Rosalyn's POV.

"Rosalyn, you worthless, pathetic excuse for a child. I can't believe you came from my womb. Why can't you do anything right? I told you you better make sure dinner is ready by the time I take my bath and get back down the stairs."

Let me introduce myself: my name is Rosalyn Parker; I'm a werewolf and the mother of a beautiful, amazing 17-year-old boy. My life was never the best…who am I kidding? It was horrible. My mother abused me verbally, and my brother and father acted like I didn't exist. I always wondered why my mother hated me ever since the day I was born. She always treated me like an outsider to the point where I thought I was adopted, and she was tired of taking care of someone else's child. That would explain why she treated me the way she did, but my theory was tested and proven wrong, and I was left wondering. However, I decided to never let my son feel the way my mom made me feel when I was younger.

I was pulled from my thoughts when my son kissed me on the cheek. He was my most precious possession in the world.

"Buongiorno, mamma," (Good morning, Mom) said my son, Alessandro, after kissing me on the cheek.

"Good morning, my baby boy," I replied with a smile.

"Mom, I am not a baby anymore, you know. Can't you find another nickname for me? I'm 17 years old," he whined.

I laughed as he scrunched up his nose at the name I called him.

"Well," I drawled out, "no matter how old you get, you'll always be Il mio piccolo bambino (my baby boy)."

"Fine, Mom, you win, but just so you know, you're only allowed to call me that within these walls."

"Whatever you say, mi bambino. Now go grab your coat and meet me by the car. We're having breakfast with the Alpha and the Luna. Plus, I have to clean out the storage room for the new arrivals before opening up the café."

Alpha Zander and Luna Gabriella had been like my second parents since I arrived in Italy 17 years ago. I ran into them after my first week here. I was out of money and hadn't eaten in a day. They were kind enough to buy me something to eat. That was when I told them everything that happened—from my mom verbally abusing me to my mate rejecting me and then finding out I was pregnant. After much convincing, they brought me back to the packhouse, and I officially became a member of the Blood Moon pack.

Everyone in the pack had been nothing but accepting and gentle towards Alessandro and me since we arrived. However, even though we'd always have a home at the packhouse, I couldn't live there. I wanted to fend for myself, so a year after Alessandro was born, I moved into our current home not too far from the pack. I also got a job and saved money until I was able to open my café, which was now a buzzing business and the local hangout spot for members of the pack, humans, and some other supernaturals. I snapped out of my thoughts when I realized Alessandro was yelling at me, telling me we had arrived. The Alpha and Luna were outside, waiting on us to open up the café so we could have breakfast.

Breakfast went by very quickly as the Alpha and Luna were in a hurry. They had stopped by to give us the exciting news that they were having a child and wanted us to come by the packhouse for the celebration. After they left, Alessandro went to school while I cleared out the storage room and got the café ready for the busy day ahead.

Today was an extremely busy day—even more so than expected, and after closing time, all I could think about was having a nice hot bath and lying down in my soft fluffy bed to rest. As I opened the door to my three-bedroom apartment, I heard my phone buzzing. I saw I missed my brother's call and decided to call him back before taking my bath. Alessandro was up in his room, so I told him to heat the leftovers in the fridge if he was hungry, as I was too tired to cook dinner tonight. I dialed my brother's number and held the phone to my ear; after the second ring, he picked up.

"Hey, baby sis, how was your day?"

"It was good. I'm a bit tired, but I'll manage," I replied.

"Ok, make sure you don't overwork yourself, though. By the way, I have some exciting news."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Well, it has been a year now since my mate and I found each other…"

"And?"

Mates were a touchy topic for me, and Michael knew that, so it must be important if he brought it up. I'd gotten to know his mate quite well, though we'd never met. Genevieve was such a sweet woman.

"Well, we're getting married!!!" he yelled.

Rosalyn's POV.

I started panicking internally as soon as he uttered those words. I knew where he was going with this, but I couldn't go back there. I couldn't face the place that had destroyed me. Plus, I hadn't told him about Keshaun being my mate; he just knew that I was rejected, and the reason I left was that I couldn't handle the pain.

"Sis, you there?" I heard Michael's voice, bringing me back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm still here," I replied.

"Look, I know it's sudden, and I understand if you say no, but I was hoping that you would come to my wedding. It's not until next month, but as you know, Genevieve's mom passed away when she was young, and she was hoping you could help her plan the wedding. Plus, it would give me a chance to meet my nephew in person."

I sighed in defeat when he played the "Genevieve's mom is dead" card. He knew Genevieve and I had developed a bond over the time I knew her, so if she asked me to be there, I wasn't gonna disappoint. Plus, it was my big bro's wedding day, and I was not gonna let those assholes stop me from being there for him. I just didn't know how I was gonna convince Alessandro to come or allow me to go. He knew about his father and my parents. I remembered the day I told him everything; he was four years old.

Flashback:

"Mommy, why doesn't Daddy want us?"

"What do you mean, baby?"

"Well, I had a dream last night, and I saw Daddy telling you that he doesn't want you, and you left your house and ran into the woods."

I stared at Alessandro with shock all over my face. He was talking about the night I got rejected, but I hadn't mentioned my rejection since the day I met the Alpha and the Luna, so how did he know about it?

"Mommy, are you okay? You're doing that thing where you stare at the wall again."

"I am. Sorry, honey. Mommy was just thinking. By the way, how did you know that Daddy doesn't want us? That was just a dream."

"I don't know. I guess I've always known. It was more like a feeling; I can't explain it. So do you know why he doesn't want us, Mommy?

End of flashback.

That day, I explained everything that happened in my life the best way I could so a four-year-old mind could understand. I made sure to tell Alessandro that even though his father rejected me, that didn't mean he wouldn't accept him. I gave him the choice to meet his father, but every time I brought it up, he said no.

I told my brother I would be at his wedding. He asked me to fly out next week because I explained to him that I had a pack celebration in a few days. Plus, I had to talk to my Alpha to gain permission to attend the wedding. We discussed travel arrangements, and then I ended the call. I decided to take a bath and get myself something to eat because I would need the energy to tell Alessandro that we were going back to California.

This was going to be a long night.