Lady and the Wolf [Book One, Lady and the Wolf Series] -Published-

Chapter Eighteen: Forgetting The Truth

Darkness is the best way to describe someone who feels so very alone. It's what most people feared, being alone in the dark and not knowing what was in front of you or behind you. It can be either incredibly debilitating or empowering. Aira didn't know which one she wanted — to be immobile and depend on anyone willing to help or to take control of her own soul slowly being sucked into darkness.

She admitted that she was weak, and her weakness was what controlled her, at least, her weakness for upsetting the one person who would have gladly given her the moon if she had asked — her mother.

Aira had been awake for some time but continued to lay silent as her parents stood by her bedside in a never-ending vigil. She didn't know how long she had been out for or what even happened for that matter. She remembered the pictures and finding secrets she wished had stayed just that — secrets. It was funny how, however, many days ago, she was so adamant to find out about her biological parents. She never imagined she would find something so sinister.

It hurt — it hurt so bad she almost she wished she had never woken up. It wasn't the fact that Emma had lied to her or even finding out she had indeed once had a beautiful, normal life. What hurts the most was finding out that they were dead. They were all dead, and they were never coming back.

The endless sobs continued as Emma filled the room with tears. "I-I should have hidden them better. I should have... I should have been watching her. I didn't know, Drake, I didn't know she still went up to the attic to be by herself!"

Aira cracked her eyes open ever so slightly. Besides the wave of dizziness that washed over her, she could still see her sobbing mother. Emma was hunched in a chair in the corner with a tissue box almost glued to her side. Her father, Drake, was kneeled down in front of her, rubbing her arms up and down in comfort while whispering some sort of gibberish.

She didn't know what exactly had happened to her, but she knew that what her parents found when they came and rescued her must have horrified them. She didn't blame herself for what had happened, but she did blame herself for digging deeper. Maybe this is why they lied to her. Maybe the reaction she had had was exactly what they had been afraid of all along. She could remember bits and pieces of those horrid flashes, but there were still things missing. What she could remember didn't make a whole picture.

Right now, however, she couldn't think of that. She needed to help her mother before she tried to remember anything.

Slowly, Aira opened her eyes. She had been awake for hours, awakening in the middle of the night while Emma snoozed beside her on the hospital chair. It took close to forever for Aira to calm herself down. Emma never even budged. She had had hours since then to think about things and weigh her options of what to say when she was ready to face Drake and Emma.

She wondered if this was what it was like to be a grown up. She didn't like making these sort of decisions, but she knew that their emotions were on the line. If this were what it took, she would keep this secret until the day she died.

Drake was the first to notice Aira's eyes flutter open. He raced over to her and cupped her cheek, "Sweetie, it's Dad, can you hear me?"

Aira didn't know why she giggled inside her head. Maybe it was the fact she could hear them perfectly this whole time, and yet, her father was making sure she wasn't deaf or blind. Truthfully, Aira wouldn't have minded that much. She had been a mute through most of her young life after all from what she could remember, anyway.

Emma came shooting over next. She grabbed Aira's hand and squeezed her so tightly Aira was sure she felt pins and needles start to spread throughout her hand and lower forearm.