6. Chapter Four
CHAPTER FOUR
MICHAEL
E arly the next day, I walk into Rylee’s house and see Mae sitting at the dining table, eating breakfast. As if she knows I’m in the house, she looks up at me. I smile and sign good morning to her. That is one of the few words I know in sign language.
I stayed up a little later last night in hopes that I could learn a couple of things to show her this morning. Just some basic signs.
Her face morphs into one of surprise before shyly signing a good morning back. I love that I could surprise her and hopefully impress her at the same time.
Right after she signs good morning, she goes right back to eating, not looking up the rest of the time. My mood dampens, but I’m happy that I got a good morning back.
Baby steps.
Every baby step in the right direction is fantastic in my eyes. I see Rylee smiling at me through the corner of my eye, but I ignore it.
“Can you help me take Violet and Alexander to my mom’s house?” Rylee asks.
“Yeah, I’ll go get them,” I reply.
I walk upstairs to their rooms. I’ve done this routine so many times that I could do it with my eyes closed. I step inside their room and see that they’re both dressed.
I pick up Violet and grab Alexander’s hand and make my way downstairs. Rylee is signing to Mae as we enter the room, and they both get up and head to the door. I didn’t think Mae would come with us since she’s technically a rogue, and everyone in the pack will know that, but I also know we can’t leave her at the house.
This situation is so tricky, and I’ve never had to do something like this. It’s always been simple, but Mae isn’t simple. Having a mate isn’t simple.
We all make our way outside to the car. I carefully put Violet in her car seat before helping Alexander into his. Rylee and Mae are already sitting up front, and I sit in the back with the kids.
Normally, I’m the one driving, but since Mae is with us, it’s better for Rylee to drive with her up front. She doesn’t know the kids, and it may make her really uncomfortable if I drive because she doesn’t know me that well, either. I don’t want to make her panic if I’m behind the wheel.
It’s a quick two minute drive to her mom’s house. We typically walk there and drop the kids off before heading back to Rylee’s house, but with Mae, it’s probably best we drive so pack members don’t get a huge whiff of her scent. I get Violet in my arms, and Rylee helps Alexander out of the car.
“Is it all right if I wait here with Mae?” Rylee asks.
I nod my head and head to Mrs. Brown’s front door with Violet in my arms and holding Alexander’s hand. I look at Alexander, and he is waiting patiently, just staring at the door.
“Hey, buddy, can you ring the doorbell for me?” I ask.
I need to keep my hold on his hand because Alexander loves to wander off. He’s a curious little kid, and as he investigates his surroundings, he often loses track of how far he has gone.
Alexander nods before pressing the doorbell a couple of times. In no time, the door opens, and Mrs. Brown is standing before us, her face beaming with anticipation.
“What a pleasant surprise to see you Michael! Where’s Rylee?” Mrs. Brown asks curiously.
“Rylee’s waiting in the car with someone today. She doesn’t want to leave her alone,” I reply.
Mrs. Brown looks past me and at the car, her eyes squinting to try and figure out who’s with Rylee. Confused, she looks at me.
“Who is that with her?” Mrs. Brown questions.
“Don’t tell anyone, but it’s a rogue Rylee and I found on our walk the other day. She is deaf and also my mate,” I state candidly.
I know I can tell Mrs. Brown anything, and she won’t tell a soul. She’s a secret keeper, and she also gives some of the best advice. Not that I’ve personally asked her for any, but others have told me.
Mrs. Brown smiles. “Congratulations! Are you happy? Are you going to be learning sign language for her?”
“I am happy, but it’s a little tense. She’s scared and also a rogue. We don’t know anything about her,” I reply, not answering the last question.
“Well, take it easy. Show her she can trust you. You’ll have to go slowly, but it will be worth it in the end. Trust me. And don’t judge her too quickly on her being a rogue. You don’t know the whole scenario. She could have had to run away because of a dangerous situation. You never know what another has had to go through to survive.”
“Thanks,” I smile.
“And as for sign language, I take it since you didn’t answer that you are learning it. Good for you. Show her you care enough to learn something new for her. Now, hand me Violet so you can get back to your mate.”
I hand her Violet and say my goodbyes. I turn around and head toward the car, getting in the back again. Rylee drives us back to her house, and I rest my head on the headrest, letting out a sigh.
