Sold To The Billionaire Alpha
Chapter 34

Orchid

I ran to her and threw my arms around her, all thoughts of how she had betrayed me momentarily forgotten. I had missed her and Dad so much. Mom seemed hesitant to hug me back. She embraced me gently, patting my back in a somewhat awkward manner which was so unlike Mom. We were usually so open and comfortable with each other. I assumed it was the guilt from what she had done. She held me at arm’s length.

“I have something I had to tell you,” she said with a heavy sigh.

I frowned.

“Haven’t you missed me?” I asked, feeling crestfallen.

She was not acting how I had expected her to. Our reunion was not what I had envisioned.

“Of course I missed you but…” she said, pausing.

“What is it?” I asked quickly, getting anxious.

“I have to get something off my chest,” she said.

She grabbed my hand and led me away from the breakfast room. Orion followed us.

“Use my office,” he offered, leading us to it.

We sat in his office. He sat at the desk.

“What is it?” I asked.

Mom sighed again.

“Don’t keep me in suspense! You know how I hate that!” I said, raising my voice.

“Shh,” said Orion, stroking my cheek and my hair.

He came over to me to stand behind me and massage my shoulders.

“I did something awful,” said Mom.

“What did you do?” I asked.

“Let me start at the beginning,” she said.

“Please do,” I said pointedly, getting agitated.

“Years ago, before you were born. Your father and I had a falling out,” she said, looking away from me.

“I found a letter in his things,” she said.

“Ok,” I said slowly.

“It was addressed to this woman he used to know. He…” Mom stopped talking to shut her eyes tightly. “Before we got married, your father had been dating this woman. Verona,” said my mother as if the name itself was disgusting.

I nodded my head.

“What? And he cheated?” I asked, trying to hurry it along.

Was that the big secret?

“He was dating us both, but he broke up with her for me when we were very young,” explained Mom. “Once we became serious, he never saw her again as far as I know. Not in the flesh anyway. So, when we got engaged, you could imagine my surprise to replace a letter addressed to her in his things. It was in a drawer with stamps. He hadn’t mailed it yet but it was already sealed. I remembered her as the other girl he had been dating before we were exclusive so I got worried. I opened the letter really carefully so the envelope didn’t rip,” said Mom.

I nodded. I would have done the same thing. Curiosity got the better of all of us from time to time.

“What was in the letter?” I asked.

“He was writing her to tell her that ever since he got engaged to me, he had been wondering if he had made a mistake. He had been wondering if she had been the one. Not me,” said Mom, tearing up.

“I’m really sorry, Mom,” I said softly. “But you still married him,” I said, furrowing my brow.

“Yes,” said Mom. “I did. He had been at work at the time. It was just before the wedding. I wanted to be a bride and a Mom,” she said, touching my cheek.

“I forged his handwriting and wrote a different letter. One telling Verona of the engagement and saying that he was so happy and he wished her the same happiness one day. I wrote it as if it were from him. I resealed the letter and kept checking the drawer. He mailed it out. He must have,” said Mom, frowning.

“I would see him checking the mail, waiting on a response. He got one which came when he wasn’t home obviously. She talked about how much she had thought about him over the years and asked for them to meet up. Obviously if they did, he would realised I changed the first letter to save my wedding so I changed this one too,” said Mom.

“You forged another letter?!” I asked incredulously.

Now, I did not know if I would have done that. If the two of them both wanted to be together so badly, I would have said good riddance and got someone else. I had pride.

“Yes. This one was me pretending to be her responding using the same envelope she had sent with the right stamps and what not. I put in some details from her own letter to make it sound real. I wrote it as if she was happy for him and I lied, saying she was happily married already with a little daughter,” explained Mom.

I was silent.

“So your Dad and I got married. He would have read the letter and it would give him peace you know. He would know she moved on,” said Mom.

“But she didn’t. You made that up,” I said.

“Yeah,” said Mom with a shrug. “I was furious. I was…jealous. Anyway, lucky me, a couple years into our marriage, he ran into her and they talked. He asked her about her husband and daughter and of course she denied having one. He ended up showing her the letter and she said she never wrote that. He told her if she had gotten his original letter where he said she might be the one and she showed him the fake letter from me. Your father came home and confronted me, asking if I had tampered with the letters. I flew into a rage. I asked him why he would do this to me. Why had he not just been honest with me? Why did he ask me to marry him in the first place?” Said Mom, tears streaming down her face.

Orion handed her a tissue.

“We argued. He called me a conniving b***h and I told him to go be with Verona and he left. I assumed he went to be with her. I…was devastated. I don’t drink…you know I can’t hold my liquor but I ended up in bar,” chuckled Mom sadly.

“I met this guy. He was…outrageously handsome. Tall. Broad shoulders. So…otherworldly,” she said.

Oh no. My heart sped up.

