The Alpha's Stolen Luna - Chapter 195: Chapter 195

: Sutton
“Are you sure you’re okay with me helping you with this?” Helene asked as we got situated in the living room. “After the whole thing with Hannah, I would understand if you wouldn’t…”
“Of course I’m sure, Helene,” I insisted. “She was your mother, too. Just because she gave this stuff to me doesn’t mean you don’t have a right to know what’s in it.”
Helene gave me another hug. She’d been doing that a lot. Not that I minded. Nor did I mind her being a part of this mission that our mother wanted me to go on. I pulled the box across the table and opened it up.
“We got a letter, too, you know,” Helene said as we started to unpack the contents.
“You did?”
“Mhmm,” Helene hummed. “So I don’t know why Hannah seemed so upset about this.”
“I just wish I knew what I did to make her so angry with me,” I said. “I had to have done something for Mason to exploit to make her hate me so much.”
I noticed Helene make a face out of the corner of my eye.
“I hate to break it to you, Sutton, but Hannah has kind of hated you for years,” she said with a grimace.
“What? Why? What did I do?”
“Nothing,” Helene rushed. “You didn’t do anything. Hannah just… Hannah’s had some jealousy issues for a long time. And some anger issues. And some bitterness issues. I’ve barely gotten along with her for years now. I think the only reason she tolerated my presence was because I was sick.”
“I… I don’t understand,” I said. “Why?”
Helene sighed as she spread the stack of love letters over the table.
“After Mom died, Dad leaned on you a lot. He relied on you in a way he didn’t with us,” she said. “Then I got sick and kept getting worse. So, his attention shifted to me. It didn’t help that you were well-liked in other parts of life too — ya know, school, extended family, etc. You fit in wherever you go. And I… well, I get a lot of pity…”
“Helene…”
“No, Sutton, it’s okay,” she said. “I don’t mean anything by that. It’s just the way it is. It’s fine. I’m used to it. Trust me. And I can admit that that pity has brought a lot of kindness with it as well. So I can’t be too put upon over it.”
“But Helene had friends,” I said. “She had her own hobbies and interests. Things she was good at.”
“Oh, I know that,” Helene said. “It just didn’t seem to be enough for her.”
“Oh…” I wasn’t sure what to do with this information.
“Look, I’m telling you this so you’ll stop blaming yourself,” Helene said, taking my hand. “You didn’t do anything. This was all Hannah being Hannah. She made her own choices. And you didn’t have to do anything to help Mason take advantage of her. She had a huge crush on him the moment she saw him.”
I snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure that didn’t help her whole bitter jealousy thing when I ended up with him.”
“Again — not your fault,” Hannah said. “Now, let’s focus on all of this. Is it weird that I’m excited?”
I chuckled. “Why would it be weird?”
“Well, you know, this is about Mom and her relationship with someone who’s not Dad,” she said. “It’s a little strange to be this curious, don’t you think?”
I laughed again. “Not at all,” I said. “I think it could be a good thing to remember that our parents had lives before they were our parents. Helps us appreciate them more.”
“Touche,” Helene replied. “And boy, did our mother have a life. I mean, I’m still trying to wrap my head around her being a lycan. Around YOU being a lycan. I mean… you’ve got to tell me what that’s like.”
I took a deep breath. That was a complex ask. Nova inched closer to the surface of my mind. Her curiosity piqued. She only knew Helene from my memories. And really only the memories I had shared with her. We’d been apart for over five years, so we were getting to know each other again as it was.
“It’s… intense,” I told her with a smile. “I’ll never feel alone again, that’s for sure. Not just because of Nova. I’m connected to Lucas and the rest of the pack now. They’re always a part of me.”
“Nova is your wolf, right?” Helene asked. “So, you’ve… you’ve shifted? You can turn into a wolf now?”
“Yep,” I confirmed.
“Does… does it hurt?”
“It did at first,” I told her. “But it’s a big difference between the first and the times after. Now, it just feels natural. It took some practice though.”
“Can I see?”