TTMA [Complete ✔️]

27. Confessions

Knox's P.O.V

Her question confused me... a lot. Remember her? I met her about two months ago and she had been asleep for the greater part of them, so where was I supposed to remember her from?

My face probably matched my thoughts as I saw her nod to herself.

"You d-don't." She voiced out her thoughts. I tried to understand her emotions through the tone of her voice, but she seemed completely emotionless - for good or bad.

"Love, I'm not sure what you're trying to say." I scratched my neck awkwardly as I awaited her reply, or anything really.

Kane rose to the front, whilst still letting me have control, as she had piqued his interest too.

"Do you r-remember your child-hood? Your fr-friends?" She asked, her gaze meeting mine. Her hands shook harder, my grip on them tightening, although it wasn't only because I was trying to calm her down. My childhood wasn't something I liked to discuss, in fact, it was something I was very much trying to push past me, forget, at least to the best of my abilities.

I didn't want to remember the time my mother was alive, suffering under the cruel man she called her mate's hands. I didn't want to remember watching my sister be looked at as a prize, rather than a child, and I certainly didn't want to remember the training I had to endure every single day, along with the beatings, that followed when I would black out.

"Knox?" My mate's gentle voice called, snapping me out of it. My hands were no longer holding hers. She had sat straighter in her chair, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Don't screw this up!" Kane warned through our link.

"Sorry!" I mumbled, running my hands through my hair and taking deep breaths myself.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't m-mean to upset you!" Dali apologized, but much to my surprise, fear didn't lace her voice. Worry, guilt, yes, but not an ounce of fear. I shook my head before my voice decided to start working again.

"I don't really want to speak about my childhood. Not right now, at least. One day I would tell you everything." I promised her.

My mate looked at me before she slowly nodded her head.

"Why did you bring it up?" I asked, Kane and I's confusion getting the best of us.

"I-I was one of the p-pups you used to play with." She confessed, her voice growing quieter and quieter as she spoke. I probably wouldn't have heard her if it wasn't for my wolf hearing, but I did.

"You-" I tried to speak, but the words got caught in my throat. She kept looking at me, studying my reaction. My head spun as I recalled memories I had buried deep inside the furthest corners of my mind.

"You're Owen and Morgan's daughter!" I gasped as realization hit me.

Suddenly, it all made sense. The two girls from the gamma family taken to the trafficking ring, their brother disappearing with them, their parents killed in cold blood during the rogue attack. She was one of the friends I had lost, one more person I mourned the death of.

She nodded sadly, tears trickling down the porcelain skin of her cheeks.

*flashback*

"Dali!" I called out to my friend, who was building a sandcastle on the shore of the lake. She looked up, searching for whoever was calling her until her eyes met mine. I gestured for her to come to me, waving my hands in the air.

She left her sister to continue building their castle. I watched as she dusted her pink sundress off of the sand that had stuck to it before she ran over to me.

"What?" She asked, huffing at a strand of hair, that wouldn't stop falling in front of her eyes.

"I-I have a surprise for you!" I mumbled shyly, my cheeks reddening as I fiddled with my fingers.

Her eyes glowed and a smile danced on her lips as she began jumping up and down with excitement.

"For me?" She asked while clapping her hands. "I love surprises!" Her squeal made my ears ring, but I didn't mind. I finally got the confidence to look at her, the pink shade of my cheeks growing even darker.

"What is it?" She asked, finally calming down enough to stay in one spot.

"It's um-" I began, not knowing how to tell her. "Follow me!" I managed to say, not waiting for her reaction as I turned around and walked away.

I heard her footsteps close behind as she followed me. I could feel her excitement grow each second we walked. Only a few minutes later, I stopped, her own steps coming to a halt along with mine.

I looked around, making sure no one would see us, before kneeling on the ground in front of a small pink flower. She followed me, also kneeling. I picked it up, blush tinting my cheeks again as I handed it to her.

"It's a Dalia flower," I said as I watched her face closely, anticipating her reaction. "I grew it myself. It's also in your favorite color!" I added, watching as she brought the flower up to her nose and sniffed it, a smile dancing on her lips.

We both got up and she immediately threw her arms around me, thanking me over and over again, even though the present wasn't that good, nor significant.

*end of flashback*

"Is your favorite color still pink?" I managed to ask my mate after a while of silence.

"Yeah." She mumbled underneath her breath, tears still falling freely from her eyes. I pulled her chair closer, draping an arm around her shoulder.

I was cautious, waiting for her to stiffen, to pull my hand away, but she didn't. Instead, she leaned her head on my shoulder, crying on it.

"Do you remember that flower I grew for you? Your favorite flowers were Dalias. Are they still your favorite?" I felt her nod against my shirt, which was now soaked with her tears, but I didn't mind. As long as she felt comfortable enough to lean on me, trust me with her pain, she can soak as many shirts as she wants.

"My-my dad used to love them." She said after a while, tears no longer flowing, but rather drying on her face. "He would call me his flo-flower. I was so happy when you g-gave it to me." She laughed, her voice breaking at the end, although she tried to cover it up. Unsuccessfully.

"We-we were happy, Knox!" She started crying again, my heart clenching at her pain. I promised to stop it, but here she was, crying in my arms, not even a full day after finally accepting me as hers.

I cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look me in the eyes.

