Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty Seven-1

"No." I shook my head, my voice rising. "That's not true. Tell me it isn't true."

Mariah's face crumpled, and she looked away, her hands clenching in her lap. "I wish it weren't true," she whispered. "But they're gone."

I stared at her, my mind spinning. The hope that had been burning so brightly within me flickered, threatening to go out entirely.

"If they're gone," I said, my voice cracking, "then why didn't you tell me before? Why let me believe I was unwanted?!"

Tears welled in Mariah's eyes, but she held her ground. "You're not unwanted Stormi, I love you so much. There are things you don't know, Stormi. Things I

couldn't tell you until now."

"Like what?" I demanded.

I sat on the bed, feeling the weight of her hesitation like a physical force. My heart pounded in my chest. Her cryptic words about knowing my parents and now asking for privacy-it was too much.

Mariah finally turned, Her green eyes filled with something I couldn't quite place: guilt, sadness, regret.

"I need you to listen to me, Stormi," she said softly, almost pleading.

"I'm listening," I said, my voice sharp with impatience. "Start talking"

Mariah inhaled deeply and walked over to the armchair across from me, lowering herself into it. She folded her hands in her lap, her fingers twisting nervously.

"I need to tell you about my mate," she began, her voice shaky.

I frowned, my frustration bubbling to the surface. "What does your mate have to do with my parents?"

"Everything," she said, her voice breaking slightly. "Please, just let me explain."

I sighed and leaned back against the headboard, crossing my arms. "Fine."

Mariah nodded, her gaze dropping to her lap. “When I first met my mate, I thought I was the luckiest woman in the world. He was charming, funny, everything I had ever dreamed of. For a while, we were happy. Or at least, I thought we were."

Her voice grew quieter, tinged with bitterness. "But as the years passed, he changed. Or maybe he'd always been that way, and I just didn't see it. He became cruel. Angry. He started drinking, and it wasn't long before the drinking turned into something darker.

My chest tightened as I watched her fight back tears.

"He became abusive," she continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "He would hit me, lock me in the basement for days, anything to control me. I felt trapped. Worthless."

"Mariah..." I whispered, horrified.

She shook her head, forcing a bitter smile. "I tried to leave him. I even planned to reject him, but he found out. And when he did... he snapped. He tried to hit me, and for the first time, I fought back. I pushed him. He stumbled, and his head hit a metal rod sticking out from the wall."

I gasped, the room seeming to tilt slightly.

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"I didn't mean to kill him," she said, her voice cracking. "But he was gone. Just like that."

I stared at her, my mind reeling, "I don't understand. What does this have to do with my parents?"

Mariah's gaze met mine, her eyes filled with anguish. "Because he was cheating on me. For years. And the woman he was cheating with... was your mother."

The air seemed to be sucked out of the room.

"What?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

Mariah nodded, her tears spilling freely now. "Your mother was my mate's mistress. She was young, desperate, and in a situation she couldn't escape. She didn't love him, Stormi. He manipulated her, just like he did me."

I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Your mother... she got pregnant with you," Mariah continued, her voice trembling. "When she found out, she was terrified. She didn't know what to do. And after he died, she had no one to turn' to No one to protect her. So she came to me

"You're lying," I said, shaking my head. "Why would my mother go to you?"

"I don't know. But That night, during the storm, she showed up at my door with you in her arms. You were so small, Stormi. So fragile. She begged me to take you, to keep you safe. She said she couldn't stay, that it wasn't safe for either of you if she did. She said some people where after her."

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Alomea

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i know it's for the plot's twist purpose but her anger towards Mariah it's very well placed and blaming Mariah for her mother to abandon her when she did nothing but raised he...

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Chapter Thirty Seven-2

blurred my vision as

her voice breaking. "She said it was the

And then she was gone. I never saw her

heart pounding in my chest. "You knew my mother. You knew who I was this whole time,

me?"

And I didn't know how. How do you

wasn't just some unwanted baby someone

But I was scared, Stormi, I

I demanded, my voice trembling.

Stormi," she said softly. "She died not long after she left

me."

whispered, shaking

gently. "Not your mother. Your mother is gone. I'm so

like the ground had been ripped out from under me. My entire

lie.

my face as I buried my head in my hands. For the first time in a long time, I felt truly,

hung in the air, each one cutting deeper than the last. My head spun, my chest ached, and the room felt too small to hold the

me.

I stood abruptly from the bed. What happened to her? How did she

track her down after she left you with me. But by the time I found her..." She hesitated, as if the words physically hurt to say. "I found out She... she had taken her own life. She set her

and I staggered slightly, bracing myself against the bedpost. "My god,"

down her face. "I've carried that guilt every single

my voice rising. "When were you planning

just going to keep lying to

speak, but no

voice trembling with fury. "The man you

slowly. "Yes, Stormi. He

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shouted, my

my parents! if my dad hadn't died, my mother would have kept me!

reaching out as if

I snarled, stepping back, my body shaking with rage. "Don't Touch

and she looked at me with a pain that

any of this to happen," the said, her voice breaking, "I

hot and unrelenting. "You didn't

but I couldn't hear her over the roaring

to close in, and I couldn't breathe. i turned

after me, but I

Chapter Comments

Alomea

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purpose but her anger towards Mariah

blaming Mariah for her mother to

but raised he...

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4

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Chapter Thirty Seven-3

down the stairs of the pack house, the tears blurring

mix of anger, grief, and betrayal

inside.

I reached the main floor, everyone was there-Elijah, Austin, Isaiah,

onto me as I stumbled into the room, my tears spilling

what's wrong?" Elijah asked,

answer him. My throat burned with

was being crushed

do was run.

past them, ignoring their questions and worried glances, and bolted out the door into

grass, something inside me snapped. A sudden, overwhelming energy surged through me, consuming every inch of my body. My vision blurred, and the world seemed to tilt as my limbs began to

echoed behind me, and I heard

to my knees, my body trembling violently

burned, my muscles stretched, and then, in one explosive moment, I was no

paws-huge, glowing paws that shimmered with a

I glanced at my reflection in a

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