A/N: NOT EDITED.

Chapter 28 – Chelsea POV

I handed Tera two bottles of water, five more slices of pizza and a bottle of iced tea, Julia sitting at the table with Ava watching me.



When I finished, walking over with my own plate and another for Ava, I sat, “Just like Norine,” I smiled small, not sure how I felt about that, “I don’t know but I think wherever she is, you know if there’s an afterlife or something, she’s probably so relieved and happy that you all found each other. Probably a little sad at the same time too,” she said words low at the end. Why would she be sad? My face reflected my question, “Well… Oakley took on too much responsibility, listening to her death and having it recorded,” she shook her head appalled. I agreed there.



To hear the death of a parent, especially one you loved at such a young age? Only to have it recorded and listening to it repeatedly. “Then there’s you… you’re so mature and level headed, you don’t seem your age, so put together, but the reasons you got to this point are horrendous. Still it could be worse, you could be on a completely different path, one that would dishearten her not just as your mother but as a human being in general…”



“But the things you’ve done…” she shook her head, “You remind me of that movie, ‘Pay It Forward,’ Chelsea,” she chuckled. “How are you guys settling? I mean it’s been nearly three weeks since you’ve gotten here,” I took her short silence to change topics.



“I – this place is so beautiful, and I guess – I can’t put even begin to explain. You know I went to school to be a teacher, to help and do something for others. I wanted to work with 8th grade, or really children aged twelve to eighteen… its sorta what brought Grant and I together. That need to help children, you can guess why…” she smiled a tad bit sad. “I… my older sister when I finally confided after Grant and I had married that we wouldn’t be having children, she was livid she thought that he had duped me into marrying him, then dropped that bomb on me. But he didn’t,” she shook her head slowly, remembering just how hard she had to convince him that it didn’t matter to him.



“I knew he was a good man, he couldn’t have kids but he wanted to help them, and I just decided that my students would be my babies,” she laughed harder, “Now though we’re here and I just feel so useful here as does Grant. We’re settling in amazingly – aside from Oakley rolling down the mountain,” she joked now that Oakley was awake. “Oakley, this is her first sleepover,” she whispered so low; don’t want Oakley to hear, she thought to herself. “In the realm of things it doesn’t seem so high up, her dilemmas back in Middleburg, but at the time, lets just say Sarah and Pat made all the mistakes in the book.”



“Was it that bad?” I asked curiously, only having read the notes from after Oakley was hospitalized. She nodded empathically, listening to her thoughts; distinctive disheartening occasions flickered quickly – fleeting. “This… what’s going on… she’s never had that Chelsea. Again that isn’t all Pat’s fault, that recording,” she huffed, “finding out about it made so many pieces fall into place, how can anyone make friends if they aren’t sure who to trust? Or how to let people in closer – do you think she’ll ever be able to have a relationship with Sarah?” she skipped over subjects sporadically.



It as my turn to snort, was she serious? “My sister was dying and my father came to me to save her, and I didn’t,” I deadpanned, “Oakley isn’t going to forgive her, more likely that not, Sarah will just be someone irrelevant in Oakley’s life. She isn’t holding a grudge, but Sarah doesn’t matter to her.”



“It’s a shame… that’s all… Pat should be here. I know he made mistakes, but I haven’t seen Oakley this happy since – in forever. And Ben? He’s always had little anger phases, and now… he’s so much calmer. He’s missing all this…” What Julia was saying was easy to understand, I could empathize with the statement, but the fact remained that Pat wouldn’t just up and choose Oakley and Ben.



Julia and I ate in comfortable silence, Ava doing most of the talking but her words becoming slurred mid-meal until exhaustion took over and she leaned her head on the table. “I have to put her to bed,” I said softly standing from the table, lifting Ava in my arms. Chelsea Logan is here, Gabriel said just as I made it to Ava’s room. I’m just putting Ava to bed, laying her down, I went to her dresser getting out her pajamas changing her quickly while she remained knocked out. It wasn’t her bedtime but since we had gotten here, Gabriel and I decided she should start in taekwondo, she did training in her wolf form and like other kids her age on the island she attended school. Not use to being so busy – she normally tired out and fell asleep near 7pm now.



Once I put her dirty clothes in the hamper, I fixed her blinds, turned on the night light and closed her door, heading straight to Gabriel’s’ office. Entering I saw Logan, his young face, his normally shaggy brown hair styled neatly on his head, black jeans and shirt, across from him Gabriel and near his feet were the three brown worn violin cases.



“Took you long enough,” I said jokingly, it had been nearly two weeks since he had checked out the location that Nora had given me. When he found the concrete slab just as she had said he immediately brought it over to his place in California, working with his men to carefully extract the violin cases. We had already read him in on why the violins were important, “Have you had time to go see Rainy?” he asked before I had a chance to sit down, I shook my head regretfully, “No, Oakley fell and then-” a knock on Gabriel’s door stopped my words. Standing he went opened the door revealing Lux.



“As I was saying – Oakley fell and then-”



“Teresa Hellmann bit her husband and daughter,” Lux interrupted me my eyes widened as I turned to face him; surely I had heard him wrong.



“She did what?”



He nodded, “Yes, she just bit them – Lynn and Greg.”



“How long ago?” I asked him dryly. Why isn’t she… what am I missing? Lux asked himself. “The last time they were not on the island it was nearly two years ago… when they left the ‘real’ world, anyone could change a human into a wolf…” I shrugged, “I took his wolf away, but her biting him isn’t going to work, all she’s doing is forsaking them to a very long and painful death,” I said knowingly.



