The Exiled Alpha

Chapter thirty-seven

"My mother died because of hunters." I sit by Elliot's side, looking down at my clasped hands. My fingers are tangled together, as I grit my teeth at the thought. "It's been three years since she died. She saved us all, so some of the pack members call it the ultimate sacrifice." A bitter smile crosses my lips and I have to stop myself from scrunching my nose in disgust.

"Our company was first settled in Canada. I think your territory was close to ours." I say, looking over to Elliot. His hazel eyes stare at the mirror, watching our reflection in it. He only nods a little, this being the only sign I get that he's actually listening to me.

"They found out the company is run by werewolves and they attacked us. We had to flee from our territory in a rush." I stare at his expression in the mirror, watching how his lips tug into a slight frown.

"They set off bombs to destroy the company. My mother stayed behind because we knew they came for our information. We... the company was supposed to help werewolves, lone wolves, other packs. We had all of the people stored in our system and the hunters wanted to know who the others are. My mother transferred the files to one laptop that was in our car and then destroyed the hard drives and computers in the company." I press my lips together, feeling tears prick my eyes at the memory. I could still feel the smoke burn my eyes and fill my throat.

Elliot sits still by my side, the only movement being an occasional glance over to me.

"Mom wasn't able to get out in time before the bombs exploded." My voice shakes as the words come out of my throat. I feel my throat shrink and it gets hard to breathe all of a suddenly. The tears blur my vision and I have to inhale again, to stop myself from breaking down.

"We managed to shake off the hunters and they couldn't follow our tracks back to Beacon Hills." My words are now muttered, as I look down to my hands. My limbs feel heavy and I almost don't feel how Elliot shifts to look at me. I blink away the tears harshly, trying not to cry before my mate.

"She saved the people that came to us for help. If it wasn't for her, we'd be the doom of them." I say, lifting my head up and looking at the ceiling. My hair brushes against my back as I do so, the tears being hard to keep at bay.

"I'm sorry, Kenzie." His words make me turn my head to the side so I could look at him. I can see him glaring down at his hands, his jaw clenched tightly. "If my father would've had a heart, your mother would have never died that day. If we just went and helped..." His words get stuck in his throat and I let myself rest back against my bed. My back falls against the mattress and covers, while I stare up at the ceiling.

"I blamed you. Your pack. I blamed you and I hated you, because it was easier than blaming my own pack and our own recklessness." I confess, closing my eyes to keep the tears behind my eyelids. I feel how my voice shakes when I speak, but I want to keep on going. I'm finally starting to open up to him and he needs to know me. He needs to hear my story in order to understand me and be with me.

I feel how his hand brushes against my open palm, his fingers lacing with my own. My hand lays in his hold limply, while his fingers squeeze around my palm in desperation.

"I don't blame you guys anymore." I speak softly, opening my eyes to see Elliot watching me intently. His eyes dance all over my face and I can see the sorrow in them. He feels guilty on behalf of his previous pack.

"I'm done being angry at the world for everything that has happened to me. You know I once read a quote somewhere on social media and it touched me a little... I guess." I turn my head to look over at him, while I recite the quote. "I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me, but it's hard to stay mad when there's so much beauty in the world."