Bonded

Chapter 8

"Wait a second...that doesn't make sense. If these are her journals, is this her house? Why was she living all the way out here?" Embry asked. "I'm assuming she was living out here with her Alpha."

My eyes were glued to the page. Her cursive writing was beautiful and elegant. There had to be at least 50 entries in this journal alone and, at least, 20 journals on this shelf. When Jacob and I Bonded, we saw Kaya and Ephraim together, holding hands. At the time, I didn't think anything of it; honestly, I was too focused on the fact that it felt like an elephant was sitting square on my chest.

In the official legends of the first she-wolf, her Alpha is not named. Almost as if on purpose. While I was first learning about her story, I thought they didn't name him because the story was focused on her, not who she was serving with. I touched the writing again with my fingertips, gliding against each letter. "No, that's not possible," I mumbled, turning the page. In an instant, I felt sick to my stomach. Something inside me was screaming that something about this was not right. I shook my head and turned to Jacob who looked equally as confused as I felt. "There are a lot of pieces missing. What's going on?"

He nodded his head, shoving his hands in the pockets of his shorts. "Maybe we should take this to the Elders."

Another breeze passed through me, cold. I bit my lip before bringing my attention back to the journal. The fact that Ephraim was her Alpha wasn't the biggest surprise in all of this. But there was clearly more to the story than what the legend says. Obviously, no one knew about these journals. It looks like no one really knew about this house. Did she move here voluntarily? Was there a reason she would decide to live by herself instead of on the reservation with the rest of her wolves? "I don't think this is something the Elders can help us with, Jacob."

If the Elders knew there was more to this story than what's in the legend, why wouldn't they tell us? I had questions, even more than before.

"What does this mean, guys?" Bianca asked, intrigued. She was trying her best to understand the magnitude of this moment. Embry too. Fuck, me and Jacob too. My mind was running all of scenarios in my head. How Jacob's great grandfather and this woman, the first female wolf, came to be. As far as we knew, she didn't have any children because phasing had made her infertile. It was also common knowledge that she dedicated her life to the pack before Ephraim died and even more so after he died. "It's so quiet, you guys..." Bianca stage whispered.

I snapped myself out of my thoughts and turned to Embry and Bianca. "Em, can you take Bianca home? It's starting to get dark and I don't want all of us sitting here too late." He nodded, guiding his imprint by her waist. She made me promise, before they left, that we would have dinner again. I gave her a quick smile and a nod.

"Let me know if you guys need anything." Em said before closing the door behind him.

And then, here we were. Jacob and I facing off, an intense silence surrounding us. I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready for all of this to come crashing around us. If the legends were only telling a small portion of the real story, what does this mean? What other things don't we know? I felt my stomach turn as my breathing began to labor a little. I was looking at the man in front of me and not even he could say or do anything that would help me to feel better at this moment. I didn't understand why I was getting upset. I think I just felt it in my bones that something was wrong.

"What are you thinking, Lee?" he asked, softly. He stepped forward and I instinctively took a step back. He didn't try to move toward me again.

"Why was she here? In the woods. By herself." I asked.

"I don't know, baby."

"Something about this isn't right," I said.

"I know, baby."