"You are not failing werewolf history, not if I have anything to do with it." Roman spoke as he settled down on the grass beside me.
What I thought was going to be a romantic picnic in the park with no mountain climbing whatsoever turned out to be a surprise study session.
I have to say, I was impressed by the effort though, he had made flashcards and his old notes and books and all my favourite snacks were here, chocolate covered strawberries, tortilla chips, salted pistachios... the works.
"How did you even know I was failing history?" I groaned as I picked up a chip and bit into it. Kat always hated the fact that I liked eating tortilla chips without dip.
"Kat." Roman shrugged as he leaned against the tree we had chosen for shade.
I rolled my eyes.
I usually wasn't embarrassed by my grades. I worked really hard for them after all. But then there was werewolf history, something I hadn't even known existed until recently. So of course I wasn't thriving there.
Roman saw my expression. "Come here." He spoke, having me lean on his chest.
He tucked a stray strand of curly hair behind my ear. This was one of the rare times my hair wasn't in braids.
"Hey, just give it some time. You'll get it.Most of the kids here grew up hearing stories about their heritage and their werewolf ancestors so this comes as second nature to them."
I sighed, I could hear Roman's steady heartbeat. "And you? How did you get the hang of it?"
I felt Roman shrug. "I lived among humans for about nine years until Alpha Jean found me and brought me here. My foster parents might be crappy but even they taught me about the history of the wolves."
I felt Roman tense up. He always did when he talked about Sal and Ally, his foster parents.
I took his hand in mine and intertwined our fingers.
"The Silvercrest pack is all I've ever really known as home."
I looked up at Roman, his jaw was fixed and he looked off into the distance. I tried to follow his gaze but all I saw was a little boy laughing as he was being chased by what looked like his father.
I felt his hand run through my hair. "I like your hair like this." He spoke, smiling down at me and breaking the silence. He placed a kiss on my head. "What's in here?"
I sat up and turned to face him. I knew what he was doing.
I tugged on his curly dark brown hair which was growing longer each month he neglected trimming it.
"You know I understand what you're going through, right? You can talk to me."
He gave me a weak smile. "You're not an unwanted orphan, babe."
I frowned. "Hello? Abandoned by both her parents?"
"We're not going to argue about who has the most tragic back story, Crystal."
I took his hands in mine.
"Then let's just talk. Tell me yours, I'll tell you mine."
He chuckled softly. "Another time maybe. We have some studying to do."
He tried to reach forward for a pile of flash cards. I stopped him.
"I love you, Ro. But I hate the mysterious and detached guy that you become when it comes to talking about your past."
"Please, stop pushing."
"I'm not. I just want -"
"To fix the broken boy?"
"Ro! I don't think you're broken."
"Then what's with the psychoanalysis all the time? Your mother brought you to the border of Woodfell and left you in the hands of your uncle. You have family here. I have no one."
I stated at him, hurt by his words.
"I'm going to leave now." I spoke, grabbing my bag as I got up.
Roman sighed. "Crystal, wait." He scrambled to his feet as well and chased after me. He grabbed my hand.
I pulled away. "Oh you remember my name? I thought I was 'no one'."
"That's not what I meant."
"Oh it isn't?" I let out a huff of frustration. "Okay, maybe you're right. Maybe I do psychoanalyse you. But it's not because I think you're broken... I - I just see the way you push people away. The way you constantly deny yourself happiness and - I have had people abandon me before. Sure. I have Uncle Victor and the rest of the Bensons but -" I sucked in a deep breath, holding back tears.
"That doesn't mean I don't constantly live in fear. Fear that one day, they'll wake up one day as well and decide they don't want me either."
"That could never happen." Roman reassured me, reaching out as if he was unsure on whether he could touch me or not.
"You don't get to tell me that." I told him. "Because everyday, I wake up and I have the same fears regarding you."
"Crystal." He spoke softly. "I'm still here."
"That's just it though, Roman. You're here now but with the way you act sometimes, I don't know if you'll stay."
Roman frowned. "Crystal -"
"Can you promise me that, Roman? Can you promise that you won't push me away too? That you'll stay?"
"I - I -"
"I thought so." With that, I spun around and left.
"Um, so you're just gonna be here?" I asked Rick.
Rick was part of the security detail Tristan had allocated to me.
And to be honest, I wasn't exactly thrilled.
Rick seemed nice, don't get me wrong, I mean so far he hadn't spat the word 'halfling' in my face or given me an accusatory look like pretty much everyone had been doing so far.
