19

(Mia's POV)

The week of Christmas was a buzz with talk about how, Eve had gone into labor and thanks to Justin and me, the baby had made it. Eve was showing off the little girl, she was so adorable, I couldn't help be close by.

I looked around at the others, for once sense the pack got together, it was finally feeling like a family. We were laughing together, the guys were joking around and opening up to us, this was what needed to happen. We had dinner and were talking and chatting, I was surprised after word, the guys got things cleaned up, and put away. I caught Levi's eye and mouthed thank you to him, he smiled and nodded. The guys were just winding down when, Justin came over to me.

"Hey?"

"Hey, there's someone here that wants to talk to you."

I looked at Eve, who just shrugged, so I got to my feet and went to see who it was.

"Mom?" I whispered she was looking around, she was scared but she didn't show it.

"Mia...I um....I came to...um give you this." she stuttered and handed me a little box, it looked old, it was a gift, it was more like the place she placed the thing that needed to be hidden, and forgotten.

I took it from her, and looked at the box.

"What is it?"

"It was the one thing that you had with you, when they found you." she explained coldly, my insides twisted but carefully, I opened the box, inside was a locket, with the initials M/A. I looked up at Mom, she nodded, and turned to leave.

"Mom?" I said as she reached the door, she stopped but didn't turn to look at me, "thank you, for everything, and I hope...for the best...for you, Dad, and Manny."

She just gave me a curt nod, and quickly got out of the house. After the door closed, tears ran down my cheeks, they really weren't going to give me the chance. I looked down at my hand, the locket shining in the light. I felt so sad and just needed to get away for a moment. I went up to my room, and just closed myself inside, I cried tears of sadness, I have lost my family, with no hope of ever seeing them again.

I wasn't there long before, the door opened and closed quietly. Then I felt Levi's arms wrap around me, and I cried at my loss.

"I'm sorry, love, I wish there was a way I could fix this..."

"No, I can't blame them, they're scared, and honestly...I can't ask them to stay by me, I would be putting them in danger."

He hugged me tightly, after a while, I just took a deep breath, and tried to compose myself. Then I turned to look back at the locket, it was pretty, a little beaten up, but still nice and presentable. I turned it and tried to open it, but it seemed to be locked, it had a little key slot.

"So much for finding answers."

"Maybe a jeweler, can get it open."

"Yeah, maybe, I see when they open and give them a call."

He kissed my forehead.

"See not all hope is lost."

I smiled at him, he got to his feet, and headed back down stairs. After sitting there for a while, I decided to let the mystery wait, so I put the locket, in the box again, and put it in my drawer, and followed Levi back down stairs.

None of the jewelers were available until after the new year, so I had to wait. Meanwhile, I kept looking at it, and trying to jog some memory, but I couldn't. Then one day Ronan came to talk to Levi, and saw me with the locket.

"That's a nice, heirloom."

"Oh, thanks, I just wish I could get it open."

"Can't you?"

"No, it unlocks with a key."

"Hmm, I know of a jeweler, who specializes in these kind of lockets."

"Is he available at all?"

"Yeah, he should be in, in the next two days, I could take you to him."

"Thank you, you're a life saver. Ronan."

"Sure thing kiddo." he said, and again I had a ping of familiarity thing, I looked at him trying to hold on the what I was remembering, but it was gone, damn it!

Even after the two days, I was still, trying to get something again, anything and to my surprise as soon as we turned to corner where the shop was, I was getting flashes.

I was in a car seat, and someone kept telling me, it was a surprise, his voice was excited and happy, I kept looking over at him, but I never saw his face.

"Mia, we're here." Ronan, said shaking me a little I had really gotten lost in my thoughts, but even when I was focused again, the flashes still kept coming, as if I had walked these exact steps before, all the way to the door.

"Mia, you okay?" Ronan asked me, as I put a shaking hand on the door.

"I'm not sure..."

"We can come back some other time." he said turned back to the car, I shook my head, and pushed on the door, the jingle sounded as we entered. The little shop had beautiful pieces of jewelry, expensive even, but as I looked around the shop keeper was nowhere to be found.

"Hello?" I called but nothing, I kept looking around.

"I'm sorry, I was in the back...oh, Ronan, long time my friend."

The shop keeper came out the back, and shook hands with Ronan, but turned to look at me.

"Um..I need to know if you have a key that could open this."

I handed over the locket my hands were shaking really bad, the man, looked confused, looking from me to Ronan and back. Before, the keeper said anything, Ronan, carefully placed a small key on the glass display table. My heart was like a jack hammer in my chest, the keeper, took the key, put it in the key hole, and it clicked open.

