Roxanne’s POV:
“This sucks,” I whispered softly, then frowned deeply.
“Are you still complaining about Garren being busy with his training?” Mother asked seriously, with a raised brow.
Yes, I was! A week went by with him being overly busy with his so-called exercises.
“It’s not training, mother, it’s exercises,” I pointed out as she laughed.
“Is that what he told you?” she asked.
“Yes,” I answered as she looked at me seriously.
“Honey, he is definitely training,” she said.
A second ago, I had thought he really needed to exercise, but now that my mother had said how he was training, it became clear that he was. He usually made sure to wake up early before me to hit the training field. I thought he would return for breakfast, but he stayed there until lunch or supper.
Whenever he was invited to dine with the family, he declined and went on to say how he didn’t need to eat like we all did because of him being partially a vampire. Then he would go into his room, making me take his share there.
I usually pleaded with him to eat, and that seemed to work because he did after my constant nagging.
While he ate, I got to look at him and feel the closeness my wolf and I longed for. After his meal, he went on to take a bath, then sleep as if we weren’t still in his room.
I understood that he was concerned about everything that was happening and that he was worried about what might happen on the day of the ambush, but that didn’t mean he had the right to treat me so coldly.
We rarely talked or held hands like we did back then. The last time we kissed was a week ago, and I was becoming frustrated!
“I’m not complaining, mother. I just feel lonely,” I whispered softly, then went down on one knee, patting the head of one of the pups.
“Why don’t you confront him and tell him how you feel?” she asked.
I looked at her, then shook my head.
“I don’t want to be seen as a clingy girlfriend or mate,” I answered, then stood up.
“He won’t see you as clingy. I think he might actually like your honesty,” she said, but I decided to ignore her words.
She and I were too different. While she knew how to handle my father in every situation, I didn’t know how to handle my mate? Now that we were getting closer to each other, I feared and avoided situations that may anger him and make him walk out of the pack.
“Mother, how about you rest for a few days from this place?” I suggested.
“Why should I?” she asked seriously.
“Because the elderly she-wolves do like to take after you whenever you leave. Give them more time to spend with the pups,” I answered seriously.
In front of us was a huge orphanage that looked like a castle. It was built by our pack warriors and dedicated to my mother. All pups who had no guardian were taken in and welcomed. Some were adopted, while some grew up there, learning a few needed skills until they were of age to either be a warrior or be given a house of their own.
My mother and the elderly she-wolves were the ones looking after the pups and doing their best to be there for them. Whenever my mother was around, she made sure to spend a lot of time with them but surprisingly still had time for my father.
“Honey, I can’t leave them to do all the work. Moreover, I love it here,” she said with a smile, then it vanished.
I knew then that something was wrong.
“Mother, what is it?” I asked in concern.
“Come along,” she ordered, then quickly walked past me.
I called out to one of the elderly she-wolves who quickly came. I asked her respectfully to look after the pups who were outside, then rushed to where my mother’s scent was coming from.
I heard loud noises before the pack members came into view. They were all surrounding a grey Rolls Royce while cheerfully talking. I looked at my mother and noticed she was embracing a lady, while my father stood at her side with a smile. The woman’s scent was familiar, sadly I couldn’t remember who she was.
“Where is she?” Uncle Blade’s voice came from the pack house.
“Here,” my father answered loudly as Uncle Blade walked out, pushing Auntie Kylie’s wheelchair. The lady pulled back from my mother’s embrace and rushed towards them.
She quickly knelt in front of Aunt Kylie and embraced her tightly. There and then, it clicked who she was.
Although her scent was familiar, something about it was different. That’s why I wasn’t sure who she really was a few minutes ago.
Angie was my cousin, Uncle Blade’s daughter, who was a pack healer. She left the pack in her teens so she could be of much use and service to the pack when the needed time came. For five years, we heard less about her, and we all seemed to have forgotten about her, except her parents.
She pulled back from Aunt Kylie, who had tears in her eyes, then stood up and hugged Uncle Blade, who wasted no time in embracing her back.
For a few minutes, we all stood in silence, watching them cry and hug as a family.
When they seemed to calm down, she turned and looked at us. Her face instantly lit up when her eyes met mine.
“Oh my goodness, Roxy,” she called as she approached me.
I was surprised to hear her still call me that after all these years.
“Angie, hi,” I greeted with a smile, cutting her full name, Angelina, short.
When she stood in front of me, she took off her spectacles, then kissed my cheek.
“My gosh, you look amazing,” she exclaimed cheerfully.
“Likewise,” I answered, and then forced a smile across my face as we stood staring at each other for a few seconds in silence.
I had no idea why she was looking at me like that. All I knew was that it was making me feel very uncomfortable.
“Angelina,” my father called, making her turn to face him.
“Uncle Ian, you still look so young,” she said as she went to him.
“Did she go to human territory to learn flattery and how to show her teeth?” I asked my mother through the pack’s mind-link.
“You know everyone can hear you, right?” she asked back as she walked past me.
“Damn it,” I muttered under my breath, then looked at everyone who was acting as if they had heard nothing.
When Angelina glanced at me, she laughed softly.
“I went to learn that and medicine,” she answered, then walked to Aunt Kylie’s wheelchair.
I quickly lowered my gaze to the ground in embarrassment while she went into the pack house.