Chapter 56
LEAH “Leah,” My uncle whispered. “How—” I felt pushed back slightly like I wasn’t in my body. I could see everything that was unfolding. Josh’s eyes looked like they would fall out of their sockets, but my uncle seemed calm. “Who are—” A loud, piercing growl rippled through the air. “What are you watching?” Tala asked, cocking her head to the side. Knowing her, she was smirking. Shock and confusion were on both of their faces, and neither of them knew what to say or do right now. Josh shook his head and stared at me. “Where is Leah?” he asked, stepping away from my uncle. “Bring her back now.” Tala moved her head to one side and sighed. “You seem shocked,” she said, staring at them. “It was always on the cards that she would have a wolf, but it never occurred to any of you to actually figure that one out, did it?” 1 She had a point. Everyone just assumed I was human. Even though if you asked me a few days ago, I would have said the exact thing or even laughed at all this, thinking everyone had lost their minds. Tala stared at them, but I felt myself being pushed forward until I stared back at both men. I looked to the ground, making sure I was in my body and then looked back. “Still feels weird,” I said, louder than normal. Tala laughed. “Tala,” I murmured, looking at both men who seemed to look like they were shown the secret passageway to the Narnia or something—clueless. “Why did you show yourself?” I asked her. “I thought you wanted to wait a few days like me.” “I would have,” Tala said with a sigh. “But their wolves were giving off some angry energy, and I wanted to know. They can’t keep any more secrets from us now that they know what we are.” I said nothing, but she was right about one thing. I was getting sick and tired of secrets. Staring at them, I cleared my throat. “Look, I want—” I said, but Josh stepped closer to me and gripped my arms which a low growl escaped my lips, which I did not know I could do. His eyes searched mine, but then he did something that made me tense. He leaned in and sniffed me. Moving my arms out of his grip, I shove him back. “What the hell are you doing?” I asked, glaring at him. “If you’re a wolf,” he said. “We would have known. Why don’t you have a scent?” I stared at him. “Not telling you,” I gritted out. “Tell me what was sent to his phone, and then I will tell you what you want to know.” “Na, na,” my uncle chimed in, stepping closer. “Spill now. How come we can’t smell your scent?” “Tell. Me. What. You. Have,” I gritted out each word. Neither spoke and stared back at me, not budging on the matter. I growled again. I move away, only for my uncle to grip my wrist. “Tala,” I muttered, letting her take over and come forward again, but this time, she clenched my hand into a fist and punched my uncle hard in his face. He stumbled back, making Josh move back again with wide eyes. My uncle moved, and blood rushed from his nose. He wiped it but groaned. “Fuck,” he muttered. “She broke my nose.” Tala stared at him and then looked at Josh. “You want answers,” she said. “You will get them when we have some answers from you. There are so many secrets that are kept from Leah, and it starts with what that idiot has on his phone.” Josh said nothing but moved his head to the side. Tala looked toward my uncle, who was glaring at him. “Come near my human again. I will hurt you twice as hard,” she muttered. “And the next time I will let her join with me since you like to piss her off more than anyone else.” My uncle opened his mouth, but no words came out. He closed his mouth and stared at us. Our eyes darted to Josh, who seemed to have a blank expression on his face. “I wouldn’t tell anyone about us,” Tala blurted. “You spill this secret, then we will not explain everything to you.” Josh looked back at her and sighed. “Fine,” he said, staring at her. “We need to tell—” my uncle said, but Tala looked at him and let out a loud growl. “Spill the beans, uncle dearest,” she said with slight humor. “And I will make sure you have to fish your nuts from your stomach and a lovely black eye to go with that broken nose you already have.” My uncle stared at us with wide eyes, but we turned our focus on Josh. “No one needs to know about us,” she said. “Not till we go back to the pack.” Josh stared for a while, trying to process. “I think we broke them,” I muttered, which only made Tala laugh slightly. “Do you want me to tell them everything about us?” she asked once we calmed down. I gave her a nod but said nothing. I was still wrapping my head around everything she told me before we arrived. The moon goddess kept her back. I was still trying to understand it all. “Alpha Carson sent us a video of something that happened during the attack,” Josh blurted out. “He wanted us to see what we were up against.” I stared at him through Tala’s eyes. Tala stayed quiet for a moment before she sighed. “We will want to see that too,” she said, making him nod. Knowing that they wanted to know why I kept being a wolf a secret while I was, there might be the strangest thing I have ever had to do. “Leah didn’t know she was a wolf until a few days ago,” Tala said, making Josh nod. “I came to her with my voice when I overheard someone outside her bedroom window. I told her to duck.” Josh frowned, but Tala continued. “I didn’t show myself or tell her what we were until we were on the bus here,” she said. “She was scared, and when the rogues attacked, I knew she needed me more than ever.” “Where’s your scent?” Josh asked. Movement from the side made us look at our uncle, who was now standing closer to Josh. Tala sighed. “It was a gift from the moon goddess,” she said, making their eyes widen. They clearly knew who she was to them with how they looked at Tala. “The moon goddess,” Josh whispered, which made Tala nod. “Yes,” she said. “She told me I had to wait to come to Leah. I had to stay in the back of her mind and watch everything unfold through her life.” Josh stared at us. His eyes softened. “You saw everything,” he said, making her nod again, but she frowned. “Yeah, I did,” she muttered. “I watched and felt everything that she went through, especially when her mother left her.” Josh looked away and looked to the ground. Clearly, something was getting to him, but he stayed quiet. Tala looked at my uncle. “I had to give her a brief description about our kind,” she said with a sigh. “That explains her knowing about rogues,” he said, making Josh look up. “I will let Leah come back,” Tala blurts out, making them nod. “She can talk to me, but I will state this. You grab her like that again. You will hurt you.” 1 “Tala!” I shouted when she pushed me back to the front. Tala said nothing, but I could hear the humour in her voice. I looked at Josh and my uncle, who were now smiling. “I like her,” he said, grinning. Josh chuckled. “Yeah,” he said. “She seems to know how to put you in your place.” I let out a laugh, which made them both look at me with a grin. “Leah,” Josh said, stepping closer and placing his hand in mine. “We will have to tell—” “Not yet,” I said, cutting him off. “Can we keep it between the three of us for now? Maybe when we get back to them.” Part of me wanted to know how my mum would react, but the thought of returning to the place I had to run from scared me. Josh opens his mouth but closes it when the doorbell rings. “The pizzas are here,” my uncle said, making me look at him. “How about we take this to the kitchen?” he said. “I will get them.” I nodded and looked at Josh, who smiled. “Pizza,” he said, moving his head to me. “Then we can watch that video and we can tell you more about our kind.” I smiled, liking the idea. Maybe being away from the pack was something I needed to do, but at least I wasn’t alone now.