Chapter 11 - Yvonne
“How is Luna Aurora doing?” I ask Rissa, who stopped by the library with Gio.
“Considering that she just gave birth last night, she’s fine.” Rissa rolls her eyes. “She’s much too resilient for my liking. Alpha Elias suggested they throw a pack celebration for the birth of their son, and she wants it done immediately.”
Giggling lightly, my attention is drawn by Gio tugging on the hem of my blouse.
“Yes, baby?” I ask as I lean down, and Gio points toward the colorful array of books stacked on a low shelf for the younger kids.
“I read!” he proclaims excitedly, and I nod to encourage him to go ahead.
“See if there’s anything you like. We can borrow it from the library, and I’ll read it to you tonight.”
“Okay, Mama!” Gio beams before rushing ahead toward the designated shelf.
Straightening up, I give my attention to Rissa again. “You can’t blame her. Alpha Elias is the main alpha of Snehvolk. The birth of his child is something that should be celebrated.”
Rissa nods thoughtfully. “There’ll be a feast at the village hall tomorrow night. You will attend?”
Pursing my lips, I contemplate the offer, but before I can decline, Rissa places a hand on my arm.
“You can’t exactly say no,” she chuckles. “Aurora personally asked for you to be there. I’m just the messenger.”
Sighing, I nod my head slowly as I accept the invite, noting that I shouldn’t be reserved when both Rissa and Aurora have been good to me.
“Fine,” I relent. “I’ll attend.”
Rissa’s bouncy curls flit around as she excitedly claps her hands together. “Great! I’ll save you a seat next to mine.” She peers over my shoulder. “Two seats, actually.”
Rissa winks and eventually leaves the library. I head over to Gio, who curiously pages through the books until he finds one about a zoo.
“Look, Mama…” he says in awe as he points to the page. “Ellie!”
Giggling, I reach down and gently take the book from his hand, where he has it opened to the page printed with a cartoon elephant. “Hm … this looks interesting. I’m going to take it to the desk and ring it up.”
“Ring it?” Gio quizzes with a frown. “What’s that?”
“Come on, my love,” I say as I straighten up and take my son’s hand. “I’ll show you.”
I lead Gio to the front desk, setting him up in the chair as I pull the spare one over. I’m just about to take a seat when I hear the shuffling of feet on the carpet in the corridor leading to the library’s entrance, and I remain standing.
Ever since I’ve been working in the library, it’s been busier than when I used to use it as a hideout. There’s a part of me that suspects it’s because groups often visit just to get a look at me since news of my return to Girdwood has probably made the rounds.
Nothing remains a secret amongst the Snehvolk Pack, which is why I could never get away from the hostile stares from everyone who knew about my family’s history.
The difference is that I’m no longer the helpless nerd I was before. The eyeglasses I used to wear became useless ever since the first psychic vision that told me I was pregnant. It was as if seeing into the future and being whispered secrets that I could feel strengthened my vision.
I don’t need spectacles or a psychic premonition to tell me that trouble is on the horizon when a familiar face emerges from the corner of the library’s entrance, leading a group of lackeys in the same haughty manner that she would when we were in school.
The fine hairs on my arms prickle as soon as she sets her measured gaze on me, blue eyes cold and demeaning as she approaches.
“Yvonne Lang … I’ll be damned,” the blonde she-wolf titters, her voice coy as her eyes sparkle with a familiar glint that warns me that trouble is nigh.
It’s no wonder I sensed it before she walked in. Sarah Ashton was the resident bully in my school days. It didn’t stop there.
She’d been one of the reasons why I’d chosen to hide out in the library instead of volunteering for pack duties. She was everywhere, and always close enough to taunt me.
She glances over her shoulder at the group of she-wolves who’ve followed her since she was a teen, and giggles condescendingly.
“So, the rumors are true; you’re back…” she drawls, then flits her gaze to Gio. “Oh, and you have a son now.”
One of the other she-wolves leans in and whispers something that causes Sarah to chuckle as she sizes me from head to toe.
“Motherhood looks good on you, Yvonne. You’ve changed a lot.”
On the surface, it might sound like a compliment, but I recognize the sneaky glint in her eyes and the way her lips are curled into a smirk.
