onyx

"Onyx? Is it really you?" The woman cries.

I stare at her, I open my mouth to try to reply but my voice is caught in my throat. The more I stare at her, the more I have to fight back tears. Her face is foreign to me but it looks so familiar at the same time- similar to my own.

Not trusting my voice, I nod at her. More tears stream down her face and in a flash, she pulls me into a hug.

"Oh, Onyx!" She cries.

My body is stiff, I want to hug her back but I can't. She pulls away, tears still streaming down her face and frowns at me.

Answers.

I had wanted them ever since I shifted back into my human form. I wanted to know who I was and meet my family if I had any, but now that I'm here, I don't know what to do.

"Where have you been for all these years?" The man's-my father's- deep voice questions.

I blink a few times before looking at him and then back to the floor. His eyes held pain; the pain of believing your child was dead for years.

"I-I don't know," I tell him honestly. "I can't remember anything from before I shifted and met Gaius."

As if on cue, Gaius grips my hand. It's like he knew I needed his support right now. I squeeze it tighter as the woman begins to fall apart even more than she already was.

"You-you don't remember us?" Her voice is broken and I slowly shake my head.

The man frowns and pulls his mate closer to him as she cries. I'm sure my face mirrors his as well.

"I'm sorry to break up this reunion," Councilman Steele apologizes but his words couldn't sound more fake if he tried. "We came here to find out just how exactly did Onyx go missing from the pack lands?"

The room went silent and tension filled the air. I frowned as I watched my parent's eyes look everywhere but at me.

"There was a war in our pack-" Alpha Raina started but the woman's head shaking caused her to pause.

"Thank you, but I think this is a story we have tell," she told Alpha Raina.

Alpha Raina nodded in understanding. In some ways, she reminded me of Gray.

"As Alpha Raina stated, when you were younger, our pack was at war with another. It was originally a fight for open land in between the territories, but after your uncle's death, your cousin took over the pack-"

"So Onyx's cousin is the alpha?" Councilman Steele interrupted.

The woman nodded. "Yes, Alpha Raina's father was my brother. After he died, his eldest son took over- Alpha Triton. Alpha Triton wasn't as calm as the rest of his family, he believed he was entitled to the free lands so when a wolf from the neighboring pack was killed by him, they were obviously upset."

My grip on Gaius hand tightened. "What happened next?" I asked hesitantly.

She smiled sadly at me. "Your father and I had to go to work one day, we lived closer to the pack borders so I was worried for you. Alpha Triton was positive they wouldn't retaliate, but he was wrong. They had stalked the house and waited for us to leave before going after you. Since you were a late shifter, it was harder for you to protect yourself and they took you," she broke down into tears.

"After you were taken, Triton-that bastard-took a measly twenty warriors with him and charged into pack lands. He severely underestimated the pack's strength since their current alpha at the time was sick and because of that, it costed him his life which is how Alpha Raina came to power," The man finished for her with clenched fists.

"After Alpha Raina took over, we managed to win the war after months of fighting. By that time, there was already no sign of you so we assumed the worst had happened," Beta Umber said.

"What pack was this?" Gaius asked. Hesitation passed through the woman's eyes and Gaius raised a hand and placed it in hers. "Please, we think they may be after Onyx."

Alpha Raina shook her head. "That's not possible, they were all killed."

"Are you sure they all were?" Councilman Steele raised an eyebrow.

The two stared at each other as if they were having a silent conversation. Meanwhile, Gaius stared at the woman, his eyes silently begging her to tell us.

"It-It was the Dark River Pack," she whispered.

The Dark River Pack.

I wouldn't forget that name.

"Are there any living family members you know of? Please, it's important," Gaius asked Alpha Raina.

She broke her cold gaze away from Councilman Steele and sighed before opening her laptop and beginning to type away. She sat still for a few minutes before a brows furrowed and she showed the screen to Beta Umber.

"One," she said looking at us. "But he's a human."

"Anything helps," Gaius told her.

She nodded. "His name was Dexter Freeman."

Dexter.

Something about that name was familiar. I closed my eyes and gripped my head. Gaius called out to me, but the only thing I could make out was that jagged smile from my earlier memories.

"Gaius," I called out before my eyes rolled back and I passed out.