Mythical Mate for an Alpha

Chapter 8

Our pack is about a 20 minute drive from school. This part of Maine is pretty secluded, so it made the perfect place for our ancestors to call home. 

I used the back entrance like Mom suggested so we would look like any other normal human family. We just happened to live really far off into the woods. 

I would occasionally glance over at Kitty as we drove. She seemed so engrossed in watching the scenery as we went. If she thought it was odd how far we lived from town, she certainly didn’t show it. 

We pulled up to the house and Kitty let out a squeak. She burst out of the car and stared up at the house. 

“Trish, your house is amazing! It’s so beautiful. Look at all the gorgeous Cedar.” 

It was clear Kitty was happy. Though, I couldn’t really recall a time this week, aside from the Casper incident, where Kitty wasn’t happy. Everything was the greatest thing since sliced bread as far as she was concerned. From the water fountain to pop quizzes, there was nothing Kitty didn’t enjoy.

“Come on Kitty. Let me show you the inside. And you can meet my mom.”

Ella and Eli had already headed into the house and left the front door open. I imagined they had warned Mom, just in case there were any other pack members in the house.

We made our way up the front stairs as Kitty continued to stare at the house. As soon as we were through the door, my Mom met us.

“Hello Kitty. I’m Mary Anders. It’s so nice to meet you. The kids have told me so much about you.” Mom extended her hand to Kitty.

Kitty looked at it dumbly then up at my Mother. A moment passed before I started to worry. Just then, Kitty flung herself at my mother and wrapped her in a hug. Thankfully, she kept her feet on the floor instead of how she had hugged me that day in phys ed. I should have known this would happen.

Mom was a bit shocked at first, but wrapped Kitty in an equally strong embrace. She ran her hands through Kitty’s hair as she pulled away. “Kitty, you have the most gorgeous hair I think I have even seen.”

As Mom continued to stroke Kitty’s hair, I could have sworn I heard a sound like a purr come from Kitty. Her eyes were closed, leaning in to my mother’s touch. My eyes snapped to Mom’s to see if she heard it too. Judging by the look on her face, she did. 

“Why don’t you girls go find something fun to get into and I’ll start dinner. Trish, are Orla and Andre coming by tonight?”

“Yeah I think so.”

“Great. Why don’t you text them and let them know to come by at 6. I’m sure Andre will have an appetite to match the whole group by then.” She laughed to herself, passed another hand through Kitty’s hair, and made her way back toward the kitchen.

“Oh my gosh, your Mom is just the best. I haven’t met very many mother’s, but I don’t think there is one better than Mrs. Anders.” Kitty gushed. 

I found it to be an odd thing to say. “Didn’t you have many friends at your other schools Kitty? You must have had tons of sleepovers.”

“Nope. This is my first.” She beamed. When she didn’t say any more, I let it go. I lead her up the stairs and into my room. I told her to put her bag in the corner and make herself comfortable. 

I pulled out my phone to text Andre and Orla about dinner. I had a feeling we were going to get to know Kitty pretty well tonight.

Kitty and I headed down to dinner an hour and a half later. I could already smell Orla’s and Andre’s scent, so I knew they were in the house. Before we reached the dining room, Kitty stopped me. She had a serious look on her face. 

“Trish, I want to ask a question before dinner. Um, I don’t want to say the wrong thing in there. And if you don’t want to tell me that is fine. I know it might be personal. Not everyone likes to talk-”

“Kitty.” I interrupted her. “Spit it out already girl.”

“Do you have a Dad?” She asked. Immediately I could see the worried expression on her face. Why would she ask a question like that? Was she afraid of men? Had someone hurt her?

“Yes. Of course I have a Dad. His name is Felix. He and my brother Syrus are out of town for a few weeks. Orla’s boyfriend is with them too. He is best friends with Syrus. So is Andre. That is why he is always hanging around.”

Kitty let out the breath she had been holding and her normal smile returned. “Ok. That’s great. I met a girl once who didn’t have a Dad. I didn’t know. Let’s just say it was pretty uncomfortable. And you have another brother?”

I chuckled at her ramblings and led her into the dining room.

“Sy and I are twins. We are two years older than Eli and Ella. Twins are a thing around here I guess.” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

I sat in my usual seat and I motioned for Kitty to take the seat next to me. I watched her slide her chair in delicately, move her napkin to her lap, and sit with perfect posture. Her table manners were odd. It was almost like she had gone to a finishing school.

Kitty waved and smiled, bouncing slightly in her seat as everyone got settled. Mom was coming in the door with potholders on. Ella was behind her carrying another dish in her covered hands. One more trip for each of them to the kitchen and four steaming dishes in cast iron sat on the table. 

Andre and Orla looked to Mom, about to bow their heads when suddenly her voice was in all of our heads. “Andre, Orla, no bowing. Tonight I am not to be called Luna. We can speak of nothing that would indicate we are a wolf pack. Just pretend to be a normal angsty teenager.” She gave us all a bright smile and a wink. 