“She thinks that you will save them if it fails,” I snorted, shaking my head, “why would I do that? If anything it’s more understandable that I’d let them suffer a painful death for going against what I did…” Logan chuckled stopping when we all turned to watch him. “You’re not joking,” he said swallowing. Turning back to Lux, “How long ago?” I asked him, but Gabriel answered, “two hours ago.”



“Wait you knew?” Lux asked Gabe, he nodded, “I decided to give Chelsea a break, she’s been listening to them for days now. Thought I’d give her the night off,” how thoughtful of you… Lux thought but said nothing out loud, his face utterly blank.



“So you’ve been busy,” Logan finally concluded, “as busy as your father…” he slowed his words when I turned to him, in confusion, went to the Elders, had Audrey changed, met with Patrick Lawson, blew up his house… “What?” surprise coating my tone, but when I eyed Gabriel his face held no shock like mine did currently, “Wait… you knew this?” Lux glanced at Logan in confusion.

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Walter Rykos POV

I held my daughter against my chest, her hair right under my nose, her head lain against my shoulder, tucked in, head touching my neck as my mate Nora, and Cole walked along the beach enjoying the sunset. I held Nora’s hand in my own, as we watched Cole run to the end where the water would touch his feet, before scurrying back with a squeal of delight, full of energy unlike his sister.



I treasured every moment of each and every day, it was impossible not too, I had missed so much, and Nora, Cole and Tia had struggled so much in the time since I had last seen her. It had been two weeks since I had last seen my parents, or anyone in my family. We shared space on the island but getting us all simulated with each other – that was the excuse that I had used to stay away from them. Each time I saw the twins smile, my heart ached, my blood boiled and I couldn’t get past my anger, everything I had missed.



There were other people on the beach, everyone eyeing us – observing my mate, my children, the same people that judged me for not accepting Lynn. My arm curled around Tia, I leaned forward, “You want to go down and play with Cole?” I asked her, blinking, she released a small grunt, “No,” around her thumb that was currently in her mouth.



“W – Walter?” I heard from behind, turning to face my mother, Tia lifted her head from my shoulder to see who called my name; Nora glanced back, but left my side to get Cole. “Oh,” my mom, her hands flew to her mouth, eyes wide. My fathers gaze followed Nora, while my mother had her eyes just on Tia. “She looks so much… you’re – two,” she made a sad crying whiny sound and Tia laid her head back against my shoulder, tucked against my neck. Mom took a step forward coming towards me and on instinct, I took a step back, the hurt in her eyes almost made me forget my own pain, but the warm reminder of what I missed was currently curled against me, sucking on her thumb. Quickly I turned to Nora, handing over Tia, take them away, I told her over the mate-link, watching her head back up to the main house, I finally turned to my parents. Just watching them, watch my mate and children walk away, the sadness there, before they turned to face me, “Chelsea said – you have two – a boy– twins?” mom cried confused, “So beautiful,” she whispered, the words settled in the two feet distance between us. I nodded, they were beautiful.



“What are their names?” my mom begged for details, wiping at her face, while my father remained silent, sorrow in his eyes, rubbing my mom’s side as she cried silently.



I looked at the two people in front of me, my parents, and I wanted them around, I wanted them to share in the joy that I was currently experiencing, but then I remembered the days I was so hungry that I ate endlessly and it hits me hard that there were times where they were close to death. All three of them, despite what my parents had done, Nora fought, and she was the one that triumphed here. Days of fear and worry, that’s what my children knew. They had accepted my presence in their lives, Tia always gazed at me in wonder, would cuddle up against me she was tired.



“We aren’t going to hurt them their our grandchildren Walter,” my father said incredulously and that tone in his voice, that bite of indignation, flared my own. How could he say those words to me? “How do I know that Tom?” I asked my tone biting, causing my mother to flinch. “I’m your child and you’ve hurt me…” I pointed to my chest, “How do I know you won’t hurt them? You won’t hurt my mate?” I couldn’t trust anyone here that Chelsea hadn’t brought. I was terrified someone here would hurt any one of them because of how I had treated Lynn.



“All it would’ve taken was one conversation before you just drugged me, and took me here,” I shouted, my fists at my side, “she was alone – she gave birth alone, they’ve never seen a doctor, my children – two years on the run, hungry, she – my mate – was the Rykos that the Elders were after. Her and my children, so while we’ve been here bathing in safety-” by now everyone on the beach could hear us – me.



Dad held up one palm, “This isn’t only on us Walter,” dad said using that tone again that just grated against my nerves, the boiling whistled and if I were a cartoon, smoke would’ve come from my ears, as I lifted my clenched fists, bringing my father down with one hit, “it’s completely on you Tom,” I shouted stepping back as mom helped him up, I shook my head. They didn’t know, but still they never asked. They didn’t know that Nora wasn’t just some girl I was messing around with, I had opened up my whole life to her – minus that I was a werewolf.



I looked at my parents, in trying to protect me they had only hurt me more, but they needed to understand that, I swallowed the bile in my throat that always came up when I thought of those two years from Nora’s point of view. She had begun telling me at my own insistence but I knew she was holding back, I had felt her pain, now they would too.



“Their names… are Nicolas and Mattia,” I said looking dead at my mother, watching as her eyes filled to the brim all over again, her lip shaking much like how my daughters did when she was in the beginnings of letting out a wail. Mom nodded, the tears falling over, named after her father and grandfather. “You knew I was in a relationship Tom, you downplayed it, and made choices that weren’t yours to be made,” I whispered to my father.



“I don’t trust you. I don’t think you or anyone here could treat my mate and children the way they should…” I said sadly, hating that I thought that but knowing that I was right. With so many loyalties already set here on this island, I couldn’t guarantee that my parents were on my side. Stepping away, I left them in their spot, following the same path Nora and my two children went.

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