Page 100 of Nest Of Lies

“They are my scent matches.”

“NO! They aren’t!” Andy snarls. “These are your scent matches.”

I stare at him, loathing him, feeling and hearing the thunder of my heart in my ears and wondering why he’s trying so hard to hurt me.

Andy holds out a folder to me. “I took the liberty of getting your scent and going hunting for your perfect match. Those filthy Mirakill bastards aren’t your scent matches. They just want you to get back at me. Somehow, they found out about my connection to China, and they decided to take it out on you. I had people watching your mansion, and when I saw them sniffing around, I did some digging. I knew they were up to no good.”

I walk to the folder. Half of me wants to ignore it, but I have to look to prove it’s not true. If I can just find one lie, I can disprove everything he’s saying and go home.

I flip it open and look down at the information. According to all the science, all the information, these strangers are my scent matches. I study the bios, not really seeing them. They aren’t mine. They aren’t!

The Mirakill pack is not mine, a tiny voice whispers.

Yes, they are!My heart screams. They’ve always been mine.

My knees buckle, and I catch myself on the table, holding myself upright. I feel sick. My eyesight gets blurry, and I drag in a deep lungful of air that does nothing.

A keen breaks from my throat, the panic that wells up rips through me like a blunt blade, tearing me apart. The grief…is unspeakable.

They said they loved me.

Theyaren’t mine.

I step back, my panic and grief so raw that I can’t hear anything but my own inner screams.They said they loved me! They said they were mine! The pack will leave me. I’ll be alone.

Alone.

Forever.

“Lia!”

“Lia!”

Someone grabs me, shakes me, but I lash out. My hand collides with something hard, and I’m free. I back into the corner and slowly sink down into the floor. My arms wrap tightly around my legs.

My wails fill the air.

What am I if I don’t have them?

What do I do without them?

I have nothing.

I have no one.

I am alone.

I am…all alone.

I can’t go home. No home. No pack. No mother.

Distantly, I hear screams, but nothing makes sense. All I feel is pain, something deep inside rending me in two.

“Call an ambulance!” I hear it from a distance. The words make no sense.

“I told you to leave her alone! You’re an asshole, Dad.”

I lie in thebed, staring at the wall. Nothing matters, and I have no desire to live. I trace the shadows the curtains leave on the wall over and over.

---