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{23}

"Are you done?"

I gave myself one long look in the mirror before leaving the bathroom. Entering my hospital room, I smiled at Jay, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I'm ready." I replied, walking towards my duffle bag.

The duffle bag Theo packed proved to be very useful the last couple of days I spent in hospital; I was still very grateful.

Jay frowned as he took in my outfit. "Is that a new hoodie?"

I looked down at what I was wearing, black jeans and Theo's large, black hoodie. The clothes he packed for me to wear when I leave the hospital.

"Kind of." I responded, shrugging. I kept my distance from him, ensuring he doesn't get a whiff of Theo's scent from my clothing.

"So where are the others?" I asked casually, putting on my trainers.

I was curious what the others were up to, but I was more curious about Theo. Including everyone in my question doesn't make it obvious who I was asking about.

"Erm, well. Last night, I heard Julian and Leona flew out because of emergency pack business. Kobi has to take on their work load as well as his, so he's a little stressed." He replied, ticking almost everyone off the list.

I stayed quiet, anticipating what he had to say about Theo, but was disappointed when he stopped there.

I wanted to sigh in disappointment out loud, but kept it in. I wanted to know what he'd been up to, damn it!

Ever since the night he slid into the covers with me, all I could think about was him.

Why did he leave without saying goodbye?

Was it something I did or said?

I knew he didn't leave in the middle of the night because I woke up at one point and he was knocked out. I was surprised to be engulfed by his strong arms and overwhelmed by his delicious scent.

I woke up, once again, early morning to find him gone from by my side.

I thought, maybe he had to sneak out to avoid any confrontation with the medical staff. However, he hadn't visited me since then.

I huffed audibly, resulting in getting a surprised glance from Jay..

"Let's go." He said when I stood up.

We walked out of the room and made our way to the main entrance/exit of the hospital, not forgetting to thank and say our goodbyes to the medical staff.

We walked to the parking lot, and got into what looked a lot like Leona's Jeep.

"Isn't this Leona's car?" I asked, putting the seatbelt on.

"Yeah, she said I could use it to pick you up."

We drove to the Alpha Manor in comfortable silence. I checked my messages for the first time in a long time to find congratulatory messages from my pack members.

I glanced at the date and widened my eyes in realisation. "Jay, your graduation is next week!"

"Already?" He exclaimed, sounding equally as surprised.

I nodded and chuckled. "It's crazy how time flies by."

"I'm allowed to bring three people; mum, dad and you." He confirmed, not taking his eyes off the road. "Now that the match is over, Theo has no reason to delay our departure."

My heart sank at the thought of not seeing him again. Is it even possible to stay away from your mate for long?

"What if he doesn't allow us to go before your graduation?" I piped up. "According to the terms and conditions we agreed to, he has the say in when we can leave."

Jay glanced at me, worry flashing on his face. "He'll have to let us go, he has no reason to say we can't go. The match is the only business we had in this pack; now that it's over, we need to leave. He will understand."

I nodded at his logical reasoning, there's no reason for Theo to refuse us leaving. He probably wouldn't even delay it to be with his mate longer.

I would be lying if I said that's not what I was hoping for...

We finally arrived at The Alpha Manor, got out the car and entered the familiar, extravagant looking lobby.

"I'm going to go up to my room and chill." I said, already walking up the stairs.

"Okay, I'll be downstairs making a call."

I jogged up the rest of the stairs and stood in the middle of the lobby. Usually I would make my way to the East Wing without hesitating, where the rest of my pack members and I stay.

But I stood in the middle of the lobby, staring at the door that led to the North Wing.

To where the 'Big, bad wolf' is.

I chuckled to myself, remembering I said those words on my first day here.
I crept towards the door, wondering if Theo was in.

"Hey."

I jumped out of my skin, alarmed to find one of my pack members hovering around the door to the East Wing.

If he curious as to why I was hanging around the door to Theo's living quarters, he didn't show it.

"How are you feeling?"

I awkwardly shifted away from the door and replied, "I'm doing good, completely healed."

"Did you like the chocolates we gave you?" He asked, smiling.

Shifting even more away from Theo's door, I replied with, "I loved them."

I walked to him, gestured him to go ahead into the East Wing. I followed him down the large hallway and stopped at my door.

"I'll be in my room if you need me." I said, before entering my room.

I closed the door behind me and leaned against it; I should've been more aware of my surroundings. I usually am, but when it comes to  Theo, my brain gets all fuzzy.

I sighed and threw my duffle bag onto the chair by the door. Suddenly feeling tired, I jumped onto the bed and lay there for a good few minutes.

After a few minutes of not doing anything, I noticed something peculiar.

I sat up, slowly and cautiously, as I really took in the appearance of my room.

It looked different.

Like someone had cleaned the room...or like someone had rummaged through it and then cleaned it.

The pillows were organised completely differently to how I usually organise them.

After frowning at how peculiar it was, I shrugged, deciding it probably meant nothing. Someone had cleaned the room for me, I should be glad.

