Wolves of the Falling Stars Book 4: The Return

Chapter 27

Yay, somehow or other I finally managed to catch up! Updates will be once a week from this point forward :)

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Quiet Ocean was always quick to remember her reality as soon as she awoke. The den these days felt foreign and strange. No longer did she curl up close to her mother's side, though lately she and Snow Fall had slept closer together than normal. Each day that Quiet Ocean opened her eyes, she was faced with the truth again. She was Lily Petal's daughter.

Today would have normally been a special day. Today, she and her siblings would begin training. Or should she say "siblings," considering that Daffodil Bloom wasn't even her real sister.

Quiet Ocean expected this day to be filled with delight, but now she felt like a stranger in her own family. She was thankful she had Snow Fall. He at least felt the same way as her, and oftentimes at night they would whisper about how their life had changed so. It wasn't as if Small Fox had cast the two aside. Rather, Quiet Ocean had felt she'd done it herself. She still did not feel ready to forgive her adoptive parents.

"Get up," Quiet Ocean murmured to her brother. 

Snow Fall grumbled in his sleep and rolled over before finally opening his eyes.

"We get to train today, remember?" Quiet Ocean asked.

"Oh," Snow Fall said. He blinked a few times. "Right." Even he lacked the enthusiasm he had once possessed about being closer to becoming a full member of the Pack of the Falling Stars.

"Pups," Small Fox said to them. Quiet Ocean couldn't help but glare at her. She was angry. Angrier than she'd ever been. It was wrong to just be angry at Small Fox. The whole pack was to blame. Yet it was easy to direct her anger onto the wolf that had lied to her the most.

"What?" Quiet Ocean grumbled.

Small Fox took a deep breath. "Daffodil Bloom and I are going to visit the river this morning. Do you want to come?"

"No," Snow Fall grumbled.

"Have fun," Quiet Ocean murmured.

"Pups, please," Small Fox said. Quiet Ocean tried to ignore the sound of tears in the she-wolf's throat. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love you two. You are my son and daughter deep down. What I did was for your own good. Did you really want Lily Petal to raise you?"

"No. But you didn't have to lie to us," Quiet Ocean growled.

"I'm sorry. I know no matter how many times I say it that it won't be enough. We won't be far, so...so come if you change your mind," Small Fox said.

Daffodil Bloom gave the two a sympathetic glance. "Bye."

"Bye," Quiet Ocean murmured.

While she was not angry at Daffodil Bloom, it slightly hurt to know that the only thing that changed for Daffodil Bloom was finding out her siblings were not her true siblings. Quiet Ocean and her brother had to deal with the fact that her parents weren't even her true parents. Though she know Small Fox was still treating them equally, jealousy lingered as she thought of how special Daffodil Bloom must be in her mother's eyes for being her only living pup.

"Let's go out and rest in the sun," Snow Fall suggested.

Quiet Ocean nodded. Here, at least, she and Snow Fall could rest comfortably away from all the drama. 

As they rested, Quiet Ocean's eyes lingered to the omega den. She had not returned since Lily Petal had revealed the truth to her. She wondered if Dandelion Puff had intended for her to find out the truth, if she realized that this would've happened. One day Quiet Ocean would go back and visit, but only to speak to Dandelion Puff. She was still not sure how she felt about Lily Petal being her mother and had no desire to talk to Lily Petal anytime soon.

As Quiet Ocean sat with her brother, she noticed Strong Boulder and his sister returning from an outing to Silver Snowflake's den. Snow Fall began to growl quietly behind her.

"What do we have here?" Strong Boulder asked. "Two young omegas, I would say." Tall Willow giggled beside him.

"We're not omegas," Snow Fall growled.

"No. But your mother is," Strong Boulder teased. "How must that feel? Having your mother and aunt be an omega?"

"You're just mad because we're related to you now," Quiet Ocean said with a smirk. 

"At least I didn't hang out with omegas before finding out I was one," Strong Boulder said. "What happened to your best friend, Dandelion Puff?"

Quiet Ocean stood up, about ready to pounce, when none other than Golden Flower stood between the two.

"Knock it off, the both of you!" she exclaimed.

Quiet Ocean had not spoken to the she-wolf much, but she knew that soon they would be denmates, so she would be getting to know her sooner or later.

"He's insulting us," Snow Fall complained.

"We don't speak about our packmates this way," Golden Flower said to Strong Boulder. "I'll go tell your father next time. Get lost."

Strong Boulder rolled his eyes and went off with his sister, but Quiet Ocean was slightly amazed. The obnoxious wolf would rarely listen to anyone besides his own mother.

"Thank you," Quiet Ocean murmured.

"I can't take all the thanks. I have to be honest. I don't want to sleep in a den with all of you fighting," Golden Flower explained. "But we'll have some peace for a little bit. See you all tonight."

Quiet Ocean smiled as Golden Flower took off to train with Copper Rock. She supposed she couldn't be mad at Golden Flower. She hadn't known about the scandal until recently either.

That evening, as the stars came out and moon shone, it was time for Quiet Ocean and Snow Fall to officially leave the nursing den. Small Fox had tears in her eyes as she prepared to walk the pups out to the alphas. She gave Daffodil Bloom a nudge on the head with her nose before turning to Quiet Ocean and Daffodil Bloom.

"Listen, you two. I know things aren't...as good as they used to be now, but please know that Golden Sun and I will be watching from the front. I'm so proud of you two, and I know your father would be too," Small Fox said. "I hope you won't shut me out forever."

Quiet Ocean felt guilty for keeping quiet, but she couldn't find herself reciprocating, or even at least saying thank you to the she-wolf for raising her. She could only find herself nodding.

"Will she be there?" Quiet Ocean asked quietly.

"She? Who--" Small Fox's voice went off. "Oh. Lily Petal. Maybe she'll peer her head out of the den."

"Okay," was all Quiet Ocean had to say in response.

That evening, as the wolves howled out into the sky, Quiet Ocean left the nursing den permanently. There were touched looks on Small Fox and Golden Sun's faces. Had she not known the truth, she would've smiled at them, but truth be told, she wanted nothing more than to get away.

As they prepared to go off to bed, Golden Flower showed Quiet Ocean, Snow Fall, and Daffodil Bloom the den.

"And you two can all sleep over here if you want," Golden Flower suggested. "It's pretty cozy since there aren't too many of us. I'm just happy to have some company finally."

Quiet Ocean curled up next to Snow Fall, as she was accustomed to doing, but she was surprised to see Daffodil Bloom standing in front of her. The she-wolf appeared to be on the verge of tears.

"C-Can I curl up next to you, Quiet Ocean?" she asked.

Quiet Ocean wanted to accuse her of missing her mother, but she suspected Daffodil Bloom truly missed her "siblings," and in all honesty, Quiet Ocean missed her too.

"Yes," she said.

The three curled up close to each other that night, just like they had done many nights in the nursing den. It was as if they were pups all over again.