xxi

with your eyes wide open,

take it all in,

breathe it all in

M A D D I E ♛

I stirred in my sleep, but then my eyes immediately opened when I realized that I was beside someone. I was ready to jump and to fight, but I relaxed when I saw Chase.

Right, we're in Cassian's pack. We're at home.

It was unusually cold and I remembered that we were a bit up north from the usual climate of the southern pack and also because Chase opened the window before we went to sleep last night.

Chase was still asleep, his arms wrapped around me as if I was going to escape, I was planning to anyways. I didn't know what time it was, but I had a feeling that it's already late. I tried not to move much because Chase was probably still tired.

After all, he's been busy trying to track the movements of the Council.

My thoughts drifted to all that happened yesterday and how unreal it was, but it's real. All of it.

Even being here with Chase, it's all real.

My mother said that she was going to take me around the pack today and show me some places. She was going to take me home to our house where I was when I was a baby, before I was parted from them.

Strangely enough, speak with them felt natural. Of course, there was a bit of unsureness, we were always wondering what right words to say, careful not to hurt each other too much with the wrong words.

They asked me how I survived as a rogue for so long and my mother could only cry as she imagined how I lived alone. It was only then that I realized that to others, it may have been considered the perfect sob story, but to me it was... my life.

It was hard, that's for a fact, but was it sad? I don't particularly have an opinion.

My father asked if I ever took someone's life and as much I hated to answer yes, it was the truth. It was the only way to survive.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Madeline. If only-- if only we never stopped looking you wouldn't have to dirty your hands." he said full of regret, shame and guilt.

I had to assure both of them that I grew up fine, that I grew up fighting for my life and so they didn't have to worry about me.

Just as I was recalling everything that happened yesterday, Chase moved and I turned to see if he was awake or not.

Surely enough, he peeked an eye open, but then pretended to close it again. This guy, really.

"Chase, wake up." I say and slowly tried to take his arms off of me, but he put them back, enclosing me towards him and now I knew that he really was awake.

"Just... a bit more." he asks and I stayed in place for a while. At this point, I had gotten used to the beating of my heart and the sparks that were there whenever we touched.

As Kasen said, you really get used to it, however, you get used to it in a way that you crave it when it's gone and that alone was dangerous.

Finally deciding that it's been too long, I got up to sit up. I looked over to my side where Chase yawned and opened his eyes.

"Wake up, pack wolf." I tell him and get up from the bed to prepare for the day.

♛

Chase was pitifully left behind the pack house to work on the papers that he brought with him. He explained how he was behind some paperwork and that he didn't want to interrupt my time with my family.

I nodded and thanked him for it.

I knew that if ever I needed him, he would come so I didn't have to worry much.

I was waiting in one of the lounges of the pack house for my parents to come back when I saw Megan peeking from the hallway and staring at me. Cassian wouldn't be here due to his duties and so I was only to go with our parents.

I realized that I haven't said a word to Megan except the hello I greeted her. Instantly guilty, I tried to smile at her.

She was maybe around fourteen or fifteen, she reminded me of the young rogues that followed me. She reminded me Leighton, Ashley, Gage and all the others.

"Don't hide there. Come here." I tell her.

She was hesitant.

I understood. After all, we knew nothing about each other. At most, all we knew of each other are the stories that have been told to us. To my knowledge, she was born four years after my disappearance.

At her birth, our mother was preoccupied and finally tried to let go of the thought that Madeline was gone.

She took careful steps towards me and seeing this, I met her in the middle.

Like our mother and I, she had the same strong red hair, but she had Cassian and father's stormy grey eyes. She was so adorable and I instinctively wanted to protect her just as I promised to protect the young rogues that followed me.

This made me smile and I took a step closer to her, however she retreated.

"They said you're my sister." she said. I kneeled down in front of her and nodded.

"Yes, I'm Madeline, but you can call me Maddie." I start and extend my hand to her.

"You're a rogue." she points out the fact.

At first I was surprised, but then I remember that of course she would be scared of me.

"Yes, but I won't hurt you. Your name is Megan right?" I ask her. She didn't say anything, she just nodded her head.

She looked like she wanted to say more, but then we hear footsteps behind us and I noticed the scent of our parents.

Upon sight of us, they were stunned for a bit. Megan ran to our father and hugged him.

"You've met your sister, Megan?" he asks to her and she nods.

"Well then, shall we go?" my mother asks holding her hand out to me and I take it.

♛

Throughout the whole day, I was toured and introduced to the pack and the pack members.

Of course, the pack members and other pack leaders were shocked whenever my parents introduced who I was and like my parents' first reaction, no one believed it at first. And there's no one at fault or no one to blame.

It would take them a while to believe, but that's okay. Not everything can be fixed just because I was here now.

If anything, this was only the beginning.

I was surprised when I was taken to a house that's a bit further away from the other houses.

When Megan saw the house, her face lit up and she ran ahead of us.

"Who lives there?" I ask, out of curiosity.

My dad smiles at me, his wrinkles creases. "You will see." was all he says and we continue walking.

Megan was knocking on the door and just as we were getting nearer, the door opened to an elderly woman. At the sight of the young girl, she smiled and hugged her.

I could hear her happy greetings to Megan and then she raised her eyes towards us and she stopped talking. Soon enough, an elderly man also came at the door and was about to hug Megan. When he saw that his mate was frozen in shock, he also looked our way.

Both of them took slow steps outside of the house, the elderly woman took her glasses off just to make sure that she was seeing right.

"Oh gosh... is this--" stifled by the overwhelming emotions, she tries to hold everything back.

"Phil, Sharon can you explain what is going on?" the man also says, his eyes still on me.

I was still pretty confused as to what was going on, but I had a feeling that these people would become an important part of my life now too.

Both of my parents were at each of my side, my mom's arm around me as she pulled me closer to her.

"Mom, dad, she's home. Maddie's home." my dad says. Just as he announced the news, he also became emotional and the elderly couple looked at each other in shock.