Chapter 24
My first lesson teaching four-year-olds was successful, and as I was off work for the week, I was asked to come back the following day, which went by slowly because of my excitement. Alaric had to work on Saturday so I spent the morning getting lost in my music. And I eventually managed to visit the library and read some books on Silva Luporum’s pack history. I learned that Alaric’s family, Erstad, had been the pack’s Betas since the pack was created, which I found fascinating. Some Beta families die out, much like this pack’s Alpha family, who in recent history have had no heir’s, twice! I guess this explains Jed’s Alphaship.
On Sunday Alaric and I visited the café on the ground floor of our side of the building, which is not open to the public only pack members. I was surprised because I didn’t know about the place at all. But I think I instantly fell in love with its book theme… on one wall shelves in diagonal design were filled haphazardly with books, and patrons could come and borrow books from there to read while they visited. The only request was that we had to return them before we left.
This is definitely what I think the Food Court needs. Although my point of view is largely based on the fact that I don’t have a phone and am so incredibly bored while I wait for my friends to join me for lunch.
The downside of this coffee shop (which is named Miss Coffee), is the fact that you have to pay to get food and coffee from here, unlike the food court. Oh, and you can’t bring in your food or drink. There are signs on the wall that tell you as much- which I assume means it has happened in the past. But these two things I don’t consider a downside. The food is good, and the coffee doesn’t have a liquorice taste to it. Plus, books. Did I mention books?
Alaric laughed at my reaction when I walked inside and mentioned repeatedly that we would have to come back.
After breakfast, Alaric and I walked through the pack gardens, which were beautiful and well-maintained. We spoke with the gardener Frankie, and I learned that the elder wolves of the pack like to have their social gatherings here. There are a few pergolas and seating areas as well as places to play chess.
We went back to my apartment for lunch. I haven’t visited Alaric’s apartment yet, although I know he lives in the same building. I don’t want to, knowing that Dharia and he would have had sex there. And the idea of visiting a place where he did that with her makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable. Not that I’ve asked him if that’s happened, I’ve just assumed.
At four I started getting ready for Alaric’s family dinner. I’ve met his family members already, and Rhiannon I quite like. Tatum, his mum, has been nothing but nice to me. She even visited me in the hospital when I was there. But Henrik Erstad, or should I say, Henry, which I know is what people call him… I don’t know very well. I know he’s friends with my dad. Dad’s talked about him in the past, but it doesn’t feel right for me to call him Henry. Henrick or Mr Estad (to his face) feels better.
I walk out of the bathroom wearing jeans and a plain plum-coloured T-shirt. I don’t have anything nicer and refused to let Tatum buy me much when she took me shopping. I didn’t plan on staying so I didn’t think I’d need more things.
“Are you okay?” Alaric asks, pulling me out of my train of thought.
“Yeah…” I sigh, straightening my shirt.
“No, you’re not. Tell me what’s wrong.”
I look up at him and sigh again.
“I just don’t have many clothes and I feel plain. I feel like I could have dressed up more, but I don’t have anything,” I complain.
“Didn’t mum take you shopping?”
“Yeah, but I refused to let her buy me anything more than the basics,” I reply. Not that I would change that if I could go back in time and have a do-over.
“You look fine. And my family won’t care. They already love you,” Alaric says, pulling me into a hug. I snake my arms around his shoulders and bury my face into the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent.
“They do?” I whisper.
“Aha. Dad spoke highly about your music playing and Mum really enjoyed getting to know you when she took you shopping. Mable likes you too, and you’ll get to meet Maverick,” Alaric adds.
“Maverick?” I ask. I haven’t met him yet. Maverick is Rhiannon and Raven’s oldest, and he’s about nine or ten years old now.
“Yeah.”
“Hey… I have a question,” I say, pulling back. It’s something that’s been bugging me, actually.
“What?”
“Why do all the males in your family have ‘rick’ in their names?” I ask. Alaric looks at me with furrowed brows.
“I mean, I get your names after your great grandfather, but there’s your grandad, Rikard, your dad, you and then your nephew Maverick. I looked at the pack’s history, the male side of the family who have had sons all have the sound ‘rick’ in their names. Isn’t that weird?” I ask.
“No. It’s a family tradition, I guess. I mean… my cousins don’t have it in their names. But when we have kids, our son will have it in his name,” Alaric states.
“When we have kids,” I scoff.
“Yup, I want a house full of kids,” Alaric grins. I smile at that. I haven’t claimed him yet, but he’s already thinking of kids. I don’t know what to think of that.
