Notice Me (27 page)

Chapter 40: Truth Be Told
A rumbling growl was heard from behind us as I was suddenly tore
away from Marco's death grip on me. Before I knew what was
occurring I was pushed protectively behind Tristan.
"She's NOT Mia." Tristan's chest heaved up and down in fury. His
stance was one of pure anger and defense as he confronted
Marco.
Marco let out a snarl of his own, his body trembling. It’s a true
sign that his wolf is just about ready to lose control and surface.
Deciding to speak up and try to diffuse the situation I took a
slight step sideways and held my hands out in front of me to show I
didn't want any problems. "I'm so sorry for your loss Marco."
Tristan allowed a quick glance over his shoulder at me as if
to
say 'what the hell are you
doing?'
I just gave him a small smile and a nod
telling him it's ok. Marco's breathing seemed to have calmed down a
bit as he got a better look at me, realizing that I wasn't Mia. The
expression on his face was heart wrenching. His face contorted with
pain as he gave me a nod of acknowledgement and turned around on
his heels, running full speed ahead into the woods. Unsure of
whether someone should go after him, I took a step forward only to
have my arm grabbed by Tristan.
"Let him go, baby. He needs to be alone and run it off." Tristan's
deep voice informed me. I could feel his body pressed up against my
back causing me to lean into him for support. Just the fact that
his mere touch could comfort my wild emotions and fast paced
heartbeat was simply amazing to me.
Rico came out onto the porch and announced that it was time for
lunch. He led us into the kitchen where he introduced us to a
beautiful woman. "I'd like you all to meet Maria, she's my father's
wife."
Wife, wouldn't that mean she's also his mother and Luna of the
pack? Judging by the tone of voice Rico used when saying her name,
I kind of got the feeling he respected the woman, but wasn't too
fond of her. Being the curious cat that I am, I took the
opportunity to go stand next to Rico while Tristan and Luke went to
get Anya and I some food.
He looked over at me and offered a friendly nod. "Sorry to hear
about your accident." He said crossing his arms over his chest as
he watched everyone moving about in the kitchen area.
"Thanks." I murmured not sure how to ask my questions without
sounding rude about any of it. "Can I ask you a couple
things?"
Rico's eyebrows raised up and he shook his head yes. "Sure, if I
have the answer I'll be more than glad to give it to you." He
seemed surprised that I wanted to willingly speak to him, but he
shrugged it off and was kind enough to humor me. I stared down at
the floor and pulled my mouth up sideways as I chewed on my bottom
lip. Gosh, I hope he doesn't flip out and tell me to mind my damn
business.
"How old was Mia?" I asked shooting out the simplest of my
inquiries to start off with. I decided to approach Rico, one
because he's future Alpha and two because he seemed the
friendliest.
"Mia’s, Mia was eighteen." Rico said swallowing visibly and pausing
slightly when he got to the word was. It's obvious this is
difficult for him to discuss.
"Would it be overstepping the boundaries if I asked you who Nina
and Analia were?" I questioned in a small voice as I allowed myself
to look at him in sadness.
At the young age of twenty-two, Rico's eyes seemed to be filled
entirely with grief. Almost like they've seen and suffered through
so much loss. Not at all...let's go somewhere more private to
talk." Rico suggested tilting his head towards the back door.
Tristan with his wolf ears immediately looked over at me from the
table where he was scooping food onto the plate and nodded. Rico
led me out to the back deck where patio tables were set up, pulling
out a chair, offering for me to sit down. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." He answered taking a seat next to me. Rico stared
out into the vast trees that lined the area beyond the deck. It
looked like he was recalling a time in his life when things were so
much better and simpler. "Nina was my mother, Luna of the pack." So
that explains why he addressed Maria that way. She wasn't his
mother nor was she the Luna of the pack. Just someone his father
remarried, probably to ease the feeling of loneliness.
"You see, sixteen years ago our country was not the peaceful lands
you witness before you. There was war amongst packs, wolves against
fellow wolves. My father was away on business trying to negotiate
peace among the packs." Rico continued, this time he gazed up
towards the sky taking a deep breath. "He left his Beta in charge
of the pack. At the time who knew his Beta was corrupt, greed
filled his heart with the sole purpose of taking over our pack by
killing off my family." Rico sighed running his fingers through his
hair. I listened intently as Rico told me the story not wanting to
divert my attention away from things. Tristan came out and took a
seat next to me placing a plate in front of me.
