LLE'
cult. That should have been a dead giveaway that something was wrong but I
en my voice s
at this was no ordinary morning. Blinking against the blinding light,
d I had lived in my parent's home for more than twenty years. Dru
as smooth. It looked like whit
in air again and that was when I realized that the weight
o muffle the sound. Explain to me how a completely naked stra
my mouth. That stressed me out more. Because the complete stranger that had
the dark haired stranger was not the o
clothes strewn across the room. My gown was on the floor, so close to the door
body. I stood still and held my breath in that moment. I co
ut I knew. The second I had the stranger off my body, I
rom the door handle. That was when I noticed t
om
Somehow that made things better because if possible, I would
ion to find them. The walk of shame was unavoidable in this s
as on the dresser. When I tiptoed in its direction and proceeded
t have used a
l I really got were broken pieces of laughter, shared glances, and the hazy recollection of intimacy that lingered on my b
her the puzzle of the night before. Each clap of the floor be
ith a regret. The first time I decided to get wasted was t
was full and clean shaven. He looked like he worked in the office and his body
st, he'
but some reason, the clicking of the opening lock sounded like a bullet in
y audible snore. Panic seized m
seem like he would even be awake for a while. When I was certain he w
reality, and I clung to the hope that I could s
oom and shut the door
ng, and I stepped inside, my heart still pounding from the mad dash out of the room. The enclosed space offered a moment of respite,night's events in my head, attempting to extract some semblance of clarity from the foggy
ning meant the world outside was still groggy, wrapped in the remnants of sleep. It was
g familiar faces to materialize from the morning mist. The cab pulled up, a sanctu
s?" the cab dr
he cab started moving, weaving through the quiet morning streets, and the r
The city passed by in a blur, similar to my clandestine night. I glanced at my reflection in the ca
llowing me to confront the jumble of emotions without external intrusion. Questions swirled in my mind – who was
ination, a knot tigh
inous specter. That was also the exact moment that I checked my phone. The do-not-disturb f
and my dad. That was not even an exaggeration. Th
ing home last night as I fumbled for cash to pay the fare, my hands betraying the tremor with
pped out onto the familiar pavement, the weight
thing to catch my attention on the jet black limousine was the plates. T
of the valley
But as an Omega, I knew. The plates mean
*
oing in our driveway. Its presence there unnerved me enou
, Camille. Where are you?" The worry i
way. I think it is the property of the Lily of the Valley pack. Is that not
thing. After a brief moment of silence, she finally spoke. "Camille, I think
et out a humorous laugh becau
low and cautious the second my sensitive ears caught that the heartbeats in the house were mor
ts familiar scent, a mixtur
osphere shifted, disrupted by the presence
world would Sentinels from the largest
knew discomfort when I saw it and I could tell the only reason they were masking how they
k suits that seemed out of place in our cozy home. They exuded
my mother began, her eyes betra
ouse. They were probably hiding but I could hear their heartbeats. "Talk about what?" I asked, taking a
ted strangers. "These are envoys
do not understand is why they are
t your father." One
I looked at my mom and then my Dad. Why did they look guil
oy tried to say only to
ll tel
I demanded. "Wha
his must sound preposterous for you to hea
my father brought my wh
words that had just left my father's mouth. "What do
it on my shoulder. "Camille, we love you so much," she said, h
ing. The envoys from the Lily of the Valley pack stood stoically by the
eal parents?"
call him that now replied, his voice thick with emotion. "We found you abandoned
ricks. Everything I thought I knew about mysel
?"I asked, feelin
y of the Valley pack," my mother explaine
of making my own decisions. Like you said, I was abandoned. An alph
aitors. You weren't just abandoned, Miss Camille, you were taken. You were switched. I am not sure how your par
d only to be slapped acros
e you?"
ed the sharpness in his tone. I rubbed m
mple lives. We didn't commit a crime raising you. We just did one good deed. So you
into a pack that, until now, had been nothing more than a distant origin, overwhelmed me. I felt a profoun
u want?" I manag
ating to hear. B
I will
y "father's" face diwndled. I saw him reach ou
e chasm. The family bonds that once seemed so sol
nce was a reminder that this wasn't just a family matter; it was a matter
my things," I declared, my
o my room, old memories da
now felt alien. The bed, the books, the pictures on th
tem I placed in my suitcase was a step away
eyes red with unshed tears. I couldn't
tcase, I took a final look at the room that
the suitcase, sealing away the remnan
. His face bore the scars of a
remnants of what I once called a family. A family that s
step out of that door and you don't tell me to st
ke long for my "mother" to break. She attempted to run t
o me and said, "You should go,
ed for me to foll
own, I couldn't shake the feeling that, in that m