Tears sprung to my eyes. Nobody knew that quote, except for my mom. Who else would? She said those words herself!? Could it be true? Or was it a threat? 

My head was spinning so fast with conclusions. 

Was it possible my mom is still alive?

No! That can’t be! I saw her die with my own two eyes! 

“Arianna, Arianna!” Drew shouted, waking me up from my turmoil.

I looked over at him, shock still written over my face. Drew’s face visibly paled as he ran over to me and picked me up in his arms. Tears began to dribble out onto my face and on his bare shoulder as he patted the back of my head softly.

“Hey, shh, baby it’s alright. I’m here, I’m here sweetheart,” He whispered as I cried and cried.

Was this some sick, twisted joke? Could someone pull such a nasty prank on me? Could it be...Him?!

Pulling away, I wiped my eyes quickly. 

“Drew, that flower, my mom, words, she died, didn’t she? Oh god, is this true? What? I-wha..?” My shock was so bad I couldn’t even create a functionable sentence that Drew would understand.

The trackers around us looked at me worriedly. They continued to shift their eyes from me to Drew, wondering if they should do something.

“Baby, baby, tell me calmly. Do you know what this means?”

I nodded and wiped away a stray tear.

“This-this flower, I found it while I was playing outside with my mom. She told me it was my light. It was my strength. And that sentence was what she told me whenever I felt weak. She always told me that my strength was the light I shone against the dark,” I whispered, staring at the patch of dirt.

“Is your mother the only one that knows about this?” He asked me, as his eyes clouded with worry.

“Yes. She’s the only one. Nobody in my family knew. She told me the flower was our little secret,” I looked back at him as silent tears rolled down my cheeks.

“Drew...” my eyes widened in shock.

“I just had a dream about this. Just an hour ago!” I trembled slightly. Could that dream really have been a message? But from who? Could it be from my mom?

My head pounded, my legs felt weak as I collapsed onto Drew. 

I found myself asleep, the last image being that dreaded flower.

************

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Drew asked as I opened my eyes.

Looking around, I saw the familiar blue walls of our room. I nodded quietly, still shaken up about the flower. 

Drew gave a deep sigh. His eyes looked apologetic as he got up from beside me.

“Arianna, I hate to do this. But now that we saw that flower by our borders, we have to increase the safety of the pack. I need to go work still, make sure everyone knows what they’re doing. I’m really sorry, but-“

“It’s okay Drew. You’re an Alpha. Your pack comes first,” I gave him a smile even though it pained me for him to leave my side. I still didn’t feel completely stable, but I knew it would be selfish and irresponsible if I kept him back from protecting the pack.

“Go. I’m serious, I’m fine. I’ll spend time with Melanie if that makes you feel better, okay?” I grabbed his hand and pointed it towards the door.

“You sure?” Doubt clouded his eyes.

“I’m sure. Go worry about the pack, Alpha,” I smiled at him.

Drew gave me a long kiss before he disappeared out the door, leaving me breathless and momentarily stunned.

“Stupid mate. Why does he have to leave me all tingly with his kisses?” I grumbled.

“Heard that!” Drew shouted back, followed by a chuckle.

I giggled quietly; glad to have some form of humor after all that’s happened.

Slipping out of the sheets, I walked towards the bathroom to take a much needed shower.

I grabbed a towel and hopped in. Turning on the spray to full blast, I allowed the water to swirl away any negative thoughts. I lathered myself with peach and lavender scented soap and allowed it to cool my senses. 

Finally soaped, and cleaned, I got out of the shower, wrapping myself in a towel and walking towards my closet. I pulled on some comfy sweatpants and a loose one shoulder top with a tank top underneath.

Hey babe, I’m sending Melanie up to your room. Stay with her until I come to check on you at 6, understood? And if there’s anything you need, just mindlink me.

Yes boss! I saluted myself, chuckling. 

Mr. Sexy, hunky, gorgeous boss to you miss! He replied back.

Mhm, whatever you say... I mocked back.

Hey babe, I love you His tone went from playful to serious, and I caught myself breathless at his words, again.

I love you too. I answered, just as serious.

Making the bed quickly, I decided to watch some movies to take my mind off. Sitting in front of the tv, I looked through Drew’s endless collection of action movies, till I found a perfect movie for a girls night. It was You Again. It wasn’t a complete chick flick, which I liked (much to Mel’s distaste, she was a sucker for those!), and it was pretty funny, especially Betty White.

I was in the middle of the scene where Marni was talking to her boss about her promotion, when Melanie came inside my room, followed by Jake.

“Sorry,” she smiled guiltily. “He’s been overprotective of me because of the rogue, so he insisted to come along,”

I smiled at her, and grabbed her in a hug. 

“It’s okay Mel. We can all watch together,” I gave her a huge grin.

“What are we watching?” Mel asked as she grabbed Jake’s hand and pulled him to the edge of the bed, where I’d laid out comforters, blankets, and pillows to sit on the ground with.

“You Again” I gave her a cheeky grin as she scowled at me.

“Really Ari? This movie again! We’ve watched it a billion times!” She put her hands on her hips, staring me down. I could see in her eyes though, that she didn’t mind.

I just winked at her and jumped up.

“You can restart the movie while I go get some popcorn. Be back in a bit!”

I ran downstairs, heading towards the kitchen. 

Grabbing a large bowl, I microwaved three popcorn bags and filled it up. I also grabbed three bottled waters and walked back towards the stairs.

Passing by the office, I heard whispers coming from the room. Being curious, I inched closer. Not close enough that they could smell me, but close enough that I could hear. 

“So what do you suggest we do?” said an unfamiliar voice. I assumed it was a tracker.

“I don’t know,” came Drew’s voice as he replied. I could imagine his running a hand through his hair in frustration.

“Alpha, is there really a chance that our former Beta could be alive?” questioned another tracker.

I froze. They were talking about my mom. Gulping, I continued to listen.

“Possibly. But we can’t take any chances. If she’s alive, Arianna’s life will be in even more danger. That bastard could use her as bait to kill Arianna!” Drew growled in anger.

“So what do you suggest we do Alpha?”

“We can’t take chances. Our best bet is to kill whoever we come in contact with and save Zane. We can’t risk putting my mate in danger. But be sure not to tell her this, she won’t allow it. So please, keep this to yourselves. Just remember, I want anyone on that side killed, even if it means losing our former Beta permanently,”

My heart stopped. How could Drew even suggest to kill my mom? After so long, I’d finally seen a glimpse of hope that maybe, just maybe she did survive. Our family could finally be perfect again! And Drew was willing to take that away?

I gained consciousness for a brief second, and decided it was my best bet to run away before anyone saw me. I leapt up the stairs and raced to my room. Standing outside the door, I willed my heart to stop beating so quickly, and gained composure. Putting on a fake smile, I walked in and placed the food down.

“What took you so long Ari? We’re already past the beginning!” Mel chuckled, while grabbing a piece of popcorn and feeding it to Jake. Jake ate it quickly before kissing Mel, who giggled back.

I suddenly grew envious of their relationship. Couldn’t Drew love me like that? Why would he even think of trying to kill my mom after what’s happened to me? 

Sitting on the bed, I twisted the cap of the water bottle and took a swig, letting the cool water cool my burning throat. 

How could Drew do this to me? 

Looking at the screen, it was the part where Marni finds out that Joanna, the queen bee that made her life hell in high school, is marrying her brother. 

Giving a humorless chuckle, I stared at Marni’s shocked face and whispered so quiet only I could hear.

“Life really fucks us, doesn’t it Marni?”