Chapter 33

Ayla’s POV

Waking up in my own bed with my three mates around me was the best feeling in the world. It almost made me forget about the shit storm that was my life right now. If I could stay in this little bubble, I would, but I can’t.

“Awake already, Beautiful”, Archer’s voice reached me. I looked over at him, lounging in one of my armchairs. His top had been discarded on the floor somewhere in the night, and he was left in just his trousers. He was looking nothing less than God-like as always.

“I guess so; how did you sleep? Sorry, it was in a chair” I yawned. Gently I untangled myself from Aiden only to make my way over to Archer to tangle myself up with him.

“Hello to you too,” he said as he held his arms open for me to fall into. Instantly he knew how to wrap them around me and kiss me at the same time.

“I love my life right now,” I thought; he laughed and agreed with me. Honestly, though, who could blame me? I had three unbelievable guys at my every beck and call; who wouldn’t love this.

“What’s the plan today, miss,” he asked, running his finger through my seriously messed up hair.

“I admit, I want to get out of here again, I don’t want to be trapped in the house whilst we try to figure stuff out”, I admit.

“Okay, well, let’s wake the others and get ready; maybe we could head out again for a bit”, he suggests.

With that, I hopped up and headed over to Axel; his arms opened the second I reached him; I laughed as there was no way I would ever surprise these three now. It was like they knew my every move.

“Do I get morning kisses, too” he grumbles at me with his eyes still closed. He was way too hot right now mixed with the right amount of adorable; there was no way I would deny him anything.

“Of course,” I say against his lips.

Thirty minutes later, we are changed and ready to leave. I lace my fingers with Axels and smile at him. Like I said last night, I wasn’t going to hide our love anymore; I didn’t care what anyone thought, these were my mates, and that was the end of it. As Aiden said, no one can ever harm me again as I have them to protect me.

The lobby was brimming with people when we reached the bottom step—all of Michael’s enforcers were there, and his rarely seen Beta Rick. Something big must be happening for Rick to be here. He was usually on the outskirts of our territory. Since the power switch had begun, he had been stationed outside the pack to ensure the safety of the pack was upheld. Rick was huge, matching Michael in every way; he just had Black hair and tanned skin. He was Michael’s most trusted friend and would do anything for him.

“What’s going on?” I ask one of the enforcers as I reach the last step.

“Nothing to worry about, miss you, just stay here”, he answered me. But that wasn’t going to sit well with me. I refused to be kept in the house and out of the loop.

Pushing my way through, I find Michael; he spots me at the same time as I spot him. Rushing over to us, he pushes his enforcers out of the way. Something really must be up for Michael to act the way he was.

“Ayla, there have been a couple of wolves found on our lands, ones we didn’t know were coming. I think you need to come with me to my office,” he says as he tries to lead me away.

“Michael, wait”, I shake him off. “What do you mean? Why do I have to come with you? What has this got to do with me?” I wouldn’t move until he answered me; I gripped Axel’s hand tighter; he got the message. He anchored me to the spot with him.

“I need to discuss this with you in the office; it is linked to you now. Please come with me, bring them with you if you want, just please, come with me,” he said through gritted teeth. He didn’t want others to know.

Aiden led the way to Michael’s office, and the rest of us followed. As the door was held open, I saw Mason kissing Stacy. I wasn’t sure, though, as Michael shut the door with a bang.

“Right Ayla, I know you have been through hell and back the last few days, and I wish you didn’t have to. I also know your whole world had been turned upside down lately as well as you’re shifting and mating” Michael picked his words carefully but ploughed on nonetheless. “I want you to know how much you mean to me and how my feelings for you as my daughter will never change regardless of the situations and circumstances.”

“Michael, you’re scaring me. Can you please get to the point,” I say, having no idea what he was getting at?

“Okay, well, we found two wolves on our territory, claiming to be your parents” the words fell from his mouth like a led weight.

My whole world stopped. Time had stood still as soon as those words left the mouth of the only father I had ever known.

“What do you mean?” I stammered

“There is more. I have questioned them, and if what they say is true, then we have a fight on our hands,” Michael explained. “They are from the Sun Valley Pack, and their Alpha wants you dead.”

“What! Why?” I shouted, my mates growled, and the room was suddenly full of tension.

“Look, I don’t fully understand, but I want to speak with them more; Tristan is in questioning as we speak. I need you to wait here,” he said pointedly.

“I’m sorry, Michael, but I will be speaking to them now,” I tell him, and he knows not to deny me. I felt thunder building in my belly and an intense heat behind my eyes. I must have looked crazy as he took a step back.