Kitty had not taken her eyes off the meal. I could see a small line of drool starting at the lower corner of her lip. She was already tiny. I wonder if she ate much.

“These smell amazing! What are they?” Kitty asked, still eyeing the food.

“Chicken pot pies. The boys have quite the appetite so we always eat a lot around here. Don’t be shy. Dig in.” Mom said, handing a large black spoon to Kitty.

She took it from my Mom and looked down at it. “Whoa. This is heavy”

Mom smiled and forced a small blush. “It came as a set. I wanted everything to match since we had company.”

I looked to the other pies on the table. The serving spoons were also black, but none of them were iron to match the skillets. I looked to my mother and Ella. They were watching Kitty dip her pot pie onto her plate. I smirked when I realized what they were doing.

Mom was in agreement that there was something odd about Kitty. It was clear she couldn’t tell either. Iron however, is a weakness for Faeries. Mom was doing an experiment on Kitty to see if she was Fae. It would certainly account for some of the small behaviours we noticed. Well played, Mom. No wonder she was the Luna.

Kitty had no problem with the iron spoon. Nor did she have any problem eating a dish made with meat. Kitty was certainly not a faerie. We could check that off the list of supernatural possibilities.

There was no way she was a vampire either. Her teeth, skin, and eyes would have given her away in an instant. Dragon was probably off the table too. She was far too happy and generous to be a Dragon. There weren’t many other options left. 

“So Kitty, tell me more about yourself. The kids tell me you moved a lot.” Mom posed to her as she took a sip of her wine. 

“First, this is absolutely amazing Mrs. Anders! There is nothing that can compare to fresh plucked thyme and rosemary. Do you have some here at the house?” Kitty gushed about Mom’s cooking. 

Pleased, Mom jumped right in. “I do as a matter of fact. I also have a garden of sorts. It’s on another plot not too far from here. We live a bit of a distance from town, as I am sure you have noticed, so it is sometimes easier to have fresh things at my disposal.”

“I have one too.” Kitty added beaming at Mom. “I rotate it in the winter months so I can get some good kale and carrots.”

“Do you use the tunnel method?” Mom asked seriously. 

Sitting there watching them I could swear they were speaking another language. Kitty certainly knew a lot about growing her own food. I haven’t yet met a human girl yet who liked to work in the soil and be outdoors. Usually their nails took priority.

As they were engrossed in herbs and plants, Ella asked Orla when she expected Owen back.

“Not for another two weeks.” she replied, disappointment lacing her words. She had eaten only some of the food on her plate. Her depression was really taking hold of her being away from her mate this long. 

“Don’t worry. I’m sure Owen misses you just as much. Though I can’t see him wasting a perfectly good meal for no reason.” Ander commented, sliding Orla’s plate over to his side of the table. 

“Have you no shame?” I looked to him. He didn’t even bother to acknowledge the comment. 

“Where have the men gone?” Kitty asked the group.

“Business trip.” Mom didn’t miss a beat.

“Oh how important!” Kitty commented genuinely. “Do they own the business?’

“Um, in a sense yes. They are part of the American sector of the business.” Mom clearly had not thought this all the way through.

“Like a franchise?” Kitty asked, furrowing her brow in thought.

“Yes! A franchise! They are in Germany at the moment with some other European sectors.” Mom felt as though she had landed her footing again in the conversation. 

“What does Owen do for the business Orla?” Kitty asked, heaping another portion of pot pie onto her plate. 

“He’s.. uh.. Well, he..” Orla looked to me with a small amount of panic in her eyes. 

“He is the secretary. Dad is president, Syrus is the VP, and Owen is the secretary. He oversees the training, helps with financials, scheduling, that sort of thing. His father did that work and recently retired. Owen moved into his position.” I said hastily. I noticed I had a small bit of sweat starting on my neck. Lying was harder than I thought.

“That’s so great.” Kitty gushed, clapping her hands together. “You must be so proud of him Orla. You are so lucky to have a smart guy like that. I can’t wait to meet him.”

Kitty’s genuine words struck Orla and made her smile. It was wider than I had seen in the last two weeks.Kitty’s infectious personality was staving off Orla’s sadness. 

“I am yeah. He is really fantastic.” she said, glaring at Andre and pulling her dish back. She heaped another spoonful and began eating again, but not before sticking her tongue out at Andre.

Andre feigned a hurt expression and pulled the rest of the iron skillet over to himself. He began eating directly from it like a caveman. No one, including Mom, was surprised. 

“Andre, do you have a girlfriend?” Kitty asked innocently. Her Amber eyes were gazing at Andre down the length of the table and nearly made him spit his pie at Orla. 

“What? A girlfriend? Me? No way champ. A gentleman like myself could not possibly settle on just one woman. It would be a disservice to the rest of them.” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at Kitty. 

