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“Yea, I stepped out for a bit to get some air earlier. Makes me want to take a run to the lake and dive right in.” Walking back over to the chairs he kept on the other side of his desk, Marshall plopped into one and kicked his feet up onto the desk’s shiny surface. “Take a seat Aiden.”
Aiden walked over and dropped into the seat next to Marshall, “Okay, what’s going on? Your dad seemed a bit concerned when I talked to him earlier. Are you worried about the council?”
He leaned his head onto the back of the chair, shaking it slightly, “I’m not sure. They haven’t actually told me anything. All I know is that it’s important, and they are keeping it in house for now.”
In house meant they weren’t telling the other council members, so either this is a werewolf only matter or they don’t want the vampires and witches to know. He ran a few possibilities through his head, mentally crossing things off. But since that would just drive him nuts, he decided to wait and see, but with caution, “Do we need to increase security at the border?”
Marshall scratched the stubble on his chin like he was thinking it through, then nodded, “Yea. Let’s add an extra patrol just in case. I don’t want to overdo it right now though. It could be nothing.”
“Okay, I’ll take care of it. So, what else is on your mind?” Marshall had this look on his face that Aiden couldn’t figure out. His eyebrows were drawn down like he was thinking hard, but he also looked a bit sad.
“Megan died.” He ran a hand through his hair, sadness written all over his face. Aiden wasn’t sure who Megan was though the name sounded familiar, but Marshall was very upset by the news.
“Who is Megan?”
He closed his eyes for a second, like he was gathering his thoughts. “My mom’s best friend.” Oh shit, that Megan. “She died a few weeks ago, but I just found out today. And I’m not sure what to do.”
Megan Lord had raised Marshall’s twin sister. Christopher looked for Mackenzie and Rhiannon at her cabin a few days after the Blood Moon pack attacked them, but they weren’t there.
When they searched the area, they did find Rhiannon buried under Megan’s willow tree. There was a large rock with her name on it to mark the spot.
It took a few weeks after that for Christopher to locate Megan through her brother. By that time, he decided it might be safer to let Mackenzie stay there, hidden. Only their pack knew about Megan, and no one would ever tell or even know to tell Andre. So, even though it broke his heart, he let Megan raise his daughter.
“What do you want to do?” He didn’t want to nudge Marshall one way or the other. He had never agreed with why they didn’t bring Mackenzie home, but he understood.
“I want to drive to North Carolina and bring my sister home. But what if she doesn’t know about us? What about her life? I don’t want to turn her world upside down.” Dropping his feet back onto the floor with a thump, he stands abruptly, almost knocking over the chair.
Aiden quickly grabbed the chair to keep it from falling as Marshall started pacing the room. “She has lived her whole life away from here. She may not want anything to do with us. How can I ask her to leave everything that she knows?”
Standing he walked over and stepped in front of Marshall, cutting off his pacing. He placed a hand on his shoulder to offer a bit of support, “She’s your sister. You owe it to yourself and her to try. She can always say no, but if you don’t go see her you will always have the questions hanging over you.”
“You’re right. Okay, I’ll talk to my dad. He may want to come, if so, you will need to fill in for me for a few days while we’re gone.” Aiden could already see his mind working, making plans.
He just nodded. As the Beta, that was his job and for this he would happily fill in for his friend.
As he had that thought there was a knock on the door.
Marshall walked over and before the door was even open and not knowing who it was first, he barked out, “What?”
With the door fully open now, Aiden could see Marilyn Santos standing in the hallway. She was in her late 60’s, though you would never know it by looking at her. She was tall, had shoulder length brown hair, hazel eyes and the energy of a 20-year-old. She was also the pack chef along with her mate Antonio.
Surprised by who was standing there, Marshall was quiet for a moment. Raising a dainty little eyebrow at Marshall, Marilyn marched her way into the office like she owned the place. Holding in a chuckle, Aiden waited to see what she had to say.
Marshall did not, “Marilyn, we are having a meeting. If this isn’t urgent, can I come talk to you later?”
“You call this a meeting? You and your best friend in here chatting? That doesn’t seem very meeting like to me with no one else here. And barking at me like that, I know I taught you better manners than that Marshall Lee Blake.”
Sighing heavily, Marshal ran both hands through his hair, tugging on the ends in frustration. “I’m sorry Marilyn, it’s been a rough day. So, what can I help you with?”
She gave him a beaming smile, patted his arm in a very grandmotherly kind of way, then gently lowered herself into the chair Aiden had just vacated. “Well dear, Antonio and I decided we wanted to go down to Gracie’s and rent us a movie for the night. You know how we like our movie nights. Gotta keep the romance going, you see. You young folks never put enough effort into romance anymore.”
He glanced at Marshall and could see he was getting annoyed with her. Marilyn was amazing, but she could turn anything into a story that would last forever. Trying to nudge her along, Aiden asked, “Marilyn, what does this have to do with you being here?”
“Hold your horses Aiden, I’m getting there.” Smoothing her hair back, she then sat up a little straighter. “So, like I was saying, we walked into Gracie’s. And standing there in the romantic comedy section, was none other than Rhiannon’s exact replica!”
She stopped, as if to see their reactions. Marshall’s jaw dropped, and all Aiden could do was stare at Marilyn shocked. It couldn’t be.
In a gravelly voice, he asked Marilyn. “Please explain?” Holding his breath, he waited for her to continue. He could tell Marshall was doing the same.
