Unveiling The Lie
A knock resonated through Ethan Stark's office study and I'd never been so grateful to be interrupted.
Ten minutes ago I'd been sat on his desk as he ravaged me with his mouth but he'd quickly rejected another round of a makeout he initiated and I was feeling pretty silly.
“I should go,” I rushed right for the door, ignoring the pounding of my heart against my chest and the lingering sensation between my legs.
“Your mom's asking for —” I walked right past Tyler as he spoke, not in the mood for whatever reaction he'd give to my apparent state.
I shouldn't let anyone see me like this. No one that mattered anyway.
Running my hand to smoothen my clothes, I walked back to the living room to look for my parents. With the authority off, they should be able to look me in the eye and hold me perhaps without feeling like they're crossing a line.
They were gone and my heart sank further. I listened in for them, trying to catch their heartbeats in the passing wind. I did. They were upstairs, in my assigned bedroom.
Steadily, I climbed up the stairs and strode through the hallway to my room. I could smell my mom's kiwi shampoo and my dad's peculiar misty perfume. It built up my anticipation to see them again.
I reached the bedroom door but my feet halted as I held the doorknob. I really could not bear another sight of them kneeling. My fingers tightened on the doorknob. If they bowed their heads again, I wasn’t sure I could take it.
Suddenly the mahogany door jerked open and on the other side was my dad, standing upright with a gentle gaze and a sweet upturned smile. “Come here,” he opened his arms, waiting to receive me.
I crashed against his chest, hugging him. “I missed you so much,” I confessed, my voice breaking as my dad held me.
Tears pooled in my eyes, my body shivered from relief. They were okay, they were…okay.
“Oh Harlyn,” my mom gently patted my back as she joined in the hug. Everything felt right in that moment. They were my parents as they'd always been.
“I-I,” I wanted to say so much but words failed me. Nothing wanted to come out right and I had begun crying against my better judgement.
“It's okay honey,” My mom cooed and my dad laughed softly as she spoke. At that moment, I was six again. I wasn't an original, I wasn't a Melbringer, I wasn't Higan's rejected mate, I was just Harlyn Sage, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sage.
Time went by in the company of my parents as they held and comforted me. Mom and I had moved to my bed a while ago at the same time Dad had decided to lean against the dresser.
They talked about the events that occurred after I left Springville with Ethan. They had fought against the Melbringer that attacked and some rogue wolves she brought with her. Despite some damages, the pack in general had a quick recovery.
But, even now, the pack had no answers. They didn’t know why they were attacked. Most of them weren't even aware that I had left.
The excuse my parents had used as a cover-up was I'd left a day before the attack to recover from my coma. Nobody really questioned it given I was just an omega.
Not anymore though, I was back and not just as a member of Ethan's pack but as more than an omega myself. I wondered how the situation would respond to my newfound changes.
Most importantly, how would my parents respond to my newfound changes?
I peered up at my mom, looking over her features. With the unspoken truth of them not being my biological parents settled between us, she somehow looked unfamiliar.
I'd never thought about it before but excluding the show of chestnut hair and hazel eyes, we don't look alike. Mom smoothed my hair back, her fingers lingering like she wanted to memorize the feel of me. I shifted my gaze to my dad who watched us with something unreadable in his eyes.
It wasn’t sadness. Not quite guilt either. But something close. They were hesitating to talk about it. I wasn't sure how but I could tell.
A lump swole in my throat. I shifted slightly, rising from my mom's shoulder as I forced a chuckle to break the silence. “You're awfully quiet.”
My dad exhaled through his nose, a shaky, thoughtful sound. “Harlyn, I feel we should talk about it.“
I stiffened, pooling fabric into my palm as I clenched my fists. I already knew what was coming, but the idea of a confirmation still sent a strange pulse through me. One that didn't sit well at all.
I caught my mom’s lips parting, gauging her words like she wanted to start gently, to ease into it but I was done pretending.
“I know,” I admitted hushly. My voice barely wavered.
She swallowed, twiddling with her fingers. I caught it from the side of my eye. “We know you do.”
For a minute, none of us spoke yet the silence was loud and noisy and unbearable. There was so much that needed to be said, so much I wanted to ask.
I ran my hands over my sweats, shifting forward slightly. “So,” I forced a breath, “how long?”
My dad was the one who answered. “Since you turned one.”
A quiet laugh slipped out of me. Not from amusement. Just disbelief. So basically all my life. Of course, I'd grown to believe they were my parents, I had no memories of mine.
“Right.” I nodded, staring down at my lap. “Right.”
I don’t know why, but I’d still held on to some ridiculous hope that maybe, this was some mistake from Ethan. That I was still theirs in some way. That they'd cook up some lies to save me.
But no. It was all wishful thinking. The warmth from earlier felt like a memory now, fading into the fog of my mind clouded by the torrents of emotions washing over me.
I licked my lips and my throat suddenly dry. “So what was it, then?” I asked, looking up at my dad. “A favor? A duty? A burden?”