"That night will haunt me for as long as I live." Rico said his
eyes were glossy in a trance like state. "I was only six when the
Beta came over very late one night with his followers. Knocking
relentlessly on our door." Rico hissed with disgust filling his
tone. "I think my mother had a perfectly good idea what they were
up to. She hid us in my father's study inside a hollowed out
cabinet of his desk and told me that it was my duty to keep Alonso
who was four at the time and Mia who was only two, quiet. Kissing
each of us on the head, she said 'I love you’ before going to
answer the door."
Goosebumps prickled at my skin as an uncomfortable feeling took
over my body. I didn't want to imagine what happened next. It was
evident by the headstone outside in the yard. "The coward came over
with the intent of killing us all, I heard him shouting at my
mother saying he would wait until my father returned home for him
to meet the same fate. My mother was pregnant with my baby sister
Analia, she did everything in her power to fight them off." He said
shaking his head with disbelief that a fellow wolf...their own Beta
nonetheless...would do something so revolting.
"Refusing to tell them where she hid us..." Rico's voice trailed
off. "The bastards dragged her away...the last thing I heard were
my mother's screams. We stayed hidden until I heard my father
calling out for us the next day. My father lost every ounce of
sanity before he and his loyal pack members hunted each one of the
traitors down and killed them." I placed my hand over the top of
Rico's hand that was trembling as he gripped onto the arm of the
chair. His eyes met mine and the tears were there, but he refused
to allow them to come out.
"They recovered my mother's body in the river, ravaged by those
beasts. Analia was gone, we could only assume she washed away in
the current." Rico breathed closing his eyes trying to fight back
his emotions. My chest felt heavy and the air was suddenly so much
thicker as it became hard for me to digest the events that led to
Nina and Analia's death and now they had to suffer losing Mia
too.
"Thank you for sharing that with me." I murmured leaning over to
give him a one-arm hug. It was the only source of comfort I could
possibly offer him.
"No, thank you for listening." Rico confided, "I haven't told
anyone that story since I had to relay it to my father the day he
returned." It was as though a huge weight had been lifted off his
chest. I can't imagine being six years old and having to witness
any of that. Alpha Perez came out notifying everyone to gather
around for the memorial up front.
As we stood there and listened to Alpha Perez speak, my mind began
drifting off. What if Analia wasn't washed away in the current?
What if she wasn't killed at all? Something kept poking at the back
of my head as the tiny voice kept saying to me...don't you think
it's a coincidence that you looked exactly like Mia? I could see
where Mia got her looks from, her black hair and green eyes
resembled Alpha Perez, Rico, and Alonso to a tee.
The three were lined up standing next to the graves, while Maria
and Marco stood off to the side of them. Pushing the strange
thoughts away, I tried to focus on listening. I really needed to
stop thinking about that crazy rubbish. Back in Port Clyde, Maine
were two loving people who worked hard all their lives to raise
me…my mother and my father. Though, it always seemed to baffle me
why I don't look anything like either of the two. Maybe I should
take a chance and ask my mom if I'm adopted?
Two strong arms wrapped around my waist as Tristan pulled me back
into his chest. He leaned down and rested his chin on top of my
shoulder. I could feel his warm breath trickling down as he allowed
his lips to brush against my neck. He was unconsciously rubbing the
tip of his nose along my skin, almost like he was inhaling my
scent? What he didn't realize was that this simple act was causing
me to lose control of my hormones. Every little caress and touch
was sending my entire body into a euphoric state.
My knees were turning to jelly and I was trying the hardest I could
to bite back the moan trying to escape my lips! Does this boy not
know what he's doing to me? The sound of everyone clapping their
hands caused me to realize that the memorial was over. Mr. and Mrs.
Evans approached Alpha Perez and Maria to speak to them. While a
lot of the guys decided to shift and go for a run probably to try
and ease some of their tension.
What the hell, I'm such a rotten person. I completely missed the
entire speech all because Tristan wanted to sniff me. Anya gave me
a knowing grin as Luke led her away, they were going with a few of
the pack members down to the lake. Anya and Luke wasted no time in
mating one another when he returned from the mission. Her reasoning
to me was that life is short and you need to live it with no
regrets.
