A Mother's Hand
1373 Words
The door clicked shut behind Evelyn.
For a moment, neither woman spoke.
The room felt strangely small.
Not because of its size.
Because of the emotions packed inside it.
Amelia stood near the window.
Evelyn stood near the door.
Nineteen years separated them.
Nineteen birthdays.
Nineteen winters.
Nineteen years of wondering.
Neither knew how to bridge that distance.
Finally Amelia broke the silence.
"You can sit if you want."
Evelyn smiled softly.
"Thank you."
The Luna carefully sat on a nearby chair.
Her silver eyes never left Amelia.
As though she were afraid this might be a dream.
Amelia understood the feeling.
She wasn't entirely convinced this was real either.
"You've grown into a beautiful woman."
The compliment caught Amelia off guard.
She shifted awkwardly.
"Thanks."
Evelyn laughed softly.
The sound surprised Amelia.
It sounded familiar.
Warm.
Comforting.
Somehow it reminded her of Clara.
The realization made her smile.
"What's funny?" Evelyn asked.
"You laugh like Clara."
The Luna's eyes immediately filled with tears.
"She always did that."
Amelia frowned.
"What?"
"Whenever we were young."
The words caught Amelia's attention.
Young.
Together.
Friends.
For the first time, Amelia realized Clara and Evelyn had once shared lives.
Stories.
Memories.
Entire years Amelia knew nothing about.
Evelyn smiled sadly.
"Clara was my best friend."
Amelia's chest tightened.
Of course she was.
Everything suddenly made more sense.
Evelyn carefully opened the wooden box she'd brought.
Inside rested brushes.
Hair pins.
Silver combs.
Simple things.
Yet the sight of them brought tears to her eyes.
Amelia noticed.
"What's wrong?"
Evelyn laughed through her tears.
"Nothing."
A pause.
"Everything."
Amelia didn't know what to say.
Evelyn picked up a silver brush.
"When you were born, I imagined moments like this."
Silence.
The Luna looked down.
"I imagined helping you get ready for your first ceremony."
A small smile.
"Your first training competition."
Another smile.
"Your first ball."
The smile broke.
"And then suddenly those moments weren't mine anymore."
The room grew quiet.
Painfully quiet.
Amelia swallowed hard.
For the first time she wasn't hearing about the sacrifice.
Or the prophecy.
Or the danger.
She was hearing about what her mother had lost.
And somehow that hurt too.
Evelyn stood slowly.
"May I?"
She held up the brush.
Amelia hesitated.
Then nodded.
The Luna moved behind her.
Gentle fingers touched Amelia's auburn hair.
A shaky breath escaped Evelyn.
"So much hair."
Amelia laughed.
"Everyone says that."
"You got that from me."
The statement surprised them both.
Because it sounded so normal.
So natural.
Like something mothers and daughters said every day.
Evelyn slowly brushed through the long auburn strands.
The movement was careful.
Almost reverent.
Amelia watched in the mirror.
Watched the woman's face.
Watched the emotion there.
And for the first time she truly saw it.
The guilt.
The love.
The grief.
Nineteen years hadn't been easy for either of them.
"You really watched me?"
The question came quietly.
Evelyn's hands paused.
"Every chance we could."
Amelia met her eyes in the mirror.
"Tell me."
The Luna smiled.
"There were rules."
"Rules?"
"Many rules."
A laugh escaped her.
"Alexander hated them."
That immediately sounded accurate.
Amelia could already tell her father wasn't a patient man.
Evelyn continued.
"We couldn't get too close."
"Why?"
"If someone noticed us watching, they might start asking questions."
That made sense.
She hated that it made sense.
"We watched from a distance."
A smile appeared.
"When you were seven, you punched a boy."
Amelia blinked.
"What?"
Evelyn laughed.
"He stole another child's lunch."
"That sounds like me."
"It absolutely does."
The Luna continued brushing.
"When you were ten, you tried to rescue three injured rabbits."
Amelia groaned.
"Oh no."
Evelyn laughed harder.
"You brought them home."
"They survived."
"They destroyed Clara's kitchen."
Amelia covered her face.
The Luna was openly laughing now.
For a brief moment...
They felt like family.
A knock interrupted them.
Three sharp taps.
Before either could respond, the door opened.
Alexander entered.
Then immediately froze.
The Alpha stared.
Mother and daughter.
Together.
Talking.
Laughing.
Something vulnerable flashed across his face.
Hope.
Pure hope.
Amelia suddenly understood something.
Her father was terrified.
Not of enemies.
Not of Alphas.
Of losing her again.