My breath came out in a sob, I was shaking from head to toe now, as the shop keeper, handed me the locket, looking inside, and confirming, what I just found out. There in the heart was a picture of a baby girl about one, a woman and Ronan.

"It was you....you're...you're..."

"Your father."

I let an other sob pass my lips, as he took the locket from my hands.

"This was a birthday present for Sasha, but she wanted your initials not hers, come to find out you loved it just as much, she gave it to you."

I felt my anger boil through me, as he talked so casually about my mother.

"You knew...how long have you known?"

"I've had a feeling from the very first moment I saw you, you are the spitting image of Sasha."

He tried to touch my face, but I slapped his hand away. I was glaring at him now, pure anger boiled through me.

"You have some real nerve, after twenty years, of not a peep from you, you now want to be my father, it's a little too late!"

"Melissa..."

"Shut up, my name is Mia, Melissa died the day you decided to walk away from her, when you gave up on her!"

Ronan, looked hurt, but I didn't care, he deserved to hurt just as much as I did. I turned and ran out of the shop, and just ran in no real direction, until somehow, I found myself in some alley somewhere. After a while, my phone rang, it was Levi.

"Hello?"

"Mia, where are you!?" he asked in a forced calm tone, I told him, where I was, " okay, I'm on my way, don't move!"

I hung up the phone, and just sat there, among the trash and newspapers. Soon a truck stopped beside me, I was so numb from the cold, but I couldn't feel anything, I didn't want to feel anything at the moment, just wake up from this bad dream.

Levi, put me in the truck, and drove my guess was back to the house. Once there he helped me into the shower, running warm water, and just letting me sit there.

"Mia...Mia..what's going on, what happened?"

I didn't look at him, I honestly felt lost, my whole life had been ripped into shreds, I became a werewolf, a leader, a mate/wife, a foster mom, and now some kind of orphan. Nothing made sense to me anymore.

"I...just...I want to be alone, Levi, just for a second, please." I pleaded in a small voice.

"You sure, I can just sit here with you?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I said not looking at him, without asking more, he got up and left me alone. The image of the locket kept playing in my mind, Ronan was my father, my biological father. After years of not even trying to look for me, he thinks it was okay, to just pick up where he had left off, that's if he had ever been around.

The water soon ran cold, so I got out of the shower, wrapped a towel around me, and crawled into bed. I must've gone to sleep, because when I woke up again, Levi, was laying next to me. I curled close to him, he hugged me closer, and I went back to an unrestful sleep.

A few days passed after the incident with Ronan, and he didn't come around. Now that the shock had passed, my curious mind was now wanting the answers that no one else was able to give, but every time I thought about him,who had been for a while, it made me angry all over again.

As Marcus second, he probably had thought, my mother had ran off with some other guy, and had disappeared with me. That would explain why he never came looking, but I bet Marcus had him, convinced that his family wasn't worth crying over. This level of stress was affecting me greatly, we were close to graduation, and it was hard to focus. I kept messing up or missing steps, and it was causing problems. I couldn't talk to Jen, and I didn't want to add on to Eve. Levi, seemed more busy and handling the shop too, so I didn't want to stress him out even more. I felt so alone, and found myself crying so often, sleeping a lot and just staying away from everyone. I needed to go to the doctor, could werewolves get depressed?

I made an appointment and went at the time and day. The doctor explained that a werewolves could get really bad, and dangerous, so to exercise to help myself be able to process, phase often and to just find ways to get myself out of this funk. He took blood and urine, to see my hormone levels, after I got done, I realized I hadn't started my period, of course Jasmine, explained how that would work now, but I wasn't in any type of heat, or longing to have sex, with Levi, I was just feeling depressed and sad lately. Sighing, I walked out of the clinic, leaving my phone number for them to call me in case of anything.

I took the doctors advice, and called Ronan...well, called and hung up a few times, until I finally let it ring and he answered.

"Hello?" he asked but I had no idea what to say, the words just wouldn't leave my mouth. So I cleared my throat just so he wouldn't hang up, then I spoke.

"It's me." I said lamely, even over the phone I could feel him tense up.

"Did something happen?"

"No, I....I think...there's a talk we need to have, and..huh...I was wondering if you could meet me, at the park."

There was silence for a bit, but I heard him breath deeply.

"In an hour."

"Sure."

"The city park?"

"That's the one."

"See you there."

"Yeah."

I hung up the phone, went up stairs to get something a little warmer on, and then drove to the park.