The Birth Of The Beta

10. I WANT TO KNOW YOU

The day after the incident, Aoife woke up in the morning, forgetting about the residual pain in her ribs and stomach. Unwisely, she stretched, then quickly retracted as she felt the pain run through her like a slow fracture. The painful stiff movement paused her feet for a moment, but she refused to return to her comfy bed. Shuffling to her clothes, she lifted her fur skirt and tied it in place with the thick leather belt. She paired it with the matching fur jacket that left her arms exposed and used the thin leather tie to fasten it up the front. She bent over to pick up her soft suede boots, when the sharp pain from this simple movement paused her plans. She took a moment to plot a different ways to put on her boots, before she finally admitted defeat and had every intention of asking Pepin to help her.

Dragging her achy body to the door, she was startled to find herself barricaded inside her room by a disappointed looking Pepin, and an amused Cornelius. Pepin was carrying a tray of her usual breakfast, with extra peaches. Scattered across the platter were beautiful pink and purple bleeding hearts. It was with this offering that he managed to herd her back onto her bed. Conversely, Cornelius kept his distance, but stood at the door with his arms folded, blocking any notion of her escape to conduct any training today.

“I told you she would try to get up,” Cornelius commented smugly, with amusement dancing over each word.

Pepin rolled his eyes at the observation, more concerned that his mate had pushed herself rather than listen to her protesting body.

“What’s the tray of food for?” Aoife asked, while shifting her eyes between the two of them.

“It’s just to look at, a piece of art to decorate your room,” Pepin sarcastically replied.

After a brief pause he answered honestly, “I thought you would feel too sore to get up today, so I brought you breakfast,” Pepin admitted, blushing at what was supposed to be a romantic gesture, and a clear sign that he cared.

“This was really thoughtful, thank-you, did your breakfast get lost on the way, Cornelius?” Aoife teased, making the old man laugh.

“No, I told Pepin you’d be getting ready, but he didn’t believe me, so I’m here to prove a point,” Cornelius paused to allow them to assume training would be expected as usual. Seeing Pepin was puffing his cheeks with indignation, preparing himself to argue he added, “I’ve also come to tell you that I’ve cancelled training today, so you can rest,” He chuckled at their reaction, but was pleased to see how quickly Pepin had objected to Aoife being pushed too far.

“There’s no need, I can still train them,” Aoife protested.

“You should rest, at least until you can put your boots on without help, and I need to find Magnus, he didn’t return last night,” Cornelius reassured her.

“You should rest too, Cornelius. You’re looking very pale and tired,” Aoife mentioned, assuming it was the stress of arguing with Magnus again.

Cornelius waved his hand in a dismissive gestures, volleying the concern away before it could reach him: he was always too proud to admit to weakness. The man who trained with wolves. He returned to the house leaving the couple to enjoy their breakfast.

The morning had been spent finishing off their delicious feast. Aoife’s favourite was of course the peaches, and Pepin’s favourite was the nutty porridge. Clovis and Neve both agreed that their humans were strange and the best food on offer were the eggs and ham. To pass more time during Aoife’s recuperation they decided to sketch each other, since neither could read nor write. Aoife frowned all the way through her sketching, scrutinising her work as she went. Pepin stuck the tip of his tongue out, clearly deep in concentration. When they each revealed their efforts, their laughter was so loud it could be heard in the kitchen. They were not skilled! Despite the misshapen mess on their pages, Aoife still took hers and carefully placed it in her weapons chest.

Pepin could see that his mate’s eyes seemed heavy and her cheeks were slightly flushed. He lay on the bed in front of her and placed his arm across her waist.

“Aoife, Winnie told me you don’t like your birthday, why is that?” Pepin asked, but Aoife immediately seemed withdrawn. “Please Aoife, I want to know you, don’t hide from me,” Pepin whispered softly, brushing his fingertips through her hair.

Thinking back to her twelfth birthday was something that Aoife hated to do. It was eighteen years ago, but no amount of time could wear away the details of her home. She had grown up surrounded by every shade of green. The juniper of the prickly fir trees that would softly scratch her skin as she ran past. The wise old oak trees that always seemed to use their leaves as a cloak from the rain, but left their naked trunks bare to be admired, the leaves were such a beautiful shade of green it seemed iridescent among its companions. Thick grass carpeted the ground, so dense that her feet would get lost in it with each step. She would find conkers in the mud of the forest floor and collect them to play conker wars with her alpha’s child, and the rest of the pack’s pups. She had recently become a sister to a baby brother and she had loved him at first sight. Her childhood had been free, and wild, and full of love. She had once been blessed. She turned to Pepin and decided to tell him about the day she left her home, as she felt inadequate to fully describe the splendour of the land she was born in, and how beautiful her family was.