Her backhanded compliment is bound to lead to an insult.
I just know it. But because I’ve changed, it also means that I won’t stand idly by and let Sarah insult me the way she used to in the past. The last thing I need is for this to end up in a bickering match, and one glance to the side where Gio sits is all I need to take a deep breath to calm myself so I can handle this with poise.
“Thank you, Sarah,” I say with a forced smile. “Motherhood is definitely the most fulfilling thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Is it, though?” Sarah quips, lifting a brow. “Isn’t being mated the most fulfilling for a she-wolf?”
I know exactly what she’s implying, but I don’t let it faze me.
“Of course,” I respond with a curt smile. “That’s how Gio was born, after all.”
My condescending smile seems to irk Sarah, who doesn’t have more to say when Gio tugs at my sleeve. He climbs onto the chair and hugs his little arms around my neck, then presses a kiss on my cheek.
“Mama…” he whispers. “We go home now.”
I nod curtly and turn back to Sarah, who seems shocked that I have a voice. “If you’ll excuse us, Sarah, I need to lock up the library for the night.”
Sarah frowns, but does not attempt to insult me as she leaves with her lackeys following close behind. In the past, I would have coiled into myself, hung my head, and allowed her to trample all over me with her words without saying anything.
This time, standing up for myself feels fulfilling, though the traces of the past linger like cobwebs in the furthest corner of my mind. I still wear the scars of my past, but they’re healing now because I’m a mother.
And a mother will do anything to protect her child.
Even face her old pack at a gathering the next night.
***
“You didn’t tell me the seats would be at the main table…” I whisper into Rissa’s ear while dinner is being served.
“If I told you, would you have come?” Rissa giggles, her emerald eyes sparkling with jest as she leans back and fluffs Gio’s hair.
Shaking my head slowly, I turn my gaze to the table, trying my best to stay hidden as I push myself to mold to the chair.
Luna Aurora is seated on one side of me, with Rissa on the other, between Gio and me.
I’m having a hard time understanding why I’m seated beside the luna as if I’m an important member of the council.
I hate that I’ve been put in the spotlight here.
What’s worse is that Dawson is seated across from me, his imminent presence undeniable and forcing me to face the thing I’ve been trying not to think about.
That kiss….
“Thank you all for gathering here today,” Alpha Elias addresses the feast attendees spread out through the town hall, holding his wrapped baby in one arm while he lifts a champagne flute with the other.
Listening intently, I decide to focus on what the main alpha of the pack has to say about the birth of his son.
That’s the only way I’ll get my mind off Dawson.
When Alpha Elias is done thanking his pack members, he helps Aurora to her feet, and they share a tooth-achingly sweet kiss for all to see. I have to drag my eyes away quickly, but as I do, I briefly meet the crystalline blue pools of Dawson’s eyes.
My breath catches, forcing me to lift a hand to my throat as I keep my eyes lowered. The rest of the celebratory proceedings continue, and I go through the motions robotically, trying to remain as detached as possible.
It’s only when Luna Aurora taps me on the shoulder that I snap into the realization that I’d been eating dessert without paying much attention to its sweetness.
“Y-yes?” I stammer, still slightly disorientated, when I catch the alphas across the table laughing lightly at some joke Alpha Thane just told.
“I’m glad you came, Yvonne,” Aurora says sweetly. “I know how hard it is for you, but I already saw that you’d be here.”
“What do you mean?” I frown.
“I saw it in a vision,” she explains as she gestures with one hand all around. “This very scene right here. Normally, I have visions when it has to do with the demon, but they’re becoming more frequent, and sometimes they’re about the simplest things.”
“Hm,” I hum introspectively, not paying as much attention as I should to Aurora when I hear the Alpha Elias talking about how the others are meant to take mates.
The elders are pressuring Dawson specifically to find a mate by the end of winter.
Something in my blood boils as I hear his reply.
“Yeah, I know the elders are putting pressure on me, but they can relax,” he chuckles nonchalantly as he pats Alpha Thane’s shoulder. “Why aren’t they putting pressure on Thane? He is older than I, after all.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m stricter and more certain about what I want,” Alpha Thane responds with a scoff. “You’re the only one among us who has no idea what he wants.”
