Seven

Elle sat patiently while I devoured the food she’d given me, smiling as she brought me a second glass of lemonade. I'd drained the first before I'd even sat down at the table. “Been a long time since someone has enjoyed something I cooked so much, most i get out of Sam these days is a grunt or two”. “Who’s Sam?” i asked between bites “Oh Sam is my Mate, we found each other nearly 40 years ago now. That's why I live out here away from my pack, my Sam is a human, and my alpha just couldn’t accept that.” “A human?” I asked, my shock strong enough to take precedence over the food “ I didn’t know that was even possible!” “Oh it is” she chuckled, “the mate bond is about who they are, not what they are” she said with the patience of someone who’s had this same conversation a whole lot over the years. “Well...that’s just garbage. Finding your mate is so rare and so special that it shouldn’t matter who they are, nobody should try to keep two people apart that belong together.”

“I’m really glad you feel that way, this world likes to over complicate things - love is love” Elle reminded me of a gentle old hippy, she wore a long comfortable looking denim dress, with colorful beaded jewelry at her wrists, ears and throat. Her long white hair was pulled over one shoulder in a simple braid. “I tell you what, how’s about I make you another of those sandwiches?” she said with a pointed look at my plate that now only held crumbs that i was already considering going back for “and while i’m doing that you can tell me what happened to you that would make you run away from your pack, and don’t bother lying to me either - I always know when i’m being lied to”

So I spent the afternoon there in Elle’s kitchen drinking lemonade and telling her of my life, how it had gone so wrong and why I desperately needed to get away and start over. I never really meant to tell anything more than the important parts, but once i started talking everything just came out, all the pain and hurt i’d suffered through, the loneliness and rejection I’d felt surrounded by the family that should have loved me, but never saw me as more than a useful tool to their scheming. She stayed mostly quiet, just allowing me to vent it all out, bringing me tissues to dry my eyes as I went through some of the harder parts only asking occasional questions along the way for clarification when she needed it.

Once I had gotten it all out I felt very vulnerable sitting there in Elle’s open kitchen with the afternoon light streaming in around me. I had been holding so much darkness inside myself for so long, I didn't know what to do now that it was all out in the open. 

Lucky for me I didn't have long to think about it. A loud bang resonated through the kitchen as someone slammed the front door open and stomped inside.

“ELLE!” a gruff voice yelled “Your never gonna believe it, but that lousy no good kid i hired stood me up AGAIN” The rather red faced owner of the voice finally made their way into the kitchen, an older woman in a clean but well worn button up and blue jean, she had her greying hair cropped close to her head in a flattering no frills sort of way. Standing there hands on hips she looked at me and then looked at Elle accusingly “Who did you bring home now Elle?” 

“She's like me Sam, and she needs our help.” Elle said, standing up from the table she crossed her arms under her breasts and braced herself to face off against her mate.

“Elle.. You promised. After the last catastrophe we wouldn’t be getting involved in anything like this again.” Sam said with a hard look across the kitchen at me

Elle had a pleading look on her face as she walked up to Sam, she took both her hands and placed them gently on Sam’s wrinkled face, looking up  into her eyes as she spoke “But this is different, She’s a wolf Sam. She’s lived her entire life in that world, not this one. You remember how hard it was for me in the beginning don’t you? At least I was lucky enough to have you there to guide me. She’s completely alone, and it just feels wrong to turn her out onto the street.” 

Seeing them interact like this, to see the love and respect present even when they weren’t necessarily on the same page put a dreamy kind of smile on my face. This was the moon goddess’s real gift to the werewolves, love, not the power our wolves gave us. I closed my eyes and I sent out a silent prayer to the goddess that If I had a mate out there somewhere that she’d allow me to find them and experience her gift myself.

A loud sigh from Sam caused me to open my eyes again, she was running her hand over Elle’s haid, absently toying with her braid  “Ughh, I don't know why I ever bother trying to put my foot down with you. Fine, she can stay here a couple days while we get the apartment over the bar cleaned up, will that make you happy?” Elle responded by pulling herself close to Sam and nodding her head that now rested in Sam’s neck. “Good, but we still have another problem we gotta figure out. The entire stock order is still sitting outside where the delivery driver left it, that worthless kid I hired to unload it never showed up and if we don’t get those kegs of beer inside soon it’ll never get cold enough before we open, and nobody buys warm beer. “

“Umm.. Sam?” I ventured “ Can I help?”