The Red Wolf's Daughter (Book 3 Part 2: The Making of the Siran)

Chapter 27

"Hey, Ky," I heard Caroline say when she entered the tent. "I have a qu- Are you ok?" Concern filled her voice, and I had a feeling it was because she saw me weeping from a broken heart all over again.

"Uh, ya, ya," I said and wiped my eyes. "I am fine." I cleared my throat and wiped my eyes some more to make it look like I wasn't crying. "I just had something in my eye. What is it that you are wanting?" I looked at her, her face blurry because I was still crying, no matter how hard I was trying not to.

Caroline frowned, and I had a feeling that she didn't believe me. "What happened?" she asked instead. "Why are you crying? Did Cooper come in here? Did he hurt you?"

I bit back a small snort and shook my head, no. "He didn't come into the tent nor did he hurt me," I said and wiped my eyes some more before I cleared my throat. "Really, I'm fine. I don't know why you are saying that I am not."

"If you were fine, then you wouldn't be in here crying all alone," Caroline pointed out, and I chuckled and slowly nodded because what she said was true; I wouldn't be in here crying all alone if I was fine. "Please," she said softly and took a hesitant step toward me. "Tell me. What happened? Why are you crying?"

I licked my lips and cleared my throat while I looked at my shaking hands, not able to face her. "Ummm..." I cleared my throat again. "Andrei came in to talk to me..." I said and trailed off, my voice barely above a whisper.

"What?" Caroline asked, not able to hide the jealousy in her voice, and I bit back a small smirk. "Why?"

"Because I am his mate, unfortunately," I said and cleared my throat again. I grabbed the necklace that mine had given me and sighed while I fiddled with it. "And, of course, he is mine."

"Unfortunately?" Caroline asked while she furrowed her brows and cocked her head as she studied me, and I nodded. "Why, unfortunately? Don't you know h-"

"It is unfortunate because you have a crush on him, and I have a feeling that you are wanting him to be your mate, even though you two aren't put together. He is also someone that I don't have a history with, and the one that is mine rejected me for my "safety," which I don't understand, but I have a feeling that it has to do with these hidden memories of mine and because of what I mean to that timeline."

Caroline hesitated before she walked over to me. She sat down beside me and laid her head on my shoulder, and I laid my head on hers and closed my eyes. "Love sucks," she said, and I chuckled.

"It does," I agreed while I nodded, "but only when you are broken-hearted. If you ask my mom, then I don't think she'll think that."

She slowly nodded while she furrowed her brows. "So, do you two have a history then?" she asked. "You and Andrei from your timeline?"

I hummed and nodded while a small smile played on my lips. "Yes," I said and cleared my throat. "We do." I sighed and shook my head before I took off the necklace, praying that nothing bad would happen to me because of it. "He gave me this the day after my birthday before I had to leave to go to the pack I am staying at now." I handed it to her, and she took it from me.

Caroline looked at it with furrowed brows twisting it one way and then another. "'KRP & AKR,'" she said softly and rubbed her finger across the words. "What does the date symbolize?"

I smiled and shook my head. "The day of our first kiss," I said with a small chuckle in my voice. I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat while I sighed and grew serious. "It was a dare, and my brother dared me to kiss Andrei. I was gung ho about it, but he didn't like it. I threatened to cut off his balls and poke out his eyes before he decided that it would be easier to just kiss me instead."

Caroline snorted, and I snickered.

"He ran off afterward to wash out his mouth, and the rest of us were laughing our asses off. Mom came down to see what the problem was, and no one told her that we kissed or that we were dared to."

"It must have been nice," she said and rubbed the necklace some more.

I shrugged and grimaced. "It was wet and slobbery. I do not recommend it, especially for being about five and four-years-old."

Caroline snorted again and opened the necklace to see the pictures that were held in them. "Those are cute," she said and touched them gently with the tip of her finger, and I hummed and nodded in agreement. "How old were you two?"

"The one on the right is when I was seven, and he was six," I said. "The other was actually taken two years ago. I was sixteen, and he was fifteen. I cackled after I ran away from him because he said that I wouldn't be able to take his photo, and I did."

"You cackled?" Caroline asked with a small laugh in her voice and handed me the necklace back after she had closed it.

I laughed and nodded while I put it back around my neck, feeling better and warmer because I had it back where it was meant to be. "Yes," I said and nodded while I tucked the necklace under my shirt. "It's my favorite picture of us, and I guess it is one of his favorites because he asked Mom for it. It's actually my home screen for my phone, so I know for a fact that he has seen it multiple times before."

"And he hasn't tried to delete?" she asked, and I shook my head no.

"And I don't understand why not, but I haven't questioned it."

"Why not?" she asked curiously.

I smiled sadly and shook my head. "Because it shows that he's had a crush on me just as much as I've had a crush on him. And for that, I'm very grateful and happy because I know something."

She furrowed her brows. "What do you know?"

"I know that there's hope," I replied and clutched the necklace, my heart yearning for the male that I was supposed to call my mate and praying that he was ok. "I know that there's hope in the future for the two of us being close together, and that's all I need to survive. One day, I'll be able to claim him as my own, and then no one can take him away from me."

I'll make sure of that...