“So what are your cousin’s names?” I ask as Alaric drives us to his parent’s house.
“Mitchell and Ngaire are the oldest, and then Odin and Pandora. They’re both twins,” he replies.
“Oh. Pandora’s my wolf’s name,” I muse, making Alaric smile. He knows that just as I know his wolf is called Pax.
“Wait, hold on, your cousins are called, Mitchell, Ngaire, Odin and Pandora?” I ask.
“Yeah?”
“M-N-O-P, like the alphabet?” I ask again.
“Yeah,” Alaric chuckles.
“Wow.”
“That’s not the half of it. Aunty Leora’s mates are called Killian and Jonas,” Alaric laughs. I hear two things in that sentence, firstly, mates- like what? And then…
“So they’re J-K-L-M-N-O-P?” I ask.
“Yup!” he says, still laughing. I laugh as well.
“Two mates, wow. Lucky,” I say when the laughter dies down.
“Hey!” Alaric laughs, making me smile.
“I’m not sharing you,” he then says, making my cheeks hurt from smiling wider.
We pull down a tar-sealed driveway that curves into the trees. Alaric drives slowly as we drive towards a light brown weatherboard house. There are already three cars parked out front, as well as the same amount of motorbikes. I take it all in as Alaric parks next to a large truck. Freud comes to mind.
“Shit. My grandparents are here.”
“What?”
“Sorry. I told my parents you were coming. It looks like Grandma and Grandad are here, too,” Alaric says.
“Should I be worried?”
“No. My Grandparents are cool. They must be up from Little Rock. It’s where they’ve retired,” Alaric adds. I nod and open the door, hopping out.
Here goes nothing.
We walk up to the front door, and I grab Alaric’s hand, my nerves getting to me. He doesn’t even bother to knock, which makes me feel more anxious. And then as we walk in, the room goes silent. Oh, this could not get any worse.
“She’s here!” Mabel yells out, making everyone smile as she runs over to me for a hug.
I smile back at the little girl and lift her, holding her in my arms.
“Hi, Mabel. Have you been a good girl?” I ask.
“Yup. How’s you been?”
“I’ve been okay,” I reply, loving the fact that she’s asking.
“I missed you!” Mabel then says, wrapping her arms around my neck and squeezing tight.
“Mabel, Mabel, let go,” Rhiannon says, taking her daughter off me before hugging me herself.
“Hi Evie. How have you been?” Rhiannon asks.
“I’ve been feeling better,” I admit. Rhiannon nods.
“My turn,” Tatum says, coming over for a hug.
“Hi Tatum,” I greet.
“Hi, pretty girl. Welcome to my home,” she says as she wraps her arms around me.
“Hi. I’m Samantha, Alaric’s grandmother,” a woman with short white hair worn in a bob says.
“Hi,” I greet, smiling at her.
“You can call me Grandma. And this old man here is my mate, Rikard. You can call him Grandad,” Samantha, Alaric’s grandmother says.
“Or sir. I don’t mind sir,” Alaric’s grandfather says, resulting in him getting hit on the arm by Samantha.
“Hi,” I say, shaking his offered hand.
“Leave her alone Dad,” Henrik says with a grin.
“Welcome to the family, Evie,” Henrik greets me, pulling me into an uncomfortable hug.
“Thank you,” I reply, not knowing what else to say and stepping back.
“See I told you they’d love you,” Alaric links, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me into his front.
“Hi Evie!” another voice yells from across the room. I lean forward and look across the open-plan living room. Luna Ensley is standing in the kitchen, doing something (which I can’t see because of the half-wall).
“Hi!” I greet back, hoping that my voice doesn’t squeak from nerves. I didn’t think the Luna would be here. Which means Alpha Jed will be here as well. Shit.
“Go over and say hello,” Alaric whispers in my ear. I nod and walk towards the kitchen area once Alaric takes his hands off me.
“What are you making?” I ask when I see her standing in front of a sandwich press.
“Cheese toasties. It’s Jed’s favourite,” she says, opening the lid to check before closing it down again.
“Oh. Where is Alpha Jed?”
“Please. You’re family. Call him Jed and me Ensley. He’s in the games room playing Mortal Kombat on the PlayStation.”
“Oh. I love that game,” I comment, watching her take the cheese sandwiches out of the press and putting four more in.
“Me too. I like playing that blonde girl with the powers,” Luna Ensley says.
