Page 28 of Violet Moon
Parisa sighed, shoulders slumping.“I’m sorry.I let my emotions take over.You’ve done nothing wrong.Our pack isn’t the only one who watches me.It’s the same as it’s always been.I show weakness.I look vulnerable.I give in to the things I want.Others see it as a chance to take what is mine.”
Sera’s stomach churned.“You’ve changed because the times have changed.We’re not out there fighting for our lives anymore.You wanted to build something that fit where we are now, how the world is now.”
“Is it really all that different?Because from where I am things look the same as they always have.”
Parisa was silent for a long moment.She kept parting her lips as if to speak and then turning away instead.Finally, she said, “Look at me, being such a wet blanket.I know it won’t rattle anything loose in my brain like I need it to, but I’m going to get another drink and when I come back I’m going to be good company again.”
She patted Sera on the knee as she stood.
Sera took a sip of her drink, watching her walk away.“You’re always good company.”
nine
Emmaline’scottagewasdowna grassy path that led away from the house and towards the bakery.There was a sweetness in the air surrounding it.From the first moment Emmaline opened the door, any visitor would be met with the scent of fresh bread or other bakes — all the things Emmaline made for fun before or after her bakery shifts.
That day it was filled with the scent of baking choux pastry, a feat Sera would have never taken on herself.
“So, how do these compare with your last cookie batch?”Emmaline asked, looking over Sera’s first batch of choux buns.
“Well, the cookies were hard as hockey pucks, but softened in milk, so I’m calling them a win.These are —” She paused, picking up one and holding it up with a grimace.“Flat as paper, so I’m taking the loss here.”
Emmaline smiled softly.“Choux buns can be difficult!It’s why I picked it for today.I wanted you to have a challenge.And this is only the first batch.You have plenty more opportunities to shine.”
“Thanks.”Sera stared at her first “opportunity.”They weren’t even worth finishing.There was no way they were getting filling inside these and covering them in chocolate seemed like a waste.She flicked one with her finger.“Hey Emmaline.Have you noticed anything off about Parisa lately?”
“If anyone would know it’s you,” Emmaline replied.“But she has seemed more scattered in the bakery lately.And I don’t see much of her in the pack house.Why?What have you seen?”
“Sometimes she’s perfectly fine and other times I feel like I’ve poked an angry bear.It makes me wonder if the ‘fine’ times are actually her covering up something.”
“What would she be hiding?”
“I don’t know,” Sera said.“I guess she’s never really been an open book, has she?”
“No, not that one.She keeps things close to her chest.I think she thinks she does it to protect the pack, but I say she’s just like that.And that’s okay.We all handle things in our own way.”
“I just can’t shake this feeling that it’s something I should be worried about.”
“I’m sure she can handle it.And if she can’t, she’ll tell someone — tell you — when she needs help.”
“I guess.”The more she thought about it, the more she got a tight feeling in her stomach.“It reminds me of how Parisa used to be, decades ago.She was kind, but she was --”
“Unapproachable?Secretive?Untouchable?Times were different then.I know you don’t remember much of your early years with us, but she had to be that way.Every male Alpha in the area looked to challenge her.”
“To take control of the pack?”
“To take control of the tiny pack, sure.But, more importantly to them, to prove she wasn’t a real Alpha.”
“Assholes,” Sera muttered.
Emmaline chuckled.“You got that right.”
“You understand Parisa so well.You two were a pack long before I ever came around.You should have been Beta, not me.”
“Now where’s that coming from?”
Sera sighed.“Maybe Parisa wouldn't have to handle everything herself if you were her Beta.”
“She never asked me.”
