The Rogue

11

LAUREN

I stared at him, waiting for his excuses to flood in. In my eyes, there was nothing he could do to change the way I felt. I was betrayed, lied to and force to live in nightmares my entire life. No matter the excuse, it wouldn't be good enough.

"Your mother loved you Lauren. She loved you more than anything in the world. So much so that the thought of losing you killed her inside. We predicted that we were going to under attack. We came up with a plan. Your mother was hell bent on going with it, even if it meant never seeing you again. That's how much she loved you. She was willing to give up everything for your safety. It took me awhile however to get on board. I was convinced there would be another way. I realized soon after, it was truly the only way to protect you. These groups of rogues, they've been tormenting packs for years. Nobody really knows why. They were killing heir or the potential to make heir for packs. It was the only way to protects you," he spoke.

"I still just don't understand. How did it protect me? Her being gone all this time? How could her death save me?" I questioned.

"Because if the rogues thought your mother was dead, then they wouldn't be back. As bad as it sounds, they knew we only had a daughter and they didn't believe you to be a threat. They wanted to kill your mother to prevent us from having a son. Similar to what they've done with other packs. Granted, they would've killed you too, but you were young and they knew you wouldn't have a child for years."

"It just doesn't make sense Dad. Why does it matter? What are they trying to do?" I asked.

"Nobody knows. Your mother and I made a decision for your safety and it worked. We couldn't risk losing you."

"Will they be back?" 

He sighed. "Yes, they will most likely return. But, we don't expect them to attack for a few years. It's one of the main reasons I haven't stepped down yet. I wanted to ensure your safety."

"I just still don't understand. I saw what happened to her, I was sure she was dead," I inquired. 

"It wasn't your mother who took that bite Laur. It was another she wolf. Our plan  was going wrong and she stepped in and took the heat. I grabbed your mother and quickly helped her escape, then I went to you," he answered. 

I felt like my chest was on fire. This was all so much to take in. I still didn't fully understand how it happened, but something told me I never would. How could they lie to me for so long? How could they not tell me something like this had happened. I lived so many years fearing the monsters in my dream who I had thought had taken my mother away from me. Only to find out the real monster was my father. He was the root of my nightmares all along.

"We did it to protect you Laur. We love you so much, the idea of losing you after what happened to your mother, it was too much to bear. It was her life or yours, she picked hers," he whispered.

"I want to see her," I said standing up. He looked at me through guilty eyes. He sighed, standing up himself and pacing about his office. 

"I don't know where she is. I have no way to contact her. We've been apart for so many years, I can hardly feel her through our bond," he replied. 

"That's bullshit!" I screamed. "You mean to tell me you don't even know if she's safe?"

"I know she's safe. Her connection is still there, I just don't know where she is. I'm sorry Lauren, I truly am, but I didn't make this decision alone."

I scoffed at his rebuttal. Like it made it any better that my mother played a hand in the decision. They let me believe she was dead. It was unforgivable. "You led me to believe that she died because of me. She may have helped follow through with the plan, but at least she didn't lie to my face when I woke up with nightmares. You could've fixed everything, but you didn't. You watched your only child suffer. Who does that?" I exclaimed.