The frustrated sigh came out before I could hold it back. Luke’s glaring eyes landed on me as the rest of him stayed still. It was obvious that we were going to have a fight that would probably wake up the whole household. But I was so sick of our friendship just being continuous fighting lately. Ever since the day of the selection process was fast approaching, it was something we always fought about.

Thinking I could just ignore the whole pending fight, I tried to walk to the hallway that led to my room. My path was instantly blocked by Luke before my mind could fully process that he moved. I keep forgetting that shifters were faster than normal people.

“Luke, I’m tired. I just want to go to bed,” I told him firmly.

He didn’t say anything. Instead he just stood in front of me with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes glaring at me, telling me how unhappy he was with me. In all honesty, I didn’t need his approval.

I let out a deep breath in frustration, “What do you want from me, Luke? I’ve made it clear that I’m not going to marry you.”

“Who do you plan on marrying then?” he suddenly asked. I knew why he asked that. He wanted me to tell him that I was either going to marry Trent or leave with my father. But I didn’t give in to his intentions. Instead I just glared back at him.

“What do you want me to say, Luke? Either way, it still results in me not marrying you,” I told him straight out, “How many times do we have to have this conversation to have it get through your thick skull? I’m tired of this and if you want to keep bringing it up, maybe we shouldn’t be friends.”

Luke’s glare was replaced by a look of shock, “You’d cut me off because I love you?”

“No, I’d cut you off because you are being a selfish prick,” I answered, “There is someone who practically worships the ground you walk on, but instead you rather chase someone who has been clear of what they want. Stop making Ember hurt because you feel like you need to protect me.”

The sound of a door opening made both of us look into the hallway. Em was peeking out of our bedroom. She had a small blanket wrapped around her and she held another one in her arms. It was clear that she was worried about Luke getting cold waiting for me and she had intentions of giving him the blanket.

None of us said anything as Ember left the room and looked at the ground shyly, “I didn’t want to disturb the conversation, but it’s cold tonight due to the damp wood in the forest.”

I gave her a gentle smile, “It’s fine, Em.”

Em handed the blanket to Luke and he took it with a little hesitation. Just that small gesture he made, made her smile as bright as the morning sun. It broke my heart to know that all of her efforts were wasted. But it didn’t stop her from practically skipping back into our bedroom in complete happiness.

Once the door is closed, I finally spoke, “Ember is from a family of bear shifters. She’s strong like your mother. You can have lots of little shifters of your own with her.”

He refused to look at me. His voice shook as he spoke, “So this is the end. The end of what could have been.”

“It’s the end of what never was,” I corrected, “We had no future other than being friends, Luke. Everyone, even you, knew who I admired growing up.”

“Lucky bastard,” Luke said mostly to himself than to anyone. He then looked me straight in the eyes, “Fine. but if he hurts you in any way, I have the right to rip him apart.”

I rolled my eyes and then walked past him to get to my room. As I opened the door I glanced back at Luke. He walked to the nearest couch and sat down. Using the blanket Em had given him, he buried his face in it. Part of me felt guilty for turning him down as I heard the faint whimpers coming from him. But I also knew it was for the best.

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The next morning Em had woken me up with complete excitement on her face. She was practically jumping on my bed as she continuously called my name.

Glaring at her in sleepiness, I asked, “What is it, Em?”

“I just overheard Luke’s mom talking to your mom,” she said in almost a squeal, “Luke is considering marriage with me because you already have a suitor.”

“I’m glad he finally came to his senses,” I groaned as I went to cover myself back up with my blankets. She was probably expecting more of a reaction out of me, but I wasn’t going to give it if I had just woken up.

“Speaking of suitors, your’s stopped by this morning with gifts,” she said as she tried to pull the blankets off.

It took a few seconds for it to fully sink in. Once it did I sat up instantly, making Em fall on the floor with a loud thud, “Trent was here?!”

Em let out a small groan as she rubbed the area she landed on when she fell on the floor. I gave her an apologetic smile. Which resulted in both of us laughing in the end. My mother must have been wondering what the commotion was all about and had entered the room to see us as laughing messes. I looked at my mom with a smile on my face.

She gave me a skeptical look in return, “I need both of you girls in the living area. We need to have a talk.”

My mother didn’t have to say anything more, Em was already up and running out of the bedroom door. Pushing my mother out of the way. I wasn’t as eager to head to the living room as I climbed out of bed to make it. My mother stood in the doorway with sad looking eyes.

“I’m sorry you had to make such a big decision so quickly,” she apologized, “It’s not something I had planned for you.”

I gave her a reassuring smile, “It’s fine, Mom. Everything happens for a reason.”

“So did you decide?” she said in a hesitant tone. I can understand why my mother would be nervous. My father was now a part of my life and I could leave to learn more about him. Or, I could marry someone I didn’t know much about in order to stay with her.

But this was also my opportunity to ask her why she never stayed with my father to begin with, “I feel like this wouldn’t be such a hard choice or a problem if you stayed with Dad. Why did you come back to the Forest Region instead of staying with him?”

She let out a sigh, “I met your father when I was still in training. I wasn’t at the age to get married yet and by the time I had found out I was pregnant with you, I had already returned home.”

“But Uncle Marcus proposed to you at that age,” I pointed out.

She pressed her lips together as she gathered her answer, “Marcus was born to be an alpha and he thought that would be the thing that would keep me beside him even though I told him I wasn’t interested. I guess his proposal is one of the other reasons why I didn’t stay with your father.”

“How did you meet Dad?” I asked her as I sat down on my now made bed.

She smiled sweetly as she looked back on her memories, “The medical and the science students always worked together. I had gotten too close to one of the devices the students were experimenting on and got hurt. Your father was the first to come up to me to see if I was okay. Even took me to tend to my wound without even asking. He was so caring that it made my heart flutter.

“We worked together as much as possible after that. Got to know each other a little better,” she continued, “He even had to go through the pain of Marcus openly pursuing me. It must have gotten to be too much because he begged me to stop seeing Marcus. That was the night he confessed to me and I decided to give him the part of me that no one else could have. My heart. Sadly the next day I had to leave to come back to the Forest Region, but I still wrote letters to him. Even when I found out I was pregnant.”

I know my mother didn’t tell me the full story, but it was still nice to hear. It also told me why my mother held on to me so tightly. I was the result of her happiest memories. And to resemble my father so much must have been a blessing to her.

“Do you plan on marrying Dad anytime?” I suddenly asked her.

She shook her head, “Marcus would never allow it. It’s why we kept our relationship a secret for so long. You saw the temper he has as an alpha.”

Part of me wanted to fix that for my mother. She deserved to be just as happy as anyone else. My mother didn’t need to worry about my father’s safety because of another man’s broken heart. So I made a plan to find where Uncle Marcus was staying and have a talk with him. I had a proposal to accept anyways.