Chapter 4 Old Faces

“Oh my goddess! Isla. Is that you?” I grinned up at the girl standing a few feet in front of me. Aly. She wiped her forehead with her hand and gasped at seeing me. “Yeah, it is me.” She looked so happy to see me, and it warmed my heart to see my old friend. She manoeuvred around the half-stacked chairs to hug me. As she got closer to me, I could not help but see the mark on her neck. She had found her mate. Wow. Me and I certainly had a lot of catching up to do. Maybe she could fill me in on what was going on around here. “Did you miss me that much that you came back after what, five nearly six years?” Aly gushed. She was so surprised yet happy to see me here. “Oh Aly, I am so happy to see you, but I returned because Daniel said my mother was unwell. She needed to see me.” I sighed and instantly noticed how Isla clammed up. “Would you like to have something to eat?” She suddenly seemed intent on distracting me from this conversation. “Aly? What is going on?” I demanded to know. She shuddered at my raised tone. I could see that she felt awkward, like she could not tell me what was on her mind. The same way my sister had behaved earlier. This made my blood boil. My brother bought me here, and I felt like I was being taken for a mug. I was happy back at my uncle's pack; coming back here had not been what I would have wanted or expected to happen. Yet here I was, standing before my old friend, trying to find out what my family should tell me. I growled and spun around, walking away from her. Part of me wanted to drag the information out of her, while the other side wanted to leave her be since it was clear that someone had sworn her to secrecy. That could only be Daniel or Cora since they would have known that I would question my friend. “Isla, wait! I am sorry.” She yelled after me, but I kept walking, not even caring to glance over my shoulder. My family were the ones who owed me an explanation. Cora was wiping her eyes, sitting in front of the pack house. She did not see me at first. I wanted to drag her by that ponytail, but instead, I decided to be calm about this. I thought I would go and check on my mother and hope she would be awake when I got there. Daniel had not come in yet, so he was probably still with that stupid Mora and Alpha Miller. I smiled to myself, amused at how pissed off he would be to find his precious bitch with my brother. How cosy they had looked. As soon as I reached my mother's bedroom door, I heard sobs coming from inside. Frowning, I pushed the door open slightly to see my mother sitting up with her head in her hands. She did not notice me at first, but as I opened the door further, it creaked and caused her to look up in shock. Her eyes widened as she realised it was me. Her daughter. “Isla, oh, my beautiful child.” She exclaimed in astonishment. She frantically pulled off the covers and jumped up to hold me in her arms. I smiled at her and ran to her. Oh, how I had missed her so much. She was skin and bone. But she was still my mother. “Where have you been all this time?” She held me tightly, almost squeezing the life out of me. “You know where I was, but that is unimportant right now. Are you ok?” I had many questions to ask her, but I did not want to overwhelm her. She sighed and loosened her grip on me before turning to the bed and sitting on it. With her hands on her lap, she looked up at me and shook her head. “What is it?” I whispered, kneeling before her and taking her hands in mine. I did not like to see her this way, in so much pain. She started to cry all over again, and I just sat with her until she felt ok enough to talk. “Isla, your father. Well, he’s gone and done a runner with his mistress. Just upped and left me.” She blew her nose hard into a handkerchief and wiped her eyes. My father had left us for another she-wolf. No wonder my mother was in such a wrong way. How could my father do such an evil thing to us? I could no longer have respect for him after treating my mother in such a disgusting way. “I am sorry for calling you back, but I needed to have my children close to me. I know you all have your own lives now. Daniel, you and Cora.” She said with a sad look on her tired face. I slowly stood up and shook my head. My mother had nothing to be sorry about. She had done nothing wrong here. I hated to know that she felt it was her fault. My father had a lot to answer for. A knock on the door made me rage, and I did not want to be disturbed while my mother was upset. “Who is it?” I flung the door open to see Aly standing there. I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my foot. She bit her bottom lip nervously at my impatience. “ Sorry, Isla, but the Alpha wants to see you in his office immediately.” I rolled my eyes and growled. He was the last one I wanted to see right now. “You go, darling. I will see you later, and I need to go back to sleep for a while.” She pulled the covers over her and rolled over to her side so I could not see her face. I knew she was crying again, and I was unhappy about being called away from her side. Alpha Miller would undoubtedly get a piece of my mind. “I will be back up soon,” I told my mother as I glared at Aly. She lowered her eyes to the ground and stepped aside so I could pass. I knew that she was going to follow me and attempt to try and talk to me, but I was not interested in anything unless it was about my mother since she was the most important one right now. The shit with my brother and my ex-mate, crappy Luna, was the least of my worries. The packhouse was so clean it reeked of disinfectant. I saw that Alpha Miller's door was slightly ajar. Peering in, I could see that he was standing up with a glass of something alcoholic, no doubt. He was staring into space, and it was pretty funny to see him so engrossed in something other than himself. He suddenly turned to me, and I noticed a twinkle in his eyes when he realised it was me. “Isla, I am glad that you have come.” He assured me with a big grin on his face. He was a complete arse hole, but I knew how my wolf wanted him, and she was ecstatic to be in the same room as him. “Yes, Alpha, what can I do for you?” I said politely but secretly, hoping he would let me return to what I was doing. I had no desire to be near him right now. Not ever! “You realise it was down to me that you were allowed to cross my territory again. So I think next time you see me, you will address me with the respect that an Alpha deserves.” Was he for real? I could not help but laugh since he was one big hypocrite. He growled to let me know he was not amused. “You have no respect?” He walked around his desk to stand in front of me as if he were trying to scare me. Seeing the mark on his neck made me want to lose my shit. But, it was he who had rejected me. “With all due respect, Alpha, it was you who rejected me and you who were insistent that nobody would want me. I left this pack, not wanting to get in the way of you and Mora. She is welcome to you, and once my mother is better, I will leave this place. You do not have to worry about me at all. I have no loyalties to you. This is no longer my pack.” He looked stunned for a few seconds before Mora strutted through the doors. Here we go! She looked mad when she saw me, which caused me to laugh inside my head. “What is she doing in here alone with you?” Mora practically screamed in his face. She was one crazy arse jealous loon. But I suppose harbouring a secret like hers would make you paranoid. “Oh, Did you enjoy your cosy conversation with my brother?” I smirked smugly. She spun around to look at me, and her mouth was wide open. The colour drained from Alpha Miller’s face. It confirmed to me that he had not found them together. “What are you lying about now?” Mora tutted. The lying bitch! She thought she could lie through her teeth and make me look like a jealous fool, but then she had another thing coming.