The realization softened something inside her.
Just a little.
Alexander cleared his throat.
"Am I interrupting?"
Evelyn smiled.
"No."
The Alpha looked unconvinced.
Amelia surprised herself.
"Come in."
Alexander blinked.
Then slowly entered.
The atmosphere immediately became awkward.
Painfully awkward.
Nobody knew what to say.
Finally Alexander pointed toward Amelia's dress.
"You look nice."
Amelia stared.
Evelyn burst into laughter.
Alexander looked offended.
"What?"
The Luna wiped tears from her eyes.
"That's what you came up with?"
"I was trying."
"You sound terrified."
"I am terrified."
The answer came so quickly that everyone froze.
Then Amelia laughed.
A genuine laugh.
And suddenly Alexander looked relieved.
As though hearing her laugh mattered more than anything else.
The Alpha sat down.
For several minutes they simply talked.
Nothing important.
Nothing world-changing.
Stories.
Questions.
Memories.
Normal things.
Things they should have had years ago.
Amelia learned Alexander hated mushrooms.
Evelyn learned Amelia hated formal shoes.
Alexander learned Amelia once broke Owen's nose during training.
Twice.
"It was an accident."
Owen's voice suddenly called from outside the hallway.
"It was not."
Amelia groaned.
The room erupted into laughter.
Hours later, they made their way toward the banquet hall.
The official ball would take place tomorrow.
Tonight was meant to be a smaller gathering.
An opportunity for the major packs to socialize.
Unfortunately...
The moment Amelia entered the room...
Every conversation stopped.
Wonderful.
Exactly what she wanted.
Several hundred wolves stared.
Some curious.
Some excited.
Some suspicious.
And a few...
Hostile.
Amelia immediately noticed Victor Bloodfang.
The Alpha sat near the front.
Watching.
Always watching.
His gaze lingered on her moon pendant.
Then on her face.
Then on Alexander.
Calculating.
Dangerous.
Nyx growled.
The feeling was mutual.
As Amelia moved through the room, whispers followed.
"The hidden heir."
"That's her?"
"She looks like Evelyn."
"No, she looks like Alexander."
"Do you think the prophecy is true?"
The last whisper caught her attention.
Prophecy.
Again.
Everyone kept talking about it.
Yet nobody had explained it.
Not fully.
Not honestly.
And she was getting tired of secrets.
Before she could corner her parents for answers...
A familiar warmth spread through her chest.
The bond.
Amelia froze.
Across the room...
Golden eyes met hers.
Kieran.
He stood near one of the large windows.
Looking annoyingly handsome.
Which irritated her immediately.
His mouth twitched.
As though he'd somehow sensed her thoughts.
The jerk.
The warmth intensified.
Neither looked away.
Neither seemed capable of it.
The room faded once again.
Just like before.
Only this time something else happened.
A strange image flashed through Amelia's mind.
A forest.
Moonlight.
A black wolf.
A golden-eyed wolf.
Running together.
Free.
Happy.
The vision vanished instantly.
Amelia stumbled.
Kieran caught himself against a nearby chair.
Both looked equally startled.
"What was that?" she whispered.
Nyx sounded smug.
Bond memory.
"What does that mean?"
It means we're getting closer.
That was not reassuring.
Not even a little.
Unfortunately, someone else noticed.
Scarlett Thorn.
The red-haired Alpha's daughter narrowed her eyes.
Then followed Amelia's gaze.
Straight to Kieran.
Understanding immediately appeared on her face.
Then anger.
Pure anger.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Scarlett marched directly toward them.
Amelia sighed.
"This should be fun."
Kieran actually smiled.
And for some reason...
That smile made her stomach flip.
The traitor.
Scarlett stopped in front of Amelia.
"You're in my seat."
Amelia looked around.
There were dozens of empty chairs.
She looked back at Scarlett.
"No."
Scarlett's eye twitched.
The banquet hall went suspiciously quiet.
Apparently everyone wanted front-row seats.
Amelia sighed dramatically.
"Are we really doing this?"
Scarlett folded her arms.
"You don't belong here."
The room froze.
Alexander half rose from his chair.
Kieran's expression darkened instantly.
But Amelia lifted a hand.
Stopping both of them.
Because after years of training warriors...
After years of dealing with stubborn wolves...
Scarlett Thorn wasn't exactly intimidating.
Amelia smiled.
A dangerous smile.
The same smile that usually led to someone ending up in a river.
"Oh."
She tilted her head.
"We're definitely doing this."
And across the room, Victor Bloodfang smiled.
Because chaos was exactly what he wanted.
- Writer
