The lake is silent. All signs of lingering life are still scarce from the fight earlier.

I sit with my back against a giant oak tree. I hug my knees and legs close to my naked body for warmth. I gently stroke my bare arms with my thumbs in a soothing manner as tears continuously flow down my cheeks, staining them white. I don't bother to wipe them away because I know they will soon be replaced.

I watch the water.

It remains motionless. A few leaves lingering on the surface but no fish break the water, scavenging for food. It appears lifeless-completely void of any breathing creature. A small breeze chills my body as it wraps around me. I hug my legs closer to my torso.

I rest my chin onto my knees.

I've been out here for a couple hours now, but it's still not long enough. I don't know if I will ever gain the courage to go back.

I mean how can I return to the place I used to spend every day with my mother? Every little thing I'm going to do, will remind me of her, then I will end up crying again. How can I do that to myself? How can I go back to a place like that?

I miss her so much.

A rustling of grass and dead leaves sounds from behind me. I can hear the blatant footsteps of another person, but my muscles don't move. They feel weak. I just continue to stare off into the lifeless lake.

A moment later, the feeling of soft cloth falls onto my shoulder, draping over my naked body. This gets my attention. I turn my head upward to find Greyson staring down at me. In his hands are a change of clothes.

We stare at each other for a long while. Silence lingers around us. I realize then that he is waiting for me to speak first.

"How did you know where to find me?" I ask, my voice a mere whisper.

He squats down next to me. He lifts his free hand to my cheek and wipes away a stray tear. "I figured this was a safe place for you. Sorry I took so long. I wanted to give you some time to be alone."

I grab hold of the edges of the blanket and squeeze it tighter around my body. "Thank you for that."

"Want to put on the clothes I brought?" he asks me.

I shake my head and place my chin back onto my knees, turning back to the lake. "I don't want to move."

Another breeze passes through the woods. It's chilled and flows under my blanket. I shiver a bit, but ignore it. I hear Greyson shift. I can tell he is leaning up against the tree as well and getting comfortable.

A moment later, I feel hands land on my hips. Then I'm swept up into the air for a moment, then quickly land back onto the ground. Only this time I'm between Greyson's legs with my back to his chest. He pulls me in close and wraps his arms around my body.

The warmth allows my weakened self to finally relax. I lean back into him and close my eyes. I take in his comforting presence. Enjoying the sensation of him around me, I decide it's time I speak my feelings. I need to let them out.

"He killed my mom." I say quietly.

Greyson's face nuzzles into my neck. I feel him warm breath tingle down my spine as he says, "I'm so sorry. She was a great person Lucia. She truly loved you."

Tears flow into my eyes again. It's not that I wanted Greyson, or anyone else to give me sympathy, but for some reason it feels nice to hear. A small whimper escapes my mouth as another round of sobs racks through my body.

Through the tears I cry out, "I miss her so much."

Greyson squeezes me tighter in his arms. I continue to cry, whimper and shake until my body is consumed by darkness and I drift off.

-------------

I moan lightly and yawn, opening my slightly crusted  eyes. I notice the smell before the dark room comes into my vision. I'm in Greyson's room. I rub my eyes clean. I stretch and lean up, looking to my left and right. I notice I'm alone. Huh. I scoot myself backwards and lean onto the headrest for back support. I pull my knees up to hug them to my body. When I do so, I notice the soft texture of cotton on my hands. I glance down and notice I'm in a pair of sweatpants and a large white t-shirt. I smile to myself, realizing Greyson must have put these on me to keep me warm. He's always so thoughtful.

My stomach gurgles loudly. That's when I realize just how hungry I am. Looking around the room one more time to assure myself that Greyson isn't in here, I scoot my way off the bed. As my feet touch the floor, the door opens.

My eyes glance up in enough time to watch Greyson walk through the door and close it tightly behind him. At the moment, he is currently shirtless and wearing just a towel on his lower half. I find myself staring at him for too long.

Not being able to stop myself, my eyes skim down his neck and gently trace his buff chest and abs. His strong arms holding onto the thin towel which is the only thing stopping my eyes from trailing further down his perfectly sculpted body.

I hear a small chuckle and my eyes shoot up to Greyson's green one's. I find him smiling in my direction. I can't help the small smile that forms on my lips.

"Morning," he says to me, still a bit of happiness in his tone.

"Mornin'."

"Headed somewhere?" he asks, raising an eyebrow at me.

I shrug, "I'm kind of hungry."

He nods his head in understanding, "alright, let me get changed and we can go get something to eat."

My wolf whimpers at the idea of him putting clothes back on. Unlike her, I nod in agreement because as good as he looks right now, I'm just not in the mood to do anything that requires a lack of clothing.

When Greyson finishes changing, we head down to the kitchen together. There we coincidentally meet up with Leo, Raymond and Derek. All three of them are hesitant to talk to me, afraid I might break down and cry. I try to ignore how different they are acting, but it oddly affects me more than I thought it would. I wish they would just act like they normally do, that way I could try my best to act the way I normally do.

I'm picking at my breakfast when a large and noticeable presence enters the room.

My father.

He stops in the doorway and stares in my direction. His expression, blank. I notice Derek and Raymond shifting uncomfortably in their seats. Leo and Greyson on the other hand, don't flinch or even look in his direction. I sigh, realizing he wants me to come to him.

I push away from the table and stand. I glance down at Greyson, "would you mind taking care of my dishes when you're done? I might be a while."

He glances down at my half eaten food and looks back up at me. "Are you done eating?" I nod my head even though I can feel my stomach rumbling with hunger. "Will you be okay?" He adds quickly at the end and very quietly.