“Me too! Which version of Mortal Kombat have you played though? I like the original,” I add.
“The original! Of course!”
“You know she’s human, though, no powers. I think that’s why I liked her because I hadn’t got my wolf when I played her and I felt a bit like her,” I admit.
“Oh. Well, I must be shallow then, because I liked her cause she was pretty.”
“And because girl power,” I add. Ensley smiles.
“Yes. And because girl power.”
The oven behind me begins to beep just as the doorbell rings and Rhiannon rushes into the kitchen.
“Is the tortilla espanola done?” Rhiannon asks from behind me. She opens the oven and the smell of creamy potatoes fills the air.
“Yum. That smells good,” I gasp.
“Thanks. I’d like to say I made it from scratch, but I bought the potatoes already sliced from the supermarket,” Rhiannon replies.
“Were we meant to bring food? I didn’t know! Alaric never told me!” I protest, feeling really out of place now.
“It’s okay. I ordered this,” Alaric grins, placing two bags with two large containers inside it on the bench.
“Is that charcoal chicken?” Ensley asks.
“Yup.”
“Oh! I’ve been craving that! Thanks Alaric!” Ensley squeals, opening one of the bags and taking a deep breath in.
“You should of told me we had to bring something,” I scold Alaric.
“Do you like to cook?” Tatum asks.
“I do. I used to help Mum all the time with dinner,” I nod. Alaric bores holes in my head and when I look up at him he smiles.
“What is your favourite meal?” Alaric asks.
“Uh… lamb chops with buttery mashed potatoes and peas. That’s my favourite,” I admit.
“You can help me make a salad,” Samantha says, walking into the kitchen.
“What do you need?” I ask.
Dinner was a loud but loving affair. A large table was set up outside for ten, so the kids, Mabel and Maverick (who I met, and he’s a sweet kid) had to eat inside at the kitchen bench. There was a range of food, from the charcoal chicken that Alaric ordered, to salads, cheese toasties, barbecue lamb and roast ham. It was like one of my family Christmases only on a much larger scale.
“What do you think of our family get-togethers, Evie?” Henrik asks.
“It’s big,” I reply, making him smile.
“Just the way we like it, huh Tate?” he asks, looking lovingly at his mate. My heart melts just watching him kiss her forehead. They’re like my own parents. I want that.
“Has Alaric shown you his house yet?” Henrik asks, turning to me.
“His house?” I ask. I look at Alaric, whose arm is casually resting on the back of my chair. He smiles at me.
“No…” I continue.
“I’m planning to after dinner, Dad,” Alaric says. I look across the table and see Tate and Rhiannon both smiling at me.
“I thought you lived in the pack house,” I whisper.
“I do. But I have a place next door as well.”
“Next door?”
“When I bought this place, I bought the properties surrounding it as well. Alaric’s is on the hill, Rhiannon and Raven’s place is on my other side and Jed and Ensley live behind us,” Henrick explains.
“Oh,” is all I can say. Interesting.
“Does your family live near each other?” Samantha asks.
“No. Well, my dad’s parents live nearby, but my mum’s parents live in a different pack,” I explain.
“My family are from a different pack, too,” Samantha smiles.
“You’re from the North, right?” I ask.
“Yes. How can you tell?”
“Your accent. Where are you from?”
“Nivea Pack. My brother’s grandson is the current Alpha,” Samantha says proudly.
“Oh! That’s in Montana Fria, isn’t it? I went there as a kid. The lake freezes over and you can hire ice skates. It was fun!”
“Can you ice skate?” Rikard asks.
“I learnt when I was a kid, but I haven’t skated since,” I admit.
“Well, our pack owns Little Vallis Ice Rink. We should all go skating one time,” Samantha suggests.
“Yeah! I’ll kick Grandad’s butt!” Maverick shouts.
“Mave!” Raven scolds.
“Sorry! I will skate Grandad’s shoes off!” Maverick corrects.
“You watch it, boy. I’m not that old yet!” Henrik calls back. Everyone laughs.
After dinner, the men cleaned up, while we girls, including Mabel, retreated to couches in the living room area.
“How’s everything going with Alaric, seriously?” Rhiannon asks, sitting next to me. I look over to where he stands with the males in his family, who are all in the kitchen doing dishes and cleaning up.
“He’s been wonderful. My rock, actually. I don’t know how I would have coped if he hadn’t come to Sierra with me. I don’t know if I would have returned, to be honest, if he hadn’t.”