“Your father and I had been trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant before he ran into Verona. I…drank. The guy kept buying me drinks. He picked sweet things where it didn’t taste like alcohol. You know I don’t like the taste of alcohol,” said Mom.

“You slept with the…otherworldly good-looking guy?” I asked, gripping the handles of my chair.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“You had an affair,” I said.

“So did your father!” She yelled.

I laughed humourlessly.

“Is he my father?” I snapped.

Mom shook her head. She began to sob. I felt like I could not breathe. Orion held me tightly.

“Oh my God!” I gasped. “My father…my birth father was…a…a…”

“I didn’t know he wasn’t…” Mom whispered. “I assumed he was a regular guy. Anyway, I never went near him again. I went home. Dad was there. He had come back and we made up. He had gone to Verona and realised it was just a fantasy. I was the one. He said he loved me and would never speak to Verona again. He apologised on his knees. Weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. We were so happy. I wasn’t sure…but I figured I slept with that guy once. That guy vaguely resembled your father. Similar complexion, hair colour, eye colour but the guy was chiseled and buff,” said Mom, nodding.

I sighed, putting my face in my hands.

“When you were born, I couldn’t know for sure. I just assumed you were his. Your father’s I mean. The man who raised you. I…I didn’t even have any way of replaceing this other guy. I lived my life. My husband was a gambling addict. You know the rest,” she said, looking at Orion. “When Orion told me about this heat,” he said, looking mortified.

“He asked me if there was any possible way you might not be fully…” Mom stopped talking.

Human. I was not fully human.

“I told your father before I told you,” said Mom. “Before coming here. He was furious. I don’t even know where he went.”

“I have people out looking for him. They’ll locate him soon,” said Orion.

“Who? My…Dad or my…Mom’s one night stand who fathered me?” I said.

“Both actually,” said Orion.

Mom gasped.

“Some of my men have gone to that bar you went to. It’s a werewolf owned bar. They’re seeing if they can look into their records in case he frequented there based on your description of him and I have other men looking for your father,” said Orion.

His eyes went dark. He was mind-linking someone.

“They found your Dad! He’s just…gone to gamble in a casino near your childhood home. Don’t worry, they’re stopping him,” said Orion.

“Does Dad hate me now?” I asked.

“No of course not. He hates me,” sobbed Mom.

“No, he doesn’t,” I said.

Mom shrugged.

“You’re sure he didn’t know I wasn’t his when he…sold me?” I asked.

Orion fidgeted uncomfortably. Mom shrugged.

“I don’t know if he had suspicions but I only told him on your birthday,” she said.

“I want to meet my…biological Dad. What’s his name?” I asked.

Maybe he could help me adapt to this Luna thing. Mom frowned.

“It’s a bit fuzzy,” she said.

“You slept with a nameless guy? You didn’t ask him?” I asked.

“Of course not. His first name I remember. It was Talus,” she said.

“Like the bone?” I asked, making a face.

“I guess,” she said. “ I don’t know his last name.”

I sighed.

“Thanks for telling me,” I said finally.

My parents were a mess. An utter mess. And they sold me. I got up to leave.

“Orchid, wait,” said Mom, getting up.

“Please, leave me alone…just give me some time,” I said. “How long will you be here?”

“As long as you like,” she said hesitantly.

I nodded. We had more to talk about but this was enough for one day. I left the office. Orion was hot on my heels.

“Should I leave you alone too?” He asked.

I looked at him.

“How come I’m not…a werewolf?” I asked.

“You are,” he said. “Half probably. I’m assuming.”

I opened my arms. I looked around dramatically.

“How? Where? This is the first wolf-y thing to happen to me and I’m twenty-five,” I said.

“Me…I must have been the catalyst. Your wolf was suppressed. It’s rare but it happens,” he explained.

“So when will I…burst into a wolf?” I said, folding my arms, feeling sort of ridiculous.

Orion smiled. “I’m not sure. I can explain how I shift and you can try. The more you stay here, the more your wolf might come out. But the better question is…do you want it too?” He asked.

I stared at him. I hadn’t thought of it like that. Did I want to bring my wolf out?

“Wouldn’t that be better for you?” I asked. “To have a wolf Luna instead of a human one?”

“It’s not about me,” he said. “I want you to be happy. There’s no rush.”

Truth be told, I was terrified. I had heard the sound of bones cracking when the others shifted. No thanks.

“I…I know I want to meet the guy…my biological Dad. And I want to let my Dad know I still love him and it won’t change anything and I’m still pissed at him for what he did but not not the fact that he isn’t actually related to me. That’s not his fault,” I said all in a rush.

“Well, we’ll start there. Operation Two Dads,” said Orion.

I rolled my eyes but deep down, I loved this big oaf. Our fateful meeting had ultimately brought me happiness and now, it had led me to the truth about myself.