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1029 Words
The members of Robin and Selene’s old pack left her and Francesca to bury Robin alone. Some of them watched from a distance – close enough that they weren’t trying to hide themselves, but far enough away that Francesca knew they would refuse to help if she did ask for it.
She insisted on making Selene wait in the car, because she was already worried that she wasn’t eating enough or watching out for herself. She was also worried that Selene was still hopelessly fatalistic, even after their conversation. She wasn’t willing to give her the chance to overexert herself.
They didn’t stay long at the grave after it was done, and when they got back into the car to leave Harriet emerged from the house again, forcing Francesca to wind down her window.
She didn’t have anything supportive to say, she only leaned into the car to tell them they would not be welcome back there again. She would regret that when she eventually found out that it was Francesca who had killed Tobias, not Robin or Sawyer. But for now, she was haughty about it and she turned to walk swiftly away.
Francesca insisted on staying somewhere that night. She told Selene it was because she needed a break from driving, but that wasn’t true. She just wanted to know that what she had told Selene had sunk in.
They didn’t talk much, but Selene threw up again in the morning and it confirmed the cause of her nausea to Francesca without needing to ask. It made her pity Selene more than she already had to see her suffering physically on top of everything else. She silently handed her a glass of water, and then watched to make sure she drank it. If Selene didn’t want to talk, that was fine, but Francesca would not let her get away with neglecting herself anymore.
“You look awful,” she brushed her hand against Selene’s wrist, almost taking her hand to offer comfort but then moving it away. Her eyes were rimmed with dark circles and a few days without eating had left her looking frail when she was already slender to begin with. “What can I do to help you through this?”
“It’s only morning sickness, it won’t kill me.”
“I know it won’t kill you but… look, I know a lot about a great number of things, but pregnancy is very much foreign to me and I have no idea how long this will last or what helps it. I don’t like seeing you go through this and I want to help, if I can. If there’s only one meal from one restaurant on the other side of the country that you can stand the thought of eating, I will pay to have it flown in just to see you sit and eat something. I will hire someone to be your personal chef until that child is 18-years-old if that is what it takes to make things easier for you now.”
“I’m grieving, Francesca. Please just give me some time. It hasn’t even been a week, I still wake up expecting him to be there beside me.”
“I know. But if you haven’t eaten anything by the time we get back to the others, my brother is going to take one look at you and feel like he has failed you.”
“I’ll try.”
It was the best Selene was going to offer, and so Francesca accepted it. Agreeing to try and eat was better than steadfastly refusing as she had been.
Francesca checked her phone as Selene went and showered. She had been expecting her brother to phone by now – it shouldn’t have taken them more than a day to get to their old pack from the cabin, and he would have let her know if his plans had changed.
She was wary of leaving Selene alone; she looked so weak that Francesca expected her to collapse or need help at any given moment. She would have preferred to call her brother somewhere private so she could discuss her concerns about Selene with him, but she decided that keeping close to her was more important for now.
He answered almost immediately.
“Where are you? You were supposed to call when you got there.”
“We got here a couple of days ago.”
“Why didn’t you phone?”
“I’ve been busy, Francesca.”
“Too busy to even drop me a message? What is going on? Should I bring Selene and join you?”
“Selene… is she OK? Did everything go well?”
“We were burying her mate, Nathan. It was difficult, and I don’t think she is handling it well. You need to tell us what to do and where to go; I am assuming you are still our Alpha until you tell me otherwise.”
“Please just keep her safe.”
“Would she be safe if I bring her to you?”
“I don’t know yet. We’re burying Tobias tonight, and we will be talking after that. Right now, they have no idea what happened.”
“This must be hard for you, Nathan. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there with you when you had to face them again.”
“Don’t worry about it. They’re not nearly as intimidating as they think.”
“I don’t think they are trying to be intimidating, Nathan. People don’t tend to try and intimidate their next Alpha.”
“Hmm.” He sounded disgruntled and she knew that her attempt to garner more information from him hadn’t been a success.
“Listen, we’re about to leave and I need to know where we’re going. If you want us there let me know, if not… where do we go?”
“Why don’t you go to one of those fancy hotels in the city with spa treatments and stuff?”
“That’s your suggestion? Take her to a place full of humans and pay for the humans to touch her?”
“Francesca, I really have to go and help sort stuff out before tonight. Please take Selene home so Constance can leave, and wait for me to update you about anything else. OK?”
“OK,” she accepted the instruction, relieved that she could tell Selene she was doing what Sawyer had asked now. “Oh,” she suddenly thought of asking something else, “have they been OK to Elizabeth?”
Her brother was already gone.
- Writer
