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The Wolf
Avelyn took her cup of coffee and stirred the dark liquid, inhaling its heavenly aroma. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” she said, looking at Christine, who was sitting across from her, sipping her own coffee. “Actually, it’s more of a request.”
“Of course,” the old woman replied pleasantly. “What is it?”
That was it. The moment Avelyn had been waiting for had come. Well, it hadn’t exactly popped up on its own, and she couldn’t tell if what she was about to do could qualify as being clever, stupid, desperate, or suicidal.
“I… I don’t know if you remember, but yesterday I told you that I don’t feel ready for everything that’s happening.”
“Yes…”
“What I meant is… I don’t feel ready to… have children.” There. She had dropped the bomb. She didn’t take her eyes off Christine’s face, her heart prepared to sink in case the woman’s first reaction showed that she was in deep trouble. However, the only thing Christine did was to lift her brows in genuine curiosity.
“I can understand that,” she said, and Avelyn thought she hadn’t heard right. It was not the answer she had expected.
“No, let me explain. I know how important this is. To Max, to the pack, to the whole clan. I do, believe me. Heck, Alma Venus has raised me to do just that: get married and bear my husband’s children. And I do want that. I do want to become a mother one day, and I will do my best to offer my kids everything they need, the love and care I never had, but not now. I’m just not ready now.” She blurted out the words in a single breath. She was holding her cup for dear life, hoping that she hadn’t just dug her own grave.
Christine set her own cup on the table. “Yes, I know.” She gave Avelyn a reassuring smile. She could see how scared the girl had been to tell her these things. She was just a young woman who had been thrown into a strange world where she had no friends. The fact that she had gathered her courage to bring such a delicate matter into discussion told Christine that Avelyn finally considered her a person she could trust. A friend.
“You do?” Avelyn was startled.
“Of course, child. You’re only 24, and you and Max are only beginning to know each other, explore one another. You’re learning about his world and I can see that you’re trying hard to adapt to it, to fit in. No one expects you to offer him children so soon.”
This was going easier than Avelyn would have ever dared to dream. She felt almost foolish for not having the courage to ask Christine the day before, when she had actually planned to. It could have saved her a lot of stress, heartache, and sleepless hours.
“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you for being so understanding.” In the past few days, she had been astonished by her ability to lie. She could almost say she was proud of herself. She could have made a decent actress if life had been different. “But, you see, I don’t think Max thinks the same.”
“Have you spoken to him about this?”
“No, of course not. How could I tell an Alpha that I’m not ready to give him heirs? And, anyway, this is… you know, girl stuff,” she smiled at her own silliness. “I don’t know how to bring this up to a man.”
“I see,” Christine took another sip of coffee. By now, she knew what Avelyn wanted to ask her. “This is not all, am I right?”
Avelyn sighed. “No, it’s not all. Max hasn’t given any sign that he intends to use protection. We haven’t done much yet, if you know what I mean. I’m scared that… that if we go all the way and it happens… you know, me getting pregnant… It’s already so much to take in. I’ve been here for only one week, I’ve known him for only one week… I need time to adjust. I don’t think I could deal with a pregnancy now.” She couldn’t have said it clearer than that. “Will you help me?”
Christine looked at her. Silence hung in the air for almost a minute. Avelyn had forgotten than she was still holding her cup. Her eyes bore into Christine’s so deeply that an outsider wou
ld have thought Avelyn was trying to read the old woman’s mind. She could tell that she was taking her time to consider all the implications.
“You have no intention of telling Max, do you?” Christine finally asked.
Avelyn shrunk in disappointment. It was quite clear she had lost the battle. Christine was too loyal to hide anything from her Alpha. “If you tell me he’ll understand, then I’ll gladly tell him everything the moment he walks into this room.”
Christine smiled. “There’s no need to do that. As you said, this concerns us, women. I like you, Avelyn. I believe you’re the best thing that has ever happened to Max. You’ve brought joy and hope into his life, something that no other woman has ever managed before. Of course I will help you.”
Avelyn could not believe her ears. Her fingers relaxed on her cup, and she finally took a long sip of coffee.
“I wasn’t blessed with children of my own,” Christine continued in a soft voice. “As you know, shifter women can rarely have children. I don’t know if I heard of two or three cases in the past ten years. Even so, I was lucky enough to have Max, Karl, and Jocelyn, and I gave them all the love and devotion I would have given to my own flesh and blood. I’m old, but not old enough. I can still take care of a bunch of small, adorable pups, and the moment either Max or Karl become fathers, I’ll dedicate the last years of my life and the little energy left in my old bones to help their wives raise them.”
“How old are you, if I may ask?”
“Oh, it doesn’t matter.” Christine turned her gaze to the window and remained silent for a few seconds. Avelyn was moved by her words, and she felt sorry for her. In fact, at that moment she felt sorry for all the shifter females, and wondered what they had ever done so wrong to deserve such punishment? Why did Mother Nature have to curse them so badly? Of course, there were legends that were trying to explain why the shifters’ evolution into superior, half-human, half-animal beings had to be crippled by their inability to procreate. At the same time, genetics had come with its own explanations, especially in the past 100 years, when the peace between the factions had made it easier for scientists to work together with the shifters for the benefit of both races.
“So… mmm,” Avelyn hesitated. “How are we going to do this?”
Christine chased away the painful regrets that had just been brought back to the surface, and turned to Avelyn. “I will prepare an herbal mixture that you will have to put in your tea every day, until you feel ready to… take the leap. It will be very concentrated, so three drops will be enough.”
“An herbal mixture?” Avelyn was a bit disappointed, but she tried not to show it. What was this? The Middle Ages? She was hoping for contraceptive pills. Surely, Christine had her ways of reaching the nearest city in these godforsaken mountains and make a stop at the pharmacy. “I was thinking of… something else?”
