TBMA [Complete ✔️]

18. Necklace

Rosalie's P.O.V

"Hi, mom!" I whispered as I sat on the ground next to her. The sun shone from above, its rays gently caressing my skin. "I'm so glad you finally have a proper place to rest!" A small smile made its way onto my lips as I set flowers above her grave.

Since Knox was now Alpha, he made sure the graveyards were restored and taken care of to respect those that had passed. Obviously, allies, finances, and rogue attacks were his main priority in the beginning, but today, as if on cue for my birthday, they were finally ready to visit.

"I'm sure you're looking at us from above, but I still wanted to make sure you heard everything from me. Knox is now the Alpha of our pack! He's made it such a better place in the two years he's ruled, mama, you'd hardly recognize the place! Females have equal rights, pups are no longer scared of playing outside and all the minors, including me, are back in school!" My fingers dug carefully through the soil, playing with it before settling it back down.

"I don't have to heal many wolves anymore, luckily, because there aren't many to be healed, anyway. I've actually started getting excited over training and have made a lot of progress! You should watch me in combat sometimes, I almost always win now that I don't use up all of my energy. I'm also a great student." A few birds chirped in the distance, distracting me with their song for a little while before I continued.

"I try hard and make sure to study all of my lessons, so you wouldn't have had to stress about it if you were still here. I was quite excited to be back around others my age, but as it turns out, I prefer to stay by myself." I shrugged, despite her not being physically around to witness it. "I'm afraid trusting others isn't as easy as I thought it would be. After father-" A sigh left my lips at his mention, not having talked about him since his death.

He had been in my thoughts quite a few times, but his name never left my mouth after the Alpha challenge. I do still wonder whether he and mom are back together, or whether she, like us, could never forgive him for what he did to our family and pack. I wondered if he was mad that his son had beat him, or if he was proud that Knox was fixing the mess he had left behind, but I tried not to dwell on those thoughts too much, after all, I finally had a life I could somewhat do whatever I wanted to with.

"I did manage to make one friend, though! She's our Gamma's mate, the Gamma female, Paisley. At first, I was wary of her and her kindness." I shrugged again, the action relieving a bit of the tension in my muscles. "It seemed too good to be true that after my own brother kind of abandoned me, someone that wasn't even my family would be kind and friendly to me, but we started hanging out at school, and after she found her mate - at the house too. It's quite nice having a fellow she-wolf around, especially an older one that could teach me all about being a wolf and everything else."

The thought of both Paisley and my wolf made me smile. Having a friend was amazing, but having a wolf, having your other half just at arms reach, was even better. I had wondered many times what she'd be like, what her name would be, whether she'd like long runs or prefer short but observant jogs - and today I'd finally find out.

"My love for fashion, accessories and makeup has also grown! At first, when I found myself with nothing to do but schoolwork, I was bored out of my mind!" I chuckled softly, quietly enough not to disturb anyone else's peace. "I had enough time to put more effort into my outfits and try out different makeup looks that I had so much fun creating. Style is such a fun way to express yourself!" I quickly glanced at the outfit I had put together this morning, being excused from training because of my birthday and all.

"I also, kind of, found my mate." I sighed, my chest constricting heavily as the words left my lips. "I never meant to hurt anyone, let alone Zane, but, mom, I'm so scared! I wish you were here to give me advice, to tell me how to make this less painful for him or even if I'm doing the right thing or not." I hugged my knees, letting my head rest on them while I stared ahead at nothing in particular.

"I thought I could leave the pack before he came back, that I could spare both of us the trouble by simply running away, but even when I was presented with the opportunity, I couldn't leave Knox. He's done nothing to deserve my stay, and yet, I couldn't bare to leave him all alone."

Despite my brother and I growing even more distant than we had been, the thought of leaving him all alone, with no one but ranked members by his side, wasn't something I could do. He may act like he's merely my Alpha now and nothing more, but I'd forever be the little sister that stood up to him when others feared to, the one he shielded from the world.

"At least there's still a year until I have to face Zane, unlike Knox, who I've been fighting with almost every day. Surely, you wouldn't want to hear that as our mom, but he's so stubborn! He pretends he's okay, that everything is under his control, but the truth is the only thing he can't manage to get a hold of are his own emotions! He lashes out any chance he gets, he's grown cold and distant since he, well, killed father, and he often smashes cups and breaks furniture." I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration, wondering, for years now, how to get through to my brother, how to make him let me in.

