeeze. He nods, eyes still worried, but he seems to accept my words before turning to face the adults.

"She's awake now. It's time to talk." Blue growls at them, his shoulders tensing, like he's preparing for a fight. I press a hand to the center of his back, trying to reassure him. His arm wraps around my shoulders, tucking me into his side protectively. I try not to think about how right it feels, how well we fit together, how calm his touch makes me.

"While you talk strategy, I'd like to take my daughter home, Alpha Azure." Mom stands on my other side while she address the Alpha. "It's been a while since we've seen each other and I'd like for us to catch up."

"Wait-" Blue pulls me tighter into his side, looking frantically between his dad and my mom.

"She needs to rest, but you can visit her later." Mom tries to reassure him, but his grip doesn't loosen.

"Hey, I'll be fine." I wiggle out of his embrace, surprised he lets go of me easily enough. Maybe he still thinks I'm fragile. "I'll see you later." I say it firmly before moving closer to Mom.

"Good night, Marissa. Get some rest, Scarlett." Alpha Azure nods to us.

"But-" Blue frowns at me, the wildness and fear still in his eyes. His fingers brush mine as Mom and I pass, but I don't stop. We've been apart too long and I want to talk to her. Alone.

"Zane, *stay*." Alpha Azure orders, the authority in his tone makes the air crackle. Blue's eyes flash darkly and he all but snarls at his father before obeying.