The Moon that Shatters the Heart

Chapter Two

Sutton

Fort McKenna holds so many memories. Yet it’s not the same.

Fort McKenna is a warrior pack, and it is one of the biggest in the country, definitely the biggest in Texas. Basically, they’re the military for this country’s wolf packs. Like humans, wolves have their own form of government. Laws we must follow. We also have enemies. Rogues, humans, vampires, witches, etc. The McKenna pack is usually called upon to help packs under threat and doesn’t have the means to protect themselves. However, the pack does not get in the middle of packs at war with one another. That would not be a fair fight.

Alpha Laiken and his father Joshua made several renovations to my childhood home over the years on my behalf. To keep it up to par for tenants.

Those changes made the old two-story, three-bedroom house with a wraparound porch look completely different. The old, weathered-grey roof was replaced with new black shingles. The light blue siding my dad painted when I was nine has a fresh coat of grey paint. The loose, chipped railing that nearly caused my fall taking pictures before going to the eighth-grade homecoming dance is now sturdy and painted white. It now matches the trim work around the door and window frames. Gardenia bushes grow in front of the porch protecting my and my dad’s blue handprints from my sight, adding to its splendor.

Still, I loved my old home, and it kept me safe and cherished. Just being home brought me comfort.

“Wow, this place is beautiful,” Aunt Lauren comments as her wide eyes study its enchanting presence.

“It is.” I breathe deeply, the scent of the gardenias in full bloom fills my nostrils. “It’s home.”

“I’m sure Ash will realize his mistake and come looking for you.” We each carry a box up the steps as I lead the way to the front door.

“No. This whole mess has been a s**t show, and we only have ourselves to blame. If he does show up, I will only reject him,” I reply, placing the box down to pull the keys out of the envelope the former Alpha had shipped to me weeks ago.

“Sutton,” she chastises me.

“No. Fort McKenna is my home, Lauren. Belvieu Creek is yours. This is where I’m supposed to be.” I get the door open. The house may be different, but the familiar musty smell of my old home remains, and warms my heart. “This is how it’s supposed to be. Me being punished for the sins of my mother, and the lies I told. I should just accept it.”

“Do you really believe that?” she ponders the words. My mother was a drug-addicted, self-proclaimed w***e. She died, or maybe she disappeared like so many others with the Mexican border so close. I do not know, nor do I care.

“I know she’s your sister… but she hasn’t been a part of my life since I was three,” I answer harshly. It isn’t a secret I dislike the woman that birthed me.

“I didn’t know her any better than you. I’m only twenty-three.” She rolls her eyes.

“Consider yourself lucky. According to my dad, she was sleeping around with anyone who’d give her money or drugs. He said that the infidelity of a mate is nearly unbearable. I can only imagine the pain my father went through,” I say without thinking about the words that just came out of my mouth.

“What did you say?”

“s**t. Lauren, do you think?” I slap a hand over my mouth after catching the meaning of my statement.

“Sutton. I wouldn’t know. Technically, Ash didn’t reject you. And I don’t know him well enough to tell you how out of his mind he will be now that you’re gone.”

My eyes water at the thought of Ani hurting me in the worst way possible. She puts her hands on my shoulder and rubs semi-circles with her thumbs. Would Ani purposely make me suffer?

“Only time will tell. What are you gonna do until then?” she asks, her short stature pulling me in for a hug.

“Commit adultery first?” I half-joke, giving her a small smile, but she isn’t having it. She pulls away, scrutinizing me as she tilts her head and crosses her arms at me. Her long brown hair falls over her shoulder and her similar blue eyes stare daggers. I never enjoy being on the receiving end of that look. It’s the look she gives me when I’m about to be reprimanded for something I did wrong.

“Do you really think that you’re being punished for your mother’s sins? Would the goddess be so cruel?” she drops the expression.

“Yeah, I really do.” I finally glance around my old living room, searching for the changes and recalling memories. We walk through the house to give it a quick scan. It’s been so long since I’ve been inside this house. While the walls resemble the white emptiness of a blank canvas, and the furniture differs from my childhood, it’s comforting. It’s calming, like the weight of a warm blanket that protects you from unwanted nightmares.

Lost in my own mind, I have not noticed that my aunt has fallen silent. I twirl around to face her. Her face is solemn, and her eyes glazed as tears threatened. “What’s wrong?”

“You remember how, for Christmas, we got the DNA kit from Horacio?”

Horacio is Ani’s uncle and always refers to us as the daughters he never had. He would bring us dinner and gifts and take care of our vehicles without being asked. He truly was like a father. He gave us DNA kits to help us locate my mother, or any other member of our family.

“Yeah, I thought you didn’t want to do yours?” I tilt my head. I did mine soon after I got it. I wanted to know about my ancestry since I lost both parents so young, but I had no relative hits.

“I ended up doing it a month ago. I just got the results this morning.” She chews on her bottom lip.

“Well, don’t leave me hanging?”

“Well, according to the results. I have a half-sister,” she says, teary-eyed.

My heart swells excitedly for her as I wait with bated breath. She never met her parents because she was orphaned as a baby. Luckily, an older couple who were close to the Alphas adopted her and raised her as their own until they passed away when she was in her teens, like me. Alpha Zeke and his family took her in.

She was eighteen when Alpha Joshua reached out to her when my dad died and asked if she would like to be my guardian. He had to find my closest kin by law, even though he and his wife were more than willing to give me a home.

Although the circumstances were difficult, she was so excited to know she had a living family member. She didn’t think twice and was eager to meet me. After she drove out here to meet me, she took me to live with her in Belvieu Creek. Without her, I would’ve never met Ani.

“That’s so exciting! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because” she raises her palms and looks around the kitchen we are standing in.