Then another thought struck me, one that sent me flying across the room and into the bathroom to look for something.

The book Ms Willams gave me to borrow and the photo of Lily and Maxwell.

I hid it well on the day of the match, I felt the need to.

I opened the cabinet door beneath the bathroom sink and lifted the large piece of wood I used to hide them.

To my relief, I found them placed in the exact same way I left them. I picked them up and closed the cabinet doors.

I couldn't afford to lose these, I felt like they held answers to many of the questions I've asked myself for so long.

The person who came in here was definately looking for something, every single thing in this room was re-organised.

The painting of a starry night hung above the bed was tilted as though someone had tried to look behind it.

And to think I was going to hide the photo there gave me the shivers.

I sat on my bed and stared at the photo once more.

They looked young, happy and in love. If Lily hadn't found her mate, I think they would've lived happily ever after.

But that would've meant Theo wouldn't have been born...

So in a way it good that they split, for the sake of blessing the world with a leader as great as Theo.

My eyes trained on Maxwell, I wondered what the real reason Theo hated his father so much.

Remembering how much hate and distaste he spoke with when his father was mentioned really made me curious.

I sighed and turned the photo over without thinking.

There was writing.

My eyes widened in shock as I realised there was a message at the back of this photo all along.

It started off with;

Dear Max,

Ooh, she called him Max.

It's terribly difficult for me to tell you this in person, so I'm writing this to you on the back of this nice picture.

I have found my mate, you may know him as the Alpha of The MoonKnight Pack. His name is Alexander Gray and he's wonderful.

I'm so sorry this has happened, but we never know what life throws at you. We both thought we'd never find our mates and we were happy together, but this happened. I pray and hope that you, too, find you true soulmate.

What we had was special, but what you have with your mate is even more special. Something indescribable. Go find her! She's somewhere out there, waiting for you to sweep her off her feet.

Goodbye, I wish you the best of luck and wishes.

Lots of love,

Lily

I gaped at the contents of the message, it was a goodbye letter. Probably the last message from Lily to Maxwell.

I turned the photo around and looked at the ex-couple once more. I wondered how Alexander Gray looked like.

Lily's bright, gray eyes stared back at me as I observed her face. There was an eerie resmemblence between us in features that almost made my skin crawl.

I stared at the photo for a few seconds longer before shoving it in my back pocket. I hopped off the bed, grabbed my phone and left the room.

I needed to visit Ms Williams.

This time I will get some answers.

I rushed down the stairs and headed outside, walking down the familar trail to her quaint, little cottage.

I noticed smoke puffing out of the chimney of the cottage, indicating she was home.

I walked up to the front door and knocked three times consectutively.

The door opened revealing Ms Williams wearing an apron.

"Elisia! What a nice surprise!" She exclaimed, once she saw me. "Come in."
I smiled at her before entering her home, I made my way towards the living area and sat down on one of the sofas.

"Have you healed well?" She asked, sitting on a chair near me.

"Yes, I've completely healed."

"So, what brings you here? Have you read the book?"

I hesitated before answering. "I've not finished reading it, I came to ask you questions about something else."

This made her raise her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, really?"

I nodded and took a deep breath in; there's no going back now.

I reached for the photo on my back pocket and showed it to her, not saying anything. With curiosity etching her features, she took the photo and observed it.

She slowly looked up with an uncertain expression on her face.

"Why are you showing me this?"

"You know who they are, don't you?" I responded calmly.

"Do you?"

I hesitated, not sure if it was best to let her know that I knew a lot more than she thought.

I decided it was better that she knew what I knew, for the sake of getting answers from her.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. I do."

She let out a heavy sigh, placing the photo on the table in front of us.

"How much do you know?"

"That, I won't tell you." I replied grimly. "To ensure that you don't take advantage of any lack of knowledge I may or may not have."

She sighed again, staring at the picture once more. "I'm assuming you know who they are."

"Maxwell Hunter and Lily Gray, ex lovers."

She nodded. "So what do you want to know then?"

I racked my brain for a good question to ask. "What is your relation to any of them?"

She paused and fiddled with her apron before saying anything.

"Lily became a good friend of mine when she joined my pack, The MoonKnight Pack. She was the mate of our Alpha, and she was our beautiful, smart Luna." She started to say. "No one, except Alexander knew of Lily's ex lover."

"Did you come to know of Maxwell, her ex lover, after the attack or before."

"Before."

I frowned a little when she didn't elaborate, but let it go.

"Tell me about The MoonKnight Pack." I asked, curious about the pack I was born into.

Ms Williams looked surprised, but accepted my request nonetheless.

"We were a strong pack, not the most powerful, but definately not the least. We had great leaders, powerful warrior forces and a beautiful union in the pack. We had many alies, never concerning ourselves in other people's business and all in all, very peaceful."

"It sounds like it was quite an amazing pack." I commented, trying to ignore the hollow feeling and grief coming over me.

I cleared my throat and licked my lips. Time for the all important question.

"Why doesn't anyone know about this attack?" I asked. "No one knows about The MoonKnight Pack."

