Chapter Three
Posy
At least they used to let me sit by the fire.
Full-moon runs were pack events, and in the past, I was at least allowed to attend the parties.
Mostly as unpaid help—helping get things ready while the others were in wolf form racing through the forest—but at least I could pretend that I was part of the fun.
After all, it wasn’t as if I could run with them, and setting out all the food, helping to keep the fire building, things like that were participating.
And generally, everyone was in a great mood on those nights, so they were nicer to me than usual.
Or ignored me, which came down to the same thing.
The day after the shopping trip, I was all ready to jump into action.
The last few years, they’d been all about buying premade food from the big-box store for the party, meaning even I could handle it.
But as the sun was about to set, a rap came on the door.
My dad answered, but in our little house, I could hear every word of the conversation that followed. “Alpha, do you need me to help with something?”
“I came to tell you that Posy needs to stay in the house tonight.”
Mom’s voice next. “But what about the after-party? She has to get that set up.”
“And she always comes to that,” Dad added.
“No. Not anymore. At the full moon, your adopted daughter must remain indoors for the duration of the run and the after-party. You can bring her a plate of food, of course, but she will have to eat it in your home. It’s for her safety.”
“Alpha, no disrespect, but it’s Posy’s job to set up for the party. She can still do that, right?”
“No. We’ve made other arrangements.” He started away, calling over his shoulder, “But you two will be expected to attend everything as always.”
After he left, Mom burst into tears. “Gerald, how can we keep this up? They are treating her like she doesn’t belong. She has been here since she was a tiny baby.”
Dad’s voice soothed. “Margaret, I don’t know what we can do.
Maybe move away because he as much as admitted she’s in danger.
Some of those boys have been talking nonsense, I hear, and the alpha, for all his obvious distaste for all humans cannot allow anyone here to be harmed without betraying the law. ”
I peeked out of the bedroom, heart aching at the pain they endured for me. They had not been young when they found me, and they’d put me first at every moment.
“You have a lot of faith in him.” Mom swiped at her tears with the back of her hand.
“You don’t?”
“He has never been kind to our daughter. Look at how he made a point of saying our ‘adopted daughter.’ I don’t trust him. We have to move.”
“You’re serious?”
Mom nodded. “It was your idea.”
“But I didn’t think you’d go for it. You’ve lived here your whole life.”
“And you have most of yours. We deserve to be treated better, and certainly our daughter does.”
I couldn’t allow them to do that. They’d be lost. But where would I go?
I had no cash, so even if I made it somewhere and did convince someone to hire me, I’d have nowhere to stay.
And, worse, I’d be alone. If I could, I’d run far away and take my parents with me, but how irresponsible would that be?
Not a way to repay their kindness and devotion.
They could have left me where they found me or informed the human authorities to take me.
Despite the difficulties within the pack, I’d have missed out on the best parents ever in the world.
So, no, I could not allow them to move away to support me.
But the only way I could leave without causing them even more pain was to do it in a good way.
So that they would know I wasn’t just floundering all alone in the world.
Which would mean I needed a plan. Since the app downloaded itself, I’d been stealing looks at it but had not actually signed up. Mom and Dad had always prayed to the Goddess that I would find a mate, a true fated love match like theirs, and things had not been looking good in that direction.
Where would I meet someone who suited me?
Who didn’t see me as “just” a human, a novelty to sample and toss aside.
Maybe I had an option.
It certainly couldn’t hurt to try to find the life they wished I could have.
One they had far more faith in my getting than I did.
A mate, a family, a life where the people around me accepted me as an equal.
Some travel on vacations to see the places I loved to watch on the internet.
Their belief in me made me willing to try almost anything.
As soon as they left with the others for the run, I grabbed my phone and brought up the app.
I’d always experienced the world on my screen, reading books and watching travel videos.
And of course the cooking vids just in case I ever developed a talent for the art.
All sorts of things I thought I’d never get to know in real life.
But that night as I answered all the questions and set up my account on the Mail-Order Matings app, I wondered if maybe there was a mate for me, someone real who could care for me. I began to hope.