“Wait… but why didn’t you know about her? What’s her name?”

“Sutton Davila.” Her tears trail down her cheek when she says my name. I take a minute to process. My broken heart beats faster while butterflies take flight in my stomach at the news that I too have a sister.

“Wait, what?”

“You’re not my niece, you’re my sister, half but still. My guess is that Jennifer had me as a teenager.”

I am dumbfounded. I remain silent for a minute too long, but then I just wrap my arms around her neck and bring her into my chest. As we both sob on each other’s shoulders. I didn’t even know I was crying until we clung to each other.

Weirdly, it makes sense. Their age gap, our similar backgrounds, our eyes.

It sucks that we have gone our whole lives thinking we were on our own, then BAM! We’re thrown together, only to find that we’re closer than we thought.

“How does something like this happen? Why were you listed as my aunt and not sister?” I ask, not letting go of her.

“I don’t know, but I sure as hell want to find out,” she pulls back from my embrace. We both wipe the tears away, looking everywhere for something to dry our faces with.

“Any clue who your father might be?”

“Nope,” she pops her p and shakes her head for emphasis.

***

We call it a night at two a.m., bringing an end to the excitement of our newfound siblinghood. She’s only staying the night. Tomorrow she’ll drive back to Belvieu Creek.

Now, I lay in bed as the reality of my situation hit me. My phone has been ringing all evening, and I’ve been ignoring it by putting my phone on silent. I go through the missed calls, adding up how many times Ani called, and how many Oscar and Olivia, their mom, tried contacting me as well. There are text messages, too. Apologies and pleas from both brothers.

They left voice mails, but I don’t want to listen to them. If I do; if I hear Ani’s voice begging me to come back, I’d regret leaving. I’d drive back to him right now.

Ani is the moon, and I am the ocean waters that gravitate towards him. He pulls me out of the calm as he beckons me to come closer, yet we can never be together. He may brighten the night sky with the sun’s rays reflecting on his surface; But it’s a façade, hiding his dark side that remains a mystery even to me. His alluringly dark and troubled nature yanks out my heart and holds it in his grasp.

His chocolate brown eyes would always pierce my own, searching for or seeing something that I am oblivious to. However, I remained in my bliss, lucky to have gained his attention for the briefest moment.

From the moment we met, I was drawn to him. Maybe the mate-bond was at work, recognizing each other’s souls before fate revealed itself. Ani has always held my heart. I just didn’t know I held his.

Looking back, I can’t help but wonder if the darkness he so vehemently wore like a shield was my doing. That he felt betrayed by me for dating Oscar.

Oscar knew how I felt about Ani. He was easier to approach and presented himself to me. He’s the one who introduced me to Ani, although Ani opened the door. I was practically drooling when I set my eyes on him that Oscar noticed and jokingly said, “Down girl.”

“This is Anastacio.” Oscar introduces us.

“Pistachio?” I ask, holding out my hand for him to shake.

“No, it’s the male version of Anastasia. With an o at the end. Anastacio,” Oscar offers.

“Oh!” I giggle, “Can I call you Ani?”

“Annie?” Ani’s smile turned into a scowl. “No. You may call me Ash.”

Even after he taught me how to say his name… A-na-sta-c-io it just rolls off my tongue now… I begged him to let me call him Ani until he conceded. He made it clear I was the only person who could call him that. Anytime we were in the same room, or even in the same house, we would drift toward each other. While I was very girly and very outgoing, we found so many things in common. Oscar and I were the same personality wise, but Ani and I were deeper than that.

Oscar asked me to help him, afraid to admit that he was gay. He trusted me with his secret. I felt obligated to help him, and I did.

Now I regret it so much.

Oscar and I were fifteen. Ani was eighteen, almost three years older than me, and preparing to take over for his dad. He did dual credit in high school and graduated with both a diploma and associate’s degree. He was bound for the university in Houston. Why would he want to be with me? I thought.

But I was all he wanted, and he was all I wanted. He grew distant from me after that. I just associated it with him getting older and out of high school.

I just let myself cry into my pillow, dreaming of a world where Ani and I are together. Hoping that one day I can find peace. Until then, I will dream about the life I could have had.

***

It has been a week since arriving in Fort McKenna. Training does not start for another week, so I am finding things to do to bide my time. I have already reorganized the kitchen and made a list of things that I want to change. I’ve shopped for groceries, and I’ve shopped for furniture since former Alpha Joshua, who was also my dad’s best friend, released my father’s trust to me.

Josh had been sending Lauren checks to help take care of me as well, but she let me keep them and put them in an account for my use. Her adoptive parents left her a small fortune, so at least our absent mother chose the perfect people to abandon us to.

I have nothing better to do on a Saturday night than sit at home and mope. My eyes burn from all the weeping as I lay in bed. There’s a permanent lump in my throat and a shaky breath I can’t quite get rid of. But I’m trying to focus on my projects.

I lay on the couch, cozy, with a blanket around my legs. I’m swiping through my tablet, looking at ideas for a bedroom and bathroom remodel when it comes.

The pain.

It starts in my chest, constricting within itself. My ribs were close to collapsing. That lump in my throat deprives my lungs of oxygen, burning me from the inside out. My blood remains frozen, or maybe it’s turned to acid, it’s agonizing either way.

It’s Ani. He’s tearing apart my soul. Breaking every bone, tearing every muscle, and slicing my flesh with sharp knives.

The pain is excruciating. Death has to be imminent. Yet, it doesn’t do me the mercy of just ending my life. I’m paralyzed by the pain, unable to move or run away from it, tormented by it. Somehow, I remain alive.

So, this is what it feels like to be betrayed by the one meant to be your soul mate. The one meant to keep you safe. The one who’s supposed to love me forever.