"I think work and stress have been making him angrier and more savage, although he's still a greater leader. Perhaps our wolves would've preferred someone that reached out to them, reinforced traditions and celebrations, but maybe one day, when our pack gets a Luna, things will be different." I could almost hear mom giving me a lecture about double standards.

"I might be a hypocrite for thinking like this, for thinking Knox needs a mate when I refuse to accept my own, but I know he's not like father. He may have become short-tempered and easily agitated but he'd never hurt anyone unless he had to, despite his tough exterior." I checked my watch, knowing I should soon return to the pack house to get ready for the party, what a surprise, I was throwing for myself.

Since I was the Alpha's daughter, now the Alpha's sister, and a healer, shifting into my wolf for the first time would be a big deal for the pack. The party was meant to be thrown by Knox, but it would only be like that on paper as everything I had done by myself, with the help of the Omegas.

"Well, to wrap my visit up, most importantly, our pack has been renamed Blood Moon instead of Red Moon due to the way Knox took the title, it's now the largest, after overtaking many smaller, and one or two larger packs, and the strongest, so rogues don't bother us anymore. Knox let all of us have our freedom back at the sake of locking his emotions in a cage I can't brake them out of, but I haven't lost hope yet. I don't think I could even if I wanted to when it comes to my brother." Time started to grow even shorter, though I somehow wasn't ready to go yet, despite knowing I could easily return tomorrow.

"I need to go now, but I'll come again to show you my wolf, I'm sure that even if she's tiny you'd still like her, as would I. You should see Knox's though, he's huge and can make even another Alpha cower before him!" I finally stood up, dusted my clothes, and patted the grave. "I love you, mama, I'll be back soon!"

The walk back home wasn't long, but I still took my time. I took deep breaths, connected myself with nature, watched the slight sway of the trees, and enjoyed the colors of the flowers.

Despite having made peace with the fact my mom wasn't amongst the living, I still needed a few moments to myself after visiting her, especially now, since today was a big day and I hadn't been able to speak to her for a while. I didn't feel sad or devastated, perhaps just the familiar loneliness I was used to.

I thought about what I told her, the good and the bad. Knox now had many allies, yet it did not stop him from being a lonely soul, without a single friend. Perhaps it was our family's curse to help others, to save them when they needed it, but to never have anyone do the same for us.

Before I knew it, I was back in my room with Omega after Omega coming in to fuss over every little detail from my outfit to the earrings I paired it with. I had no doubt they were still traumatized from my father's obsessions with everything during events being absolutely perfect, and my brother's temper probably didn't do much to help ease their worries.

After I had finished my makeup and reassured the Omegas that I could curl my hair perfectly fine on my own, I took my dress out of the closet. It was one of mom's old dresses - a stunning short red dress that reached a little above my knees with golden roses reaching from the neck to the waist. The cleavage area was see-through, but not enough to make me uncomfortable.

I smiled as I ran my hand down the fabric. It seemed mom had always loved roses, the thought making my smile widen.

I gave myself a once over in the mirror, the dress luckily fitting me like a glove. I felt so beautiful in the sparkling gold roses and red fabric I could cry from happiness.

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, ready to head to the party when a small box I hadn't seen before caught my attention. I picked it up, carefully examining it before finally pulling it open. Inside was a beautiful white-gold necklace in the shape of a crescent moon.

The moon was covered in sparkly gems, while a rose hung from its bottom. A bigger gem was placed inside the red rose, a leaf and thorn wrapped around the small moon.

I almost gasped at its beauty, immediately struggling to put it around my neck. My excitement, however, was short-lived as I noticed a piece of paper was under the box.

"Happy birthday -Knox," The note said, my emotions switching back and forth from sadness to rage to annoyance. My birthday, not even a usual one, my sixteenth birthday, the most special day in a wolf's life, and he chose to give me my gift by simply leaving it on the nightstand.

Suddenly the peace of gold felt suffocating, as if I was wrong for wearing it. Suddenly, my eyes were swimming in unshed tears for the brother who would have never done this to me. But it was too late to cry or take offense to anything anymore.

I swallowed down my pride and bitterness, and made my way downstairs, already plastering a fake smile on my lips, ready to entertain the guests as I had done times and times before.

A/N

Hi, Treasures! Make sure you join my F-a-c-e-b-o-o-k group Teddy's Treasures for extra content and discussions! Any suggestions for what's going to happen at the party?