Both mother and father sat across from their daughter. Richard couldn't help but stare at her. She really was a beauty. After they were all situated, Alice began to speak.

"I was about sixteen when I met your father. He was about seventeen. I was new in town and I had just arrived to school when I saw him, chatting with another girl. I felt extremely jealous, to the point where I wanted to cause the girl harm. I didn't know why. I barely knew the guy to warrant that response. Then, he must have sensed me because he looked my way. And something clicked. My breath caught in my throat. He was. . . beautiful. . .

Flashback (present.)

'Ow, what was that?'

'It's the bond. We're mates.'

"I thought Luna' was his cute pet name for me. But no one prepared me for the surprise I would get on our first date. He took me to a dinner and a movie, then to the park where he confessed his. . . secret."

"Don't come any closer! Are you insane? I'm not afraid of you! I'm afraid for you! You could get institutionalized for saying things like that. Seriously, that's not funny." By then I was hiding behind the tree, hearing his light laughter carry on through the night.

"He later explained that his size was due to the fact that he was an Alpha, the head of the pack. I'll be honest I was worried that he'll get tired of me and run off with another female. After all I was a human and he was this glorious, sought after Alpha. But he always reassured me that I was his one and only.

"Soon after, I got pregnant with you and I was on my way to tell him. He was away at a pack meeting that he attended for two weeks after graduation. I skipped a grade, which is why I was allowed to graduate." Alice could feel the tears. She took a deep breath and continued on. "When I arrived at his cabin, he opened the door, and I immediately sensed that something was wrong. He no longer had that dazzling light in his eyes. They were hollow and he had bags under them."

"Babe, what's wrong? You know I don't like to see you sad. Did everything go well in the meeting?"

He looked down, dejectedly with hunched shoulders. "The meeting went well but. . . I did something stupid, Al. And I'm afraid that if I tell you, you'll leave me."

I looked at him, worried. "Rick, you're scaring me. Just tell me what's wrong."

There was a long pause before he blurted out, "I cheated on you."

I couldn't believe my ears. I thought I heard it wrong. I was in denial until I saw he had tears running down his face and he wouldn't look at me.

I was angry, hurt, and heartbroken. I reacted the only way I could. I yelled at him. "How could you!?"

Alice always tried to forget that day. It was the worst day of her life. But sadly, she could never forget it, no matter how hard she tried. It would be forever imprinted in her brain. She wiped the tears that fell. Richard's heart wrenched. He wished he could take away the pain. Terra's heart went out to her mother. She couldn't believe her father committed the worst of betrayals. She held the tears at bay. Her mother had never spoken about this before.

"Long story short, I made up my mind to leave him and to never tell him about you. My mother already knew Richard was a werewolf. She thought we were crazy, of course, but he proved himself just like he did that night on our first date and then she came around. So when I told her everything that happened she decided we would move somewhere else, here, to Crescent Falls, in order to start a new life, and to forget what happened. But I never could." Alice sniffled.

"I know I was probably selfish in never talking about what truly happened to your father and admitting the reasons why he wasn't around. But I take full responsibility for--"

"Alice if I may," Richard interrupted. "I would like to say a few words." He looked at Alice, expectantly. She nodded and he began speaking.

"I can't let you take full responsibility because it is my fault, too. I shouldn't have done what I did. And I'm sorry. . . to both of you." He turned to look at Terra and gave her a small, sad smile. "I haven't had the chance to introduce myself. I'm Richard Donoghue, the Alpha of the Eastonwood Pack, south from Crescent Falls, like very very south. I know this must be awkward and you don't know how to comprehend it. You probably hate me and I get that but I want us to get to know each other, and possibly have a father-daughter relationship one day. Again, I am so sorry for having failed you as a father," He turned to Alice. "And as a mate." There were tears in his eyes and he didn't know how to fix this. But he'll be damned if he wouldn't try.

At this point Terra wasn't thinking anymore. She couldn't. All the ideas were jumbled up in her head. All she felt was pain, sorrow, and sympathy in this whole situation. It felt like eons when she finally decided to speak.

"I don't hate you." She sighed and looked down, once again fiddling with her thumbs. "Not anymore, at least." Richard exhaled the breath he didn't realize he was holding. "I always assumed deep down you left my mom because of me. I didn't know that. . ." She was trying to swallow the big lump in her throat. All this time, she thought her dad was a coward who didn't want her or her mother. But he was actually the opposite. Even though he did commit a huge mistake.

"Oh, honey, why would you think that?" Alice went towards Terra, sitting next to her.

"I mean you never talked about it, mom. And one time I overheard you and grandma talking about him. I didn't hear much but I heard that he didn't want you and I just assumed that--"

"He rejected me?" Alice finished, finally understanding why Terra said that long ago when they were discussing her mate situation.

That's when Terra broke down. She could no longer hold in the tears. She was tired of doing that. "Yes, and I never asked about it because I knew it was a sensitive topic." She mumbled, looking at her father. "And I resented you so much. I'm sorry. I didn't know." The tears were like waterfalls now, streaming down her face.

Richard went to sit down on the other side of Terra. "Shh, it's okay. You don't have to apologize, darling. Nothing is your fault. I was just hoping that we could start over. . . as a family. It's fine if you don't want to but it doesn't mean I'm giving up." He chuckled, hoping to lighten the mood. Alice was right there with him.

"I'm sorry too, honey. I should have talked more about your father. . . explained more." She hugged Terra close to her, kissing her head. Richard wished he could hug them both and bask in this mother-daughter embrace but he didn't want to push it until Terra was ready. She sensed this and looked at her father. Her dad."C'mon old man. What are you waiting for? I think starting over sounds pretty good to me." She extended her arms out and Alice smiled, tears of joy clouding her eyes.

To say that Richard was elated was an understatement. When Terra said those words, his heart swelled with love. He immediately didn't think and just embraced both her and Alice, in a bear-like hug, limiting their breathing. He eased his grip when they finally voiced their struggle to breathe and mumbled an apology. They all just enjoyed their family hug. After what felt like ages of peaceful silence they all sighed in relief. They were finally going to be a family.