RISK

22

Just get through this filler chapter to get to the good stuff honestly.
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"Dad. Please." She urges him.

Her dad looks at her. "I know about wolves because of your mom's family history. We need to talk, Isabella. This isn't gonna be easy."

Isabella pauses at her dads words. Within the past few days she has received more information than one can handle. It's not unlike her to handle things with well. She dealt with bad news long ago at a young age and has learned to navigate it. Nonetheless, almost nothing could prepare her for this knowledge of a whole new world, and if her fathers words are implying what she thinks they are...she might finally go crazy.

Isabella lets out a breath, "Ok," she says, "let's talk." She sits down at their small dinner table and he does the same. She's not surprised she's not nervous. These talks are nature to her, after the talks she's had with Xander. Her heart rate is calm but her curiosity has risen.

"You remember the story of how your mom and I met?" He asks.

A faint smile appears on Isabella's face. She loves that story. They met in college. His mom was working at the library and saw him looking through the shelves, trying to find a book.

~

"Can I help you find something?" A confident voice asks, catching him off guard.

"Oh yes, that'd be great. I'm looking for-" Michael finally looks away from the bookshelf to meet eyes with the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. Her dark brown eyes enchant him. They wrinkle slightly at the corners due to her gorgeous smile raising her cheeks.

Amira's heart skips a beat when her eyes meet with his. The feeling she has is unmistakable. She knows what this means. Her wolf begins to surface at the sight of her mate. Everything is so confusing. Amira had given up on trying to find a mate. She moved away from her back to attend college, now 22, ready fo graduate in a couple months. She had it all planned out...without a mate. She'd take a year off to travel then continue her studies in grad school She was going to live her life, even if it meant doing it without finding true love.

She came out of her thoughts, registering the handsome man in front of her. He's human.

"So," she starts to speak, "what are you looking for?"

"Oh! Right!" Micheal shakes his head embarrassed. He can't even remember what book he was looking for. So he makes one up. "I'm looking for anything by James Baldwin."

She smiles and his heart swells. "Great choice. They should be right..." her eyes scan the shelves above her, "there." She points to a section.

"Thank you!" He smiles.

"You're welcome." She says. She turns around to make her way back to the desk.

He doesn't want her to go so before he can think, he speaks.

"Any recommendations?"

Amira turns around and smiles, happy he said something to keep her around.

"A few actually," She nods, "You got time?"

He smiles. "Plenty."

~

The two met on a random day in the library, two months before graduation. They ended up traveling together for a year then went to the same grad school. Their story always made Isabella want a college sweetheart. She never expected that'd turn into a high school sweetheart.

"I remember." She confirms.

"So we met in college and went to grad school together, then I proposed. She said yes."
He smiles, remembering that moment. There's a light in his eyes that Isabella notices. She misses that light, as it doesn't make an appearance often.

"But the next day she came to me and I could tell she was upset. I asked her what was wrong and she just started crying. She said she needed to tell me something and should have told me sooner. I tried calming her down, telling her whatever it was, it was going to be ok. She kept saying no, this is really big information. So big that if I wanted to take the ring back and call off the engagement, that she'd understand. She said it was something I'd have to see to believe. So I let her take me to these woods off the highway. I was confused but I trusted your mom. Eventually, when we were in deep enough she...she transformed. She transformed into a wolf. Like one of those wolves you saw. I know it sounds absolutely insane Isabella but just trust me."
Her dad looks into her eyes, silently begging him to believe her. Despair written all over his face.

"I believe you."

Her dad pauses, looking at her for a while. "You do?" He questions.

Isabella nods. "Yeah. I mean, why would you lie?" She decides to leave her knowledge of werewolves out of this. Xander trusted her with that information. "I just don't understand what this has to do with moving?"

"Those wolves you saw fighting. You said they were large. Those have to be werewolves. A lot of werewolves are dangerous, Izzy. I don't want us to be around them."

"How do you know they're dangerous?"

Her dad looks at her, saddened by the thought. "Your mom was killed by one. She hadn't been involved in werewolf business for years and years. Since before I met her. But her family of werewolves, her pack, they had been invaded and they needed to fight. So she left to us help. When she was supposed to come back, it was only your aunt who showed up. She gave me the news. Even if I wanted to be honest with you about how she passed, you were far too young to understand. Then you got older and I decided that I didn't want you to know anyway. I wanted you as far away from that world as possible. I wasn't going to let it take you away like it took her."

Isabella understood her dads words. But she knew something was missing. Something he wasn't telling her.

"How would that take me away?" She asks.

"Because if you grew up and started shifting, I knew you'd want to find your mothers pack and learn more."

"Shifting?" She takes a few seconds to process. "I'm a werewolf like mom?" This is when her heart rate finally does quicken.

He nods. "Well maybe. You have werewolf genes but I don't think you can shift. You were so young when she passed, nothing she said about that world really stuck with you. So I decided to keep it that way. You're only half werewolf so your wolf isn't that strong. I didn't help you connect with your wolf and eventually you lost her. I'm sorry if this is bad news to you. It's what I needed to do to keep you safe."

She looks into her dad eyes and all she sees is helplessness. She knows his heart and intentions were in the right place.

"Ok," she whispers, "I just need...I'm gonna go upstairs for a bit. Just take some time to process."

Her dad nods, understanding. "That's fine, sweetie. I'm gonna keep packing down here."

Isabella makes it to her room and shuts her door. She takes a deep breath and before the realizes, tears are coming down her cheeks. She doesn't know what she feels. She's not sad. She's not angry. She's just overwhelmed. This is all too much. If a werewolf is really out there trying to kill Xander, then her if he finds out about her existence, maybe her dad is right. Werewolf's must be dangerous. Her own mother died from werewolves so who's to say she won't too? Maybe it's best if they do leave, before anybody gets hurt.

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PLEASE forgive me if this is bad and excuse the short length. It's been so long since I've written, I don't even think I know how anymore.

Also um if there are any plot holes or continuity issues, ignore them :-) it's been so long that I don't remember my own story sometimes. *sigh* sorry to say it lol