Turning around in his arms to give him the death glare, I was met
with smoldering silver lust filled eyes. Oh, looks as though he
knew exactly what he was doing to me. Tristan closed the distance I
created between us by stepping dangerously close to me. We were
flushed against one another staring into each other's eyes. His
lips crashed into mine as he dominated the kiss. It was needy and
urgent, unlike some of the other kisses I've experienced with
him.
This time around it was like he was savoring every Moment of it as
his teeth bit down and tugged on my bottom lip playfully. His
tongue tickled every one of my senses sending shocks all the way
down to my toes as he deepened the kiss. Not wanting to seem
disrespectful to anyone with our make out session, I suggested we
take our little show out of the public eye. I mumbled against
Tristan lips. "Let's go inside." I'm pretty sure no one would mind
as the memorial was now over and everyone was off doing their own
thing.
Pecking me lightly, Tristan agreed by taking my hand and pulling me
towards the house. Guess we were going up to either one of our
rooms. Alone-time with just Tristan and I was something I can
honestly say I looked forward to, those muscles are to die for. As
we walked through the house and up the steps trying to get up to
our room, we ended up passing by an open door. A door that wasn't
opened earlier, one that wasn't included in part of the tour Rico
gave us.
A photograph above a fire place caught my eye causing me to stop
abruptly. Which in return caused Tristan to fall back a few steps
since he was holding onto my hand rushing to get to our room. It
was as if my entire body was drawn to the photograph. Like it was
calling out for me to come in and take a closer look. Letting go of
Tristan's hand, my feet had a mind of their own as they took step
by step in front of each other until coming to a stop at the
fireplace. I could faintly hear Tristan's voice in the background,
but it was like I was far away in another place. "Lise, what's
wrong baby?"
This is Alpha Perez's study I thought to myself as I recognized the
desk Rico told us about earlier. My mouth hung wide open as I
stared at the woman in the photograph. Staring back at me from the
picture above the fireplace was a stunningly beautiful woman with
brown hair and hazel eyes. The little voice in my head kept nagging
me, 'That's what you'll look like twenty years from now.' It
pestered.
Something deep down inside the pits of my belly made me believe my
conscious was telling me the god honest truth. My eyes widened as I
heard a gasp escape from Tristan's lips as he walked in to stand
beside me. Most likely to find out what caught my attention. It's
like all time stopped as our heads turned slowly to face one
another. I managed to mumble in a small voice, "I think it's time I
called my parents for the truth." I need to ask them if I'm
adopted

Chapter 41: Foster or
Perez?

Lise’s POV
My entire body trembled as I sat there staring at my phone, willing
for my mom to pick up. I had it on speaker in front of Tristan and
Ion the bed. "Hi honey, how's everything going?" My mom's voice
came through the receiver. My mom or my adoptive mother’s voice
sounded so chipper on the phone, its the way she always sounds when
talking to me. Just the very thought caused me to burst out into
tears, how the hell am I going to handle the actual news if I'm
wailing like a blubbery walrus now?
"Lise, honey what's wrong?" My mom asked full of concern, I just
shook my head at the phone as though she could really freaking see
me. I couldn't breathe as I sat there fanning at myself with my one
good hand, blowing out my breath of frustration. Tristan sat there
staring at me helplessly as he rubbed my back in a soothing
manner.
"Hi Mrs. Foster, it's Tristan." He spoke up so that I didn't have
to. He paused for a second most likely trying to get his thoughts
in order. "We're calling because we need to ask you something very
important." Tristan emphasized on the word important.
"Hi Tristan dear, is Lise ok?" Her motherly tone meant that she
expected a straight up honest answer from him.
"She's fine, but we need to know...is Lise..." Tristan sounded
unsure and I wasn't used to hearing him so doubtful. "Is she
adopted?" Silence...silence...and more silence filled the line as
we waited for a response of any kind from the woman I've called my
mother for the past sixteen years.
Then came the audible gasp and a series of sobs, "How...how did you
find out." Mom breathed into the line in disbelief. I could hear
her crying in the background, my heart ached so badly to comfort
her. Even if I'm adopted she'll always be my mother, but how could
they not tell me the truth?
"We were going to tell her when she turned eighteen, I swear we
were." My Mom uttered into the line her voice sounding
apologetic.