Found and Claimed

Chapter 35

I hope you enjoy it.

"I'm leaving. I don't give a damn anymore," I shouted as I slammed the door.

I got into my car and drove. There was only one place that I wanted to be right now. Coco's Crazy Cozy Cafè would provide me with the comfort I needed. That was a bunch of bullshit.

Some people really know how to ruin a good day. I thought through what had happened so far as I sipped my hot drink.

I had gone to visit my parents in the hospital after hearing they were both awake. Rico had pack business to take care of so he stayed at his pack house.

I rushed into the hospital to see them. My heart was racing and waves of emotion were crashing into me at damaging speeds.

Sure I had seen both of my parents, but this was different. Now I would be able to see their eyes. I would be able to know that they were truly there. Alive. Breathing. I would know that they had not left me alone in this.

As I raced down the halls, nurses and technicians had to post up against the walls to avoid being trampled by me. When I got to their room a sharp pang struck me in the chest. My hand immediately came to rest over it in an attempt to somehow soothe the pain.

I looked down at the door handle. A wave of apprehension passed over me. Suddenly, my excitement diminished. All I felt was nerve-racking fear. A million "what if" questions flew through my head. What if they don't recognize me? What if they are disappointed in me? What if they don't remember? Goddess help me.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when a hand clapped my shoulder. "I did not mean to scare you, dear. You should know that standing out here will get you nowhere. You need to get in there. Stop holding yourself back," my favorite nurse, Serafina, said.

A small smile tugged at the corners of my lips. She was right. As my hand turned the door handle I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding. My eyes seemed to close as I took a few quiet steps into the room.

The sound of someone shifting on a bed caused my eyes to snap open. To the left I saw my father. He looked pale and sickly. It pained me to no end to see him in that frail condition. My mother actually looked better than she had in the past. There was more color in her face and she seemed to look less like Snow White and more like an actual, living person.

My father's eyes fluttered several times before he finally focused his vision on me. Our eyes locked and I felt like a kid again.
Memories of us playing together and him running around the castle with me on his shoulders popped into my head. Tears welled in my eyes. I slid my finger under each eye to wipe the traitorous tears away.

My father watched me with a sluggishly curious expression before his nose twitched; once, twice, then a third time. His eyes widened as the scents seemed to register. He turned his head to his left, where my mother laid.

His entire body stilled and the beeping of his heart monitor lapsed for a beat. "Charissa," my father hoarsely whispered. Shock and longing shown in his eyes. He seemed to be unable to comprehend the fact that she was in front of him. I watched as he drank in every detail of my mother with his eyes. All the love he had for her was displayed as clear as day. It made me feel warm inside. To think that one day Rico might look at me the same way.

Eventually, my father's gaze turned to me. It seemed as if he was unsure who I was. It had been quite a few years since we had last seen one another. Five and half years to be exact. My father looked to my mother before looking back at me with cold eyes. He must think I am a threat to his mate. It hasn't registered that I am his daughter. My suspicions were confirmed when he next spoke. "Who are you?'

The question broke me in more ways than one. It hurt that he really did not know who I was. I don't believe I look that different. I hesitated a moment before looking him in his dark brown eyes. "It's me. Valentina, your daughter."

Once again shock showed in his eyes. His eyebrows scrunched as if he was trying to think and put it all together. To help prove that I was who I was claiming to be, I showed him the violet eyes of my wolf. It appeared to convince him that I was telling the truth because his tensed shoulders dropped. "Valentina? My baby girl?" his voice broke at the end.

I nodded my head as a pained expression made its way across my face. "Hi, Dad. It's been a while, nearly six years." I didn't think it was possible, but his face paled even further.

"That long?" I nodded once again.

"This may be a lot for me to tell you right off the bat, but I think you need to know. Mom, Zakkur and I were in a crash a few years after you went missing. We made it out alive, thankfully, but Mom went into a coma afterwards. She didn't have any injuries that caused it rather it was her body shutting down since her mate was gone." My dad winced at the news.

"Mina took Zakkur on a worldwide pack research trip. They just got back a couple weeks ago." I would wait for him to ask before I delivered him anymore big information. "Natasha said that Mom is not recovered yet, but she opened her eyes earlier. She's shown a lot of improvement since you have been here."

"Come here, sweetheart," my dad commanded. I approached his hospital bed with unease. I took a seat on the edge beside him. He pulled me into his warm embrace with surprising strength. The feel of his arms around me was so comforting. I couldn't help the tears that began streaming down my face. I sniffled as he held me. One hand ran up and down my back while the other stroked my hair repeatedly. "Oh, my sweet baby girl. It's ok. It will be ok," he chanted.

We stayed like that for a while before I decided it was probably best for him to get some more rest. We said our goodbyes and I departed.

I drove back to my house. There I found the girls' parents. I had told them about actually speaking with my father and that Natasha said my mother had opened her eyes earlier. They seemed happy for me until I brought up Rico.

"Maybe now we can finally complete the damn mating process," I said as I leaned my head against the back of the couch.

Scarlet hummed got second. "Valyn, sweety, I don't think that's a good idea quite yet."

My head snapped in her direction. "What do you mean?" A dangerous edge in my voice.

"Well, what Scarlet means to say is: did you talk with your father about Rico?" Lena chimed in.

My response was no of course.

"See that's the problem. If you didn't talk with your parents about it then the same rules you've had since you learned about mates applies. You cannot mate with Rico." Cleo stated.

I was mad beyond words. How dare they tell me what I can and cannot do with my mate. After all this time, I have been a good girl. I had filled the damn rules set out for me. I had done what was asked of me. I had carried out the responsibilities gown to me. I found my mate over a month ago. Most mates would be living together and expecting pups by now. Rico and I hadn't even marked each other yet.

I stood from my spot on the couch. "That's bullshit! That's complete bullshit! I know damn good and well that none of you waited this long to be with your mates, so how can you sit here and tell me that I can't be with mine?!" I looked around at the adults sitting in the room. No one dared to make eye contact with me. They knew I was right.

"You are different than we are. A different set of rules apply to you," Scarlet said.

That was all I needed to hear. I stormed out and drove to where I am now: Coco's Crazy Cozy Café. My once hot drink had now gone lukewarm.

The bell chimed signaling someone's entrance. I glared into my cup and thought about the predicament I was in.

Why do things just get worse?!

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