The Forgotten Daughter

-15- Box of secrets

It had been five days since the incident with my father in Landons room. Uncle Mac had made me rest for the first three days after coming home, the medical profession in him coming out.

Auntie Cece had been baking every day, cookies, brownies, pastries. I wasn't complaining, they were delicious as always.

The boys and Landon had kept their distance since I'd been home, I think they knew I wasn't in the right head space for their foolery. 

I was sat looking at the locks on the box and journal, I still hadn't managed to get either of them open, the locking mechanisms for each were identical. An intricate design that I had a feeling wasn't opened by a simple key, it was a strange shape a sort of seven pronged star shape that had a circular shape almost around it.

"KIDS, DINNER!" I was pulled away from my thought by Auntie Cece calling up the stairs followed by the mouthwatering smell of bacon.

Oh goddess how I love bacon!

I decided I'd join them for dinner tonight, it wasn't technically their fault any of this was happening, they were just pawns in my fathers game of deceit.

By the time I reach the table everyone else is already seated and loading their plates. I chuckle at the sight, I've missed this so much in the last week. I take a seat opposit Landon, between Kairo and Kash as they all smile towards me.

"We're gonna have movie night in the man cave if you fancy it?" Kane asks with a mouthful of chicken

"Err sorry what? I don't speak mouthful-ish" I laugh while screwing my nose up at the sight of the chewed food

"What about if I did this?" he proceeds to open his mouth and half poking out his tongue, showing off even more of the chewed up mess

"KANE! Don't be so vile!" Auntie Cece screeches as she leans over to slap his head

I can't help but laugh at their interactions, so gross yet so perfect.

"Depends.. you watching a good film or one of those stupid drug gang films?" I ask with a raised brow. I could handle horrors but the drug gang films were so repetitive

"Ahh Rors you just had to go and ask didn't you?" Kairo says shaking his head "they've not decided yet, Kane and Kash have been arguing about it for hours already" he lets out a frustrated sigh, causing me to chuckle

'Talia, please report to my office' Alpha Nico sounds through the link making me groan out loud.

"Everything okay?" Auntie Cece asks

"Yeah, Uncle Nico wants to see me in his office" I answer "and how was I supposed to know they're arguing over what film, just flip a coin" I laugh at Kairo

'Just finishing dinner and I'll be there' I link my father back

Once we'd all finished eating I make my way back to my room to change into my navy blue slim fit tracksuit and white trainers before making my way to the Alpha house.

'Just gonna leave the house alone again?' Landon laughs through the link as I hear him jogging behind me to catch up

Turning back to see him I let out a small laugh and roll my eyes at him "Sorry, forgot I needed my baby sitter"

"Yes you do baby" he winks with that cocky grin "So, any luck with the box or journal yet?" He cautiously asks

"Nope" I sigh "they both have an almost identical lock but it's not like a typical key, I can't figure it out"

"If I'd realised the box went with the journal I would have given it to you sooner, you know that right?" He looks at me from the side of his eye

I laugh again "Landon you don't have to keep feeling so guilty, we were both clueless kids. My mother clearly had a plan, I just wish I knew what it was"

Approaching the Alpha house the sound of growling and shouting echos through the street.

"Stay here!" Landon instructs as he steps ahead of me

"Yeahhh, not happening f**k face" I say as I push past him opening the front door.

"Fuckface?" He laughs "Someone's feeling better! But seriously Rory, I'm here to keep you safe" he states

"Yeah well I didn't agree to having a guard, nor do I need one. Now you can stand with me or against me, your call" I glare at him

He lets out a sigh of defeat as we enter the house together.

It was much louder inside the house. We follow the sound of the growls, keeping our senses on high alert. Footsteps behind us cause both of us to spin and take a defensive stance.

"Woah! Relax!" A young man with black hair and piercing green eyes laughs, holding his hands in the air before taking a bite from an apple.

Suddenly Alma was at the forefront of my mind pushing forward, I could feel the warmth as my eyes begin to glow.

"Who are you? And why are you in our Alpha house?!" I send a warning growl at him

"Easy Bambi, calm down! Wouldn't want you pop a blood vessel in those pretty eyes now would we" he sends me a cocky grin and a wink gaining a warning growl from both myself and Landon.

"Ooo protective little pup you've got yourself there Bambi, why don't you go give the boy a treat" he sarcastically scoffs biting into the apple again

Landon growls louder beside me as I see his eyes begin to flash.

'Hold it together, he wants a reaction. Until we know who the f**k he is and why he's here, keep Knox under control' I link Landon in the hopes he'll calm down slightly, he only nods in response

'Is this cocky apple munching f**k anything to do with you? Or can I rip his throat out?' I link my father

"I see you've met Jett" my father appears at the top of the stairs "My office, all of you" he orders showing no emotion in his voice

I look towards the young man I now know to be Jett as he gives me a sarcastic wave with a cocky grin still on his face.

