The Truth

"Pleased to meet you Reina Calysto, or should I say Elena Tepes, daughter of Edmund and Esmeray Tepes, descendant of Dracula himself. I am Vesper Alnwick, a Pure Blood of the Tepes Clan." Said a man with pale skin, dark crimson eyes and black hair neatly combed back. He retracted his wings and began to approach Reina. Jason growled at him in his wolf form, suspicious of Vesper's intentions.

"Pardon our intrusion on your celebration. But I assure you neither I nor my followers are here to cause trouble. We are simply here to invite you back into our ranks where you belong." Vesper said as he bowed before Reina.

"Wait, what you talking about?" Reina asked with a perplexed look on her face. Vesper's facial expression changed into one of surprise.

"Oh, did your parents not tell you that you were adopted?" Vesper asked Reina as he glanced over at Alpha Raizen and Luna Lilia then back to Reina. She looked over to the ones who had raised her with shock, disbelief and a little hurt.

"Is that true?" Reina asked her parents. But before they could answer, Vesper chimed in.

"Oh yes, it's very true. Let me explain if you will. Exactly eighteen years ago in the early evening, you were born to Edmund and Esmeray Tepes, Elders of the Tepes Clan. But later that same night, dark rogue werewolves infiltrated our territory and attacked the Tepes Castle and the village at the foot of the castle. They murdered many of our kin including your birth mother and father. This became known as the Howling Massacre. I'm sure you've heard about it. Moving on, me and all of the highest ranking vampires were away at the time on a very important coven meeting between all the clans in the region. I suspect the dark rogues knew that and took advantage of the opportunity and attacked. Of course, under normal circumstances, your mother and father would have been required to attend the meeting as well since they were the Head Pure Bloods of the Tepes Clan. But they had just had a child and thus were omitted from participating. That aside, one of the castle guards had escaped and notified us of what was going on. We were immediately dismissed from the meeting and rushed back home. When we arrived, the Eclipse Pack had just finished their assistance duties and were on their leave. It was still a complete and utter bloody mess though. Even a vampire such as myself was disturbed at the sight of how much blood had been spilled." Vesper paused and sighed as he remembered what he came home to. The crowd of werewolves just stood there silent with shock.

"Anyways, after seeing the extent of the carnage, I was especially concerned about Edmund and Esmeray and their daughter, you. They were the Head Pure Bloods of our clan after all. I immediately found a surviving castle guard and was told your father sacrificed himself and stayed behind to fend off the dark rogues so you and your mother had a chance of survival. He apologized for not being able to save your father. Unfortunately, we found out that the werewolves got to your mother too. We assumed you were gone as well because the last time she was seen alive was when she was running away with you in her arms." Vesper told Reina the truth. Her head was filled with questions now.

"So if you thought I was dead, then how did you find me here?" Reina asked Vesper who continued his story.

"Based on witness accounts, we assumed that you were deceased. But... there was something that didn't add up. We had a lot of bodies to recover. Many of the corpses were mangled beyond recognition. But being vampires, we can identify others by the taste of their blood. When we counted for all the losses, you were not among them." Vesper explained to Reina.

"Then why didn't you go look for me? You said I was the daughter of the Head Pure Bloods of your clan and a descendant of Dracula himself. Didn't I mean anything to you?" Reina asked the Vesper whose facial expression hardened.

"I wasn't finished explaining everything yet. Please do not interrupt me. Anyways, as I was about to say, though the Eclipse Pack helped us out that night, we didn't even consider the possibility that they would have taken you because of the long history of conflict between werewolves and vampires. And though there has been peace between our two races for over 200 years, there is still tension. The Eclipse Pack is well known for its size and immense influential power in the Celestial Alliance. We thought there was no way they'd take in a vampire and possibly jeopardize their reputation. Werewolves are proud creatures after all. But the more we thought of it, the fact that you were not among our deceased kin or anywhere to be found after the Eclipse Pack left became too much of a coincidence." Vesper paused briefly before continuing.

"We did find you many years back when you were younger. One of our clan members was flying over the Eclipse Pack Territory as a shortcut while running an errand for the clan. That is against the rules, mind you, and he got reprimanded for that. Anyways, he discovered you all alone testing out your vampiric powers. Now there's a reason we didn't just waltz into the Eclipse Pack's territory and take you back then. It's not that simple. That would mean war among the werewolves and the vampires once again. Instead we decided it was best to wait until you turned eighteen and were considered an adult. It'd be better for you decide on your own to come back than for us to take you ourselves. Don't you agree?" Vesper said as Reina just nodded as she tried to process all that she had heard.

"So I will ask you: will you rejoin our kin and go back to where you truly belong? We will welcome you with open arms. You also have a responsibility to fulfill as the former Heads' daughter. Will you take your rightful place as heir to the Tepes Clan throne as the Head Pure Blood?" Vesper asked as he held out his hand to Reina as she thought long and hard about her decision. She couldn't believe her adoptive parents hid all this from her. Why didn't they tell her? Even so, she couldn't just abandon the life and people she'd lived up until now. She had a mate now and everything. Not to mention she was the only heir to Eclipse Pack. She had a responsibility here among the pack too. Plus she didn't know a thing about vampire politics and clan responsibilities. That helped her make her decision.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to politely decline your offer. As the Eclipse Pack Alpha's only offspring, it is my duty to fulfill my role as a Luna even though I'm a vampire, not a werewolf." Reina said as she bowed apologetically to Vesper. He lowered his hand back to his side. His face began to twitch like he was greatly irritated, but he quickly pulled it together and flashed a polite smile.