“Right, okay, you might as well come with me; I can see I’m not going to win this one; I’m assuming you three are coming too,” he said as he reached for the door.

The walk to the holding cells took longer than I needed it to. I had only ever been to this part of the pack house once before; we had been warned away from here as kids. I felt totally on edge. Could these people really be my parents? The cells were held down in the basements and were heavily guarded. All the guards bowed their heads to their Alpha as we walked by.

“Ayla, are you sure you want to do this?” he asked me one final time.

“Yes! Please open the door,” I say flatly; right now, I couldn’t allow my emotions to take control; I needed a level head.

Slowly, Michael unbolted the door and swung it open. Stepping inside after my adoptive father, I took a deep breath; I was more nervous than I had ever thought. To be honest, I never thought I would be in this position. I never thought I would meet my biological parents.

Two people with the same hair as me sat in front of me with their hands chained. I watched them watching me and saw the surprise and delight on their faces. The woman looked like an older version of myself, and the man, I had his eyes.

“They are our parents Ayla,” Bria told me; my heart pounded so fast that I couldn’t breathe; I took a step back, ending up with my back pressed against Aiden’s chest. All three of my mates could feel my distress. I didn’t know what to do. I had so many questions, but I needed space right now. I couldn’t handle it.

“Okay, that’s enough, time to leave!” Aiden said, leading me out of the cell room.

“Austin, that’s her, that’s my baby, she’s alive”, I heard the woman sobbing.

My head swam, and the world blurred; that was the last thing I heard before the world turned black.

Tristan’s POV

How could everything go from not so bad to totally shit in a matter of minutes? I had left my room after speaking to my mother only to be confronted by a couple of enforcers. Michael wanted to meet with me. Now I’m sitting in a locked room, repeatedly questioned by different people.

“Once I get my hands on Austin and Amy, it’s going to be me they fear, not my uncle,” I tell myself; how could they tell Alpha Michael everything. Of course, it would lead back to me; I have been here for around a week. There was no way they weren’t going to blame me for this. To add to the drama, my mother and Goddess knew who else was on their way here too. This couldn’t be more of a mess if it tried.

“Tristan, if I were you, son, I would come out with the truth now; if what your pack mates say is true, then my daughter is in danger, and I will not allow anything to happen to her,” Michael says to me. His patience was wearing thin.

“They are known liars. Don’t listen to them”, I try to tell him.

“Son, try again; the woman looks like an older version of Ayla” Michael now sounded bored and fed up with me; I didn’t have much left in my favour.

“What do you want me to say! There is nothing I can say that won’t get me killed,” I sigh; defeat had taken over, and there was nothing I could do; if my mother and uncle did not kill me, I’m sure I would be by Alpha Michael.

“They are saying your Alpha wants my daughter dead, and they will stop at nothing to make sure it happens. Is this true? And if so, what do I have to do, and when are they planning to do it?” he asked me; I knew I had to answer; there was no way I couldn’t now.

“Yes, it’s true, and yes, it’s my fault they found out about Ayla; they are on their way as we speak,” I say with my head in my hands. My life was most certainly over.

Ayla’s POV

What the hell has just happened! I woke up this morning with my mates and was trying to come to terms with my fate, but now I have had my biological parents thrust into my life. It’s not like I can deny they are my parents; I look like them in so many ways; it’s scary. After leaving the cells, I blacked out. I must have been carried back upstairs with Michael and the Chase brothers. When I came round, they were all fussing around me like I was about to break. Michael soon left to talk with Tristan; I wanted to have a word with him.

“Ayla, are you okay, babe,” Axel asked me, so concerned.

“Honestly, I don’t know”, I reply, Aiden still gripping my hand like it was a life-or-death situation. “I want to talk to Tristan too; let’s go find where he is being questioned.”

Moving through the lobby was hell; there were so many people; I could see all of Michael’s guards, his beta, and a good number of enforcers. Stacy was talking to her father with Mason, still gripping her hand.

“Well, that is going to be a whole new version of hell for me now, with those two being an item”, I sigh, but it was the least of my worries.

“Ayla, this way. I was told Tristan is down here” Archer leads the way.

It wasn’t hard to find which room he was in; two enforcers were guarding the door.

“Sorry, Miss, the Alpha is in there right now,” one of the enforcers told me. With that, the door opened, and Michael stepped out, looking full of rage and ready to unleash his fury on whoever pisses him off next.

