Page 93 of Finding the Forward: Part Two
“We’re all going to the greenhouse,” I assured, stroking her hair.
“I know. I just want to get a head start. Will you tell me what this means?” Her fingers caressed the fairy that was part of the tattooed sleeve on my arm.
“It’s a story Pop, my omega father, told us. I only know his English translation. They didn’t want him to teach us Korean, even though my dad literally met him while in Korea for work.” My controlling alpha mother didn’t want us to have a way to communicate that she didn’t understand.
“Well, that’s shitty. What did your dad do that took you away for years at a time?” Her finger traced the beanstalk.
“Canadian Foreign Service. This story…” I moved the finger back up to the fairy. “It’s the story of the Fairy and the Woodcutter. It’s basically a cautionary tale of patience and being happy with what you have. Pop told us stories when the alphas were fighting, to distract us.”
She nodded. “Mama did that, told us stories in French that her grandmother told her when she was a girl in Dijon. I did that a lot for the littles. Especially in the year between Mom going to jail and the pack breaking up. Though mine tended to be flower mythology stories.”
Which would be why the littles were pouting over her being gone all these months later. Who knew what home was like for them without Verity running interference?
“What’s this one?” Her fingers moved to the two cranes on my chest.
“Pop and my little brother.” If only I’d been able to save them.
Ihadsaved Hana and myself. Our alpha mother could get bad sometimes when Pops was alive. Without him to soothe her rages, she was intolerable after his death.
“You have a little brother?” Verity asked.
I shook my head. “Had.”
“Oh, Jonas.” Her scent became salty as she stroked my hair.
“She’s in jail. Hana and I are safe. We told the pack to fuck off–including our older brothers, who got out and never looked back, knowing full well what that meant for the rest of us. They didn’t protect us.” Or help us when we were living with my coach. Or reach out when we were at university.
No, none of them had anything to say until I went pro.
Oh, I had plenty to say to them then.
“Hana and I chose our own last name because we didn’t want to be associated with them. Roughly,Seongmeansto succeed.It’s our way of telling everyone where to go. Pop would have loved you. Taught you to make Korean pastries. He died right before my sixteenth birthday. Brain tumor.” I winced, because without him to soothe the alphas things got intolerable, fast.
She wrapped her arms around me. “You were so young.”
“I was old enough that if my old coach hadn’t had a lot of interesting friends, I could’ve been tried for assault after my alpha emerged and I attacked our mom to keep her from hitting us. I was angry for a very long time. Part of me didn’t think I deserved Dean. Because how did I know I’d be a good alpha with shit examples?” I laid my soul bare for her so she’d understand.
“You’re worth him.” She kissed my temple.
“As are you. So, I see you, Sweetheart. I understand why you took alpha blockers out of fear of turning into your parents. My mom actually had been mandated, several times, to take them, but never did.” Because of the stigma. And that cost lives.
“Do you ever have contact with your pop’s family?” Verity continued to hold on to me.
“A little. They’re nice people. Hana knows them well. She even spent some time studying in Korea. One day we should all go there.” I snuggled into her, taking all the comfort she’d give me.
“We should. Thank you for sharing that with me,” she told me.
“Your turn. What’s the story of this little fairy?” My hand caressed her shoulder where the perky little fairy sat on a mushroom.
“I like fairies. I awakened as an alpha at an away game back when I was an undergrad. Our team had no other alphas, and no one knew what to do. I was freaking out. So, they brought me to the club. I danced it out, got hammered, and apparently, we ended up all getting tattoos,” she laughed. “None of us recall much of that night other than it was a fuckton of fun and we were lucky our conference didn’t enforce a pre-game party ban.”
They did what? With anyone other than Verity, that could have been a bloodbath. Newly awakened alphas could be a lot. I could have easily knocked my mother permanently unconscious.
“I love your little tattoo. And the flower?” I was so curious.
“Freddie didn’t like the fairy tattoo because it’sbasic.When we broke up, I wanted another. So, I got one there for myself.” She gave me a kiss, then rolled out of bed to use the bathroom, in only a shirt.
I got up and stretched. I should go for a run, but I’d love to have a little alone time with her.