“Of course. Now that Dharia’s gone, his focus is, where it should be, solely on you,” Rhiannon says.
“She’s gone?” I ask. I didn’t know that. Rhiannon nods.
“You know that day when you threw his shake into the hospital wall?” Rhiannon asks. I nod.
“Well, after I scolded him about accepting it, he had it analysed. Apparently, there was a spell written on the cup and the drink was actually some love potion variant.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“It turns out she’d been poisoning him for years,” Rhiannon tells me.
“Teresa was heartbroken when he never noticed her. But don’t tell him that. He thinks he met her for the first time on the battlefield,” Rhiannon links.
“Wha-what?” I ask. This is news to me. Rhiannon nods her head.
“Just ask Chloe. Teresa moved here with Chloe when she met her mate, Logan. He’s a tracker, you know him, right?”
Rhiannon keeps talking to me through our mind link when I nod my head. I remember seeing photos of Teresa, or should I say, another girl with Chloe in her house, but I didn’t realise Chloe’s Teresa was Alaric’s, or that Teresa was here before their most recent pack war.
“Yeah. Alaric remembers Dharia giving him shakes during the war, as well as at certain times during their high school years. I think she used that spell to keep him interested in her,” Rhiannon adds. I’m about to ask how Alaric remembered me then, because I saw him drinking Dharia’s shakes, and I want to know why Alaric claimed me as well, because how could he know… when speaking of the devil himself walks towards us.
“Drinks?” Alaric asks.
“I’ll have a tea please,” Rhiannon says, looking up at him.
“Me too,” I add. Alaric nods and turns towards the kitchen.
“We need to talk more,” I say to Rhiannon.
“Definitely,” she smiles.
Alaric returns later with a tray with cups, a teapot, milk and sugar on it.
“How do you have it?” Alaric asks me.
“Well, I have two sugars and lots of milk, thank you, brother,” Rhiannon tells him, making me smile.
“No sugar and milk,” I tell him as he rolls his eyes at his sister.
After drinks are made, Alaric asks if he can show me something, offering his hand to help me stand up. I oblige and take his hand, and as soon as I’m standing, Alaric takes my seat and pulls me back down on his lap.
“Smooth brother, smooth,” Raven, who’s sitting on the other side of Rhiannon says. They give each other a high five and I swear my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.
“Can we watch a movie?” I hear Mabel ask.
“Yes,” Alaric’s parents reply.
“As long as it’s not something silly like a cartoon,” Maverick complains.
“What about the Barbie movie?” Tatum asks.
“No!” Maverick cries out, making me laugh.
I’ve seen the Barbie movie before. It came out when I was a child. I even remember getting a pink t-shirt with the Barbie font and the word Barbie on it. Much to my Granny’s chagrin. If she had her way, which was becoming less and less frequent, I’d be in high-end blouses. Not run-of-the-mill anyone can afford them t-shirts.
“Alright, we’re going,” Alaric announces after the credits roll. I dutifully get off Alaric’s lap, still embarrassed that I was the only female besides Mabel, who’s still a child, to sit on their mates’ lap.
Everyone says their goodbyes and I get hugs from both Alaric’s parents and grandparents. Rhiannon and even Luna Ensley hug me goodbye, their mates taking a step back. I thank them for having me and then we’re out the door walking into the cold night.
“How was that?” Alaric asks as he opens the car door for me.
“That was really nice,” I admit.
“Yeah. Good, because they like you,” he says.
“Really?” I ask when he hops in.
“Yup. But I’ve been told to let you cook next week,” he says. I smile. So I guess I’m coming next week as well.
“Is that okay?” I ask.
“I was kind of liking charcoal chicken,” Alaric teases.
“Thanks,” I laugh. Alaric smiles and it makes my heart flutter. He’s a handsome man. I can’t believe he’s mine. I can’t believe he wants me.
We travel up the road a little bit before Alaric makes another left turn into the woods.
“Gravel,” I comment as the driveway we’re on begins to incline.
“Yeah. I can’t afford to have it paved yet,” Alaric comments. I nod, taking in as much as I can of the surrounding environment in the darkness. The road is long and uphill, which makes me understand why he can’t afford to get it paved.
My mouth opens in awe when we approach the house. The house is positioned on a level plain, with a three-car garage to the left. There is a front yard with forest shrubs and wildflowers positioned around the right side of the building and three tall eucalyptus trees positioned on the right. A pathway between the two curves to the front door.
“It looks… big…” I comment, still in awe.
