Aida POV

I feel as though I'm floating in space. I'm not aware of anything around me, beneath me, or above me. I am aware only of a distant beeping sound, an annoying constant beep.

But that's all. Am I dead? Is this an afterlife? Crap. Well, if I'm dead that's pretty disappointing.

I don't really have a highlight reel to look back on and smile about. I think the last few days of my life may have actually been the best. Meeting Argent. He was so special. If ever there was a chance in my life that someone was going to be something to me, I think it may have been him.

Wow. My life sucked.

What even happened? I try to recall the last thing I can remember actually happening. I was in the lab. With a girl, Argent's sister. And there was blood. I lost a lot of blood. And that's all I can remember.

It's dark. Are my eyes closed? Or is this heaven just perpetually black? And what is that irritating beeping noise? Maybe if I try to open my eyes ...

I feel something happening. I try to flicker my eye lids open, but they feel stuck together. Suddenly, I am aware of something warm on my hand. A soft buzz running between the warm thing and me.

I know this feeling. This is what happens when I touch Argent. I may not be dead.

I try to open my eyes again. This time, I see small fragments of light filter in. I slow the blinking down and just work on keeping them open for short periods of time until they feel less dry and sore.

Finally, I can start to make out my surroundings. In the dimly lit room, I can make out a small hospital setting. A few beds, two on each side of the room, the girl from the lab lying beside me, a man at a desk, and two sleeping men.

One of them is Argent, who holds my hand.

I feel myself try to smile, but my face feels dry and stiff. I move my hand in his just a little, and he startles awake. He stares at me, and the most beautiful smile breaks across his face. His eyes are moist.

He leans over me and kisses my hand.

If I wasn't laying down on his bed, I would have fallen over. The spark that his gentle kiss sent through my entire being was electric. If I do indeed die today, my life just jumped up a whole notch!

He calls out to the man sleeping at the desk, "Marcus, she's awake!"

The man called Marcus looks up and smiles. He comes over to my bedside and places his hand on my head, then on the inside of my wrist. He looks over the monitors that are attached to various cords running along my body. He then smiles at Argent, apparently happy with what he has noted.

"You gave us quite a scare, Miss Aidalyn. I'm glad to finally meet you."

I try to say something in return, but my throat is dry. He merely nods and goes to get a jug from his desk. He puts a small amount of water into a cup and digs around in the bedside table next to me for something, finding a straw and placing it in the cup.

"Slowly at first, hun. You have had a big night."

I nod and take a small sip of the cool water. This might just be the best thing I've ever tasted. He smiles and takes another look at the monitors, then walks back to the desk, glancing over at the bed next to me.

I watch Argent follow his gaze. "Is she ... Is she going to be okay?" I whisper to Argent. My throat is so sore. What happened to me? To us?

I wait for him to reply.

"We don't know. You both have been through something horrible tonight, but Amalie had so many things done to her. We just don't know where to start. The doc has been working on it all night." He gestures to the desk where Marcus is poring over a stack of papers and books open in front of him.

What did Dr. Jasper do to us? Why did he do that to us? To me?

I lay still on the bed as Argent stands up and walks over to his father and sister.

I close my eyes and try to think about anything I can remember that might help me understand why any of this has happened.

I have lived at BetaStone for almost a whole year. I can't remember Dr. Jasper doing any other brash tests like this. He did take my blood every week, and he was always altering my medication, but that was because he said he was trying to work out the levels of medication that were right for me.

What else am I missing? In all our conversations, he was always polite. Helpful. Kind, even. I genuinely thought he was trying to help me. He asked a lot of questions about my past; he wanted to know where I grew up and how. It was all pretty bleak, really. We discussed my constant jumping through foster homes until I was put into BetaStone.

When he took me to BetaStone, that is.

As I lay on the bed, eyes closed, I remember a fragment of a whispered conversation. It almost feels like a dream, but it's not. My mother. Dr. Jasper said he knew my mother.

He said she was his wife.

My eyes shoot open. I hear an alarm ringing right next to my head. All three sets of male eyes are immediately on me. Argent and Marcus are at my bedside in seconds.

"Aida, what is it? What's wrong?" Argent asks, frantically looking me over.

The doctor , frowning in thought. "She's fine. She seems to be having a panic attack of sorts."

Argent holds my hand again. "Aida what is it? Are you in pain? Tell me, please." I look at his desperate beautiful face and place my hand on his cheek. He really is genuinely concerned about me. I breathe deeply and try to calm myself down.

I whisper the words in my head to him. Something I have just now figured out. "Dr. Jasper said something to me last night. He knew my mother. He said she was unwell like me too. That she was a wolf. That I am a wolf."

He smiles. "I knew it. And you linked too."

I hesitantly nod and continue. "That's not all. When I asked how he knew my mother, he said that my mother was his wife."

I see the smile fall from Argent's face, and a look of confusion replaces it. His father is at our side now. "It can't be. Because if that's so, you ... you would be—" Argos stops mid-sentence. "Aida, how old are you?"

I look at his face. He and Argent wear the same confused look. "I'm seventeen," I reply. They exchange a knowing look. "What is it?" I press, looking from one to the other.

"What do you know of your parents, Aida?" Argos sits now, speaking softly to me at my bedside. Argent stands at his side.

I shake my head and shrug. "Not much. I grew up in the foster system. I was moved from home to home each year. I never knew why, since I didn't make trouble. I know I was always unwell. I saw the nurses each week. They would come and do tests and give me medications."

They both listen closely, taking in everything I say. Argent wears a sad expression. This is why I don't often speak of my childhood. It makes people sad or feel sorry for me.

It's all I've ever known.

"It continued this way until last year. I woke up in a strange house. There were people everywhere. Hurt or ... or dead. I don't know what happened. Jasper turned up and took me to BetaStone."

They sit in silence looking at me and then at each other.

I decide to say the thing that has been whirling around in my head. I say it out loud so that it becomes real. "I think that I am ... I think that Dr. Jasper might be my father. And a woman called Marina was my mother."

They both nod slowly. I think they already knew.

I furrow my brow. "Did you know her?"

Argos nods. Argent smiles a small, sad smile.

"Marina and Jasper were members of our pack. Marina was born overseas and met Jasper while she was a student at college here. She perished some time ago in difficult circumstances with her youngest child, a new-born baby girl."

I stare blankly at Argent's father.

"Aida, do you know what this means? You are a rightful member of our pack. You are a Beta's daughter. And you have a living brother, James. Our current Beta."

I sit still, stunned and in shock.

I have a family. I had a family. And I still have a brother.

I am a member of Argent's pack.

I am not alone anymore.

I smile at Argent and Argos as tears fall down my face. They both hold my hands.

"Welcome home, Aidalyn. I can't wait to tell your brother." Argos smiles at me and stands to leave the room. He takes a quick glance at Amalie, and Marcus nods at him.

He leaves without another word.

Argent takes my hand. "I suppose this is as good a time as any to teach you what a mate is, if you want to learn."

I frown as he wipes some of my tears off my cheek.

My mind is in a million pieces right now, but for the first time in a very long time, I feel like I belong somewhere. I still have a lot to find out, much to learn, and more to catch up on, but I'm home. And I've never said that before.

It feels nice.