Hey, it's not like I had summoned the Van Cliffe wolves.
To be honest, I was as curious about why they had come after me as well .
"Yes, Luna." He responded. "But don't worry, it will be like we're not even here."
I looked behind him at the minivan we had come back in, at the six other soldiers who were already scouting the area.
I nodded, "um, okay, thanks. I'll be heading in now." I told him.
"Okay, Luna." He spoke with a bow.
I sighed. I didn't even have the energy to argue with that title right now.
I turned around and headed up to the house
Tristan had wanted to escort me home but he had emergency meetings to chair and not to mention, wolves to interrogate, I bet.
But it would have been nice to have him here. I was getting too used to leaning on the comfort that the mating bond brought about and that honestly scared me.
But in other ways, I was glad Tristan wasn't here.
Something had been nagging me about this whole ordeal. Something I couldn't tell Tristan. At least not until I understood it myself.
I didn't expect anyone to be home when I walked through the front door. I had been looking forward to the peace and quiet so that I could think.
But when I saw Uncle Victor by the kitchen island, I couldn't say I was too mad. Especially when he rushed up to ne and wrapped his arms around me in a hug.
"Crystal." He breathed out in relief.
I rested my head on his chest and let him embrace me.
After the day I had, I hadn't realised how much I needed this.
He pulled away and looked at me from head to toe. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Yeah. Everyone is, thank God." I spoke.
"How did you get home?" He asked.
I pointed towards the door. "Um, Tristan's soldiers dropped me off. They're still out there. We should probably warn Aunt Sarah and the others in case they get spooked."
I didn't want to imagine Aunt Sarah driving back with Parker and Hazel and getting frightened by strange men in the woods.
"I already called your aunt." Uncle Victor spoke. "She's picking Kat up from school so I don't think that will be a problem."
I sighed in relief. "Okay. That's good." I looked up at Uncle Victor. "Who told you?" I asked, curiously.
As far as I knew, no one had informed my family about the ambush.
"Captain Park." Uncle Victor responded. "She just summoned me for questioning and explained everything that happened."
I looked at Uncle Victor, he was wearing a clean button down and black jeans. Usually by now he'd still be at one of his construction sites.
"Summoned you for questioning?" I asked in confusion. "Do they think you know something?"
"Maybe. I don't know. But they have reason to. I'm an ex Van Cliffe and they seem to be following my niece." Uncle Victor sighed.
I pulled away from him and looked into his eyes.
"Do you know anything about this?"
Uncle Victor looked offended. "What are you trying to ask me, Crystal?"
"Nothing." I responded quickly. I didn't mean to accuse Uncle Victor in any way. It's just that he is the only other Van Cliffe Wolf I knew. That's probably why Captain Park was calling him in as well.
"Uncle Victor," I nervously tugged on my necklace. "One of those wolves - I - it had mum's scent."
I didn't even know I had memorised my mother's scent until I had picked it up again today
Uncle Victor looked thoughtful.
"Crystal, go up to your room and get some rest." He spoke dismissively. "You've had a long day."
I frowned at his reaction.
"Uncle Victor... do you know those wolves? Or why they're coming after me?"
He put his hand on my shoulder.
"I stopped being a Van Cliffe long ago, Crystal. So did your mother. I don't have any association with them any more. Nor would I want to."
"That's not an answer to my question." I replied.
"What do you want me to say, baby girl?" He asked, an exasperated look crossing his face.
"I just want to understand all this. Maybe there was a family member you guys left behind who came looking for me - or us?" I suggested.
I had never met my grandparents, my mother never talked about them. Neither did uncle Victor.
"Crystal, I need you to understand that Van Cliffe wolves looking for you isn't a good thing." He spoke seriously.
I noticed for the first time just how stressed and agitated he looked.
"Why?" I pressed. The topic might have been making him uncomfortable but this was my life. The wolves were following me.
If I was going to ask Tristan to stick his neck out for me, I needed to know what I was getting him into.
"Why does everyone associate being a Van Cliffe with being some sort of villain? I know you told me not to ask in the past but I'm getting older and I need more answers. Mum sure isn't here to give them to me."
Uncle Victor frowned at me. "The Van Cliffe's are the villains." He spoke.
He looked away and let out another sigh before gesturing to a stool by the kitchen island.
I took a seat and he sat in the one beside me but twisted to face me.
