23. Love Letters
Love Letters
Auggie paces back and forth.
I watch from the floor, wrapped in a blanket that smells like my mate.
“I don’t know what to do.”
He sounds stressed. I wonder if he wants a cup of coffee.
“Eva, are you listening to me?”
“Yes?”
He sighs, dropping to the floor and sitting in front of me.
“The Council isn’t happy that you have been seeing Alpha Cassius outside of date nights. They said that as a full-time student, you should follow the rules of one.”
Now, I’m listening.
“But that wasn’t part of the agreement.” I argue.
He rests his head on my shoulder, his whiskey scent calming me instantly.
“I know. I know.” He mumbles.
Energy pulses inside me. I can’t go to school every day and not see him. The only reason I’ve made it a full week is because he’s there at the end of the day waiting for me. It’s like they want me to fail.
He pulls himself off, standing straight.
“Right. Here’s what we’re going to do. You are going to keep going to school. You aren’t going to see Alpha Cassius apart from date nights—”
“What!” Panic laces my voice.
“—and I am going to find a way around this. I’m going to meet with them and negotiate your being able to spend time with him.
Maybe I can argue that because you live at home and I’m your Alpha, it’s my decision.
Or that because you have a mating date set, you should spend as much time with him as you can get before then.
I don’t know, but I’ll figure something out. ”
He pets my head.
“I’m not going to let them make my daughter cry.”
He storms off, and only then do I register the tears rolling down my face.
Daughter.
* * *
Dear Alpha Cassius,
Auggie suggested that I write this. I wanted to break into your house, but he told me not to.
It’s sad, really. He has completely lost all sense of whimsy in his life.
He did not like it when I pointed that out.
To apologise I made him a coffee. Though I don’t understand how he likes the stuff.
I can’t stand the crunchy, bitter pieces.
He said that letters were more romantic than texting. He’s old like that, but I like the thought of having a piece of your scent, so here I am.
Today we had a physical.
It was supposed to test our strength, endurance, flexibility, and speed. They set up an obstacle course for us and timed how long it would take us to complete it.
I thought it was a waste of time.
But there was a really big tree, so I climbed that instead.
I like to think I won.
They disagreed when it took twenty minutes to help me back down. The argument that I demonstrated strength, endurance, flexibility, and speed was shot down.
After that, I tried my hand at baking again. It went surprisingly well. I hope you like banana bread because I will be making it a lot.
I brought it to my current favourite class, ‘Mated Etiquette’. It’s so interesting how different things are when you are mated. Did you learn about this in school?
Everyone ate the bread, and I thought about how easy it would be to kill them all. A little poison and I could have taken out the entire class.
Crazy.
It makes me reconsider eating food without questioning where it has come from. But then again, free food.
I overheard an Omega in the hall today talking about how she wants to be a dentist. I’m the weird one for killing Alphas, but she likes teeth and is considered normal?
How is Apollo?
I miss you.
Yours soon, Omega Evangeline.
* * *
Dear Omega Evangeline,
I think writing letters to each other is a brilliant idea. Though I do wish you would have broken in. Your scent is fading and it no longer smells like home here. Apollo keeps whining. He’s a spoiled baby and clearly misses you almost as much as I do.
I hate to be the one to tell you, but coffee doesn’t have crunchy pieces in it. Are you perhaps using coffee beans instead of ground or instant coffee?
I hope you were safe climbing that tree. You nearly gave me a heart attack that day at the Nobel House. I wish I were there to catch you. You appear to have a fondness for trees. One day perhaps we can build a tree house in our home.
We had different classes, I’m sure. But we did learn about mating, how it changed you, bonds you to another. How Omegas will change the way we think, our goals, instincts grow, and the meaning of life becomes focused entirely on one person. I think I have already begun to think that way.
I’ve been looking for you for a very long time.
Be patient for me, Angel. We’ll be back together soon enough.
Poison is one of those things that you would think is less messy, more hands off, but that’s rarely the case. Often getting the dose right and the timing requires you to be there, and the side effects are not pretty. I would not recommend it.
I will make sure you have all the food you want, poison free guaranteed.
