Lady and the Wolf [Book One, Lady and the Wolf Series] -Published-

Chapter Fifteen: That, We Do Not Forget

He knew the feeling of complete abandonment. He knew the sensation of abandoning and being abandoned, and yet, he couldn't change a thing about himself. However, he could hang on to what little sanity remained. He hoped Aiden would never turn into what he had become. To become insane, he had to have been sane at one time. He laughed at the irony.

Sighing, Van shook his head to try to clear the fog around him. If he hadn't opened that Goddamn drawer, he wouldn't be thinking these mundane thoughts. It was possible he had opened the drawer to just catch a glimpse of it; it had been so long after all. As soon as he spied the object in question, all the memories came flooding back of that night centuries ago when he was just a child left on the doorstep of the Volkov's, the night she left and never returned.

Van growled and stood from his seat. Whenever he was in a decent mood, something always crushed it. Something always pulled him back to that time. He hadn't thought much of her existence since his last return to his homeland. That night usually came in brief memories; the most vivid one was when he had realized she caused his insanity when she saved his life. He had spent much of his adult life looking for her, wondering if she had died of old age or just floated from one life to another.

He could feel them getting closer, but the crunch of snow that seemed to be right beside him made Van jump back, frightened and trembling.

"It's okay. I won't hurt you."

Her voice was soft and caring. He looked up to take her in against the misty flakes that had previously blurred her out.

He let out a small growl, the kind an animal made when cornered. This didn't deter her as she used one hand to gently brush against his arm. "Don't be scared. I'm here now. I won't let anything happen to you, Van."

"Van?"

Van, momentarily distracted with the memory of that night, jumped slightly. He was rarely caught off guard but bounced back to reality quickly.

Van hadn't heard that voice in a long time, but the familiarity of it brought back good feelings. "Valentina, how are you?"

Her smile was that of sadness. "Today is a happy day, Van. Why are you sad?"

Van's brow arched a mile high. He had meant to block himself off but remembering the girl that saved his life as a child had left him open, and so his pack had felt his emotions. "I don't get sad, Valentina. How is Anton?"

She stepped closer, and Van averted his cold stare. The closer she got, the more she noticed the open drawer that always stayed locked. Staring at the trinket inside the drawer, she understood what Van had been thinking. She had almost forgotten it was that time of year.

"We have not forgotten, but we do not wish to remember—we forgot for your sake, Van. I know your mother and father are watching over you, and they would be so proud of the man you grew up to be." Her eyes were downcast and staring intently into that stupid drawer.

Van knew as soon as Valentina realized he wasn't at ease, she would be at his side. That was just the kind of woman she was. She was one of Van's closest friends, and through her, Anton had become one of his best allies. However, he treated them no differently to the rest of his pack.

"It was good to see Konstantin again, but I was slightly hurt that I was able to see our protector before our alpha. I was so busy trying to wrangle in Melor that I didn't have much time to talk." She paced the office, looking it over carefully as if it had been decades since she had stepped foot in there. "I had to apologize to Anton for making him babysit the pups. It was quite funny, however."