Kitty burst into a fit of laughter. It was contagious and soon the whole table was laughing with her. Even quiet, stoic Eli couldn’t help but join in. 

“A disservice huh? It has nothing to do with the fact that you dated most of the cheerleading squad at the same time, they all found out, and you have now been labeled the ultimate playboy of Grammercy high?” Eli tossed out. 

Andre clutched at his heart and fell out of his chair. After a pause, he popped his head back up above the table. “I am mortally wounded by your words. Who would spread such lies and dastardly rumors at my expense. I am but a reserved chaste lad.” 

The table laughed even harder. I couldn’t remember when we had this much fun at dinner. Sure, it was great when Dad was here and we were all together. But this, this was something else. It was a different kind of lightheartedness that we have not felt in ages.

After dinner, we all made our way to the game room. Mom promised she didn’t need help cleaning up and said she would meet us in here later with dessert. 

“Let’s play a game!” Ella ran to the book case which held more board games than a children’s store. “I like this one!” She bounded over to us with a large square box in hand. It had a train on the cover and a man in a tall top hat. 

Kitty looked like her eyes were going to bulge out of her head with eagerness. I watched as the familiar glow was starting in her eyes again. She quickly shut them, and took two long deep breaths. Just like that, that glow was gone and she was her usually giddy self again. I could only guess that extreme emotion triggered her. I wonder if we could force the secret out of her somehow. I would have to ask Mom. 

“Sure. I don’t mind that one.” I said, shrugging my shoulders and getting comfy on the floor near the coffee table. 

Eli read the rules and explained the game to Kitty. Andre had excused himself for the evening. He said he had some family business he needed to attend. In reality, I knew that he was on night rounds this evening at the perimeter. He had been taking extra shifts to make sure all was well while Dad, Syrus, and Owen were in Germany.

An hour later, Kitty’s railway was victorious, much to Eli’s annoyance. He has never once lost at that game and certainly didn’t expect to lose to Kitty. He grumbled under his breath as Mom came in with a tray. She put it down and left for the kitchen to get the second. 

Settled in with cocoa, teas, and cupcakes, Mom asked to watch a movie. It had been so long since we were all in here together. While I wished Dad were here, this was still amazing.

“Alright kids,” mom yawned. “I’m turning in.”

“Yeah, us too.” Eli and Ella said in unison. 

“Make that three.” Orla chimed in.

Mom kissed all of us kids good night and gave Kitty and Orla a hug. The twins wished us good night, followed by Orla, and they all headed off to their own areas.

“So, what do you want to do Kitty? Watch another movie? Play another game?” I listed off the options to her as I myself let out a yawn.

“Actually, I think I’m tired too. Could we maybe catch some sleep?” she asked sheepishly. “I mean, I’m having fun, don’t get me wrong. I really am having a good time. If we weren’t up so early today for sch-.”

I cut her off again. “Kitty. It’s fine”. Maybe it was better that she asked the questions. Atleast then the girl wouldn’t ramble.

Most of the time she seemed so calm. It was odd that she went into these bursts. It was like she was afraid of disappointing people. She didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.

We made our way to my room. I let Kitty use the bathroom first while I changed in my walk-in. We finished up our routines and I climbed into the four poster bed. Kitty looked around nervously. s**t. Maybe she didn’t want to sleep in here. I forgot she had never had a sleepover before. 

“So since this is a sleepover, are you ok sleeping in my bed? That’s sort of the way it works. If not, that’s cool too. I can make up a guest room, or you can have the bed and I’ll sleep on the couch over there by the window.” I put it matter of factly. I didn’t want to give away any emotion that would trigger her answer. I didn’t want Kitty uncomfortable.

“Sleep with you?” Kitty asked with her bright Amber eyes staring back at me.

“Well, not if you don’t want to. LIke I said, I can take the couch.” It was almost impossible to read her expression. 

The next thing I knew, Kitty was scrambling onto the bed and burrowing under the covers. Her smile could illuminate a dark cave. The glowing was starting again, so I knew she was happy. Sometimes it seemed like she didn’t spend a whole lot of time around people. Maybe it was just her people-pleasing I was picking up on.

Kitty curled herself into a ball under the blanket and let out a sigh. I giggled to myself and reached over to turn off the light. “Goodnight Kitty.”

“Goodnight Trish”.

Laying in the dark, I could hear Kitty’s breath even out. I knew she was asleep. The girl could switch off like a light. 

Thinking back over dinner and our night with Kitty, I replayed all of the conversations. It was then that I realized I didn’t know any more about Kitty than I did when she got here. Well, I knew about her gardening habits, but that was about it.

She had completely glazed over the questions Mom had asked and distracted her with fresh herbs. She was a sly one, that’s for sure. The whole night, just as conversation would lull, she found a way to point the interest on to someone other than herself. Very clever, Miss Kitty. Very clever indeed.