“Ayla, what are you doing here?” he asked me, shocked but still raging

“I need to ask him some questions,” I state

“No, you don’t, I’m sure I can answer all your questions as well as our two guests; Tristan is useless to us now,” Michael says pointedly.

“Then you better get talking,” and I meant it.

“Follow m; we have a lot to discuss” he walked past me and in the direction of his office.

I felt as if I was marching backwards and forwards all over this house today, with little to gain from it. Everyone was so highly strung and on edge, making me nervous, which in turn was setting my mates off too; they were linked to me after all.

“Right Ayla, I’m not going to go into detail with you right now as I just don’t have the time, but I’m also not going to lie to you” he paused. “The Sun Valley pack are on their way here, I don’t know how many, but they are here for you.”

“Me! why me?” I screech

“It’s all to do with the Prophecy, the one about you”, he starts. “They found this prophecy years ago, and it scared them, not knowing what would happen to the power. They took it upon themselves to kill all the auburn-haired baby girls of that age. You being one of them. They thought they had succeeded, but you survived” I watched him as he rushed through the information. “When Tristan arrived and saw you, he reported it back to them, that is why you were attacked, and you are still in danger now”, he concluded.

“I’m guessing this might be the problem I have to fix then,” I say plainly. “I’m one of the Exalted for a reason; I’m guessing it’s this messed up crap The Sun Valley pack has been doing, all in hopes to keep a hold of the power”, I realise. “It’s stupid, though. We hardly use our powers now anyway! Well, not much heck, some of us don’t even have powers anymore!”

“It’s going to be okay; we won’t let them get anywhere near you; you don’t have to be afraid”, Michael declared.

“I’m not afraid, Michael! I’m pissed, and I need to sort this mess out,” I told him; he seemed uneasy looking at me.

I felt different as I stood talking to my adoptive father. I felt complete, justified in everything I said, and I felt angry, angry that a select few thought it was okay to take matters of the world into their own hands and play creator. My body was humming. I could hear it, and I could feel it, the heat that radiated off of me was intense, and I was the one producing it.

“Ayla! something’s happening” Aiden stepped back

“It’s okay; she’s coming through; we are joining as one” I had no idea how I knew this; I just did.

“Who is?” Axel and Archer say together

“Alune, the wolf Exalted” was as plain as day to me. I knew what was going on, what I needed to do, and everything that had happened before.

“You look like you but more! I can’t explain it” Aiden looked shocked but amazed. “Your eyes, you’re beautiful; they are golden and violet simultaneously.”

“Michael, listen to me; when they arrive, it will be me greeting them, not you, not your men, no one, just me”, I instruct him.

“But Ayla, no, I can’t let you put yourself in that kind of danger”, he started to protest.

“This isn’t a discussion up for debate. There is nothing they can do to me now, not now Alune is with me,” I try to reassure him; I know it didn’t work. “You need to trust me.”

The door knocked then, very urgently, one of Michael’s enforcers rushed in without waiting to be called.

“Sir, they have been spotted coming from the western road; at least thirty of them that we can see,” he told his Alpha.

“Thank you, Thomas. Get the men ready but do nothing until I say”, Michael gives his orders. “Ayla, I’ll do as you ask, but the moment it gets out of hand, we will be stepping in.”

I nod, knowing it was pointless arguing with him. At least he was listening for now.

“Time to go, guys” I turn to my mates; we leave quickly before anyone could even think about making a fuss.

“Ayla, what are we meant to do? Just stand there and watch you face them?” Axel was not happy with the plan, and neither were his brothers.

We walked out of the house and off to the west; I ignored everything they were trying to say to me. To begin with, I had to think about the best place to meet the Sun Valley pack.

“Guys, please, I was meant to do this; you know it too. You can be there with me, but you must let me do this. It’s me they want, so they will get me; the only difference is that they were too late; I am already merged with Alune. They cannot stop what is meant to be, and I will not let these wolves hurt my family, not when I may have found my biological parents, and I have only just found you three, too; I want to experience my whole life. With you! I have too much to live for to let anything get in the way.” I rant at them.

“We understand”, Aiden answered for them all. “But that doesn’t mean we have to like it.”

Walking around the side of the house, we stepped onto the western road; as soon as my foot hit the tarmac, the sky became grey, thunder boomed overhead, the sky flashed with lightning, and the wind picked up at a terrifying speed. The world wasn’t happy, and neither was I. My hair flew out behind me as the world raged on with its almighty show of natural raw power. I looked over my shoulder and locked eyes with the men I loved endlessly, grateful they would do as I needed them to!

“Good because here they come!”

The End