Chapter 13
1419 Words
RAPHAEL
"Alpha Rapheal!" Wren's voice hit me the second I pushed the door open and she threw herself at me before I had fully stepped inside, Caden right behind her doing the same thing, both of them grabbing onto me at the same time.
"Both of you just kept growing while I was not around. A whole year and you show up taller than I expected," I muttered, pulling them in.
Isolde stood back watching with that expression she always had when she was pleased about something but was not going to say so directly.
"Mum told us you are getting married to Iris. Is she your mate?" Wren pulled back and looked up at me, her eyes already moving toward Iris who was standing nearby with her whole face lit up.
"He is mine and we are getting married soon, right after your graduation," Iris said, stepping forward with that bright smile she kept ready for moments like this, her eyes cutting briefly to Nora who had come down the stairs and stopped near the door.
Nora looked at all of us without saying anything. She stood there with that quiet face she always put on when she was reading a situation and had not yet decided what to do with what she was reading.
She walked the rest of the way down and her eyes met Isolde's.
Isolde stared at her.
"You are still here?" Isolde said, looking Nora over with open displeasure.
Iris scoffed beside her.
Wren and Caden turned to look at Nora as she lowered her head slightly.
"I apologise, ma'am. I have no other place to go at this moment. I will be out of your pack shortly. I already have somewhere else in mind," she said, her voice holding steady, her expression giving nothing away as she looked at Isolde.
Something unpleasant went through me when she said that. I did not have a name for it right then.
"See that you do not take too long," Isolde said flatly.
"Her name is Nora, Mum. That is what you call her," I said and Isolde's eyes came straight to me.
"Rapheal, you let a stranger walk into our pack after everything we went through before. I gave you a clear warning and you went against them," she said, her irritation sitting right on top of every word.
I rolled my eyes and said nothing back.
"Who is she though? She looks calm. Strong energy," Wren said, already moving toward Nora with that open curiosity she had about everything.
"Her name is Nora. She is staying here for now," I said and Nora looked at me briefly when I said it. She looked tired.
Her eyes were heavy and her face had that worn down quality it got when she had pushed through more than her body was ready for.
"Good to meet you. I am Wren," Wren said, reaching out for her hand and Nora smiled at her, small but real.
Caden did the same and Nora nodded at him.
"You do not look like a slave. Your wolf is too strong for that. Are you an alpha's daughter? You remind me of someone I cannot place," Caden said, studying her face with that direct look he had inherited from our father.
"Not an alpha's daughter. But I will take that," Nora answered.
Isolde made a sound. "Picking up compliments from my son's house. I do not know which gutter he found you in."
"Mum," I said sharply.
Nora straightened up. "I meant no harm to you or your family, ma'am. I will see myself out " She turned and walked toward the stairs, her head down, her steps measured.
Iris rushed over to Isolde with that delighted look she got whenever something went the way she wanted it to.
Caden pulled me aside while the two of them settled into their own conversation on the other side of the room.
"She is your mate, Rapheal. Is she not?" he asked, low and direct.
"She is. But it cannot go further than that," I said sternly.
The last thing I wanted right now, was a mate bond distraction.
"Finally. Now that is the right answer," Isolde called from across the room without looking up, and Iris laughed beside her.
"I am going to my room. I need some time alone," I said, moving toward the stairs.
"You did not even ask about our trip. Or how their last year went," Isolde said.
Caden would be twenty years old in a matter of weeks. Both of them. Time moved too fast when you were not paying attention.
"I already know how it went. Caden spent it chasing anything that went under the skirt and Wren spent it between her books and late night gatherings," I said and Caden made a noise at me.
"Give me some room, Rapheal. I am almost twenty years old. Not everyone wants to spend their entire life buried in pack business the way you do," he grumbled and Isolde smacked the back of his head.
"He is your alpha. Address him properly."
"He was my brother before he was my alpha, Mum," Caden muttered, glaring at her sideways.
"He is both and you will act accordingly," Isolde said.
"Shouldn't we treat him like a brother first?" Wren said, arms folded, one
eyebrow up, and I almost smiled at that.
"I will be in my room. Mum, stop travelling at night. The roads are not safe after dark," I said and blew a kiss at her.
She smirked.
Both twins fell in behind me as I went up, leaving Iris and Isolde alone in the living room.
---
I dropped onto the bed and the first thing in my head was Nora's face when Isolde spoke to her. The way she held herself. The way she did not crack even when every word was aimed at making her feel small.
"Damn it. Mum went too far," I muttered, turning onto my side, annoyed at myself for not stepping in sooner and more completely.
She cannot be Luna. That is the reality of it. Even if I wanted her there, which I did want, the fact still remains the same. She's a Lycan breed. If Isolde found out about her breed, the fallout would be worse than anything happening now.
I kept turning over and the bed kept being uncomfortable and Zion kept pushing at the edges of my control.
"We cannot keep doing this. I want to be near her. I want to claim her," Zion pushed at me and I scoffed.
"She is a Lycan breed. Her kind took our father. Why would I bring that into my pack," I said back and the words felt wrong the second they left my mouth.
Saying it did not make it true. She was still my mate regardless of what I told myself about it.
"She does not even know what you are thinking. She is already hurt and closed off. Do not push her further away. I want her," Zion said, low and insistent, and I shut him off before he could go further.
The door opened.
Iris walked in wearing next to nothing, moving toward me with that slow deliberate walk she used when she wanted something from me.
I was on my feet before she reached the bed.
"What are you doing here? I told everyone I needed to be alone," I said, my voice coming out cold and flat.
She tried to get closer and I turned my face before she could reach me.
She tried again and the door swung open and Caden was standing there with a wide grin on his face.
"Looks like I walked in at the wrong time. I just wanted to sleep near my brother," he said from the doorway.
Iris straightened up and the smile she had on her face disappeared immediately,she really felt disgusted by Caden intrusion.
"Nothing is happening. I only came to say goodnight. Stay with your brother." She walked out and the disappointment on her face was not something she bothered to hide.
Caden came in and the door closed behind him as I dropped back onto the bed and exhaled deeply for the first time since Iris left.
"That woman is relentless, Rapheal," Caden said, settling beside me.
"You can say that again," I replied.
A beat of quiet passed between us.
"Your mate," Caden said. "Why does Mum treat her that way?”
- Writer
