I know that it's been forever since I've posted, but inspiration struck! I'll be working on all of my stories but won't make any promises as to when they'll be updated. To everyone still reading, here's the continuation of chapter 6. Hope you like it!

My beautiful Morgan,

I hope that you will never have to read this. It is not a letter I would want to write to my daughter. If what I fear happens, I want you to know how much I love you and how much I tried to do for you. I hope that you are happy with a loving family and the wonderful life I know I would not have been able to give you. And I hope, too, that one day you will be able to forgive me for giving you up. Please believe me that I did it to protect you, and not because I didn't want you. I hope that I'll be able to keep this letter to myself and that I'll get to see you grow up, but I don't think that I will and that's the hardest to accept.

To your parents, I want to thank them for keeping you safe and loved when I could not. Please let them know how grateful I am that they provided for you and raised you as their own. I'm envious of them—they'll get to see my baby grow up. They'll get to teach you how to walk, how to talk, how to read, everything I wish I could do for you. You called me "ma" this morning, and I had never cried so much out of happiness before. I hope your mother has the same feelings as I did when you learn to call her that. I hope she cries out of joy and holds you tight until you fall asleep in her arms. I want her to feel lucky for knowing you, for being able to love you as much as I do.

And Morgan, I know one day you will have a lot of questions. Though I will not physically be there for you, I will always be with you to guide you to the answers, no matter what. You are, and will forever be, the greatest thing to ever happen to me.

-Maeve.

My eyes were stinging and my throat was sore. Consequences of a horrendous night, I guessed. I had been reading Maeve's letter over and over, all night long. I hadn't been able to read it at Hunter's, and he said he didn't mind, that he'll listen when I want to talk about it.

My parents had read this letter Goddess knew how many times. Though I knew Maeve had been on alert shortly after my birth, it hurt to realize that she knew for sure what the outcome would be. She knew my father was going to kill her.

Sniffling, I glanced out the window to where the gray morning light of winter was filtering through. Today was my parents' twenty-sixth anniversary party, and I wasn't sure I was up to celebrating.

I loved my parents, I really did, but this was a level of betrayal I wasn't ready to cope with. They should have shown me when it came out that I had been adopted. If I had known the extent of Maeve's sacrifice for me at the beginning, it would have been so much easier to accept.

My parents had only known a little bit of the story, and had told me what they knew of the barn fire. I had accepted that at the time and figured out the rest on my own.

But to know now that they had lied to me, had kept her letter from me…

I didn't know how easily I could forgive them this time.

My senses picked up on Hunter's presence a second before my little cell phone rang. My eighteenth birthday present had been a life saver the past couple of months, and it especially helped now that I didn't have to worry about someone listening in on one of the other phones in the house.

"Hi," I said, my voice coming out as a croak.

"How are you feeling?" Hunter's rich voice felt like a soothing balm over my battered emotions.

"I'm kind of all over the place." I admitted, sniffling. I wiped under my nose with the back of my hand. "I didn't sleep at all."

Hunter was quiet for a moment, and I sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard. "Do you want to go for a drive? Maybe get something to eat?"

"Yes to both." I pulled the covers off of my legs and shivered.

"Give me ten minutes."

"Okay." I said, and then I hung up and made my way to the bathroom. In the mirror, I tried to examine myself without judgment. I had been crying all night—my eyes were dark hazel orbs surrounded my puffy red skin. It wasn't the worst I'd ever looked—transforming back into my pale human body after shapeshifting did quite a number on me—but I didn't want Hunter to know how badly I was hurting.

I splashed cold water on my face and blew my nose. After brushing my teeth and detangling my hair, I looked almost normal. Back in my bedroom, I wiggled into a pair of jeans and a black sweater, grabbing my boots to slip into once outside the house.

I could sense I was the only one awake, and I didn't want to have a run-in with my parents or Mary K. just yet.

Outside, I sat on the porch and slid my feet into my boots, feeling the chill of winter breeze by the uncovered skin of my face. The sky was blue with bits of soft pink where the sun was coming up. The snow on the ground was slushy, as if trying to melt all the way during the day but freezing again by nighttime.

I let out my breath in slow, measured puffs, watching it drift in the air like smoke. I couldn't wait until it was spring again. Having been in Scotland for most of the summer, I intensely craved the heat and the long nights with insects buzzing around and the flowers in bloom.

My eyes slid to the street as Hunter's green Honda glided up alongside the curb. Creakily, I stood up and headed over, my boots crunching on the salted walkway.

"Morning," he greeted me with a kiss once I was inside the blissfully warm car.

I smiled against his lips, keeping my eyes closed. "Let's just drive," I whispered.

"Where to?" I felt his teasing smile in response to my request.

"Anywhere. Let's go far, far away."

Hunter pulled back but grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips. "How about Red Kill?" he released my hand to put the car back into gear and started driving down the street.

"How about New York? Or California?" I suggested instead, and he smiled. "I've never been to California."

"One day I'll take you," he promised. "But let's keep it local for today."

"I just don't want to be around my family today."

Hunter laced his fingers with mine. "Morgan, I know how upsetting the letter is to you, but just make it through today with them. You can ask questions tomorrow."

I sighed. He was right, I knew that, but I still wanted nothing more than to yell at my parents, to make them understand how much they hurt me by keeping Maeve's letter a secret all these years.

"I don't know how to get over this." I admitted. "I know it sounds petty."

"It doesn't." he assured me with his gentle honesty, and I leaned my head onto his shoulder as he drove. "It just happened—it'll take you a little while to sort it out."

I let out a breath. "Should I just let it go?" I asked, resting my chin on his shoulder to look up at him.

Hunter shook his head. "The timing may just not be ideal right now. You're emotional—perhaps give yourself some time to think it over."

"I'm being emotional?"

He laughed, "You're always emotional."

Smiling, I leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Shut up."