"Very well then. I shall take my leave now with my followers. You're always welcome to come back to us. After all, we are your kin. Just let me know if you change your mind." Vesper said as he gave Reina what looked like a business card. He backed away and manifested his wings and flew off with his followers right behind him. After the vampires left, the werewolves that had shifted transformed back into their human forms. Reina looked around at everyone. People's eyes were either on her or Alpha Raizen and Luna Lilia. Indistinct murmurs were heard here and there among the crowd.

~Time Skip~

After the Coming of Age Ceremony had ended, the guests began to leave. There was an awkward tension in the air after the vampires had left. Jenna approached Reina and Jason.

"Well congratulations you two! I knew it that you guys were fated to be together." Jenna said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood.

"I guess you really were right Jenna." Reina said as the three of them chuckled. As the laughter died down, the smile on Reina's face faded. An awkward silence filled the air for a moment.

"I have to go find my parents. I'll see you guys later." Reina said as she left Jason and Jenna alone.

"Do you think Reina is okay? She seemed a little upset." Jason said as Jenna looked in Reina's direction.

"I don't know. I'm a little concerned about her. It must be quite a shock to find out her parents kept that big of a secret from her all these years. You may want to follow her and keep an eye on her. She is your mate now after all." Jenna said to Jason who just nodded and started to head off in the direction Reina went. Meanwhile, Alpha Raizen, Luna Lilia, Beta Devin and Gamma Lukas were in Alpha Raizen's office. Beta Devin was arguing with Alpha Raizen.

"I had a bad feeling this would come back to bite us. I know you decided to keep Reina instead of returning her back to her clan, but the least you could have done was tell her she's a vampire. And now she knows, but it wasn't from your mouth that she heard it from." Beta Devin said loudly, sighing with frustration. Meanwhile, Reina arrived just outside the closed door. She hesitated to go inside as she could hear them arguing. She put her ear up to the door.

"I didn't want her to feel out of place in the pack. I was only doing what I thought was best for her." Alpha Raizen said calmly as Reina opened the door, her eyes stinging with the tears threatening to leave them. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She opened the door and stepped inside.

"Why would you think that was for my own good?! You hid my true identity from me! I can't believe you would keep something that important from me!" Reina raised her voice at her father.

"Honey, please calm down. We see you as one of us. You are still our daughter, part of this pack. It doesn't matter that you are a vampire." Luna Lilia said to Reina, gently placing her hand on her shoulder, but she pulled away.

"I don't want to hear that from you. You hid all this from me too! If me being a vampire didn't matter, why didn't you just tell me?!" Reina shouted as Luna Lilia backed off with nothing to counter Reina's argument. Alpha Raizen didn't say anything either. He just sighed, knowing that nothing he could say would make Reina feel any better.

"Nothing to say? That figures." Reina said before turning around to leave, but before she left, she looked back.

"You know it really hurts to know the people that raised me would deceive me like this." Reina said, holding back tears as she stormed out the door, slamming it on her way out.

"Oh boy..." Gamma Lukas said as he stared at the closed door of the office. In the meantime, Reina made her way to the staircase of the pack house, wiping away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. As she walked down the stairs, she could smell Jason's scent.

"I know you're there Jason." Reina said, trying her best not to let her voice quiver from crying. Jason left the spot where he was eavesdropping and revealed himself to Reina. Upon seeing her tear-stained face, he immediately ran up to her and embraced her. It was at this point that Reina, released all her emotions out in the form of tears. Jason comforted her, lovingly stroking her hair as she buried her face in his shoulder as she cried.

"It's okay Reina, let it all out." Jason said soothingly, patting her back. Once Reina had let out all her tears, Jason pulled away and cupped her face, brushing his thumbs beneath both her eyes, wiping away the last of her tears.

"You good now?" Jason asked Reina who nodded her head.

"Come on. Let's get some fresh air." Jason suggested as he held out his hand to Reina who took it. They walked hand-in-hand out of the pack house and transformed into their wolf forms and ran off together. Yes, Reina was able to turn into a full body wolf, but unlike a werewolf who only had wolf shapeshifting abilities, she also had bat shapeshifting abilities. She never showed anyone the bat side of her transformation abilities. She always felt out of place because of it so she never used it. No one else seemed to possess that ability. She shared many of the same powers as the other werewolves, but she also had other powers that everyone else didn't have. Now that she knew she was a vampire, it all made sense. She felt freer now that she no longer had to hide her other abilities now that everyone knew about her true identity. She still wished her parents told her the truth about who she was though. The knowledge about her being a vampire granted her freedom, but it also made her feel torn between her identity as a vampire and as a member of a werewolf pack. Reina and Jason ran until they arrived to the small cave that they called their "secret hideout" that they used to meet up at when they were children. They were too big to fit in it now, but it held so many memories. Plus, it was a prime star gazing location. Reina and Jason stood next to each other staring up at the starry night sky together enjoying the breeze that swept through their fur. Reina glanced at Jason as he continued looking up at the stars. She and him were mates now, but there was something that was on her mind.

"Jason? Are you okay with me, a vampire, being your mate?" Reina asked Jason.