'Everything okay there Alma?' I ask as I feel her begin to pace within my mind

'I.. I don't know. When I figure it out I'll let you know' she responds

Entering my fathers office I notice we're not the only ones here. Beta Jacob is here too, along with two men I've never seen before, one of which does not look happy.

"Thank you all for coming at such short notice" my father begins "I should imagine some of you have questions as to why you're here and what this meeting is regarding" he says looking around the room at each of us.

"Sorry Alpha but why is the pup here" Jett nods towards Landon, gaining another vicious warning growl

"And what's it got to do with you?" I snap taking a step towards him

"Ooo feisty!" He casually leans back in his chair, looking me up and down

Alma pushing forward, the warmth of my eyes glowing once more as I let out a sadistic snarl. 'f**k waiting till I figure it out, kill the bastard!' She snarls, still pacing

"ENOUGH!" My father shouts, letting his Alpha tone roll out. Jett instantly bowing his head and baring his neck to the alpha as a sign of respect, along with everyone else in the room except me.

"Who's a big man now, pup" I laugh at Jett before turning my attention back to my father

"How is it that you can defy your Alpha?" One of the men asks with a raised brow

I look at the man and back to my father.

"You were saying Alpha" I turn my attention back to my father in hopes he'll continue

"Yes, thank you Aurora. As you are aware a couple of weeks ago there was another rogue attack that claimed the lives of four of our pack members and one traitor" he looks between each of us before continuing

"my men and I have managed to interrogate the only living rogue and it seems that once again this attack has been sent forward by Alpha Carn. We've also had a large number of deaths to our young and an open ended threat, that this is not over. With that in mind and the with the upcoming events planned within our pack, I have asked Alpha Terrance and his men to join us for the next month or so in order to add extra protection"

Deaths to our young? What was he on about?!

My face drops "You can't actually be serious?!" I shout, absolutely amazed that he'd ever run to another pack for help.

Suddenly all eyes on me. s**t! I just disrespected my Alpha in front of another Alpha!

'You and your big mouth need to quit getting us in trouble!' Alma whines as she retreats to the back of my mind. Does she seriously not realise who we are?!

"Very! And if you speak out of turn or dare to so much as think about raising your voice to me again, you will face the consequences!" my fathers states, his voice unwavering but stern enough to keep everyone else at ease.

He turns his attention back to the room "As of today their men will join our weekly pack training, as well as warrior training. All warriors will be moving into the guest wing of the Alpha house, Is that understood?"

"Yes Alpha" everyone responds at once

"Fantastic. Landon, Aurora as my two top warriors, I expect you to make our guest feel as welcome and as comfortable as possible while they stay with us" he looks between Landon and I

"Yes Alpha" we both say in unison, although clearly neither of us were happy

"Excellent. I will send for you once they arrive, be ready for 8pm. You are dismissed" he states, waving his hand towards the door

It's clear Landon is beyond furious, I can't say I was overly thrilled about it either. Not only had my father appointed me a guard but now I had to baby sit another packs warriors.

"Fancy a run?" Landon turns toward me "I don't know about you and Alma but Knox is giving me hell" he laughs slightly

"That's literally the only smart thing I've ever heard you say" I send him a cheeky grin

"Ohhh really?" He asks sarcastic raising a brow "so my caramel choc chip with banana, that wasn't a smart idea, no?"

"Okay okay, second smartest thing" I roll my eyes

We decided to have a little race while we ran. Landon with the clear advantage in his wolf form but he still wasn't quite as fast as me even in my human form, it was easy to keep up with him.

After an hour or so we came to rest in the small clearly that Landon had taken me for our picnic. It really was such a beautiful place, the wild flowers shone with such luminosity under the pale moon light that I couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, Rory.. can we maybe talk a bit" Landon asks cautiously

"Sure, what's up fuckface?" I reply

Landon rubs the back of his neck nervously "Well it's your birthday tomorrow, I just need you to promise me that if Carn does send another attack, you'll stay away and keep safe" he looks at me nervously

"I know we've got the extra man power now and I also know that you sure as hell don't need the help but I'm not about to let you get hurt.... or killed"

I quietly laugh "You're right, I don't need the help.. but I'm also not an i***t. I know Carn is likely to send more attacks but I don't wanna think about it too much" I shrugged "We train continuously, our warriors are second to none! Let alone the fact I know more fighting techniques that anyone in the pack. I think we'll be fine"

He just sighs before continuing to stare at the stars. It was getting late, we'd have to get a move on soon if we wanted to be ready for the reinforcements to arrive.

