I kissed Xander again and walked out of the house. I forced myself not to look in the direction of my old house. Tristan caught up to me. My older brother said, “You know, you could’ve told me what was going on. I’ll always trust your instincts. I will literally never doubt you again or eat a peanut butter cookie. If you say something to me, I’m looking into.”
I sighed, “To be fair… I kind of did. Your Beta brain caught on. I could’ve told you before hanging up. I didn’t mean to be rude. I just knew Avery and Paige could handle it. They would’ve been closer than you since they live in the house.”
Tristan snorted, “I get the logic. Plus, Paige is right you did call me and I do appreciate that. That’s a step towards normal for us. You always used to call me, and I missed that.” I suppose it was. Freya chimed in, “Apollo is very happy about that.”
I told him, “I just… umm… never mind.” Tristan asked, “What?” I winced, “It was off topic.” Tristan replied, “I don’t care.” I blurted out, “Could we run… together in wolf form?” I ran my hand through my hair, “I mean… that’s silly… never mind.”
Tristan grabbed my hand, “It’s not. Come on.” We jogged to the tree line and shifted. We did a quick run through some fields he took me through as a pup. I’d used to ride Apollo, but running with him was a different rush. Freya was playing with Apollo, and it felt right. Freya agreed, “It is.”
It was just a quick run but… it felt like so much more. We made it back to where we’d hit the tree line and I shifted back. Tristan grabbed some shorts and gave me a hug. My big brother told me, “That was so much fun, little sister.”
I whispered, “It was… maybe… umm… we should do like a family run… or that’s probably silly.” Tristan argued, “It’s not and we’d love to. You know that you don’t have to go where you’re going next.” I argued, “I do. Robert’s mom was always nice to me and it’s not her fault he’s a jerk.”
Tristan kissed my forehead and said, “You’re a good person, Ladybug. Apollo and I will run with you and Freya anytime. I know Ajax, Pepper, and Sugar feel the same.” I flinched asking, “Will it ever not hurt hearing his name?”
Tristan sighed, “Yes. Ajax is not that Warlock’s name. We will find it then you’ll know who he is.” I could probably find it faster. Tristan agreed, “Yes, but maybe you could let Jase run point on that.” I grimaced, “I said that out loud.”
Tristan nodded, “You did. Jase and Ajax are fuming over the fact that man used their name to hurt you.” That was fair. I nodded to my big brother, and he jogged back to the main house. Freya said, “That felt very healing.” It did. It felt like how I was always supposed to be with my big brother.
I made my way to Robert’s old house and knocked on the door. Robert’s younger sister, Ana, opened the door. Her eyes widened in surprise. Ana whispered as she bowed her head, “Luna Melanie.” I told her, “Oh come on… that’s not… you know me, Ana. It’s just Melanie. I actually stopped by to talk to your mother.”
Ana sighed, “I don’t know if she’ll talk to you.” I admitted, “I don’t intend to take no for an answer. Where is she?” Ana answered me, “Her room. Mom won’t come out anymore and only talks to dad sometimes.” I nodded.
Ana asked, “Can you help her?” I said, “I’m certainly going to try.” I touched my watch, and my small lock pick kit came out. Ana gasped, “Wow. That’s cool!” I smiled and winked at her. I told her, “Go play with your friends.”
Ana admitted, “No one wants to be our friends anymore really. I only have two close friends now. They don’t care about being seen with me, but I don’t want to put them in a bad spot.” I put my lock pick in my pocket and stood.
I questioned, “Where are your friends?” Ana said, “Playing in the meadow.” I hummed, “Let’s go …and have a chat… abouthow things go here.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her outside. I asked, “Where are your other siblings?”
Ana answered, “They went with dad. I wanted to stay in case mom came out. Dad took them over to Al’s diner ten minutes ago.” I nodded. We walked until we reached the clearing where a bunch of pups were playing. I cleared my throat and everyone stopped.
I announced, “I brought someone to join you. Someone you have grown up with who has done nothing wrong. I’d hate to think this pack is like others that ostracize those for something someone else has done. I hardly think anyone here would want to be judged for the actions of someone else.”
“Whether that’s someone you are close to or related to. I doubt anyone wants to be judged for the worst they’ve done either. Even if they didn’t get caught. You know who Ana is as a person. She’s a sweet girl, and she always has been.”
I turned to Ana and whispered, “You always remember who stood by you before I had to say anything. There’s nothing wrong with being friendly to people….but keeping things to yourself around those who are not true friends is fine too.”
“Who was there when the tide changed… that counts for a lot though. It’s ok to remember what they did. I know people say forgive and forget… but when you forget you open yourself up to ending up with a knife in your back.”
“It’s fine to forgive and it’s fine to be cautious, Ana. Never let anyone tell you it’s not. There’s nothing wrong with making someone prove they are worthy of having your confidence. Especially if they turn their back on you because of something out of your control.”
“True friends stick with you no matter what. It’s not something easy to come by. Friends will come and go but hold onto those that stood by you. They are the rare ones that youshould never let go of in this life.” Ana nodded with tears in her eyes. Two girls ran over and grabbed Ana to play tag.
I walked away confident Robert’s siblings wouldn’t suffer his mistakes. I tapped out a note on my watch so the system would send a quick text to Paige, Avery and Addison to watch the situation and make sure that was the case.
On my way back I saw Tank. I waved, “Umm hi… you… are probably busy.” Tank replied, “I heard you were here and came to say hi.” I said, “Oh well… umm hi.” Tank said, “So, a peanut butter cookie had me not asking you about how you woke those Warriors with silver poisoning up. How did you do it?”
I answered, “Umm science… and chocolate.” Tank snorted, “Chocolate does not do that.” I said, “Well… with the antidote to silver and wolfsbane poisoning it does… so… it could be a different delivery method… but statistically most people like chocolate.”
Tank asked, “What is it called?” I answered, “MDTJ.” Tank nodded, “You named it after your family. Do they know that?” I squeaked, “Huh? What? That’s… It’s…” Tank laughed, “So, no. You looked beautiful at your mating ceremony by the way. Alexander is lucky and you made Adeline and Ziggy so happy.”
I hummed, “Umm, Ziggy wasn’t in the ceremony.” Tank chuckled, “But Adeline was happy, so Ziggy was too.” Adeline jumped out from around the house we were near. Adeline said, “And now she’s fixing Robert’s siblings having a tough time because you still fix everything.”
I admitted, “I do try… to fix things… now I need to get Skylar out of her room.” Adeline tisked, “If anyone can, it’s you. We’ve all tried but she’s just so sad.” I replied, “Well… she tried… but Robert was evil… so this was totally a nature versus nurture and nurture lost.” Tank snorted, “True.”
I left them and walked back to Robert’s old house. I walked in without knocking since no one was home. Freya said, “The wolfin there is quite sad.” I knew that. The door to Robert’s parents’ room was still locked, even though I know Skyler saw me walk up and heard me talking to Ana.
I quickly picked the lock then nearly threw up over the smell that greeted me. I gagged, “Ok, Skyler… no. Get in the dang shower. GOSH! That’s a horrid stench.” Skyler looked at me with wide eyes. I ordered, “Go… right now.” I put some of Freya’s power behind the order.