I nod my head, "I will be fine. Thanks for everything Greyson."

He nods, "No problem."

On that note, I make my way out of the kitchen and continue into the hallway, walking right past my father. I glance to the left. I notice him following me as we reach the center of the hall. I turn and glance up at him. To my surprise, I see a hint of sadness and depression. Yet, this doesn't please me. It actually makes me angry.

"What is it that you want?" I snap at him angrily.

This makes him frown, "Don't get snippy with me young lady."

I frown back at him, not afraid of my own father. "I will do as I please. Now what is it you want?"

Knowing my personality well, he drops the subject. I would argue with him all day if I had to. He knows we aren't on good terms anymore. "You're mother was placed with the other bodies originally, but I had her moved to a separate area so we can bury her rather than burn her with the rest."

My frown falters a bit. I'm speechless for a moment. Then I find my voice again. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would you do that for her?"

"Because I love her."

"But you left her."

"For my mate."

"For some skank who already had a son. Yet you dropped your only daughter and loving wife for her."

His eyes narrow, darkening. I can tell his wolf isn't please with my reaction to his mate. Well, go blow. He betrayed his wife for that woman. He left his daughter for that woman.

"Lucia, you can either accept the fact that I loved your mother until her last breath or live believing a lie. I loved her so much. If I didn't love her, you two probably wouldn't be in this pack anymore, never-the-less living in one of the nicest suites we have in this pack. I protected you two."

I frown at that, "if you loved us and protected us so much, then why is she dead?" He freezes at my words, his muscles stiffening. "Riddle me that Emanuel." I say, ignoring all forms of authority that he has over me.

"Her death is not my fault."

"Or is it?" I ask him. "If you had never left to go on that trip with the Alpha years ago, you would have never met Trinity. Then you would have never left Mom. Then when the raid came, she would have been in the safety of your private quarters or safe by your side. But no. You went. Then you left us."

Deep down, I know it really isn't his fault. Her death is no one's fault but that Hunter's. He killed her. He jabbed the knife into her. He spilled her blood. Yet, my rage is getting the best of me and words are spilling from my mouth. I can't seem to control them.

"Lucia, I didn't intend to ever leave your mother." He tells me. Sympathy laced in his voice. I can tell he is starting to believe the lies coming from my mouth.

Yet, I don't stop. "I don't want to hear anymore of your excuses. It's because of you that Mom and I ended up in this position. It's you're fault, as you so kindly pointed out earlier, that we got to stay in this pack. If it weren't for you, Mom and I might be happily living in another pack, or attempting to live as humans. Yet, none of that happened. No. You wanted us to stay here. To what? Oh that's right. Protect us. Well look how bloody well that worked out."

By the time my ranting is done, my fathers face is pale and stone cold. I can see his brain cranking in his head, trying to piece everything together. I can tell my words are destroying him. I almost want to apologize. Almost.

"You know she never blamed you." I tell him. My voice calming down a bit.

"What do you mean?" His voice a mere whisper.

I sigh. "She never once thought that the pain she suffered everyday waking up was your fault. She never thought the pain running through her mark was your doing. And she certainly never believed you were the cause of her heart aching." I can see his face begin to return back to normal color. Those were words he had been needing to hear. It sickens me a bit to watch his reaction. Then I quickly add, "I'll have you know. I don't feel the same as her."

His eyes turn upward. They glance in my direction. Scanning my eyes for any hint of a lie. Yet, he can't find one. I straighten my back and fold my arms over my chest assertively.

"Unfortunately for you," I continue, "I'm not as forgiving or understanding as Mom was. I will always blame you. Not for her death, but for her pain, which in my opinion is worse. You're the reason she lived like an emotionless, unresponsive mass of a person for years. And to me, that's worse than having to die. Everyday she had to bear the pain of her one true love, living and loving another. Everyday she woke up with hope that you would someday realize that you loved her more, because you fell in love with her, not because some wolf inside your head was telling you to love her. When you loved her, you loved her. You were never told to love her. Yet, did you ever walk back through that door?" I stare at him. He doesn't reply so I continue. "No. You never did. Not even to say good morning, or to see how she was doing. You may not have stabbed the knife into her body, but you ripped her life and her soul from this earth long ago. And I hope that you remember that forever. If you truly did love her, than you will never forget the agony and pain you put my mother through. And for that, I can never forgive you."

He stands still. Completely speechless, his eyes fall to the floor. It looks as if he took a blow to the stomach. His face is completely pale. Feeling upset just being around the man, I decide enough is enough.

"I appreciate you allowing me to bury my mother. But that is all I will ever again thank you for. Good day Emanuel."

I walk around him and continue down the hall. My heart thumping nervously in my chest and my hands shaking uncontrollably. I have been wanting to tell him those things since he left my mother, and I was finally able to get them out. It feels good, but also wrong at the same time. I guess the timing could have been better since I know he was hurting too, but it doesn't change the fact that it angers me that he's upset. How can he say he loves her yet he tosses her aside all the time? It's nonsense and I just don't know what to believe anymore.

As I walk down the hall, I notice remnants of the invasion. Blood stain the walls and tears ride along the carpet. Mud and dirt scrape the floor. I notice a few maids scrubbing away at some large blood stains. Man, that must be a job in hell after a battle like this.

As I continue down the hall, trying to clear my head, another presence stops in front of me. I freeze in place as my heart falls to the floor. His face is smug and void of any sympathy. His dark eyes pierce into mine and my legs quake from the confidence in his gaze.

Damien.