Chapter Forty-four: The past month

I decide to get up and get some clothes on. I feel bad for sneaking out when Lukas has left for training but I need to know what’s happened over the last month whilst I’ve been away. I decide that the safest way to find out is to ask Mandy, who lives a few floors below.

I find a simple pair of jeans and a cute red top. I see a pair of trainers that look several sizes too small for Lukas so I assume they’re for me. I slip them on and find them much more comfortable than expected, near enough fitting perfectly.

I leave the room and head out the door. I go down to the next floor, a bit unsure where I’m actually going. I know that she lives in the pack house but embarrassingly I don’t know which door, or in actual fact, which floor. I don’t see any signs of anyone on this floor so I go down to the next which is where I fortunately see Nolan.

“Hey, Nolan!” I say loud enough hoping he can hear me. He stops in his tracks and turns to me.

“Oh, hi Aliana. Are you ok? You’ve missed a lot whilst you’ve been….away.” He smiles at me quizzically.

“I’m good thanks, hope you are too! I know, I was hoping to chat to Mandy about it….I’m just a bit lost. Which room is Mandy’s?”

He smiles and moves his hands towards one of the doors towards the end of the hall. “Follow me, I’m sure she’s up already but knowing her, she’s taking ages to decide what to wear.”

He turns away from me and heads towards the door. I follow a bit behind him and we get to a door and we hear a small thud from the inside. He instantly opens the door without knocking and we enter to see Mandy in her bra and panties with her bum on the floor as if she’s just fallen over. I look away from her so she doesn’t feel ashamed but I can’t help but have a smile on as I do, trying not to laugh.

“I see you trying not to laugh Aliana!” I hear her, nearly shouting.

I can’t help but laugh a little. “I’m not looking Mandy. You can go and put some clothes on!” I say menacingly.

She walks up to the door and gives Nolan a peck on the lips. I can see from my angle he has a look in his eye and I can tell he adores Mandy. I’ve seen that look before and it’s from Lukas when he looks at me. I smile, looking away so they don’t think I’m nosey.

“I’m fine my sweet. Leave Aliana with me and go get yourself some food. That’s where you were going wasn’t it?”

He smiles at her and kisses her cheek, then turns to me. “Take care of her Aliana, I feel like I can never leave her on her own.” He says and then chuckles.

“Oi!” Mandy slaps his arm playfully, and he leaves the door frame where he was standing and walks past me and out down the hallway.

Mandy grabs my hand and pulls me in. “You can come in Aliana. You should know by now our nature is not to be ashamed of our bodies. I don’t care, and neither should you.”

I know she has a point, but I’ve not lived like this for my whole life. I decide to ignore it and just go into her room with her without objecting.

The room we walk into is a lovely shade of purple. I notice it’s not as large as Lukas’ room but it’s still pretty big considering its probably only Mandy and Nolan living here. There’s a large bed, probably a king size, which occupies the centre of the room. Similar to Lukas’ room there’s a door either side of the room, which I assume is going to be like our room. One’s a bathroom, the other a sort of wardrobe.

I don’t get to look around much more as Mandy is tugging on my hand. “Can you help me decide what to wear?” She asks pleadingly. I give a small sigh.

“Of course. I wouldn’t let a girl go out naked now, would I?” I say teasingly.

She sticks out her tongue and still holding my hand, she takes me into the next room, which I had thought was a bedroom.

Through the door way of her room, I see a large room which is just lined with what seems to be wardrobes, one of which is open and is just full of clothes. I stare with my mouth open unknowingly as I’m astounded by the amount of clothes in the room.

I look at her, surprised. “Are all of these clothes?”

“Yes…..come on Ali, you knew I loved shopping!”

I scoff. “Yes but oh my God, not this much! You must have enough clothes for the whole pack!” I say and laugh.

She looks at me confused by my mention of a God, and I start to understand that everyone here only believes in the Moon Goddess based on what they’ve grown up believing. I try and make a mental note to remember to try and use the Goddess in the future.

We spend the next twenty minutes picking some clothes for her which just had to match, according to her. She takes the clothes we choose and heads into a little walk-in changing room at the side of the room and comes out with her chosen clothes on. She sits down beside me on the sofa that’s located in the wardrobe room.

“Right, now that we have that dilemma out of the way, we need to talk about what’s happened over the last month. I feel like we’ve just not had a chance till now.
Lukas has told us, what I assume to be a rough story of what happened to you in the lake. He said you met your parents and that it had felt like several minutes, not a month. What happened?”

I sigh. He’s probably not had a chance to explain to them properly since he last spoke to them all, or he’s asked them not to ask about it. Either way I’ve got nothing to hide.

“I’m not sure where to begin Mandy. A lot of it may seem like nonsense to you, or you may not believe me…” I start off hesitantly.

She raises an eyebrow at me, not happy with my response. She crosses her arms. “Ali, look. I know we haven’t known each other for years, or we don’t share any blood, however you’re my brothers destined mate. That means you’re my sister and the other details are irrelevant. I’ll be your confidant. I also don’t know about you, but I feel like we clicked the first time we met.” She says confidently, whilst smiling at me.

I smile at her, knowing she’s right. I do hesitate for a moment, but then I just let it all out. I tell her about the meeting with my parents, the gifts I’d be receiving, the information I was given, and then getting back here and finding life had gone on for a whole month without me, Lukas not believing the experience I’d had and then basically being forced to believe me at the Elders house.

She sat through my whole explanation nodding her head and encouraging me to go on, without a hint of doubt. As I finish, she stands up from the sofa, shaking her head, crossing her arms and paces back and forth a few meters away and back again. “I can’t believe my brother. You’d think he’d believe you without a doubt. I can tell from the way you explained it, the details you’ve given, that it’s very much real.” She sighs, looking as frustrated as I felt.

“Well, I’m glad at least he’s come round from what you’re saying. Still, it’s still feels like a defeat when your other half doesn’t believe you. I think it’s about time I tell you what’s been happening here, because it’s been a nightmare and you need to know.”

I look at her, and in that moment, she looks tired and sad. I dread to think about what she’s about to tell me.

“What happened Mandy? He looks as if he’s lost so much weight, and that he hadn’t slept in weeks.”

She comes to sit back down next to me. “Ali….Lukas went to the lake every day after your…disappearance. He dived into the lake daily and tried to reach the bottom multiple times to look for any sign of you. For us, it’s impossible. It’s too deep. Twice Dad had to go in and pull him up. He was in the hospital unconscious at one point, it got really bad and he went too far on his own and Dad was nearly too late…..he started to get desperate, he’d send the whole pack scouting around the lake. He cancelled normal meetings, training and gatherings just so we could find you.
After a few weeks, he started spending all his days by the lake, not allowing anyone close to him. He wouldn’t eat or sleep, he’d just wake up, leave the pack house and he’d command us all to leave him alone. He’s our Alpha and is meant to guide us all but he closed himself off. Even the Elders couldn’t get through to him. In the last week before you resurfaced, he and Ares would just stay out all night.”

She pauses a moment, probably trying to gauge my reaction. I gestured for her to carry on, wanting to hear it all. She sighs, then continues.

“Just before you came back, after the fourth week, he was ready to let it all go. He wanted to give up his life to be at peace with you.”