Twisting Her Fate
Chapter 137

"Are you sure you're going to be alright looking after these two while I go out tonight?" "Oscar should be here soon"

"Did Aubrey force him into coming or did he come voluntarily?"

Oscar found his mate in a girl they manage to enlist to help with Leilani's care in pregnancy and birth. The girl had been promised to the beta of her birth pack from a young age and escaped that fate by going and living in the human world. She had nearly completed her midwifery course when the group found her and then, much to everyone's surprise. When Oscar came to see how his niece and nephew were doing, he found his mate.

The letter from Rose, while shocking at first, has changed Oscar's life for the better. He has a sister that he loves more than anything. His mother is finally happy. He managed to meet his mate in the process of being with his family. He has a large group of friends, and, of course, he has the best little niece and nephew in the world.

He has the amber pack running well, pulling it all into line and repairing the name after it was nearly destroyed under the influence of Simon. Oscar dedicates a lot of his time to the amber pack but also spends a lot of his time visiting.

Visiting Lani and her brothers has it all; the enjoyment of a quiet drink with friends, the ruckus of playing with his niece and nephew, he gets the family of being with his mother and sister and he gets the stress relief of going into the prison and beating and torturing Simon.

True to Lani's word. There has never been a peaceful day in captivity for Simon. They change it up, making a big game of it. Seeing who can do the worst to him. They have schedules and everyone is included.

"Just try and keep him away from these two and I think he wanted to pay a visit to Simon anyway"

"I thought it was your turn today Mum?"

Astrid shrugs as she walks towards the kitchen with Elena still in her arms and Ace trailing closely behind.

"I have decided to start cutting down on my own. I don't really need it. Last time I was down there, I made him kneel in front of me and I was looking down at him, he was looking at me with those hazel eyes pleading at me to let him out, like that is something that I would do, like he still considered me the weak person I was back then, thinking he could still manipulate me. I was looking at him and you know what I realized?"

"What did you realize?"

"That he is always going to think that of me. I will never change his opinion of me, no matter how many times I hit him. It won't change his view, but I realized as I was looking at his pathetic state, that I don't need him to know I am strong. I know that about myself, so why should his opinion matter? I don't need him to affect my life anymore. I don't need to carry out any sort of punishment on him because I'm happy now. What he did in the past to me, it doesn't even matter. I have my son. I have my daughter and I have my two beautiful grand babies. Why do I want to be in a dark, dismal place with that person, when I can be out in the light and bright with my family?"

4 weeks after separation

Lani leads the two inside, giving them some clothing from the stash at the door, and sits down on the sofa and indicates to the two to sit opposite.

Four wolves surround Lani as they sit on the floor, keeping a close eye on the two. Lani crosses her legs as she leans back in the cushioned comfort of the sofa assessing the two in front of her.

"You said you have something to discuss?"

Oscar nods, unzipping the small bag in his lap and producing a small pile of folded paper. He stands and hands the letter to Leilani, who looks directly into his eyes as he does. He has the same sort of expression he had at the ball, a non-threatening, interested look in his eyes, only this time the confusion is gone, replaced by something else. If Lani didn't know any better she would think it was love.

Lani shakes her head to clear the strange thought and she looks at the letter in her hand.

"What is this?"

"It is something that changed my whole life. Read this and if you have any questions, ask me at the end"

Lani is not one to go easy on any task. She nods and opens up the letter, reading every word. Oscar and Astrid watch her intently, cringing with every turn of the page. Leilani's face remains emotionless the whole time.

Lani reads the last words and places the whole letter gently on her lap, her stormy blue eyes moving from the explosive documents up to the two in front of her, looking them over once more with a completely different view this time, looking at Astrid's hair that is the exact same color as hers, looking at the boy who has the exact same color eyes as she does. The silence is so thick that the two can hardly stand it but they don't break it, giving Leilani the moment she needs to process it.

Leilani slowly opens her mouth and the two nearly jump out of their skin in anticipation.

"So you think that I am Cora?"

Astrid has to hold the arm of the sofa to stop herself from jumping forward to embrace Lani.

"I know you are"

Lani nods her head.

"Okay"

Two mouths fall open as they watch Leilani's complete acceptance of the words. Oscar can't help but ask.

"Okay?"

"There is a combination of reasons why I believe it. The first night you saw me, you commented about my hair and then looked like your world imploded when I told you I didn't know my parents, then the next time I saw you, your mother..." Lani shrugs and furrows her brow.

"...Our mother.."

Astrid keeps in her seat but the tears flow at the sound of the word.

"...Shouted Cora, there was such confusion in her voice, now this, I am inclined to believe it, as it is hard to make up such a story and it sounds exactly like Simon. That and the obvious physical similarities"

So many things are hard to be faked, there would be no purpose in faking such things. There is no purpose in claiming Leilani as their family, she has nothing to offer them. Oscar wasn't expecting Lani to be so logical about the whole thing and now he isn't sure where to go.

"What do we do now?"

They may be family, but in truth they are nothing more than strangers. Astrid stands.

"Would it be okay if I hugged you?"

By now, the brothers have shifted and are reading through the letter together as they cannot keep up with the developments. Leilani stands up and moves forward into her mother's waiting arms. Astrid wraps her slender arms around her precious daughter, her long lost precious daughter.

Astrid buries her face is Leilani's shoulder and the tears flow once more, raw emotion flowing from the woman. Leilani pats Astrid's back as she comforts her, but there is something about the warmth of a mother's embrace, a warmth that she has never felt before, melting into the embrace more than she was expecting. It feels better than Lani ever could have imagined.

"My Cora, my beautiful daughter, you don't know how much I have missed you. You cannot possibly comprehend how sorry I am, how sorry I am that I failed you, that I failed all of us, that I let you live that life before"

Astrid pulls herself together, knowing that she needs to have the strength. She cups her daughter's face with her small and soft hands, looking straight into Lani's eyes, Harris's eyes.

"Baby girl, you are so much stronger. You are so much more beautiful and you are so much more amazing than I ever could have imagined. I'm sorry for everything that happened before, but just know that I will be in your life as much as you need me, as much as you want me. I want to make up for all the lost time. I hope you will have me"

Leilani can only nod. She feels a connection with this woman that she was not anticipating. It feels like the walls between them have crumbled instantly. Maybe it is that familial bond or maybe, despite it all, she has been craving real family and while her brothers can replace a lot, can they ever really replace a mother's love?

Maybe it is just a fact that none of it was true, she was wanted. Maybe that heals some of the wounds. She was never abandoned from the very start. She was only a victim of a vicious plot.

Oscar moves to the two, pulling both the ladies into his large figure. His massive arms, embracing the two in a bone-crushing hug as tears of his own form in his eyes.

He knows that everything will be different now.

"We have a lot of catching up to do, but for now we need to start working on a safer place to be. For now, I don't want to be found"

Leilani is still torn about the Connor situation and if he was to find them now she would cave and mark him on the spot, claiming him on the spot. Astrid looks at the woman who looks like she isn't about to argue about her being in her life, breathing a deep sigh of relief.

"I think I know of somewhere we could go"

Lani looks at Astrid, interested in what she is going to say. Astrid feels a twinge of pride.

"When your father and I first found out we were pregnant with you, Harris purchased a plot of land. It is about half the size of the original Fusion pack, your father's pack, before it was claimed by the Amber pack. Harris started construction on a medium sized pack house. He wanted to make sure whether you were a boy or girl, that if you wanted to, you could have your own pack to take over one day. It was going to be his gift to you. I haven't been there in a long time and I have no idea what state it is in, but it is protected by a pack border. We just need to swear in an alpha"