I have a feeling that today isn’t going to be good, and I don’t know why.
I usually feel good about every day, knowing that it will be uneventful and chill, but today just doesn’t feel the same. I’m worried about Rylee and Mae. I’m worried that something is going to go terribly wrong and someone is going to get hurt.
We make it back to the house, Rylee and Mae go to the living room, and I go to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee before sitting down to read for a while. Ordinarily, Rylee and I are walking around the territory right after we drop off her kids, but since we found Mae a couple of days ago, we haven’t been doing that since our schedule has changed.
It’s not safe to walk around with Mae, a rogue. That’s one way to get the pack asking a lot of questions and getting worried. We don’t want that. I’m sure some of the pack members are already suspicious.
A rogue leaves their scent behind, it’s distinct. I have no doubt that driving with her in the car to Rylee’s parents’ house wasn’t a good idea. Opening and closing the door allowed her scent to flow out of the car and into the air. Xavier is going to have to address this sooner or later, and I hope the pack is understanding.
While it’s only been a few days, I miss our morning walks. I know that Mae needs some time to get comfortable around Rylee and me, but more importantly, we need to figure out why she’s a rogue. I don’t like the fact that we still aren’t close to finding out what’s happened to her, even if she is my mate. What are her motives?
Mae is hesitant around me and watches me when I walk anywhere near her. I can’t blame her. If I was her, I would probably be the same way.
I sit at the kitchen counter, drinking my coffee and reading my book. Well, I try reading my book, but the bad feeling I had earlier just keeps coming back. I place my book down and just stare off into space, trying to think of what could go wrong, but nothing comes to mind.
Finishing off my coffee, I wash my cup and the other dishes in the sink. Rylee hates doing dishes, so when I’m at the house, I do them for her. It’s a small thing I can do, especially when I’m just sitting around when we are having quiet time. It lets me think.
She always says she will get to them later, but I know that she’ll just wait until it gets too full and they don’t have any clean dishes to use.
I don’t mind doing the dishes, I’ve been doing them for as long as I can remember. That was my chore at the orphanage with a couple of other kids. We would take turns washing and drying them every day.
I hear something hit the floor and shatter. I stop washing the dishes and listen for anything. I hear a hiss as the scent of blood fills my nostrils. I know immediately by the scent it isn’t Rylee’s blood but my mate’s.
I dash out of the kitchen and into the living room, my wolf completely taking over.
The only thing on my mind is to help my mate. I spot her holding her finger, blood dripping to the floor. Quickly making my way to her, I pull her into my arms where she is safe. I grab her hand and place the towel onto her cut to help it stop bleeding.
The need to take care of her and make sure that she’s okay is strong within me. I need to do this.
Mae struggles in my arms, but I don’t pay any attention to it. My only priority is to make the bleeding stop. I hear Rylee start yelling, but I don’t hear her words.
I need to stop the bleeding.
I feel someone place their hands on my shoulder, and a growl erupts from deep in my chest. No one gets close to my mate while she’s hurt. Not even Rylee. I feel Rylee slap my shoulder, and I turn toward her, growling, unable to fight my instincts.
“Michael! Stop it. You are scaring Mae!” Rylee yells.
I look down at Mae, and she’s shaking like a leaf in my arms. She’s pushing against my chest, trying to get away. I slowly let her go and watch as she scurries away from me. She goes straight to the corner and pushes herself against it, terror filling her eyes.
What have I done?
I take a step back and am horrified. I just made a terrible mistake. Rylee told me not to go near her, and there I was holding her against me. I didn’t mean to scare Mae; it was just my natural instinct to go to her when she hurt herself.
“Michael, can you please go sit outside in front of the front door while I try to calm down Mae?” Rylee quips.
It isn’t really a question but a demand. I messed up, and now Rylee is trying to fix it. Hopefully, she can figure out how to help Mae understand my intentions. If she can’t, I don’t know what I’m going to do.
I sigh before standing up. As my body reaches its full height, I see Mae cowering back into the corner. Hanging my head, I shuffle out the front door, sit on the porch, right in front of the door just like Rylee demanded. I put my head in my hands. I feel so defeated.
What did I just do?