She chuckled and shook her head. "You mean your generation doesn't know about The MoonKnight Pack, my generation knows about that pack very well. It was the biggest scandal of the century."

I gaped at her in shock. "You're telling me that all the leaders of every pack in this country knows about the attack on The MoonKnight Pack, and no one has done anything about it?" I exclaimed, my voice rising.

"When something like that happens, doesn't all the leaders have a meeting and decide on an appropriate punishment for who's responsible?" I questioned, feeling outraged.

"And who was responsible?"

"Maxwell Hunter and The Rogue Force." I replied with disgust.

"You really think they'd voluntarily put themselves in a situation where they'd be punished, sentenced for their crimes and ridiculed?"

"Erm, well..." I started to say, faltering.

"You see, Maxwell was a lot more cunning and intelligent than you think. He didn't attack my pack from impulse and without a plan. No, he took years to carefully plan his revenge on Lily and Alex and attacked on the week their child was born."

My breath hitched a little, shocked to hear what she was saying.

"He knew exactly what to do to bring an entire pack down, and yet, still manage to cover up his tracks. He didn't even stop his crazy revenge when he found his true mate, or even when he had Theo."

"He was mad, crazy!" I spluttered, feeling sorry for Ella and Theo.

"Yes, he went crazy after finding out Lily had left him for another man. He swore to murder them in cold blood, and he did."

I wanted to ask how he did, but my gut churned at the thought of hearing that.

"So you're telling me no one knows Maxwell and The Rogue Force is behind the attack? How is that possible? Who was blamed then?"

"My dear, you know the real story but you don't know the story everyone knows."

My blood ran cold when she said that, it made sense that everyone believed a fake version of the actual story.

"The real story was covered up." I whispered in realisation. "Of course..."

"Do you want to hear the popular version?"

"The fake version? Go ahead."

"Alexander's mental health derailed suddenly and he killed all the people in the Alpha House, including the Beta and his family, the Gamma and his family as well as most of the warriors."

"Most of the warriors? How can one person kill that many people?" I scoffed in disbelief.

"It's easy to believe." She said shrugging. "How many warriors do you know who can look their Alpha in the eye, let alone fight them?"

I couldn't reply to that.

"The leaders of every pack had an emergency meeting and discussed that Alex was to be relieved of his duties as The Alpha of The MoonKnight Pack. His child couldn't take the seat due to their young age. His second in command (Beta) and third in command (Gamma) was dead so the pack had to temporarily join another. A pack that had enough resources to take care of another pack."

"Maxwell's pack, The BlackShadowed Pack." I finished for her with a sigh.

"But what kind of cover up story is that?" I pressed on, bewildered at the absurdity of it all. "All that was needed to do was to question Alex on whether he did it or not. Assess his mental condition and ask him who did it!"

"And that would've all happened, if he hadn't owned up to it."

I fell quiet, my jaw slowly dropping in shock.

"Wh-why would he own up to something he didn't do?" I spluttered, not understanding at all.

"Think hard." She sighed, sliding the photo on the table towards me. I took it and held it in my right hand, staring at the picture.

"Lily." I whispered, realisation hitting me like a ton of bricks. "Was she held captive?"

"Was she taken? Was Alexander forced to lie to save her? What happened?" I spewed out all the questions swirling in my head. "If he lied to save her, why aren't they alive? Why is this all so fucked up?"

"One question at a time, please."

"How could all of this happen without anyone knowing?" I started to say, thinking out loud. "There must've been someone who had valuable information for Maxwell, someone in The MoonKnight Pack."

"That's ridiculous." She exclaimed, although sounding a little unconvinced.
"Is it really?" I countered, raising an eyebrow at her. "He couldn't have pulled off something like this without someone helping him on the inside."

Ms Williams looked uneasy as she avoided my gaze. My eyes zeroed in on her fiddling with the edge of her apron.

Her response to when I asked when she knew Maxwell came to mind. She knew him before the attack...

"Anything you'd like tell me?" I asked, sensing an increase of tension in the air.

She raised her chin up and faced me squarely. "There are many things I've not told you."

"I know."

I knew she hadn't told me everything, there was a lot more to the story than she's letting on.

I knew she played a role in what happened nineteen years ago, and it looks like I'm not going find out from her.

There must be a reason why she, a MoonKnight pack member, lives in the main town of this pack, conveniently located near the Alpha Manor whereas the rest of the surviors live elsewhere.

"I think you should leave."

I looked up at Ms Williams, narrowing my eyes at her. Her friendly aura was gone, and was replaced with anxiety and anger.

I stood up, giving her one last look before leaving the room. I shoved the photo in my back pocket as I opened the front door and shut it behind me.

I let out a sharp sigh, still feeling uneasy.

What was she hiding?

-------------------------------------------------
So you finally found out what really happened to The MoonKnight Pack...or have you?

Ms Williams' plays a bigger role than you might think.

What do you think she's hiding?

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!! Sorry it was uploaded late, it was a crazy week ><

Please remember to VOTE and COMMENT!!♡