"And we will be again! I have you in my arms, safe! We have each other now, love! Whatever life throws at us, we will go through it together!" I reassured her, my thumb wiping her tears away. "Our parents aren't here anymore, yes, but don't you think they would want to see us move on rather than cry our whole lives?" I asked, to which she nodded.

"But-but I hurt you!" She whimpered, instinctively leaning into my touch for comfort. "I pushed y-you away and-" I leaned closer, shutting her up with a light kiss. She stiffened for a second, making me question my decision, before her lips met mine. It lasted only a few seconds, but it was the most magical experience, and she felt it too.

"Nice game!" Kane acknowledged. I expected another comment about how his would have been better, but it never came. For once, he stayed silent and let me enjoy my moment.

Dali's fingers met her lips, exploring the skin. She felt the sparks, all the small zaps, that lingered happily.

"You can say anything that comes to your mind, but I will not sit around and listen to you belittle yourself!" I told her sternly, although I tried to sound as calm as possible.

"If it means stealing an-another kiss-" She shrugged, teasingly, not finishing her sentence.

"Oh, love, you don't have to ask me twice!" I winked, my lips meeting hers again. Our kiss was still gentle, although Kane's hunger managed to push through. I felt her smile against my lips, making me wrap my arms around her neck and pull her closer.

We stayed like that for a couple more seconds before pulling away for air, our foreheads still touching.

"Dali?" I finally said, our eyes closed. A gentle hum met my ears, willing me to continue.

"I love you!" I confessed with a smile.

I didn't expect an answer, but her sweet voice filled my ears, my heart doing backflips with happiness.

"I love you too!"

***

Dali and I made it back to our floor, where we were currently sitting on the couch of our living room. The Gamma and Beta couples each had a studio on the floor below ours, which contained a kitchen, living room, two bathrooms, and three bedrooms, while the Alpha and Luna owned a whole floor to themselves.

Our living room was large. It had a big tv mounted on the wall, bellow it was a fireplace, which was in both brown and white stone accents. Opposite of the tv and fireplace, there were two beige couches and a coffee table with a rug to tie it all together. The walls were also beige, the rug, fluffy and with a white and black pattern. There weren't many decorations since I never bothered with redecorating and remodelling after my mother's death, but now that I had a mate I felt a bit embarrassed of the room, even if Dali didn't seem to mind.

She was sat on the couch with her knees bent. A small soft blanket my sister had gotten for her as a gift was thrown next to her. We were watching a movie, or trying to. None of us really focused on it, our minds being to full of questions.

After my mate had peeked at me for the tenth time in the past two minutes, I decided it wasn't really worth to keep quiet and turned to her with a sigh.

"I really don't think we need to pretend like we're watching this any longer!" I told her, pointing to the movie. She turned to face me with a giggle.

"Would you like to see your parents' graves?" I shot out, without giving it much thought. Sure, I beat myself up for being stupid after, but it didn't help. She immediately shook her head, tears already falling from her gorgeous eyes.

"I take the comment of you having good game back!" Kane snarled as he saw his mate's tears.

"I-I can't!" She sobbed as she shook her head. "I-I'm finally happy and I-I don't think I'm ready to see them not be." She hugged her knees, burying her feelings away from me.

"One day." I whispered to her as I scooted closer, her head resting on my shoulder again. Her eyes were focused on the movie, but her mind was elsewhere. Today had been exhausting already and it wasn't even noon yet, but conversations like this one were important. None of us deserved to be kept in the dark, although both of us still needed more time to completely open up. We were learning, together.

"Is-is everyone gone?" She finally asked, her voice trembling as she turned to look at me. I froze, not ready for her to find out about the side of me I was trying to forget, bury somewhere deep. I had promised a lot to myself after getting her back, being honest with her, was one of those things, so I shook my head, gulping before forcing the words out of my throat.

"Aunt Zaria is still alive. Like I said, one day I'll tell you everything, I just need a little more time. My mom passed a year after Owen and Morgan, Zane's dad died soon after my mother, and you've probably heard rumours about what happened to him." I gritted the last words out. I hated even mentioning him, he didn't deserve being remembered.

"The A-Alpha of the Red Moon pack." Dali thought out loud. "Are t-they true?" She asked. I looked into her eyes, shame and guilt consuming my thoughts. But also fear. It had taken a long time for my mate to not be afraid of me and I feared that telling her what I was about to tell her would ruin her trust for me. I took a deep breath, but even with it, my mouth refused to voice my thoughts, so I simply nodded.

I avoided her gaze, ready for her to scoot away, ready for the fairytale of someone as good as her to be my mate, to end, but no matter how much I waited, she stayed still. Finally, the back of her hand met my cheeks, sending tingles, where she touched.

"I-I'm not afraid, Knox!" She whispered as she stroked my cheek, but I still wasn't ready to meet her eyes.

"I'm sure you had a r-reason to ki-kill him! I've also d-done some bad things. L-like you, I'm not ready to-to share, but one day, we-we will both know. Ju-just know that I don't bla-me you!" She reassured me, tears streaming down both our cheeks as for the first time, I let my mate comfort me instead of the opposite.

A/N:

Hi, Treasures! Make sure you join my F-a-c-e-b-o-o-k group Teddy's Treasures for extra content and discussions! Lots of tears this chapter, but at least Dali and Knox's pasts are slowly making an appearance. Thoughts?