“I wanted a one-level house with at least four bedrooms,” Alaric admits. I nod and open the door to let myself out.
His parent’s house is something to look at, with a beautiful exterior, but this is something else. It’s like a forest mansion- a hidden gem nestled amongst the trees.
“Come on,” Alaric says, offering his hand. I take it and let him lead me towards his home.
“I love it,” I say before we even get to the front door.
“Thank you. Wait until you see inside,” Alaric chuckles. Alaric opens the door with a key and lets me walk into the house first, where I’m met with wood. Wooden walls, wooden ceilings, wooden floors. There is wood everywhere.
“This is a Lockwood home. I’ve always loved their open airy designs,” Alaric tells me, switching on a light. From here I’m looking down an empty hallway, the light wood standing out.
“There’s certainly a lot of wood,” I murmur.
“It’s energy-efficient, come let me show you the first bedroom,” Alaric eagerly says, opening the door on the right. I follow him down a short hall into a large room, which has a king-sized mattress on the floor.
“I haven’t got any furniture here. But when I am here, I want to sleep on something,” Alaric admits sheepishly.
“You don’t live here?” I ask.
“No. I started building before the territory war, and after… well, it took me months to finish. I’ve only come up here once or twice a year since it’s finished.”
“Why is that?” I ask as he shows me a big ensuite bathroom and walk-in closet with a sliding door.
“I started building with my mate in mind,” he admits softly. I turn and look at him, giving him a soft smile.
“I guess it was hard after Teresa,” I admit.
“Yeah. Come on, let me show you the rest,” Alaric says, grabbing my hand again. He shows me an office, which looks big enough to be a bedroom, and then two more bedrooms. Each room is empty, save the carpet on the floors.
“I thought maybe you could use one of these rooms as a music room?” Alaric says. I scan the room we’re in. It has one window with a beautiful view of the trees beyond.
“My mum has a music room,” I murmur.
“Yeah? Well, I thought you could play your violin in here, and any other instrument you wanted to play.”
“It would fit a piano,” I comment.
“You can play the piano as well?”
“I can,” I admit, not telling him how many instruments I can play.
We wander out the door where Alaric takes me down another hallway and shows me another bathroom, laundry and bedroom. This bedroom is wider than the rest, with a private door leading to the outside.
“This would make a good media room,” I muse.
“Yeah. The original plans called for a bunk room, but I opted out. It’d be a good man cave,” he replies, making me laugh.
“What? You have your music room, and I have my man cave,” Alaric grins. I smile and shake my head. He’s too cute. I love that he’s made plans for us.
“Come,” he says, taking my hand once more.
“Bossy,” I murmur, making him stop and look at me. I laugh. Alaric shakes his head and walks back to the main hallway.
“Whoa,” I gasp, stopping in the middle of a hallway with windows on either side, joining the sleeping area to the living area.
“This is so cool,” I state. The windows on either side of the hallway display a view of the trees, and each side has a ranch slider opening out to a private patio. This would make a great outdoor dining area, and the other side a great outdoor seating area.
I think I’m having a huge culture shock. I mean, I’ve lived in the woods, like literally lived in the woods, but I’ve never seen a house that uses the woods as its backdrop.
“You like?” Alaric grins.
“This is nicer than your parent’s house,” I muse.
“It’s nicer than my parent’s house,” I add. I mean, I grew up in the suburbs, a two-story four-bedder.
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Do you have your family dinners here as well?” I ask.
“No. It’s not really… furnished…” he replies.
“I can see what you mean,” I respond when I follow him into the beautiful large open-plan living-dining and kitchen. To the left is the living area, with a stone fireplace. In front of it is a solitary camping chair with a table made out of two cinder blocks and a piece of wood on top of it. To the right is a large kitchen island, with a lip that looks like you could sit at least six people there. The kitchen itself is all modern and chrome. Everything, the oven, the fridge, the sink, looks untouched.
“This place is amazing, Alaric,” I comment, turning around and scanning the room again.
“You think?”
“Yeah. It’s… beautiful… I love it…”
“Love it enough to move in with me?” Alaric asks. My heart skips a beat as I look at him, his handsome face looking back at me. My mouth opens to respond, but I can’t, because he’s pulled me into his arms and kissing my lips.
“Move in with me, Evie,” he says between kisses. I open my mouth to respond, but it only gives him the opportunity to slip in his tongue. And I melt.
“Yes,” I murmur, “Yes, I’ll move in with you.”
