Chapter 16 - Brooks
Ever since Rissa resumed her duties as the healer in the pack’s clinic last week, I’ve been wanting to visit under the guise of needing an overall check-up.
I’m hoping it’ll mean something to her, especially because I’d been avoiding being treated by her all these years.
As soon as I enter the clinic, Portia, the elder she-wolf who’s been the clinic receptionist for as long as I can remember, greets me with a wide smile.
“Alpha Brooks! How lovely it is to see you here today!” she beams as she’s about to stand up.
I motion for her to stay seated. “Don’t get up, Portia. I’m just here for a routine check-up.”
The older woman with freckles spread across both cheeks smiles warmly as she turns to the clipboards on her desk. “Miss Cambridge is fully booked for today. Would you like me to slip you in tomorrow?”
I shake my head as I approach the front desk. “I was actually hoping to see Miss Rudolph today. In fact, you can file all of my documents under her roster. She’ll be my doctor from now on.”
Portia smiles thoughtfully as she nods. “Does this have to do with those rumors I’ve been hearing?” She raises a playful brow. “That you and Miss Rudolph are set to be mates?”
Feeling heat rising across my cheeks, I step up to the desk and casually place one arm on the surface, acting calm and collected while internally, I’m doing cartwheels.
Apart from being the clinic receptionist, Portia has been something of a maternal figure in my life ever since Mother died. They were close friends.
“It might have something to do with that,” I admit with a sly chuckle.
Portia claps her hands together to show her delight, which is written clearly in her broad smile. “That’s wonderful, Alpha Brooks! When are you planning on making the official announcement?”
“Soon,” I smirk, winking at Portia. She proceeds with the task of moving my files over to Rissa’s binder.
“It appears Rissa is free after the patient she’s seeing right now,” Portia says. “She would have had her lunch break, but I’m sure she’ll be pleasantly surprised to see you.”
“Thanks, Portia.” I leave the older lady with a courteous nod before making my way down the west corridor, in the direction I’ve avoided since Rissa began working here.
As I approach her door, nothing about me being here to see her today feels odd, and I realize why I’d been avoiding her all these years.
In hindsight, I felt the pull of the mate bond shortly after receiving my wolf.
Denying that my wolf was drawn to her from the start, I kept my distance and pushed her away at every turn.
The last time I saw Rissa before the Elders called us for a meeting was on the night of our graduation, and our paths hadn’t crossed since then because I made sure I was never anywhere she was.
I guess I always knew, but I was just in denial. Even now, as I reach the door leading into her office, I glimpse her seeing to a patient and realize how wrong I was about her.
Through the small square glass panel on the door, I see her taking Emily’s blood pressure, a smile on her face as she does her work diligently. As if Emily wasn’t the one who tried to berate her outside my house.
It seems that no matter who tries to bring her down, Rissa will always rise and turn back to help the very same ones who hurt her.
Just like with me. She saved me when I was badly injured from the demon’s attack, and she still wears a smile on her face whenever she’s around me.
Though she hasn’t opened up fully to us being mates—I suspect she doesn’t have any idea that we’re fated mates—I do believe that with time, she’ll open up to me.
Smiling to myself, even though I have no idea how she’s able to exercise restraint and still manage to be kind to the she-wolf I’d caught outside my house, belittling her, I turn to the waiting benches along the wall outside Rissa’s office.
I take a seat, patiently anticipating her face when she sees me.
“Alpha Brooks…?” a gut-wrenchingly sweet female voice echoes down the corridor, lifting my attention to find a familiar head cocked to the side.
Groaning irritably, I huff before saying, “Laura…what are you doing here?”
The blonde she-wolf who’d thrown herself at me on the night of our graduation became a regular hook-up when I returned from alpha camp, but I never had feelings for her, and could never see myself being mated to the she-wolf.
It hasn’t stopped her from trying to flirt with me every time we crossed paths.
Not feeling up to her antics now, I cross my arms over my chest and wear a blank expression when she approaches.
“I’m here to see the healer, of course,” Laura chimes as she uninvitedly takes a seat beside me. Becoming uncomfortable, my body turns rigidly tense.
“You remember Rissa from school, right?”
I grunt under my breath, keeping my eyes pinned to the wall in front of me.
“Rissa Rudolph,” I say my mate’s name with a firm nod. “She’s—”
“Not important,” Laura clicks her tongue, interrupting me when I was just about to mention that Rissa is my mate. I know Laura must know this already—everyone in the pack has already caught wind of the news, and they know Rissa lives with me now.
When Laura’s fingertips brush against my neck, I shudder from the unwanted touch.
“What are you doing, Laura?!” I exclaim with exasperation as I glare at the she-wolf angrily.
“Oh, come on, Brooks!” Laura rolls her eyes. “We both know that you can’t be serious about your mate bond with the worthless omega. I know you’re only doing it to appease the Elders. We’ll make a better match, anyway.”
“There is no we, Laura!” I spit back with venom, growling as I glare at her, pointing a finger of warning in her face. “You’ve gotta get that through your skull. And if you ever speak a word against Rissa again, I will kick you out of Snehvolk myself. I have the authority, don’t test my patience.”
Laura gasps, a hand flying to her neck, but her shock doesn’t reach her eyes that flicker to Rissa’s office door just as it opens.
