I heard her words, but they didn't register as real. I looked back at Alpha Ryan, silently pleading for an explanation.
"Luna Eileen, perhaps you should explain to Clarissa what actually happened," Alpha Ryan suggested gently.
The woman, Luna Eileen, released her embrace.
That's when I clearly saw her eyes. They were red, with prominent traces of tears streaking her cheeks.
A pang of unexpected pain hit me, seeing her cry. The urge to wipe those tears was immense, but I held myself back.
I was asked to sit down.
Luna Eileen immediately took the seat beside me, her eyes locked on my face, making me feel a strange mix of discomfort and warmth.
"What actually happened, Alpha Ryan? Principal?" I asked, determined not to waste another moment.
"She is your mother. Your biological mother," Alpha Ryan replied.
"What? But… weren't my parents criminals? Were they banished from the pack because of their crimes?"
I blurted out the fear I had been fighting to dismiss.
"They are not criminals, Clarissa…"
Alpha Ryan began to explain everything. The individuals banished from the Brown Pack were not my parents, they were my kidnappers.
They had been caught before they could sell me, but they managed to escape while being transported to the Empire's capital.
Alpha Ryan had been unable to question them about my real family.
Since then, the orphanage in the Brown Pack was established solely for me. The other wolves took turns looking after me.
Alpha Ryan and Luna Thalia had tried repeatedly to locate my parents, but to no avail.
They decided to hide the truth until they actually found them, and the entire pack maintained the silence.
Luna Eileen, who had clearly heard this story before, began to weep again, though I assumed less hysterically than before.
"I… I have parents?" I murmured, the realization hitting me.
Luna Eileen pulled me back into her warm embrace. Now I understood the familiar comfort, this was a mother's hug.
Once Luna Eileen composed herself, she recounted the incident from her side.
"After giving birth, I had a chance to see you. I vividly remember your purple eyes and the half-moon birthmark. It's the same as mine…"
She showed me her wrist. The mark was truly similar to mine!
She explained that when I, the baby, was taken to the baby room, I was stolen.
They had searched everywhere but couldn't find me. They couldn't even find a baby with purple eyes. It was rare.
Luna Eileen softly touched my face. "Our eyes are special, dear. They grant us an ancient power. We are not ordinary omegas."
I instinctively recoiled. "Yes, I am not an ordinary omega—I am a defective omega."
I needed her to know I wasn't the daughter she could be proud of.
Maybe she would back down. It felt safer to push her away now before I grew too comfortable.
Luna Eileen smiled warmly.
"I've heard about your condition. You are only seventeen; you still have time before you turn eighteen, before you must find a mate." She paused, her gaze unwavering.
"And I believe your wolf will awaken with your power. I didn't awaken mine until I was eighteen. Don't worry so much about it."
She looked completely unfazed.
'Is she really my mother? Can she really accept me as a defective omega?'
"Do you want to come home with me now? Or should I pick you up this weekend?" she asked again.
I still couldn't think straight.
I was overwhelmed by happiness, worry, doubt, and fear—a dizzying mix of emotions.
It was all too sudden, too unexpected.
Surprisingly, the three adults didn't pressure me. They waited patiently.
Finally, I spoke. "Can you give me more time? I still need to think thoroughly."
"Of course. Let's connect our Communication Orbs, and you can contact me when you feel ready," she said with a beautiful smile.
But I shook my head. "I don't have a Com Orb…"
Communication Orbs were for rich kids. How could an orphan like me have one?
Even Luna Thalia, kind as she was, wouldn't buy me such an expensive device.
She looked briefly shocked but quickly recovered.
"That's fine. Then… your brother will come to you before the weekend. If you want to have dinner with us, just tell him."
"My brother?"
I suddenly remembered the handsome Larry Green who had escorted me. So he was tasked with calling his long-lost sister…
"Now, you have three brothers and one twin sister," Luna Eileen said cheerfully.
What?! I gained four elite siblings at once! They were the famous Green siblings! I couldn't picture myself in the middle of them.
"Lastly, Clarissa…" Luna Eileen gently held both my hands. Whatever she was about to say, I was determined not to be surprised again.
"…Can you call me 'Mom'?"
I blinked. I admit it—I was genuinely surprised.
"M-m…"
It was a foreign word to me. Saying it was much harder than I anticipated.
"Okay, take your time," she said softly.
Luna Eileen was such a kind, graceful, and gentle person. If she was my biological mother, wasn't it all too good to be true?
I wasn't used to this. Lately, my fate had been anything but kind. Doubt still gnawed at me.
Despite my internal monologue, Luna Eileen left the school after the Principal convinced her she had to go.
Until she was out of sight, she kept looking back at me with a lingering, loving gaze.
Meanwhile, Larry was nowhere to be seen. He was probably back in class.
...
After meeting my birth mother, Luna Eileen Green, nothing immediately changed in my life.
Classmates, except Nadia, avoided me, and students from other classes continued to mock me.
The meeting felt like a beautiful, shocking dream.
Until Larry Green showed up once more in front of my class, looking for me.
"What is your relationship with Larry Green? This is the second time he's come to our class for you!"
Nadia whispered, her hand covering her mouth in shock.
I didn't have time to explain to her—not yet.
Before I could reach my suddenly-appeared brother, Oscar blocked my path. He stood proudly in front of Larry, addressing him.
"Larry Green, stay away from a girl like her! She only wants to climb using your status. She is manipulative, she will suck you dry!"
My anger boiled over. Oscar… he really wanted to taste my punch again.
Before my hand could even twitch toward his hair, a cold, stern voice belonging to Larry was heard,
"Get lost."
...