“The land I am from is rich with fertile soil, and thick forests with strong, healthy wood. When I was eleven, the humans came on their long ships and tried to strip our land of its natural wealth. All the packs on our island fused together in the shared mind-set that they wouldn’t let the humans win. By my twelfth birthday, both humans and wolves had lost many warriors and the humans wanted to negotiate. They said they would pay for some wood to repair their galleys and build some more houses in their own country, in return they would trade fruit trees and furs. All the packs agreed with the deal, but a general said it was a custom to take a ‘guest’ from the ranking members to ensure the deal would be honoured. The other packs refused, our alpha only had one son, and the Gamma had no family at all. My father was the Beta, and had me and my baby brother. The general said if we couldn’t decide he would take the baby, and strode towards my brother with his arms out. The roars made the earth shake. Many of my friends had died in the war, I didn’t want it to carry on and kill the friends I had left, and I wasn’t going to let anybody take my brother. I grabbed the general’s arm and told him I would go with him. It was my twelfth birthday.” Aoife concluded. She was trying, unsuccessfully, to keep the anguish from her voice.

“You were only a child? I can’t believe you volunteered,” Pepin was astounded.

“I had to, there wasn’t really a choice, but I didn’t want my parents to feel as if they had sacrificed me, and I didn’t want my pack and alpha to feel like they had been forced to do something, it would make us look weak,” Aoife clarified.

Pepin knew his mate was formidable. The first time he saw her she was thrashing up the men who had been attacking him. She trained the gladiators like she was an alpha, and she once again rescued him from that human woman, while experiencing pains from the bond being smeared by the hands of another. His stubborn mate even tried to carry on with her work that very morning, even if she had had to teach them all barefooted. Hearing of the incredible bravery at such a young age, made him fiercely defensive of her, he felt his heartache listening to her hardships.

“How did you meet Cornelius?” He wondered.

“He was a soldier, and when I left the pack I became ill from the separation. Cornelius looked after me. He was kind. When we came here, Cornelius asked the general what would happen to me. He laughed and said no-one wanted me, it was done to make the wolves suffer, because nothing mattered more to them than family. The general looked at me and pinched my chin in his fingers, he said if I ever dreamed of going back he would call his legions and march straight back to my home and trample every sign of life under his feet until the roots screamed for mercy. Cornelius brought me to Heaton House, and you know the rest of the story,” Aoife explained, waiting for Pepin reaction.

Silence stretched further than the tolerance of decency, while neither Pepin nor Aoife spoke. When the tension was pulled to an uncomfortable strain, Aoife couldn’t bear it anymore, she picked up a grape from the breakfast tray and threw it at his head. It landed right on his nose, and he looked at her in disbelief.

“Sorry, I hate uncomfortable silences,” She snorted at his reaction.

“That was a really bad idea,” Pepin smirked, while he grabbed a bunch of the fruity jewels and aimed for her face. Preparing for his attack, she picked up the other bunch of grapes, and squinted her eyes as she anticipated his next move. The grape was thrown far too high and as it plummeted towards her she opened her mouth and let it fall in.

“Cheeky,” Pepin thought, “Very cheeky!”

Pepin laughed at her ability catch food mid-air, so he didn’t notice the spinning soft purple pebble, until it collided with his ear. This was how the next hour passed. Aoife’s area was neat and tidy the only evidence of battle being the naked branch on the floor, all other evidence had been swiftly swallowed. Pepin’s area was splattered with green grapes, and the splash of juice where the fray had caused him to roll on the ammunition, spitting out the last of its life on impact. It had been silly, and the most fun either of them had ever had.

Pepin was picking up the causalities of the food war, when he noticed Aoife was looking at him.

“What you thinking, pumpkin?” He asked.

“Pumpkin?” She queried, scrunching her nose up at the endearment.

“That’s how you smell to me, of vanilla and pumpkin,” He explicated, Aoife smiled while her wolf shimmered with glee.

“Pepin, how did you end up here?” Aoife asked, worried about effecting the mood.

“I’m not sure, I’ll tell you all I do know. I was left in the care of a temple in the city. A small group of humans still worship the Gods and Goddesses. The women in this temple were the servants of Selene, the Moon Goddess. When I was ten, the head priestess told me that my parents were wolves, who had opted to fight for the humans in hope that it would be a good will gesture and ensure peace for their pack. They said if they survived they would return to get me in two years. They didn’t return. The women were lovely and kind to me, but they were an all-female temple, and it wasn’t appropriate for an eighteen year old male wolf to live with them anymore. I wanted to know what happened to my parents, so I tracked down the battle they were in, and went to see if anyone knew if they were really dead. I was told that the wolves were sent into battle first, the idea was that the enemies would waste their weapons and arrows on the wolves and then they would be ill-prepared for the human soldiers that marched over the wolves’ bodies to gain the victory. I said my goodbyes to the parents I never knew, and came home. When I returned to the city, I tried to make money by completing little jobs for people, then finally good luck brought me to you,” Pepin smiled.

“After you were beaten up for not repaying a debt, it doesn’t sound like the best luck,” She laughed, incredulous about his selective accuracy when it came to retelling the story of how they met.

“You were there, so no amount of beatings would stop me enjoying the sight of you,” Pepin smiled, and lay on the bed next to her, placing her head in the nook between his collar bone and arm joint. It was silent again, but completely peaceful.

“Pepin, you smell like mint and fennel to me,” Aoife divulged.

“It’s an unusual mix,” He replied.

“It’s a scent I never knew of, and now I don’t ever want to be without it,” She replied, inhaling his scent as her eyes weighed heavy.

He kissed her head, waiting for her to sleep, before he followed her.