Got Myself Back

Birthday!

It was the most dreaded day of our lives. We couldn't have had a worse day than that. Mom had almost slipped into depression, she stopped working. She couldn't believe it at all that her husband, her best friend had given up on life just like that. He gave up on his family, on her. Had he pretended to be in love, to be happy? Why did he lie? Why didn't he say a proper goodbye? Did he not love her or his children who he showered with love all along? Was that just a show?

It was possible for her to digest it, she still couldn't believe it.

She had become a single parent of children aged 4 and 8. It was too much for her.

I was quite small. So I didn't have loads of memories, but mom and Aiden did.

She didn't believe he committed suicide. Ever. Not even today. Not even after finding a suicide note from where he jumped. She just didn't.
She thought he would come home for dinner one day and everything will be fine.
It's been 10 years. He hadn't returned.

She had lost her mate. Her soulmate. Her wolf howled for days, months and told her, that she couldn't live without a mate.

Mom remarried 5 years ago. She thought we needed a father. And we did. His name was Paul. And even she deserved to be loved. She wanted a husband too.

There was an organisation in the country which would help remarry werewolves who's mates had died, left them or rejected them.

Paul was the second in command gamma. He was great and fun. And had lost his mate to cancer. So he had asked mom to think about him.
Mom did, he was a great guy. He made her happy, bought us gifts and helped mom get out of her grief, step by step.

Since dad died. Paul was made gamma.
After one year of dating him and confirming that we were more than happy to have him as our father, mom married him.

The Alphas and betas (we called the couples that) and the rest of our families were very happy.

Father used to take us for car rides, buy expensive gifts and toys. It was all fun. Used to get on demand movies.

He never made us feel that daddy wasn't there. Since we were all comfortable in this house, he had moved in with us.
He had turned a room in the basement into a theatre and another one as a game room for Aiden. Aiden and father used to be in there for hours playing.

Father decided to renovate the house and also my mom's restaurant. He helped her turn it from a small cafe to a vintage restaurant. Mom was happy. And so were we.

Until one day it starting seeming different. He had strict rules in the house. Inside the house he was open and fun, but outside he was recluse. Never opened up. Rather didn't want to.

While renovation, he had built an outhouse where anyone wanting to meet him had to meet there. No one except for the 4 of us were allowed in the house. Not even our friends. Literally no one.
One day my mom's parents were coming over. He had made them stay in the outhouse and told them not to come in. My grandparents never visited us again. He told them to never come.

That was the day I had seen mom and father fight like crazy.

That was the day everything changed. He had already limited her going out. And my mom was a people's person. She had already stopped working at the Alphas house.
He then stopped her from using her phone and would be with her the whole time. He started working from the restaurant so that he would keep her from meeting people.

Everyone noticed mom's changed behaviour but they couldn't do anything about it. No one was allowed to talk to her.
And when in the house he used to lock her up so that she couldn't go out.