Page 19 of Curvy Alpha Bride
Dove blushes and snuggles closer to Mabel.
“It’s like having a big sister,” she says. “I feel so safe.”
“Aw, that’s sweet,” Mabel answers, stroking Dove’s long hair. “I’ve never had a sister, either.”
“We’re all your sisters now,” Lyssa says, reaching out to rub Mabel’s shoulder. “It’s been such a long time since we had a female in power.”
“Excuse me,” Serra says, theatrically clearing her throat. “I’ve been acting as alpha since Allan died.”
“We know that,” Lyssa answers. “But the energy… it just isn’t the same.”
“That’s true,” Serra agrees, her voice soft. A short, intense silence follows, where everyone looks at Mabel, their eyes sharp and predatory.
As if they want to consume her.
Panic floods through my guts, some instinctual reaction beyond reason that forces me to push forward, grab Mabel’s hand, and pull her towards me. She frowns, resisting slightly.
“What’s up?” she whispers. “We’re just talking.”
Did you not see shit go completely Twilight Zone right then?
“I just think we should get moving,” I say instead. “It’s pretty dark.”
“It is,” Serra says in surprise. “I didn’t notice.”
“It’s alright now,” Dove answers, watching Mabel with big, shimmering brown eyes. “Our lady luna protects us.”
“Still,” Serra says. “We should all get home. Best not to take any chances.”
Once the night sky is brought to the attention of the others, everyone agrees it’s time to go home. They help pack our gifts into the back of my car, and then we head out to the lake.
Father’s cabin is a fair distance from town, isolated on a far point of the lake. Water guards it to the east, and a long plain to the west melts into forest, then slopes upward to the peaks. To the north, there’s nothing but rock, while the town is to the south.
Almost like this is a crossing, and the cabin stands within it, protecting the town. But from what?
I want to let that thought go, brush it off as further superstition from the town’s old, traditional ways. But it sticks with me.
In the past six months, I’ve gotten to know a lot about my father from cleaning up the cabin and putting away his things. In his small office are stacks of journals, old texts, and scrolls, most of which I don’t understand.
I suppose it’s not unusual for someone to write in a cipher in their journal, but who was he hiding from?
Father’s works are extensive, reams of information on a mysterious subject that he clearly studied the entirety of his life. Even though wolves are traditionally wary of magic, there is a lot about sorcerers and spells in the old texts. In my work so far,translating the cipher, it looks like my father was toying with magic as well.
I don’t know if I really believe that.
When I asked my aunts, they said my father had strange interests, and I should pack everything up and leave it in the cellar. They wanted the past forgotten, quite literally buried. When I asked if the obsessive research had anything to do with my real mother, both of them clammed up even worse.
Enough, boy!Aunt Serra said.We’re in a new age now, and the past is forgotten. Maybe I’ll tell you about your mother someday, but all you really need to know is she loved you and your father. And after we lost her, Allan refused to lose you as well! We kept you safe, as your mother would have wanted.
Her words ring in my mind as I pull up out front of the cabin. Lights glow around the doorway, and I can tell by the golden flicker in the windows that someone has lit a fire for us.
“This is it?” Mabel asks.
“Yep. I’m sorry. I know it’s nothing like the estates of the other alphas—”
“No, don’t apologize,” she answers. “I love it. The manors of the old families are actually kind of terrifying.”
“Yeah,” I chuckle. “I agree.”
