Alice and The Rogue Wolf

Chapter 23

"Wh… what do you mean, Mrs. Allen? I would never try to destroy Brayden," I stuttered, trying to steady my breathing.

"Well, then. What do you expect me to think when shortly after he has an intense argument with you, my son comes out of his room with his knuckles bleeding? Who knows? He will probably bleed himself to death before I return."

"It was just an argument," I replied. "He stormed off and left me hanging. I didn't know it would escalate like that."

"Well, it escalated!" She retorted. "What were you two bickering over, anyway?"

"He said he loves me," I confessed, fiddling with my fingers.

"Ever since my son has known you, a day hasn't passed without him singing your name on his lips. You were like a disease he could never recover from. Even when you suddenly stopped visiting after the accident, and this battle occurred, he would sneak out at night and hide in the bushes hoping to make sure you were okay or at least lay his eyes on you. So yeah, he does love you. What then is the cause of the rift between you two?"

The thought of Brayden always looking out for me melted my heart. He risked being spotted by the Excelsis warriors who patrolled the woods all because he wanted to make sure I was okay. That was so lovely of him, but how did his heart grow cold, cold enough for him to personally carry out the murder of my innocent father? I could barely even recognize him back at the house when he almost brought the roof down.

"It's complicated, Mrs. Allen." I knew I could confide in her, but just like Brayden, there was a chance that time could have changed her as well.

"I know with everything going on, telling me the truth or even trusting me would be very difficult. But I need to know what's going on between you and my son."

The look on her face said it all. She was in no mood for games or excuses. There was no way out of this conversation than to explain, so I took a sip of my beer and began.

"After the accident, I fell into a coma for two weeks. Jonathan had always kept it from everyone so I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know. When I eventually woke up, I lost all my memories. I stumbled on Brayden a few days later and even though I couldn't recognize him, he felt familiar so we continued seeing each other until I found out he was the one behind the murder of my father."

"What!" She lowered her tone when she noticed her scream was turning heads in our direction. "Brayden is a good man, why would he do that?"

"I have sought the answer to that question for more than a week now but haven't succeeded. We kept meeting and was nice to me, alright, but with this new image of him, I couldn't let myself loose around him. My mother and Jonathan also warned that I should stay away from him and also all of the Rogues in general."

"Then why are you still here, sharing a drink with their Luna?"

"You're the Rogues' Luna?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes, I am. Brayden is yet to marry a lady who will take over as the next Luna so until then I oversee the pack. But, back to my question."

"Of course. I'm still here because I recall your people being good to me."

"I thought you lost your memories?" She retorted.

"Yes, I did. But this morning, I risked everything and visited a witch who, after warning me about the unhealthy side effects of the ritual, was able to make me recover my memories. I was returning from her place this morning, I think when I fell unconscious and was rescued by Brayden."

"Well, that's a lot for common amnesia! The last time someone I knew lost his memories, it only took a week, good diet and exercise, to help him regain them."

I sighed. Poor Mrs. Allen! It was obvious Brayden had kept her out of the light on what had truly happened. I knew with her not knowing anything about what happened, it would be hard being able to help but I proceeded to tell her what had happened.

She stayed silent for a while after I spoke. With the questions off my back, I was able to be relaxed and busied my mouth with a slice of pizza.

"It doesn't add up. Why would someone want to put a block on your memories?" She asked, folding her arms in deep thought.

"The exact same question I asked. Somehow when I returned, Brayden had an idea of what would happen if the block was removed claiming Jonathan had told him."

"Brayden and Jonathan never got along, not for once," Mrs. Allen interrupted. " I never knew what was the fuel for their rivalry and whenever I asked, Brayden would evade the question."

"But somehow, something transpired between them. Besides you were still the Luna of the pack when the Rogues launched an attack on us. Surely you must remember what let Brayden take your troops to war."

She stared at me, perhaps contemplating how to utter the words which were burning on her lips. Sighing, she took a sip of her beer and cleared her throat.

"Brayden loved you so much, and don't get me wrong he still does, but you were the reason he would rise from the bed every morning. And you loved him too, yes you did, up to the moment you decided you wanted to spend the rest of your life with each other." As she spoke, a smile curled on her lips. "Your mother was a fan of you two seeing each other but your father didn't think it was right. Mainly because you were going to be the next Luna and your mate needed to be someone from the pack and not a rascal from the Rogues. What happened next I don't know, but Brayden summoned our troops and took them down there to get you or something, at least that's what he told me."

So when he couldn't get me, you had no choice but to take the life of the person who got in his way. Even though it turned out to be my father.

"If he loved me that much, why would he think killing my father was going to make me come back to him? Besides you were in that battle too, why didn't you stop him?" Tears were already trickling down my cheeks.

"I wasn't there okay? A few days before, he had asked me to beg your father on behalf of him but when I got there, the man wouldn't have a change of heart, or if he did try to get one, his beta wouldn't let him. Then Brayden began talking to me about demanding for you. I had tried to convince him to drop the idea but he wouldn't listen, so when he asked me to accompany him, I rejected the offer knowing full well, that the mission was fruitless."

"So when he did come back he must have told you everything, right?" She nodded. "Is there a chance that he ever spoke or discussed what led him to murder my father?"

"Why do you keep going on about this? Listen, I have known my son from day one and I can tell you he has made a lot of mistakes and gone astray a lot of times. But murdering an innocent man in cold blood? Trust me, that does not sound like what my son would do."

"I don't know who to trust anymore, Mrs. Allen," I muttered, sighing. "I have different versions of what happened from a lot of people that at this point I can't even trust myself anymore."

"Well, if you got back your memories, why can't you remember what happened to you? You are your best chance at knowing what truly happened, so why don't you just try to remember!? "

"I have tried all I can. But the thing is that my memories come back to me slowly. I have remembered most things but I still haven't been able to recall what happened the week I lost my memories. And the worst thing about trying forcefully to remember is that I get these strong migraines afterward."

I sniffled back my tears. I saw and remembered some elements of truth in what Mrs. Allen had said, but I didn't buy the idea of her not being a part of or not believing that her son could do what I claimed he did. I glanced at her and I could tell that she either was too tired to speak or wasn't going to say a word.

"Mum!" Megan called, running towards us. "It's getting late, we should get going."

Only then did I look up and notice that the sky had already begun to darken. The park was well brightly lit and if not for some parts which were kept dim, one would be chaffed into believing that the day was still young. The heavens were now covered with sullen clouds, plump with rain, that emerged and sealed off any trace of the sun's shadow. Lightning tore through the air in all directions and the sky looked as if it would explode at any moment.

The individuals in the park sought the closest sought for shelters while the others, like us, dispersed quickly, and headed for their cars upset that the threatening sky had just ruined their fun time.