The idea of being the only female in a house literally full of male warriors made me want to puke. I know I had to make them feel comfortable but there was no way on earth I was going to be running around like Cinderella.

'It could be a good thing having all those men around for a while. You never know one of them might even be our mate' Alma said dreamily wagging her tail

'Yeah maybe so but what about the other 200-300 of them?' I rolled my eyes at her

"Hellooo earth to Rory" Landon snapped me from my thoughts waving his hand before my eyes "Come on we'd better start heading back" he said standing and holding a hand out to help me to my feet

As much as I'd originally hated Landon, I was beginning to get use to having him around all the time, he wasn't too bad really and it was a bonus that we actually had quite a few things in common.

"Yeah.. let's go" I said jumping as he snapped me from my thoughts

The journey back to the pack house was a quiet one. I was secretly dreading having to come face to face with Jett, Alpha Terrence or the other man again. Plus I really didn't want to have to leave home for the next few months, especially with my birthday being tomorrow.

We decided to check out the warriors quarters before everyone arrived, it was a large building that sat within the rear grounds of the Alpha house just off to the left. In the past it had been used as a make shift hospital, orphanage, school and even a temporary home for pack members. It was a fit the need building, which was crucial whenever we went to war or when the great fire took many of the pack homes.

The building had five floors, ground floor was the living quarters with kitchen, laundry room, dining area, two living rooms, an office, library and medical room. On the other four floors were one hundred bedrooms per floor each with en-suite and walk in wardrobe.

The first floor held the largest two bedroom suits, which as son of the Beta and Niece of the Alpha of course myself and Landon had those.

"Nope, don't like this room" Landon states with a huff, folding his arms over his chest

I look at him shocked, these suits were stunning!

"What?!" I exclaim "how can you not like it? It's the same navy as your room in the Alpha house and you don't have to share a bathroom with me"

"Exactly!" He throws his hands in the air before flopping down dramatically onto the bed

I can't help but laugh at him being such a drama Queen "Exactly what? You don't like Navy any more?" I ask still laughing

He raises his head propping himself up on his elbows "oh no, the navy is the only part I do like" he says displaying that signature cocky grin "not being to walk in on you while you're in the bath.. now that, I don't like"

"Ooo now that sounds delicious. I do hope you got some photos pup" Jetts voice comes from the doorway as he leans against the frame munching on another apple

A growl escapes Landon as he abruptly stands from the bed.

Jett lets out a slightly laugh "Am I supposed to be scared?" Slowly taking a step towards Landon "You can growl all you like pup, from what I see she bares no mark. Your jealousy and protectiveness is pointless, she doesn't even belong to you" he laughs harder before turning to leave

"She belongs to no one!" Landon snaps, stopping Jett in his tracks as he slowly turns looking at Landon before his eyes rest on me

"No one aye?" He chuckles "Well now that is good to know" he looks me up and down, while seductively licking his lips and winking at me

With that Landon lunges at him taking him by surprise as they both go crashing onto the floor, Landon on top throwing punch after punch into Jetts face while he just lay there and laugh sadistically.

"That's enough! We have warriors to attend to!" I state hoping it would be enough to break them both up.

The sound of men gathering downstairs tells me that we don't have time for this. The last thing I need is all of the warriors seeing these two fighting.

"THATS ENOUGH!" I growl at each of them, feeling the Alpha tone roll out

Shit! I need to get a grip on controlling this, how do I explain to Jett why he and Landon are now on their knees with their head bowed and necks bared to me

I take a few deep breaths feeling the settling sensation within me once more, as they both visibly relax.

Jett simply raises his head and smirks at me before slowly standing and leaving the room.

"I'm sorry, are you ok?" I ask as I reach down to help Landon to his feet

"Don't apologise, I shouldn't have lost it the way I did. He just hit a nerve" Landons says with a quick shrug of his shoulders

I nod and gesture for him to follow as I turn towards the door to leave.

"Rory, wait" he places his hand on my shoulder causing me to turn slightly.

Without another word or moments hesitation, his lips were on mine. I was in such shock I actually froze, as he quickly pulled away.

I just stood there speechless staring at him. Landon actually just kissed me?!

He rubs the back of his neck as his face turns a cute shade of pink "Sorry. I-I just.." he takes a breath to compose himself "I just couldn't stand the idea of that arsehole stealing your first kiss" he blushes further unable to make eye contact

I smile and give him a quick peck on the cheek, earning more blushing and the biggest grin ever from Landon.

He really did look stupidly cute when he blushed.

"Come on, let's go get our warriors housed" I smile at him as I leave the room and make my way down stairs where the men have gathered

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A/N:

I hope you're all enjoying it so far. I already have ideas in place for the next few chapters.

If you could pop me some comments, let me know what you think, if you have any suggestions yourself that would be amazing!

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