The Star Goddess (UNDER EDITING)

Chapter Ten:Edited

Cole, Tara, and I were sitting in the living room lounge area, me on a recliner and Cole and Tara sitting next to each other on the loveseat. I was super nervous, especially when I saw the concerned and nerve wracked expressions on each of their faces. Tara had prepared each of us some chamomile tea just before we got home and I wondered how she did it. I hadn't seen Cole text her or anything announcing that we were almost home but I didn't think too much of it. Cole easily could have sent her a text right before we left and before I got in the car and Tara could have just set an alarm to remind her.

I wrapped my fingers around the hot mug of tea, the warmth feeling nice against my cold fingers and providing a sense of comfort from the chilly tension in the room. The rain still poured down outside and if we hadn't been having this little family meeting, I'd either be outside enjoying the rain, or upstairs reading in my room, but alas, I was in the living room, waiting for someone to say something or anything at all. I had all but finished my tea by the time Tara spoke.

"Honey, we need to talk to you about something and we aren't sure how you're going to take it, so we need to ask you a couple of questions first. Is that ok?" Tara spoke so softly, it seemed as though she was afraid she would frighten me.

"Yea, sure. Cole assured me that it was nothing bad but the waiting is killing me, so let's get this over with," I tried to joke but I ended up sounding depressed and irritated.

"Sweetpea, how much do you know about your birth parents?" Cole asked me.We had talked about them a little bit when we had all first started getting to know each other, but it was much too sensitive a topic for me and we never really got into too much detail over it.

"Not really that much, I've already told you just about everything I know, minus details. My mother abandoned me and my father after she gave birth to me. My dad..." my voice trailed off as I choked up, fighting back the tears. "All I remember is that he was killed in an animal attack when I was seven. I wasn't with him at the time, and only being a small child, nobody ever gave me the details. It was only until I was much older that Ms. Jean found out and gave me a brief summary," I managed to finish speaking, the tears falling at this point.

"Oh, sweetpea," Cole said softly as he rose from his place beside Tara and made his way over to me, kneeling next to my chair and hugging me tightly while I cried into his shoulder.

He soothingly petted my hair, making soft shushing sounds as he rocked us back and forth a little until I had calmed down. When he pulled away, he leaned over to the table next to me and pulled out the drawer, grabbing a couple of tissues for me. His soft hands reached for my face as he wiped my tears away and handed me another tissue to blow my nose, which I did softly, clearing out the gunk. Cole went back over to Tara and sat down again, instinctively grabbing her hand and squeezing it.

"Stella..." Tara started, " Your mother didn't exactly abandon you." My eyes widened in surprise.

"What? What does that mean? Wait! Did you know my mother?" The questions poured out of me before I could stop them and I could feel the tears welling up behind my eyes again.

"Ummm, well, Stella, how much do you know about..." Cole started, using my name for the first time since we met, I was pretty sure, "werewolves?" Cole finished his question with an uneasy expression on his face.

My jaw dropped stupidly. I couldn't help but zone out as my thoughts ran wild. Fucking werewolves? That's what they're asking me about? Seriously? Wait a second. Wait, wait, wait. Oh, my fucking god. We are having the conversation! The one that Cole was telling the guy on the phone that he'd have with me! Oh, my god! The conversation I'd overheard Cole having with the guy he called Alpha! Oh, shit, fuck damn! Of all the fucking scenarios that went through my head, werewolves was not on that list. How did I not make that connection? I heard familiar voices in the background, trying to snap me out of my daytime reverie.