Chapter 31

Things had changed. Now that she had her memories, she was more confused than ever.

Was going back home an option?! Could she ever live her life as Goldie Parson again? Would she ever be able to see her parents? Or even Colin?!

To think that she had met her mother and Colin on two occasions and she didn't recognise them. They didn't recognise her too, they would never believe she was Goldie Parson. In fact, it would come off as an insult if she went to them and told them what happened.

She wished she could do something about it, because she knew her parents were grieving. And taking her loss pretty badly. She was their only child and her parents loved her a lot. They were a complete little family and now she wondered what was going to become of them without her being there.

Her father would bury himself in work. He would say he was fine but he would come back home late, drink himself to sleep and keep his feelings to himself. Her mother would not be able to handle his absence, but she would be too consumed in her own guilt to reach out to him. She would keep her room as it was, regularly visiting, she would visit her graveyard often, because she would want to talk to her.

Her parents would never move on from her death and she didn't think that time would make it easy on their relationship either.

It was a horrible thing. And now that she knew that she was awake, back in another body, it felt like a punishment.

She would never be able to live the life she knew ever again.

She had dressed up after resting and decided to go downstairs and say hello to Ellen. The poor woman must have been very worried sick about her. And she wanted to let her know that she was fine.

Her bruises were healing very nicely, but she couldn't deny that her body still racked with pain. The painkillers had managed to take the edge off, but they wore off very quickly. Marielle had been confused with the fact that she didn't heal as she should have, claiming that the fact that she was a werewolf should have been enough to heal her injuries and wounds.

But now she knew the truth. The wolf didn't respond to her because it wasn't hers to command. She wondered if it had died with the real Valentina, or it just chose to be unresponsive to her commands. Maybe that was the reason that despite the fact that she was a full born werewolf like they had mentioned, her wolf was still nowhere to be found and she felt positively human.

Ellen was in the garden, a book in her hand, her black hair in a bun atop her head. Even with the book in her hand she was staring at the rose shrubs, till she heard Valentina l's footsteps.

She looked up and smiled widely when she saw Valentina.

"Oh Valentina." She murmured, her voice carried a hint of sadness as she looked upon Valentina's bruised face. She had a black eye and a bruise under her chin that was now red.

"Hi Ellen."

She murmured. Slightly embarrassed as Ellen enveloped her into a bone crushing hug.

"Why do you keep running away?!"

She asked and Valentina stayed mute. She would have protested, she would have said something if she didn't have her memories back but now she chose to stay mute. She didn't have a reasonable explanation for running away, at least not anymore.

"I'm sorry for worrying you."

"I was very very worried. Remy too even though he would never admit it. He didn't sleep, he would take a run in the woods to clear his head several times in a day."

"Oh."

"Yes! He was hesitating at first, but then I found out he had been trying to find you all along, he also got the airport to show camera footage from that day and they saw you leaving the airport alone and unharmed. I think that must have really hurt him."

Ellen's voice carried a lot of emotions and Valentina felt stricken with guilt.

"I know."

She sighed as she sat down on one of the benches. The garden was long and beautiful. The air was filled with the sweet fragrance of blooming flowers and the gentle rustling of leaves. It was a vibrant tapestry of colors, textures, and shapes.

Valentina wondered why she didn't go there often, it was peaceful and beautiful, almost like a mini sanctuary, besides, it was designed in a way that it looked like it was walled off from the house, giving whoever was in the garden a lot of privacy.

"Do you? Do you really know?"

Ellen asked and Valentina stayed quiet.

"You forget yourself Valentina. You forget who you are."

"I don't know who I am."

Valentina answered. It was true, she knew nothing about the real Valentina. Nothing of her past, no bit of information that could help her, in fact, in all honesty, she didn't think anyone actually knew the real Valentina.

"You lost your memory, I know that but still, you're a werewolf and our world is a dangerous one. Why did you think it was safe for you to go back to the town where you had mysteriously turned up dead?!"

Ellen was right. That should have been a warning for her.

"I don't know what you did in your past or what is chasing you, but I do know my son. And I know that Remy would do anything to protect you. You don't have to keep running."

That was the thing. She wanted to trust Remy, she wanted to believe that he would protect her and keep her safe, but was he truly honest? Was he being honest with her or was he just using her?

She didn't know if his actions towards her were genuine. And it was confusing, because there were a lot of times where she really wanted to believe that he was being truthful with her, but she couldn't tell.

Everything about him and his union with the real Valentina had been fishy from the start. The fact that they were mates yet they didn't have the love that mates were supposedly supposed to have. The fact that the real Valentina had run away from him before. And the fact that he had told her everything, literally everything he claimed there was to know about werewolves and their world but he never mentioned the ritual to her.

"Thank you Ellen. I only came to say hello, I must go back to rest."

Valentina said dismissively as she stood up from the bench.

Ellen stood up too.

"Are you hungry? You haven't really eaten anything. What should the chef make for you?"

She was craving pizza. Pizza with lots of cheese and basil and pepperoni.

"Actually there is one thing I want. I'd kill for a pepperoni pizza right now."

She said and Ellen raised her eyebrows.

She looked at her in amusement, as if she couldn't quite believe her words.

"You want a pizza?!"

"Yes. I'd really like one."

..

"They're not wolves from any pack. I checked and checked and checked."

Kale said as he stood in front of his alpha. Remy had his head bent over his table, looking at his laptop.

He rubbed his face in frustration. He didn't find anything of the bastards that attacked Valentina. And the more time he spent trying to find them, the harder it git, it infuriated him.

"That's weird. Rogue wolves?! What would they want with her??"

Kale shrugged.

"Perhaps it has to do with something from her past? There's a lot we don't know about her."

He answered and Remy nodded.

Well he was right. There was a lot they didn't know about Valentina.

"She said they were asking for something. I want her to get enough rest before asking her more questions. But those guys they bother me."

"How?! If they're truly rogue wolves, then they're a useless bunch. We can take them."

His beta sounded confident.

"Oh that's not my problem with them. I just want to know what they wanted from her. I mean what would she ever have to do with wolves like that anyways?"

"They were very brutal. Very aggressive and they didn't even care enough not to hit a defenseless lady. That says a lot about who they are."

Kale nodded in agreement.

"They're not any better than trash alleycats."

"You said you managed to grab an ID off of one of them right?"

Remy nodded. He reached out to his table and pulled up a driver's license from the table.

It was one of the men that were in the house, he had been lucky to find an ID on one of them.

Now he just she to figure out who the hell Timothy Grass was.

And what he wanted with Valentina.

"And Valentina? How is she?"

Kale asked and Remy smiled.

"She's recovering pretty fast. That reminds me, she wants some pizza, you have to send someone to pick some up."

Kale frowned slightly.

"It still baffles me. Why didn't she heal on her own?"

"The memory loss?"

Remy provided an answer, even though he wasn't entirely sure of it The question had been bothering him too but he didn't want to dwell on it at all.

"I doubt it's that she's full of many mysteries isn't she?"

Remy smiled as he touched his chin.

"She sure is."