She doesn’t stop her advances, reaching out long fingers toward my face.
I flinch away from her touch as I get to my feet just as Laura’s friend, Emily, walks out with a sadistic grin and exchanges a nod with Laura.
That’s when I storm into Rissa’s office, only to find that Rissa is missing, realization hitting me.
Laura and Emily plotted to tear Rissa down, and now she’s fled her office.
I slam my way through the door at the back of her office, finding traces of her scent still hanging in the air like breadcrumbs that will lead me toward her.
Through the staffroom, abuzz with activity with staff taking their lunch break, I notice that Rissa isn’t here either, her scent leading me to a back door that takes me outside.
Her naturally sweet, jasmine scent is faint once I’m outside, but I inhale deeply, picking up on the breadcrumbs leading toward the ingress of the forest.
I march forward until I see her standing with her arms folded in front of her, her back rising and falling with the rapid breaths she’s lugging in as if to calm herself down.
Her aura is almost visible under the sunlight, faintly hugging her in wafts of golden mist as she stands with her back to me.
As I approach her, I’m able to sense the emotions rolling off her in waves. Even before I call out to her, I know what’s going to happen.
She’s angry with me. She probably caught a glimpse of my surprise encounter with Laura, and Emily must have been there, berating her. Laura and Emily set out with cruel intentions to corner Rissa, and I just happened to be there for Laura to try and sink her claws into me.
“Rissa,” I call out gently, cautiously reaching out for her shoulder. But as soon as she’s aware of my arrival, she dodges my touch and snaps around.
“What are you doing here?!” she exclaims, her eyes turning into dark pits of accusation. “Did you follow me out?!”
“I did follow you out, Rissa,” I admit carefully, retracting my hand. “I know what it looks like, but—”
“Oh, so you do know what it looks like when you were flirting with Laura?!” Rissa retorts with a roll of her eyes.
“I wasn’t flirting with her, Riss! She was coming onto me, and I shut her down! I’m guessing that’s the part you didn’t see!”
“Oh, I saw enough!” Rissa scoffs as she spins around again, avoiding this fight but also revealing something crucial to me.
She’s fuming with jealousy, and something about it gives me hope. Hope that she actually cares about me as her mate, if seeing Laura around me sets her off like this.
Sighing, I stare at the back of her head as I firmly and solemnly declare, “You have nothing to be worried about, Rissa. I am in this for the long haul. We may not have had a chance to speak about the mate bond between us, but I can assure you that I will never allow another woman to get between us.”
Rissa turns around slowly, her eyes glossed over with tears. Even as timid and apprehensive as she appears now, she still remains the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.
“You mean that?” she whispers tentatively, to which I nod, pinching the skin on my neck between my thumb and index finger.
“I swear that I will never do anything that goes against our mate bond.” I sigh, hanging my head in shame. “I know I should have announced it to the pack by now, and I promise I will do that soon. I just wanna know if it’s something you’re willing to work on, too.”
“I am,” Rissa admits after a moment, prompting me to look up to see her wiping her eyes.
“Oh, Rissa…” I sigh as I take a step forward, wrapping my arms around her and noticing that she doesn’t pull away. I realize I might have left things hanging too long, and it’s about time we addressed the elephant in the room between us.
She’s clearly affected by the lack of clarity, while I’ve been affected by her pushing me away every time we fought.
Things feel different now as she clings to me, fisting my sweater with her eyes closed as if relishing the warmth of my embrace.
“You’re my favorite witch, Rissa,” I tease with a coy smile as I pull back to stare into her eyes. “That must count for something, right?”
Rissa huffs as she attempts to stifle the inevitable giggle that’s clearly lodged in her throat. She slaps my chest playfully then.
“Come on, Riss,” I nudge sweetly, keeping my arm secured around her. “If there’s one thing I won’t do, it’s go against what the Elders want.”
I know that deep down, Rissa is recalling what happened on the night of our graduation, when I’d blatantly allowed Laura to seduce me while I battered Rissa with brutal words. She has no idea that I’d only been pushing her away because I felt the pull of the mate bond from the start.
It took the Elders' encouragement from Yvonne’s vision to lead us back to each other.
“I know,” Rissa sighs, and there’s still a sadness that remains in her eyes as she takes a deep breath for composure. “I guess I shouldn’t have doubted you.”
Though her claim brings me ease, it still stings deep down, because Rissa has every right to doubt me.
I can only hope that enough time has passed for her to have space. I’m tired of waiting, and it’s time for me to enact my plan.
I just need to get the summer festival set up to follow through.
Taking Rissa’s hand in mine, I’m glad when she doesn’t snatch it away.
“I know you’re supposed to go back to work, but what if we went into town for your break?” I suggest.
Rissa shakes her head. “I have another patient to see after my break. It’s a transfer from Cythia’s rotation. I don’t wanna be late.”
I beam brightly at her, my chest puffing out. “You’re looking at your new patient. I was gonna surprise you, that’s why I was at the clinic today.”
“Oh,” Rissa giggles. “Then I guess it shouldn’t be a problem.”
I nod as I lead Rissa toward the village square, delighted that things between us feel easy again. We might not have gotten around to discussing our mate bond, or how we knotted that night in Whittier, but at least it feels like we’re friends now.
That’s a good start to the rest of our lives.