The Female Alpha

Chapter VIII. Closure

Lillian did not go to work at the farm the day after Alexander had pressed her to train. She had told me that she would go with me the next time Alexander was in town. Which should be in a week or two.

For now, she had listened to her cousin's advice and she had gone ahead and told Luke she would not be coming in today.

By now I was able to find my way around the farm and I had Luke to fall back on.

We had started the morning by each taking a side of the farm as we tended to the crops. It was lovely weather though it was supposed to rain later in the day. We decided that after the watering and checking on the crops if they are healthy, weed-free and possibly ripe, we would tackle the dead tree in the orchard. This way, we could store it away before it got wet.

With a saw, a rope, some clippers and brute strength we tackled the tree.

We nearly ended up with a branch falling on top of us both which led to Luke jumping away and me tumbling back into the grass.

A laugh escaped my lips as soon as the shock of the moment had passed. A rare chuckle even escaped Luke's mouth, which had left me even more surprised than the branch that nearly dropped on my head.

"Perhaps we should take a break." Although Luke was the one to suggest it, I wholeheartedly agreed with him. He had brought the usual basket with him, filled with food and drinks. I wondered if baskets were a hot item all around the village or only for those who worked at the farm.

After a few sandwiches, some freshly pressed juice and some fruit plucked from a healthy tree, we sat down at one of the benches near the cottage as we let the food settle in our stomachs.

Since day one, there had been questions I had not dared to ask. Mostly because I was not sure who to ask them, but also because I wasn't sure I would like the answers. It was time though, to face the truth and to seek out the answers.

So, it was with a nervous pit for a stomach and my teeth biting my lips that I gathered up the courage to take the first step.

"That night, in the woods, how did you find me?" I broke the silence that had followed our lunch conversation about food and the farm. Luke does not seem fazed nor surprised as if he might have suspected this subject to come up someday.

"We were scouting the woods, checking the perimeters and seeing if there were any changes in the surroundings. We heard the crash and then soon the smell of blood reached us, it led us straight towards you." He paused, taking a sip of his drink and looking straight ahead of him.

"It took us a while to find you since there were scents scattered all around. But once we got closer, we could make out your scent and we recognized you as our own. It's something I could teach you once you are more familiar with your newly enhanced senses." He nodded at the last comment. I wondered how much more there was to learn and practise. I might have undergone the change but from what I kept hearing I was nowhere near the possible end result.

"Did you see anyone else?" I asked. The dream that had come to me kept haunting me, it left me wondering if perhaps it was more than just a dream and that maybe it was a part of a memory even.

Luke eyed me and I felt like I knew what his answer would be. "We did not see anyone else, but yours was not the only scent at the crash site. Aside from you and the girl under the..." I flinched, dreading his next words. Noticing this, Luke didn't finish his sentence and instead carried on with his story. "There was the scent of another, possibly two other people even." My head popped up, I listened closely, fearing that perhaps my dreams were not dreams after all and I had indeed not been alone at the place I had lost my sister.

"Our priority was to getyou back, we sent two of our scouts out to track the scents, but they came backempty-handed. By the time I got back to the scene myself the authorities hadarrived."  Disappointed filled me, though I expected such an answer. Had he found or learned something then I would have expected him to have told me so already. Luke was not one to withhold such important information from someone.

"Who was she?" Luke asked. He need not specify who he meant, his words and the tone of his voice made it clear who he meant. I had not spoken about her with anyone yet, not even Lillian. I wasn't sure how much Lillian knew about the crash and had she known, then I doubt she would have asked about it until she was confident I was comfortable enough to talk about it.

Luke meant no harm in his words, I could tell. I did not mind his question either, I even understood why he asked it. Still, this did not mean it was an easy one to answer. I took my time as I stared in front of me, biting the inside of my lip as I held back the tears that I could feel welling up inside me.

"She is... was, my baby sister." The words are hard to speak out loud, especially since it was the first time I did so. The crash had always been in my head ever since I had come here, yet with all the new discoveries and information it had been easiest to simply try to suppress it rather than face my grief head-on.

A sigh escaped Luke's lips, he put his hands on my shoulder. He knew pain, he had experienced it firsthand. He too knew that words fell short at moments like this.

It took a while before we spoke again. "When I lost Charlotte, my mate... It took something from me. And I can't fix that for you, but if you ever need something, or someone to be there with you and sit and well talk, I can be that someone." He spoke the words awkwardly; it was obvious he was not used to talking so much or about such a deep subject. Nevertheless, it showed that he put effort into comforting me.

I smiled softly, my eyes teary. His words meant a lot to me. Ever since coming here, I felt both out of place and yet right at home. People like Lillian and Luke made me feel welcome, and to learn who I was and what I was just made everything click inside.

It was the crash, the hectic way it had all gone, the weird looks and words from Viktor but most of all the loss of my sister and my old life that had made it hard to let go of what I once had in my head. Even when I realized there was nothing more to hold on to.

All that I had once had, I had already lost.