“I didn’t find it for a long time,” Dawson replies with a long, drawn-out sigh, his eyes flicking to me for a brief second before turning back to Alpha Elias. “I guess I’m still figuring it out.”
Hearing Dawson speak so casually about picking a mate while I’m right there, while we’d shared a passionate kiss just the other day, has a deeply buried anger surfacing inside me with a heat I can’t explain.
Somehow, I’m able to hear everything around me more clearly, picking up on the voices of the werewolves seated at the table behind us.
“Did you hear that? Alpha Dawson needs to find a mate…”
“It’s gonna be me.” A female voice simmers with a sense of haughtiness. “Alpha Dawson is an expert lover, and I know exactly how to seduce him.”
My gut churns when I hear that.
Of course, Dawson has been around, sleeping with throngs of she-wolves and giving them hope of a mate bond with him.
What was I expecting? That he’d keep himself chaste after I left, waiting for me to return?
Pfft!
I scoff under my breath, unable to take any more of this while everyone around me seems to be putting a spotlight on Dawson.
Dawson this, Dawson that…
Dawson’s going to take a mate…
Dawson’s going to “pick me…”
Urgh!
With acrid bile rising in my throat, I turn to Rissa, noticing that she’s already preoccupied with feeding Gio some of her dessert.
I tap her on the shoulder, not wanting to interrupt the sweet moment between her and my son, but knowing that this is the perfect opportunity for me to excuse myself for some fresh air.
“Where are you going?” Rissa asks when she agrees to watch Gio for the rest of the evening.
All I know is that I have to get as far away from Dawson as possible.
“I … I don’t know,” I shrug defensively, confused because I know if I go to the log cabin behind his house, he’ll be sure to find me. I need to go somewhere, anywhere, that he won’t find me.
“The recreation center is empty,” Rissa suggests as if she can read my mind, my thoughts, and my emotions in this moment.
It’s the jealousy rolling off me in waves. Even she can sense it.
That’s what this all-consuming feeling is.
Somehow, Rissa knows that I need to cool down, and what better way to do that than in the ice baths in the recreation center south of the village, closest to the forest?
“Thanks,” I say as I get to my feet, heading directly to Gio to press a kiss on the top of his head, before bolting out of the hall, hoping that my departure will go unnoticed.
I shift into wolf form just outside, only because I’ll be quicker on my wolf paws in getting to the opposite side of Girdwood, where I can use the recreation center in peace.
A sigh of relief falls from my human lips the moment I shift back and enter the empty center. Usually reserved for the wolves-in-training, the recreation center is more of a gym that the soldiers use when they’re done training.
I haven’t used it before, but I’ve heard about the many facilities that are made to house the werewolves. But once I get to the ice bath and dip my hand inside, the coldness doesn’t have the desired effect against my heated flesh that I was hoping for.
Blowing out a frustrated, unnervingly hot breath through puckered lips, I know this won’t do.
I need something colder.
Not just cold, but frozen.
That’s when I get an idea.
The only way I can cool myself down and release this heat, this jealousy that courses through me like venom, is if I take a swim in the almost-frozen lake at the back of the recreation center.
Alaskan snow is brutally cold, and the glaciered bodies of water surrounding the village are the only thing cold enough right now.
I leave the center and head outside, peeling off my layers of clothing until I’m in nothing but my underwear, trekking through the snow as if in a trance.
When I’m at the edge of the lake, I throw myself into a dive in the cold water with crystalline icicles glittering on the surface.
Against my heated flesh, the icy cold water is exquisite, allowing me to take my mind off Dawson, even if it’s for a moment.
Sure, this is impulsive, but it’s exactly what I needed to escape the foolish dwelling on that kiss we shared the other day. I’m a werewolf, so these harsh, cold conditions are soothing for my naturally heated body.
Sighing with relief, I close my eyes and float across the water with both arms stretched out at my sides. The evening air is cool and calm and silent.
But that silence is abruptly cut short when I hear a splash that snaps my eyes open and my head up, only to see a familiar figure lowering himself into the water.
You can’t be serious….