Chapter 51: Chapter 51

Ashley

“What do you mean, I don't understand,”  I asked in genuine confusion.

“I am sorry but I am not who you think I am, my story is not something I love to share because it's not a very plantable one,” she said as her eyes were beginning to cloud with unshed tears.

I didn't even know what to say or how to react to the things she was saying but seeing her hurting so much made my heart ache.

This is a different version of the grace I use to know back at the pack, she use to be so full of life and bubbling that even I felt motivated by her energy.

“If you feel talking about it would make you feel better, then why not let it out, we have all night out here,”  I calmly said to her.

She looked at me as if examining me to see if I could take what she was about to say and I nodded gently to her, urging her to proceed with whatever was weighing her down.

“My real name is Kiara, you won't have heard of the name because it's a name nobody remembers. A long time ago my ancestors did something that angered the moon goddess and as punishment, she placed a curse of bad luck on all the marriageable female wolves of our pack.

Over time, our girls would find their mates but he won't be what everyone expects of a mate. The mates were abusive and would turn their females into slaves, even the born alpha females were turned into Omega by their wicked mates.

My mother was made to work as my nanny in my father's house because he was too ashamed to present her as his mate. I wasn't exactly looking forward to my eighteenth year birthday because I already feared the worst.

And the worst did happen, on the morning of my eighteenth year birthday my pack was attacked, many people were killed and others were taken in as prisoners.

My father was killed right in my front because he wouldn't let them take him as a prisoner.

The person that mercilessly killed my father and raped my mother turned out to be my mate. He forcefully took me to his pack despite all my appeals for him to reject me.

He didn't want me and still, he wouldn't let me go. He would lock me up and beats me at will because according to him, I was the ugliest girl and the most unfortunate person he had ever seen.

I did not like him either, despite our being mates, I hated his guts, his very presence disgusted me so much. I could never bring myself to love the monster who murdered my father.

One day after he left, he must have forgotten to lock the door as he would normally do.

His brother came to check on him but found me instead, looking very weak and pale. And when my mate came back, they both had a heated argument because his elder brother detested the way he was treating me and that was the beginning of their feud.

Over time, my mate brother would come to check on me to know how I was doing, and somehow I felt connected to him in a way I had never felt with anyone and he too admitted to having the same feelings towards me.

Even though we both knew it was wrong as I was supposed to be his brother's mate, we couldn't keep our feelings from each other any other and we both made love, which resulted in me being pregnant.

My mate was furious when he discovered that I have been impregnated by his brother, he did everything within his power to see that I lost the pregnancy but the child was meant to be.

His brother stood by me despite all the backlash he got from his family and pack members.

Even though I was so happy with him I knew I had to end whatever we had sooner or later for peace to come back to his family. So I conspired with the midwife that helped me during my delivery to tell everyone that I had died during childbirth.

Everyone, except my baby daddy, was happy thinking that the goddess killed me during delivery as punishment for breaking the mate bond.

I ran far away and tried starting my life afresh, no matter how hard I tried to start a new life, I just couldn't as I kept thinking about my baby and how he was faring.

So I returned to the pack six months later after I had solicited the help of a witch who helped me to erase everything everyone knew about me from the mind of everyone in the pack.

As a new form of identity, I took a job at the packed clinic as a way of staying close to my son. But as the saying goes, there is a price to be paid for every action taken. The witch demanded that I switch my alpha wolf with her only grandson son who was born an omega.

I was living just fine with my new identity till the day I first set my eyes on you, I knew there was something special about you even though I couldn't place my hand on what it was.

That was why I decided to follow you into the dark forest to render any form of help that I could. And when I found out that you were Alexander's mate, I just couldn't let you out of my sight because for first the time since I have come to know him as my son, he was genuinely happy,” she said looking at me while wiping her eyes with the back of her hands.

I just sat down there frozen as I stare at her, Okay I must admit that was a lot to take in, wait, is she saying that she is Alexander's mother?

“Does he know?” I questioned while staring at her in total disbelief.

She nodded her head a no while sniffing her nose.

I couldn't just imagine how much pain she has had to go through just to be able to see her son grow, and yet not being recognized by the child is a whole different aspect I do not wish to experience.

Despite my loss for words I knew I had to comfort her, and tell her she is a strong woman and how much I admire her courage and devotion to her son, but there were a whole lot of other things that I needed to know about.

“Did you know Alexander was alive all this while?” I asked as part of my curiosity.

“No. Though I suspected as I still had had this motherly connection with him, though it was very faint at the time. I left the pack as soon as I felt something was wrong with him that morning, but when I got to where they were attacked and I couldn't find his dead body. And that gave me hope that perhaps he was alive and may be taken as a captive.

But, after months of traveling around the packs to get information about him, I finally found him but he was unconscious. He had suffered severe burns and the people that were helping him did not know what to do.

So I went back to our pack clinic, only to find that everyone had been arrested and the whole place destroyed. I managed to locate my room and luckily I saw a bag of healing I had secretly hidden before in case of emergency.

I took it and ran back to the pack and secretly placed the healing portion in a place where it can be easily spotted by the leader of the pack. They found it and administered it to him and he got better with time. You saved his life unknowingly after I noticed he was getting better, that was when I started looking for you and that was how you saw me that night,” she said.

“Ashley!" I heard someone shouting my name from a distance.

Because the voice was far away, maybe because I was paying full attention to Grace, I couldn't exactly pick out who it was that was calling me.

“It's Alexander, he has come for you,” Grace said smiling at me, I looked at her wondering how she knew he was the one.

“Please don't tell him anything that I have told you,” she quickly added as I stood up

“Why?” I inquired

“I will tell him myself when the time is right,” she said.

I nodded my head before heading out

***

Alexander

I have been roaming these woods for some time, yet it feels like my efforts are about to go to waste.

Despite the cool evening breeze and friendly weather, I had beads of sweat adorning my forehead. I could perceive her scent in these woods but I could not exactly point out where she might be.

Ok, let me put it like this, I think I know where she is, as her scent becomes stronger every time I try to go closer to a set of awkwardly arranged trees and tall grasses.

From first appearance one might be tempted to call the place sacred, there were over fifty trees arranged in a circular pattern with tall grasses that seem to grow taller every time I attempt to pass through.

I don't get why I am getting this strong feeling that ashley is within all those woods and grasses.

I can't remember Jason mentioning trees and grasses as part of the things she could control.

It's late already and I know it's almost impossible to go back to join kai and the other warriors, and I can't mindlink him yet since we are yet to be bonded.

I can't afford to leave ashley out here whom im sure is doing everything within her reach to stay hidden for reasons best known to her.

I don't even understand the reason I'm out there looking for her when I should be furious with her.

She is the one that moved on without me, not minding to confirm if I was dead or alive.

“Ashley!” I screamed again hoping she comes out from wherever she is hiding because I am not leaving till she comes out.

“What?” I heard her say plainly.

I turned to see that the tall grasses that were once there has shrieked as I saw her standing close to some trees,

If she was happy or sad to see me, I could not tell as her expression was plain but it felt so good hearing her voice again.