Do the other Omegas treat you differently? I worry that the Council has isolated you from your peers. You will love Omega Anna when you meet her. She is much more of a free spirit than my brother and keeps him on his toes. I’m sure the two of you will find all kinds of mischief together.
Alpha August and I have been meeting with the Council for a couple of days.
We’re getting somewhere, but my brother is being particularly stubborn.
He’s decided the case is his and even his mate can’t talk him out of it.
I’ve petitioned Alpha Knight to step in.
Clearly Browen is biased. We’re waiting to hear back.
I miss you.
I regret not mating you the second we met. I would like to see the Council try to keep us apart then.
I think of you always.
Your mate, Alpha Cassius.
* * *
Dear Alpha Cassius,
Auggie admitted to everything.
HE LIED.
FOR YEARS.
I have never felt more betrayed.
Coffee is not in fact made with beans and hot water.
Apparently, I stole a sip years ago and didn’t sleep for a week. He tricked me by making a horrible cup of coffee and convinced me that’s how it’s made. Well, it worked. Though I guess I already got my revenge by making those same coffees for him ever since.
I was completely safe, both climbing the tree in class and at the Nobel House. The key is to ignore all sense of danger entirely. It works in most situations.
I would love a treehouse. I have a shed that I’ve been renovating for years. It’s perfect, apart from the occasional grumpy raccoon.
Don’t think I’ve forgotten how you dated my entire class.
Poison might not be as effective as I had hoped, but it’s definitely a great way to get rid of a large group of people all at once.
I’ve never been poisoned. I like to think that makes me immune, so I don’t have to worry about food being contaminated, though I will take all the food you can give me. You can’t take it back now.
The other students don’t matter to me. I have Lila, and hopefully, Omega Anna one day.
Patience is not my strong suit. You should hurry back to me before I do something impulsive.
When I was snooping in your apartment, I noticed you like watching sports, horror movies, and history documentaries. Are all of your hobbies the same as an old man’s? I prefer something with more drama and a little gossip. Life is more fun that way.
Nothing interesting happened at school today. Honestly, I don’t even remember the classes that I had. My mind keeps thinking of things to ask you. Here’s a list.
What is your favourite colour? Is it purple?
Did you always want to be in ‘security’?
Do you ever worry about breaking your glass desk?
Do you want a private or a public mating?
How many children do you want?
If Apollo could talk, how many sentences do you think he would say before he told you he prefers me?
Do you like your purple wall?
Do your parents know about me?
What is the most spontaneous thing you’ve done?
That’s the ones I can think of for now. But I’ll get back to you with more.
You should have mated me that day, or the day after, or the day after that. Anything would be better than waiting.
Yours, Omega Evangeline.
* * *
Dear Omega Evangeline,
Maybe you should stick to hot chocolate. You’re reckless enough without the addition of caffeine. I want to throw you over my knee, thinking about you climbing trees and sleeping in a shed with a wild animal. Auggie is right to keep an eye on you. You need a keeper.
You cannot be mad at me for trying to find you, my Little Killer. No one else but you mattered when I was on those dates, and no one else matters now. I’ll have to up my efforts to prove to you that you are the only one I want, the only one meant for me.
I actually hate horror, sports, and history. I rarely watch TV. What you saw was the watching history of Dain.
Though I’m not much better. Most of my time is spent working. You’ll have to introduce me to these shows you watch. I’m sure I would like it much more than anything he has convinced me to see.
Here are the answers to your questions, although in exchange I have some questions of my own.
My favourite colour is green (which goes great with purple).
I have always wanted to protect people. Omegas mostly.
When I was younger, I dreamed of being an Alpha Councillor.
But I saw things when deployed. I reported the incident to the Council, and they did nothing for months.
More people got hurt because they waited.
I decided I was done working for other people when I could do it myself.
I have honestly never thought of my desk breaking, but now that I have, I can’t stop imagining it. You’ll have to come shopping with me for a new one, or I might make the same mistake.
I will mate you however you will have me. Public or private, all I care about is you.
I want as many children as you will give me.
Apollo doesn’t need to talk for him to make it painfully obvious that he has chosen a favourite.
I love my purple wall. It reminds me of you.