Freeing Anvi

Chapter Twelve

"I don't understand this," I say. The locket feels heavy in my hands, like a weight is strapped to my wrists.

"There isn't much to understand about it," Jackson looks down at me as he dries his hair with a damp towel. "It's yours, isn't it? Oscar was just returning it to you."

"Yes, but..." I hesitate. Something about the necklace just feels...wrong. I have vague memories of my mother wearing the locket, but why would Luna Hailey have it? If anything, I had assumed that my old Alpha had sold it after selling me.

Jackson frowns. "What?" He asks. He's still on edge, jealousy reeking off of him. Inside it makes me laugh. He looked barely able to control himself when Oscar hugged me, or the little touches he gave me. It was an old habit of his, and I didn't find anything wrong with it. I'm just glad that Jackson didn't do anything. He knew his limits, which was good, I suppose

I shake my head and sigh. "Nothing," I say. I move to put the necklace on the table, then pause. Mama's name catches my attention and it holds me in place, like a net has been thrown on me. Even my heart slows it's running to allow for my mind to take in the scripture for what should be the hundredth time that day.

Akanksha Bachan.

Mama and I had almost the same names, I realize. At least, both Anvi and Akanksha start with an 'a'. We looked alike, too, and our mannerisms were the same. I just hope that I don't end up like her too.

"Don't worry too much about that," Jackson's voice brings my gaze away from the necklace and to his dancing eyes. He drops the towel on a chair by the balcony and picks up an orange manila folder. He sits on the edge of the bed and opens the clasp, pulling the papers out slowly. "It's just a necklace, after all. You don't have to wear or keep it if you don't like it."

"It's not that," I say. "I'm just surprised. I...never expected to see it again. I thought when I went to Banastre's, my old Alpha had sold everything of mine already."

Hearing both my old Alpha and Banastre's name in one sentence makes Jackson's back straighten. His grip on the papers slips a little and he turns to look at me. He's trying to feign disinterest, but I can see that there's some calculations going on behind his eyes.

"So, then why would Oscar have it?" He asks. "Or Hailey? Did they know about your old Alpha?"

I shrug. "I don't know. If they did, then they never mentioned it." I bite my lip. "That was two years ago, Jackson. I doubt they would have kept this from me for this long if they had known before. Besides...my pack disbanded shortly after I left for Banastre."

"You don't know anything about your pack?" Jackson glances at the folder, then back at me. "The Alpha, do you remember anything about him?"

I wince. "I chose not to. It was a dreary moment of my past, and I'd rather keep it in the dark. Besides, it's not a very fun topic."

"Oh...okay," Jackson nods and stands up. He pushes the papers back into the folder and tosses them onto the desk by his side of the bed. We had been sleeping next to each other since my nightmares kept coming back. Each time it was something new. Sometimes a lucid dream, sometimes Alpha Banastre, sometimes the death of my parents. But no matter what it was, it never failed to wake me up, panting and in cold sweat, furiously patting the covers for something concrete to hold onto and make sure that what I had seen was only just a dream.

"What paper is that?" I ask as I set the locket on the table beside my side of the bed.

"Oscar gave it to me," Jackson answers. "It's a file on Banastre. The one I had was half empty, so I asked him if he and Hailey could fill it out for me."