"Mom, are you serious?" Natalie asked, eyebrows raised questioningly.
Here was the woman who had warned her never to speak to Valac in her entire life, or she won't see her alive, then here she was, asking her to call him.
"Look, honey, I know that you're surprised, but hear me out. Alfa needs to ask him to bring back Arya's wolf. He's the only one who can do it, and you're the only one who can call him," Kimberly explained as best she could.
Kimberly had taken the first available flight to her school to talk about this. After the incident at Moonsglow pack, where Valac strangled Arya and Alfa made a decision to rid her of her wolf, Kimberly had sent both Natalie and Marcus back to school, but not before making Natalie swear to never, ever call Valac, or even think about him, or she would kill herself.
But after Alfa's visit two days ago, she had to think about Arya. Though far away, she was still her adoptive daughter, her sister, Anna's last living child, and Kimberly can not let her waste away.
Had her brother been alive as well, they wouldn't have to think about all this, and Rodney, as Anna and Mark had wanted to name him, would have been by her side at all times, and she wouldn't have gone through this fate.
Natalie thought for a minute. "Mom, Alfa made his choice that day. He didn't even let me speak with Arya, and now you are asking me to help that same ass hole who separated me from my sister when we needed each other? Tell him to go call Valac in hell!"
"Young lady... -"
"Hunter, is everything alright?" A voice came through the door, loud at first, then dropping to a whisper.
A girl with brown eyes and dark black hair appeared from behind them, looking between Natalie and Kimberly.
"Yeah, Sam. Everything is fine. My mom was just leaving," Natalie said, staring at her mother.
"Nats, please!"
"We're getting late for our class."
Natalie and Sam left the room, leaving Kimberly stunned.
Never in a million years had Kimberly thought her own daughter would do this. Yes, they had argued before, but she never reacted this way. This one action told Kimberly that her child was hurting beyond measure.
She called the Moonsglow pack number, which was there for when she couldn't reach her father's phone. She didn't know why, but she never deleted it, even when her father was long gone.
"Hello, who do you want?" Came a voice.
"Can I speak with your Alpha, or beta?" Kimberly asked.
"And may I know who this is?"
"Kimberly Brown Hunter!"
Long pause.
"You are the wolf turned human for her mate, now banished, right?"
"I didn't call to know about myself! I urgently need to speak to either Alfa or Ronald. Now!"
There must have been something in her voice that the person on the other end instantly said, "Just one minute."
"Hello, beta Ronald Sinclair here..." came his voice.
"Ronald, it's me, Kim. I spoke with Natalie, and she has straight up refused to call him. What should I do now?"
"Kimberly, calm down, and tell me exactly what happened and what she said."
He listened patiently while Kimberly explained everything.
After she had finished explaining, Ronald just said, "Don't worry, I'll talk to her."
"She won't listen! She's still mad at Alfa for refusing to let her speak with Arya," Kimberly said. Her voice sounded drained.
"Okay. I'll talk to Alpha and see what he says."
The line went dead, and Kimberly walked out to her rental car and headed for the airport.
Natalie sat in her room after her classes and stared at the television, not really watching the show that was on. Her roommate, Sam, had gone on a date night with her boyfriend, and her other friends were busy deciding what they were getting for valentines day or what they were giving to their love on that day, and she just sat there, thinking if she had done the right thing.
She was, in fact, desperate to meet Valac. From the moment she had laid eyes on him, she was in love; and the fun part, he is her mate. She never imagined that she first boyfriend would be a demon, and... technically, he wasn't her boyfriend. Yet!
She had one wish after everything that had happened with her sister; to talk to her. Just a talk. Alfa had clearly warned her that if she set foot near Arya, he would personally kill her. Now he sent a message through her mother that she needs to call Valac. He didn't even have to guts to face her directly.
And her mother! She came running to her, asking her to help Alfa. Did she forget how he insulted her in front of the pack and banished her?
Deep inside her heart, Natalie knew her mother hadn't come because of Alfa. She came because of Arya. The girl they had adopted several years ago who still calls them aunt and uncle instead of mom and dad!
She needs to know where Arya is. She wants to talk to her, but how could she find her? Yes, Alfa will tell her when he comes begging for her help.
Natalie was still deep in thought when her phone rang. Picking it up, she saw a new number. Without thinking, she pressed the yes button.
"Hello?"
"Is this Natalie?"
"Yes, who's asking?"
"Natalie, please don't disconnect. Hear me out first!" The voice on the other end pleaded.
"Who the hell are you?" Natalie tried once more.
This creep was now getting to her nerves. She was already in a confused state, then this caller. Life is just uurrggg.
"Natalie, it's Alfa."
"Think of the devil!" Natalie said, rolling her eyes.
"Look, I really need your help... -"
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah... call Valac... help get Bella back... mom told me. I said no!" Natalie said, no emotion in her voice.
"Natalie, I know I did you wrong. I should have known better, and I reacted without thinking. But I need to talk with Valac. I need to apologize to him and ask for his help! Please!"
Natalie stretched the silence longer than intended, letting the suspense half kill Alfa. She wanted him to really beg for her help.
"If you really want me to call him, you need to let me talk to Arya."
"Natalie, she's not here."
"And his not here either. Want to talk to my mate? Let me talk to yours first!"
With that, the line went dead.