Six - The wolf's cry

Frozen in my seat, looking at the subtle glint in Kayla’s eyes, the sudden urge to rip something was overwhelming. It’s not every day my wolf rages on without reason and causes a scene. But I feared tonight might just be it. And the anger would not be justified without a backstory. I knew my sister too well. In a different circumstance, her question would barely faze me.

Kayla had an affinity for bad boys, to the point of sickening me to my core. Not because I was jealous of the numerous men who hit on her, but I was the one who had to clean up the mess after they hurt her. You’d think a werewolf would know better than to be played by a human, but no, she wore her heart on her sleeve.

It was like her radar perked up at any little sign of dangerous men, and now she was about to repeat the same cycle with none other than the Alpha that could be my mate.

“Does Alpha Nick have a mate?” She repeated herself, as if we hadn’t heard her the first time.

My nails hardening into my wolf claws slowly, I folded my palms to rein it in. My wolf was on the edge of losing it as my claws sliced into palms, the hair on my arms rising at an alarming rate.

Focused on keeping my wolf down like a good girl, the sound of cutlery hitting the plate in a loud clink did the job. Back in full control, my attention was drawn to Mom.

She froze with her hand in the air. Dad was gripping onto his glass, his eyes stuck on Kayla in bewilderment.

“What? Is it a taboo to speak about his mate or what?”

Silence filled the room, all eyes on Kayla, who was more focused on her plate than the shock wave she released.

No one answered. At least not immediately, simply digesting the audacity we already knew she had.

Mom blinked for a moment and then cleared her throat. “Uhm, that is a topic we really don’t speak on.”

Kayla’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Her gaze flickered to me as if expecting me to join in her questioning. I refused to meet her eyes and took a keen interest in my wine glass as I lifted it to my lips.

“And why is that?”

Mom shrugged her shoulders as if it were an irrelevant conversation. “Because many pack members believe his mate is dead.”

Mom’s words hit me like a slap, my lungs froze mid-breath. Did I hear her correctly, or am I hallucinating? The wine spewed from my lips, droplets hanging suspended in the air before hitting the beige table cover.

Before Kayla could ask the question in both our minds, our dad took over the conversation. “Alpha Nick has not met his mate. At least not yet. The rumor of his mate being dead began after his involvement with a female pack member who many believe will be the future Luna if he doesn’t find his destined mate.”

He picked up his glass cup and drank the entire contents. “Now that we’ve cleared that up,” he began, his gaze on Kayla. “Let us move on to other topics.”

“I agree,” Mom chimed in, her eyes smiling. “Speaking of the pack, the shifting ceremony starts tomorrow. You girls certainly chose a good time to come.”

“Shifting ceremony? What’s that?”

“It’s a new tradition Nick started soon after he became Alpha. Every year around this time, the pack does a week-long celebration for newly shifted wolves to show off and flaunt their skills.”

“A whole week? Is that not too much fuss?” Kayla perked up like someone had lit a firecracker under her chair.

Mom shook her head no. “The young pups love it, and it gives them something to look forward to as they unlock their wolf and embrace the bond. Especially, if they struggled to connect with their wolf,” She said, her eyes glued on me, making me uncomfortable.

It was no secret that it took me longer than Kayla to shift into my wolf and connect with it. Although it unsettled me whenever it was brought up, I was doing much better at handling my wolf, even though we have had our ups and downs, especially in recent times.

“It is a lot of fuss, but the kind of fuss I like. I wish we had a ceremony like this when we shifted for the first time. Can I join in the fun?”

“Fun isn’t exactly the word, Kayla,” Mom muttered. “The Alpha takes the shifting ceremony very seriously.”

“Too serious for me to attend?”

“Your father will be helping at the pack house tomorrow, so if you’d like, you can join him.” Mom said and looked at Dad for confirmation. “Right?”

He nodded, “Sure, the Alpha is never around during prep days, so we can take time off during lunch, and I can show you the new cottage I’m building on the east side of the town.”

Kayla is grinning ear to ear, excited for an outing day at the pack. Compared to her countenance in the mundane world, she was never this excited, but I simply took it as nostalgia. Nostalgia that hit me too quickly and made me regret stepping my foot back in this place.

“Would you like to come too, Kira?” Dad turned to me and asked.

“Uh, no. I think I’ll just rest at home and help mom with things. I’m still feeling a bit jetlagged.”

“You sure?” He pressed, scanning my face like he always does when I act like the opposite of my sister.

I licked my dry lips, adjusting in my seat. “Yeah, you guys have fun.”

I was not ready for a day out in the pack, and definitely not the pack house where I could run into the Alpha again. Barely hanging on to my sanity as my wolf kept bristling at the mention of the Alpha was unsettling enough to be in public, and with my senses awakened, I didn’t….trust myself?

The house smelled like pancakes and fresh coffee as I rolled in bed, stretching my sore limbs. I could immediately tell Mom was getting down in the kitchen as usual, which explained the soft warmth beneath our roof. I missed waking up to the smell of the food and not loud pop songs that set me off most mornings.

