Page 15 of Charmed By Apollo

There was no response from Mary, no flicker of recognition in her expression. She remained motionless, lost in the depths of unconsciousness.

She felt a lump form in her throat as she struggled to contain her emotions. She had always admired her grandmother’s strength and resilience, but seeing her lying so fragile vulnerable and still filled her with a profound sense of sorrow.

With a heavy heart, she leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Mary’s forehead. She whispered words of love and comfort, hoping against hope that somehow her grandmother could hear her, even in her unconscious state.

An overwhelming sense of vulnerability washed over her, and with tears welling in her eyes, she leaned in close to Mary’s unconscious form. “Grannie,” she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. “Do you remember when I used to sneak into your bed at night? When I was little and scared, and I just needed to feel safe?”

There was no response from Mary, her breathing steady but shallow. But Geri pressed on, her words spilling out in a rush of emotion.

“You would always let me in, even though you knew I was supposed to be in my own bed. And you would wrap your arms around me and hold me tight until I felt safe enough to fall asleep. Do you remember that, Grannie?”

Her voice cracked with emotion as memories flooded her mind—the warmth of her grandmother’s embrace, the sound of her gentle lullabies, the sense of security that enveloped her like a comforting blanket.

“And you know what, Grannie?” she continued, her voice trembling with emotion. “Even now, all these years later, whenever I’m scared or feeling lost, I still wish I could crawl into bed with you and feel your arms around me. I still wish I could find that same sense of comfort and security that only you could provide.”

She paused, her breath hitching in her throat as she struggled to hold back tears. She squeezed her grandmother’s hand gently, willing her to wake up and hear her words, to be there for her one more time.

But as the silence stretched on, broken only by the steady beeping of the monitor beside the bed, she realized Mary may never wake up again. And in that moment of heart-wrenching realization, she felt more vulnerable than ever before, as if a piece of her very soul had been torn away.

Her mind drifted back to the time when she had faced another profound loss—the death of her mother. She was just nine years old then, trying to navigate the overwhelming waves of grief that threatened to engulf her.

“I miss Mommy,” Geri had whispered to her grandmother, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I don’t know how to be without her.”

Mary had pulled her granddaughter into a tight embrace, her eyes filled with tears. “It’s okay to grieve, Geri,” she had whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. “Your mother would want you to feel all your feelings, even the ones that hurt.”

It had started with her father’s sudden death in a tragic accident, a moment that had ripped their family apart in an instant. The pain was still raw, the wounds still fresh, as they struggled to come to terms with their new reality.

Her mother had been the heart of their family, the glue that held them together through even the darkest of times. But without her mate by her side, she had withered away, the broken bond leaving her spirit and her will to live diminished. And so, just months after her father’s death, Geri’s mother had passed away in her sleep, leaving Geri, Cade, and their grandmother to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.

Geri was much too young to understand what happened at that time, so her grandmother had to explain it to her.

“But why did she have to die, too, Grannie?” Geri had asked tearfully. “Didn’t she want to stay with us?”

Mary had taken a long pause. “It’s because she and your daddy were mates.”

“Mates? Like getting married?”

“Kind of. They loved each other so much that they decided they wanted to be together all the time. It’s like they had this…invisible string between them that made sure they would always be together. But when your daddy died, your mommy tried her best to stay, but the broken string made her very sick, and she couldn’t stay.”

Mary had used more simple terms, of course, but as she got older, Geri also learned more about shifter mate bonds.

Shifters who chose to bond with a mate didn’t just create emotional or even legal ties to their significant others, but also a metaphysical one. While Geri had never experienced this for herself, other shifters described it as something incredible—like they could feel their mate’s moods and emotions. It was difficult to hide anything from a mate, because they could always tell if you weren’t completely honest with them. And yes, even if mates were thousands of miles apart, they could still feel each other’s presence—and absence.

Still, every one of the shifters she knew that was bonded to a mate always said it was worth it. Geri, however, thought they were insane. Why the hell would they want to be with someone, knowing that if they died, you could too?

“I don’t want to bond with anyone, ever,” Geri had cried. “Not if I’m going to leave like she did. Like she left me and you and Cade.”

“Shh…don’t say things you don’t mean,” Grannie had soothed. “You don’t understand it now, but someday, you might meet someone you want to bond with. You might not want to bond, but your wolf side will know when someone is worthy—when they make your eyes shine bright and your insides all warm—and you’ll want to make a claiming mark on them.”

“Shining eyes, like goo-goo eyes,” Geri had harrumphed. “I don’t think so.” She had been very staunch, even as a nine-year-old.

But even with Mary’s love, little Geri had tried to put on a brave face, just as she had been taught. “Mommy always reminded me to be strong, to be like Cade,” she had said, her voice shaky but determined. “I have to make her and Daddy proud.”

Now, as she sat by her grandmother’s side, those words echoed in her mind like a haunting refrain. She had spent so much of her life trying to live up to the expectations of others, trying to be the strong and resilient person her mother had raised her to be.

With a heavy heart, she leaned in close to her grandmother’s still form, her tears falling freely. “I miss you, Grannie,” she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. “I miss Mommy and Daddy too. I don’t know how to do this without you.”

As Geri sat by her grandmother’s bedside, lost in a whirlwind of emotions, she was startled by the sound of the door opening. Cade walked in, his arms laden with paper bags and with a somber expression on his face.

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