"Long ago, before the werewolf union, wolves lived by the natural law of the land. It was simple, each pack had their own territory. You cross another pack's territory without permission and they have the automatic right to attack. If you wanted to enlarge your territory, you were allowed to fight for it, The stronger pack always got it and the weaker pack had to settle for what was left or migrate and find new land. As werewolves grew, they became more civilized. No one wanted to depend on blood shed to resolve issues of land. So the werewolf union was formed by the alphas of the three major packs, the Silvercrest pack under the Melroses, the Shadow pack under the Reeces and the River pack under the Stones."
I listened carefully even though I already knew this part from werewolf history.
"The Van Cliffe's Eclipse pack was against the union from the beginning and even though they were a major pack, they refused to participate. Their alpha was old fashioned and their way had always been to get land through violence. They didn't agree with the Werewolf union's attempt to distribute land equally. So, naturally they rebelled.
The other packs tried to negotiate with the Eclipse alpha at the time, Ornyx Van Cliffe. But he was set in his ways. And to show how much he disapproved of the whole thing, he had all the alpha's of the major packs murdered by his spies."
My eyes widened.
"No -"
"Only one survived, Trevor Melrose. Tristan's great grandfather."
There was a statue of Trevor Melrose in the town square. He was something of a hero to this pack. He was responsible for organizing the town socially and economically in a way that still worked today. But I saw now that he deserved more credit than was due.
"That act alone showed that Ornyx wanted to do more than just dismantle the Union, he wanted to rule it. In his eyes, all other werewolves in this region had grown weak. He believed they needed to be reminded of their nature." Uncle Victor sighed and shook his head. "That's how the war begun. The Van Cliffe's against the union."
"But it went on for so many years." I spoke in confusion. "I thought you said it was the Van Cliffe's against the whole union."
I didn't know about then but right now, the Silvercrests, the Shadow pack and the River pack could make up an army no one in their right mind would want to go against.
"Ornyx was no fool." Uncle Victor continued. "He wasn't going to start a war if he didn't have the man power. The Eclipse pack wolves have always been known for their strength and agility, they were born and bred to fight and hunt since the beginning. Your mother and I were raised in the same way."
I frowned. Sometimes I forgot that Uncle Victor hadn't always lived in Woodfell.
"How did you guys get out?" I asked.
Uncle Victor looked at the ground. "Say what you want about Van Cliffe wolves but I know a dictator when they see one. Others did too. There were people within our pack who opposed our alpha but unfortunately, not enough. Treason was punishable by death and any attempt to overthrow the Van Cliffe line proved futile. They respected the law of nature and so they allowed anyone who was willing to challenge the alpha to go ahead. Lucien Van Cliffe was the alpha at the time I was still in the Eclipse pack, and - I had never seen such a strong werewolf in my life. He was a natural killer and could take out twenty wolves on his own. I went to school with his son, Xavier, he was a few years older than me but just as strong as his father. Let's just say anyone who chose to challenge the Van Cliffe's was a fool signing their own death wish.
My parents were staunch followers of the Van Cliffes. I was only twelve when I realized I was in a pack of monsters. Theresa did too. We started making plans to run away. It took six years but we finally came up with a plan. Remember when I told you everyone loved Theresa?" Uncle Victor gave a weak smile.
I nodded.
"Number one on her fan list was none other than Xavier Van Cliffe" Uncle Victor scoffed. "The tough guy wasn't so tough when it came to your mother. He followed her around like a love sick puppy."
"So, she used him?" I guessed.
Maybe using alphas ran in the family. I thought guiltily.
Uncle Victor shrugged. "He was our only way out. Leaving the pack boundaries was strictly forbidden. People who managed to escape did so purely by luck. They were heavily manned and guarded. But of course the alpha's son could definitely do whatever he wanted. Theresa talked him into taking us out of pack territory one day. And that's how we made a run for it. We managed to live among humans and stay hidden, Theresa was twenty and I was eighteen, she worked odd jobs and I worked on construction sites."
"Then you met Aunt Sarah?" I guessed.
A smile took over his face. "I was twenty two. Theresa and I had just decided to leave town because the war was getting too heavy but then I met her. She was my mate, it had been obvious from the beginning. They let me into Woodfell but they wouldn't let your mother in." Uncle Victor sighed.
"She told me it was okay and that this way I would finally be safe, then she left." Uncle Victor frowned. "I tried to keep in touch with her but she just disappeared, changed her number and everything. I tried to look for her but I couldn't find her. Next I heard from her, she was married to a human and had you."
