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Justice was still debating her offer to help him relax when he caught a flicker of light in the distance. It was nestled deep into the woods where they’d just emerged. A rush of balminess and tranquility overcame him, making him gravitate toward the light. He’d already started walking when he remembered his brother and the alpha’s daughter. He turned back, not wanting to be rude. “Thank you, Uriel. But I only require peace and quiet after my run tonight.” Justice spun and took off in the direction from which they’d just come.
“Justice, where the hell are you going? We have to leave in half an hour.”
“I’ll be back by then. Just need a minute.” Justice cut the communication to his brother and kept jogging farther into the dark woods.
He got to a small clearing, stopping mid-jog to peek around a tall dogwood. It looked like the trunk was glowing. Justice shielded his eyes when an iridescent figure appeared from behind the thick tree, her long, white sundress floating up behind her like a special breeze was created just for her.
“Mom,” Justice sighed. He wanted to run up and throw his arms around her but he knew that wasn’t possible.
“Look at my big boy. You just keep growing up.” She smiled affectionately at him. She was always so beautiful. Long, dark brown hair and sharp blue eyes. Eyes that saw everything, even their futures. “Last time I saw you this close, you were just receiving your blessing.”
“You saw me?” Justice asked.
“I had to look. I know it’s secret and no one bears witness other than the Mother and her elements, but I couldn’t resist. I had to look at destiny being fulfilled.”
The things she could see always amazed Justice and his siblings as they grew up. She saw the world changing before any of them did. Justice received his blessing at age thirty. He wished he had seen his mom at his blessing as the 120th Alpha Zenith, it would’ve made it so much more special. Justice was simply glad his mom still came to him occasionally to guide him, or when he was his most troubled. She usually came in his sleep, and he’d known it wasn’t a crazy dream the first time it had happened.
“Is everything okay?” Justice asked seriously.
“Such an alpha. All business.” She shook her pretty head sadly. “I could hear your thoughts about a mate.”
Justice opened his eyes. He’d been enjoying his mom’s delicate voice, sounding so much like his sister’s. He tilted his head back smelling the vanilla, butterscotchy smell of the thick bark he leaned against. “Are you here because I didn’t take up the alpha’s daughter on her offer, Mom? Good grief, I hope not. She was lovely, but it would’ve gone no further than a few hours; which I don’t even have. I don’t need a mate. I travel too much to keep a mate happy and tended to.”
Justice’s mother and father had been very much in love. He’d barely survived her death. If she’d been his true mate he’d already be dead, not just extremely depressed. There were very few true mates who found their other halves these days, but when a wolf bonded with another – whether true mate or not – it was still an intense connection.
Sure, sometimes Justice’s nights were long and lonely. As the AZ, he had his pick of unmated females or males to satisfy him at his whim, but it wasn’t in him to use anyone’s body because he held a title. He always felt like they were doing it out of duty and not for him. He didn’t want to die alone and untouched by a mate, but how would he ever find one? Justice was sure his mom was just being a concerned parent and didn’t want him to be alone, wanted someone to care for him.
“Just because I’m the oldest doesn’t mean I have to settle down first. Alek, Mac and Taleb are plenty old enough to mate and have a whole pack of pups. Maybe you should whisper to them too.”
“Oh, I do.” She giggled. Justice always loved her laugh. His mom would laugh at things that weren’t even funny, claiming laughter was healthy. “I whisper to your sister too. Hopefully, they don’t chalk it up to crazy dreams.”
“How come you don’t appear to them like you do me?” Justice frowned, having always wondered that.
His mom looked away sadly and moved off a few feet. Her long, white satiny gown dragged on the bed of the forest but it never collected a speck of dirt. “I wish I could. Goodness, how I miss you all so much. But they couldn’t handle it. They’re not ready. I knew I could come to you even before I did. I knew you could still see me and mourn me. Your wolf was always so unique and special. It’s why you were born first.”
