AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Your dad says that Madie is here,” Mom had said soon after that. I should have known then that it wasn’t a coincidence that the sweetest scent had appeared just as the only girl who had ever driven me mad had returned for the first time in years.
I had always been crazy about her. Though, as a child, I had interpreted that as something being wrong with her. She wasn’t the most confident child, and that had bothered me. It bothered me enough that I had targeted her and tormented her for being so unconfident in her own skin.
Now, I regret the stupidity of my youth. Even with the brief moment we had shared seven years ago at Christmas, I could tell it wasn’t enough to erase everything from our childhood. Not after the way she had all but ran from the room to get away from me.
“I sure hope she is okay,” Mom sighed as she helped Alma clear the table.
Dad and the young pup, Diego, were in the private living room of the Beta wing. Dad was showing off all the new gaming consoles he and Edwardo had purchased for the kid, and from the sounds of it, they were breaking in one game already.
“She said she is just tired, but I’ll make sure to tell Edwardo to go easy on her on Monday when he starts her training. He was planning to take her out for the early morning patrol, but maybe he should let her sleep.” Alma said.
“I wouldn’t do that,” I spoke up interrupting them.
Mom and Alma both looked at me skeptically. “Why is that?” Alma asked.
“She has all weekend to catch up on sleep. And it’s a beta’s duty to be on guard no matter how they feel, right?” I looked at the two older women. “Or am I wrong to think that? I know that even though I’m not ranked in the pack, technically me being tired isn’t an acceptable excuse to skip my patrol duties.”
Mom sighed, seeming to agree with me as she looked over at Alma. The older of the two women sighed a deeper sigh before nodding.
“You make a good point, Mijo. I just hope we don’t overwork the poor girl. Her grandmother was one of my very best friends and she looks so much like her. I can’t help but be protective of her.”
Mom patted Alma’s hand and smiled. “I think that Gertrude would tell you not to baby her girl.”
Alma let out a deep laugh and pulled out her pack of cigarettes. “You are probably right. She was always a hard bitch.” She began to tap the back against the heel of her hand as she made her way to the door. “I’m going to have a smoke. Don’t worry about cleaning up, Diana. I’ll take care of it when I come back in.”
We both watched Alma leave before I stood and helped Mom finish clearing the table. We both exchanged a look before chuckling together. Alma had said not to finish clearing the table, but we both knew that if we didn’t, she would have had something to say about it.
Alma was like a mother to my mom, and therefore, she was like a grandmother to me. The only one I had ever known growing up. She was why I had even met Madilyn when we were kids.
Just as she had said, Alma and Gertrude were thick as thieves. They did everything together, so when Alma would babysit Liberty and I, she would bring us over to Gertrude’s to play with her granddaughter.
Thinking about that time led me to think about the first time I ever saw Madie. Her hair had been longer back then. I remembered it reaching down to her waist when let down, but she often wore it up in a braided crown around her head. It was the first thing I had ever picked on her about. I inquired why she bothered to grow her hair long if she intended to style it in a way that made her look like a boy. The next time I saw her, she had cut it short.
I realized then what kind of effect I had on her. It was a dangerous realization for a boy like me, who was just learning his place in the pack. I had just learned that I wouldn’t have a leading role amongst the wolves like my sister would. And here this girl was, her every move dictated by my influence.
I rubbed my face with the palm of my hand and shook the memories from my head. It was all coming back to haunt me now. No wonder The Fates never allowed me a vision of who my mate would be. They do love their little cosmic jokes on us mere mortals.
“Are you okay, Love?” Mom asked, her emerald, green eyes locked on me.
“What?” I asked.
“You look like something is on your mind.” She frowned at me, then looked in the direction that Madilyn had gone. “What is on your mind?”
I smiled at my mother. It was evident from the way she looked back at me that the gears in her head were in motion and the dots were slowly being connected.
“No, there is nothing bothering me,” I said. “I’m fine. I just have a lot of work to do, is all.”
Though I didn’t say it out loud, I could see a spark of understanding in my mother’s eyes. She knew how much work goes into a newly found mate bond. She also knows how much harder it is when there is a potential for rejection involved.
Rejections make everything harder. There is no fighting The Fates when they have made your path known. My family has learned that lesson time and time again. I knew it fully well being the voice of The Fates for my people. I’ve guided many in accepting their fate, my sister included, and Madie would be no different. Although it may be more difficult to convince her to accept me, I was confident in my ability and determination to make it happen.
“I think I’ll get back to the paperwork upstairs,” I told Mom. I handed her the dishes I had collected and made my way to the door just as Alma reentered the room.
Mom waved at me while the older woman chastised her for not listening. I chuckled as I left them and waved to my father when I passed the Beta Family Room. The young pup became addicted to a game that involved shooting and collecting things, showing off his skills.
I thought more about my childhood with Madie. The way the other children gathered around me as I ridiculed her every phase in life. It had been the first time that I felt like a leader amongst my peers. The first time I felt an equal to my sister.
Liberty had never approved of my actions then. She often disrupted my small pack of children against Madie, but it never failed that when my sister wasn’t around, they still joined me.