I was twelve. I remember being bundled in a coat a size too large. My mum had woken me up at the crack of dawn and stuffed me in her car. Next thing I knew, we were in a diner and I was meeting my Uncle Victor for the first time.
Two years later she was driving me over to live with him.
"Well she does have a talent for disappearing." I muttered.
Uncle Victor looked me in the eyes. "Everything your mother ever did was to keep me safe, bringing you here - I believe that was her doing the same for you."
I fingered my necklace. 'We're Van Cliffe wolves, we'll always find our way back to each other.'
"I always thought mum left me here because she didn't want me anymore. I was becoming a problem with the humans because I couldn't control my shifts and she didn't want dad to find out."
My mother had made me keep lots of secrets in the past. At first I didn't mind, I liked the way she would wink and say, 'it's between us 'Van Cliffe'' girls like we were in a secret club.
But over the years I had started to resent her for making me keep this one from my dad. Sure telling a grown man that his wife and daughter could morph into large dogs was enough to drive anyone over the edge but he was my father and he loved us, surely he would find a way to deal with it.
She didn't even let me say goodbye to him.
"Living among humans would have been hard, Crystal." Uncle Victor spoke. He had told me this too many times already.
But I was in full control now.
"Why didn't she come back, Uncle Victor? Why didn't she come back for me." Uncle Victor sighed. "I don't know, Crystal. I wouldn't be able to tell you because I don't know where she is or how to get into contact with her."
"What about my dad? He must be with her." I asked.
My mother had given Uncle Victor strict rules not to let me contact my father in any way. It made me wonder what story she had told me because surely he couldn't have been okay with this? My mother had always been the one I looked to when it came to rescuing me.
Scraped knee? Mum.
Mean girls at school? Mum.
Dad was my hero too but in different ways. I nerded out over my love for history and numbers with him. We both couldn't get enough of Harry Potter and he and I both loved trains and Greek mythology, things my mother found boring.
He wasn't part of the secret 'Van Cliffe girls club' but we had our own club that mum wasn't a part of.
"Doesn't make a difference. If your mother doesn't want us to know where they are, Crystal, then we won't know. I'm sorry it has to be this way." He checked his watch and sighed. "I have to go. Captain Park will be waiting."
He begun to get up but I wasn't about to let this go so soon. This was the first time I was actually getting answers.
"Uncle Victor, you can't be okay with not knowing. I know you can't. My mum is missing and Van Cliffe wolves are after me. Considering your history, aren't you scared? What if they found her? What if they're coming after us now?"
Uncle Victor shook his head. "The war ended, Crystal. The Eclipse pack lost. Your mother and I aren't in trouble any more."
"Then why are they after me?" I asked. "Why is she still gone?"
Uncle Victor was quiet. "I don't know, kiddo, I honestly don't. Maybe it was a coincidence, maybe they caught your scent and thought..." he trailed off then shook his head. "They wouldn't even know your scent." He spoke.
"But whatever it is, I'll find out. You just stay out of it." He ordered.
"But -"
"Crystal, you might be the luna but if the pack thinks you're dealing with Van Cliffes... not even Tristan will be able to protect you." He spoke. "So keep out of this, got it? There's no conspiracy, baby girl. This has nothing to do with you me, or your mum. I can't tell you where she is but I can tell you for sure that we're not Van Cliffes anymore."
I nodded reluctantly but questions still ate at me. However, I knew I would only have time for one. So I decided to ask the one that had been bothering me the most.
Before he walked out the door, I called to him.
"Uncle Victor?"
He turned around.
"Yeah?"
"Did you ever tell Roman about mum? The night she brought me here, I mean"
Uncle Victor furrowed his brows. "Where's this coming from?"
"I just.... I was curious."
Uncle Victor looked suspicious but he answered the question none the less. "No, Crystal. I know how painful that day was for you. Not even your aunt Sarah really knows the details."
"Are you sure?" I insisted. "Maybe it slipped out?"
"I promise you I didn't." Uncle Victor spoke. "Why do you ask?"
I felt my nerves growing by the second. Why couldn't he just have said yes?
I shook my head. "As I said, I was just curious. I'm tired, I think I'll just go rest my head." I spoke quickly before turning to leave.
My heart started thumping in my chest.
I believed Uncle Victor.
But he might have been wrong about one thing.
This seemed too much like a conspiracy.