The sunlight filtered through my curtains in thin golden slashes, my eyes squinting at the brightness warming my cheek, reminding me that I was, in fact, still home and I didn’t sleep off with the curtains open.

Still very much avoiding an Alpha I had no business thinking about and a past I was not ready to confront, an uneasy feeling instantly set in my belly, forcing me to sit upright.

I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, tugged on a sweatshirt, and padded down the stairs, bracing to meet the whole family either in the living room or kitchen. The second I hit the staircase landing, I realized the house was too quiet. Quiet in a way that could only mean Kayla was not at home. I glanced at the old grandfather clock on the wall, and it read, “12:30.”

I didn’t even believe I could sleep for that long. It felt great to bask in the push bed and not worry about my alarm going off. Of all the things I had to worry about, at least capitalist culture was not one of them. At least not for a while

No dad or Kayla in the house, I could hear the clink of pots and trays as I got closer to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Mom was humming, and her head was stuck in the cupboard above the stove.

“Good Morning, Mom,” I croaked, taking a seat at the counter table.

Her head slightly turned around. “Good morning, my love. Did you rest well?”

“Considering I just got out of bed at past 12 pm, I guess I did.”

She closed the cupboard and stepped down from the long stool. “I knew how tired you were and switched off all your alarms.”

Well, that explains the open curtains.

Standing on the opposite side of the counter, her hair was packed in a messy bun, sweat streaks flowing down the sides of her face. She laid out the spice bottles and the huge stainless bowl she pulled out from the cupboard.

“Do you mind helping this old lady today?” She perked up her face to give a deceiving pout that I was too weak to refuse.

“Of course. Not like I have anything going on, anyway.”

Twenty minutes later, I regretted my decision. Not the hardest-working person, I was quickly exhausted. I had prepped all the ingredients, coated the turkey and placed it in the oven, mixed the cake batter, and now I had to go fetch more vegetables from her garden outside.

Mother and daughter, bonding? Lovely, but not when she was determined to overachieve for a ceremony that I feel didn't really involve her.

“Is there any reason why you're going all out for this ceremony?” I find myself blurting out before I can even process it in my head.

My question hangs in the air, and she stopped chopping. The knife dropped from her fingers, and she looked up at me.

Her eyes dark, with small tears pooling in them, she sniffed and pushed the chopping board away from her and sat down on the stool.

I haven't seen Mom in a while, and now, closer to her face and seeing that pretense smile on it, the wrinkles etched on her face were more noticeable. Especially around her eyes.

Known to be the emotional one, like dad, we never intentionally did anything to set mom off, and I honestly didn't mean to set her off now, and it was confusing.

“That’s because your dad doesn't participate in the blood moon festival anymore. This is the only time we get to celebrate with the rest of the pack and contribute socially.”

Out of everything she said, the only part that got to me was not attending the blood moon festival. It was the most important ritual for any wolf, and you'd think people who lived in the pack would take it seriously, unlike us, who lived with humans.

Confused, my palms secreted sweat unlike usual. “Why?” My voice croaked out. Eyes following her movements, I pick up on her hesitation to respond.

“Is it because of me?”

Her eyes snap up to meet mine. “What?”

“Is it because of what happened that you and Dad don't attend the blood moon festival?” I asked, my voice louder and edgier like I was on the verge of releasing my wolf.

Mom shook her head, “No, sweetheart. Why would you think that?”

“Because neither you nor dad speaks on the matter, and I can't shake the feeling that you still blame me.”

“Stop it, Kira!” She snapped, looking me in the eye, her words coming out stern. “We have never blamed you for it and will never. Do not confuse us trying to protect Kayla with blaming you.”

“That's part of the problem, Mom. You're so focused on protecting Kayla, and I'm burdened by it. Constantly! Every morning I think of it, and now that Kayla incessantly asks me about her memories, the burden is only choking me deeper.”

“And did you tell her?”

“No, I..” My chest tightened. Not from the words. From something else. First, it was a tiny pinch like someone had plucked a strand from my hair. I pushed my hand against my belly, breathing through it.

Then the pain hit again. Violently, causing the spoon in my fingers to clatter against the counter as a burning sensation shot down my spine. My wolf whimpered, claws scraping at my insides, trying to dig toward something.

“Kira?” Mom’s voice sharpened. Her chair screeched across the tile as she rushed to my side. “What’s wrong?

I tried to respond, but my wolf kept howling deep inside, and then, the front door slammed open. Boots pounded against the hardwood, the footsteps getting closer. It was Kayla. She stumbled into the kitchen, breathless like she had been running for miles.

“He…” Her voice cracked, not in its usual dramatic but with something broken.

Mom turned, keeping her arms around me. I turned to look at Kayla, and when our eyes met, my wolf wailed uncontrollably.

Kayla swallowed hard, her shoulders shaking as she forced the words out. “He rejected me.”