Kept Secret

chapter 22

Lia~

My paws dig into the dirt as we cut through the third pack in a row. Their warriors don't even approach us and instead cower at the sight of me, their queen, running through their territory in a fit of rage I'm sure they can sense from where they now stood. Nicole clings to me for dear life and the others struggle to keep up with me in this state. We've been running for hours now and they're probably exhausted.

I stop in a clearing just beyond the pack's borders and the rest of them all collapse in front of me. A wave of guilt rolls over me at the sight of them, knowing that I shouldn't have pushed them that hard. Nicole gets off my back and I go behind a tree to shift into human form, taking my bag with me. I think of my human form and slowly my bones start cracking, taking the shape of a human. I stand up and notice that my clothes are still intact. This isn't the first time this has happened, "Maybe it's because your magic is affecting me." it would make sense why I shift back with clothes on and why my fur has changed., "Any idea about that one?" I can sense her shaking her wolfy head at me, "Not a clue."

I come back from behind the tree and everyone has shifted back already, some panting while some of them *cough* *cough* Dominic, has his entire head in the river. He drinks greedily before finally coming back up for air, "Jeez woman what the fuck is up with you today? I get you want to find them but for the love of the goddess above can you slow the fuck down! Half of us are alphas and we could barely keep up!" I really wish I could take him seriously but between the deranged look in his eyes and his messed up hair, not to mention the fish on his head, it's practically impossible.

I burst out laughing at the sight and brace myself against a nearby tree trunk. My laughter goes from a mild chuckle to hysteria and everyone turns to give me a weary look. I can't blame them though, I, the queen of werewolves and strongest most skilled fighter in the kingdom am busy breaking down in the middle of the forest. Henry takes a tentative step towards me and takes my hand in his. I can see concern edged all over his face and my laughter starts dying down. I look around at all the faces surrounding me, my twin alphas, my deltas, the mother of my mate, and my dear friend Nicole all stare at me with worried gazes. "Lia, we've all realized you haven't been yourself the last few days. You've buried yourself in work and you barely get out anymore. You and I have known each other for years and even though we've never been together I still consider you a friend and as your friend, I'm worried about you so please tell us what's wrong." I look back into Henry's eyes and realize that for the first time in a long time I'm seeing the real Henry, not the snobbish playboy that he portrays to everyone around him. This is a Henry I can see leading the kingdom and maybe, just maybe he and I could rule together.

"You're not seriously thinking that are you?" Raeya pipes up. I can feel her exhaustion from running in wolf form for the last few hours but I can also sense her anger at my earlier thoughts. I ignore her and face everyone. Each one of them is a close friend to me and I know that I can trust every single one of them. "The reason I've been stir crazy is ..." I trail off, trying to find the right words to express what happened. I decide to just get it over with, "Lucas cheated on me because he found out what I was and he couldn't accept it so he ran into the arms of another girl-" I hear gasps from everyone around me. Selena and Nicole gasp while Meaghan's eyes fill with tears and a look of disbelief. "I saw them kissing right after he and I had an argument and it broke my heart. I broke down in front of them and I screamed out in agony as I physically felt the rejection. The part that truly hurt me was that neither of them even blinked at my pain, he didn't care." Droplets fall in my palms and for the first time since I started talking, I realize that I'm crying. Henry wraps his arms around me protectively and by the looks of it, I can tell that Dominic, Dylan, and Jasper are about a hair's width away from shifting out of pure rage.