The Mysteries That Follow You

Chapter 26

There are only a few days until Marie's birthday and her first shift. Her training has gone well and Oscar thinks she is more than ready. She has gotten stronger, her muscles are more defined, and she is quick. Alpha Tyrell is coming over today to spar with her. Luna Ciara is joining him and they will all have lunch together afterwards. Marie finished the crafts she made for her godparents two days ago and is excited to gift them. She has been in her room all morning strategizing on her fight with Alpha Tyrell. When they arrive, Kiana opens the front door for Alpha Tyrell and Luna Ciara. Oscar calls Marie down from the bottom of the stairs. When she gets down she hugs her godparents. After the hellos and welcomes Marie, Oscar, and Alpha Tyrell head out to the back.

"Are you ready for this, Marie?" Oscar looks at her face to gauge her reaction as they walk to the clearing where they usually spar. When he first told Marie about sparring with Alpha Tyrell, she was hesitant. Alpha Tyrell wouldn't do anything to hurt Marie, but he is large and intimidating. However, as the day approached, he could see her excitement growing.

"Yes! I am super siked" Excited energy radiates off of Marie and the two men can't help but get caught in it. They form a triangle once they reach the clearing. Each one looks and gauges the other's demeanor. Oscar goes over the rules of the spar and then Marie and Alpha Tyrell shake hands. Marie gets into her fighting stance and Alpha Tyrell follows suit. The sight is akin to a rabbit squaring off with a fox. Oscar steps off to the side to referee.

"On three you will begin." Oscar counts to three with his fingers. When he gets to three he yells "Go!" Marie immediately goes on the offense and lunges at Alpha Tyrell. He is already on the defense not wanting to put his full power into this fight. It's not about if he can beat Marie but if she can hold her own. He swerves out of the way to dodge her initial attack. Which is exactly what Marie wanted him to do. As Alpha Tyrell steps to the right Marie with incredible speed switches her trajectory to the right towards his legs. Alpha Tyrell is a solid man and the attack makes him stumble back but he stays up. Marie doesn't let that deter her and she takes the element of surprise and does a crouched sweep kick. Using the momentum from his stumble she completely knocks Alpha Tyrell down.

Marie fights like she is playing a game of chess. Her techniques are primarily to walk her opponents into check-mating themselves. Her first strategy usually works on Oscar but Alpha Tyrell will be harder for her to manage. She steps back to let him get up, this spar is far from over. Marie is even more pumped for the challenge. Once he is up she begins circling him, looking for another weak point.

Alpha Tyrell watches Marie watch him. He is already impressed she got the jump on him. As Marie inches closer to Alpha Tyrell, he starts swinging at her to test her reflexes. He pulls the strength in his punches but not the speed. She dodges his punches and only gets hit once in the shoulder. Marie takes that punch to get the chance to claw at his face. She hasn't shifted yet but Oscar has taught her to fight like a werewolf. Marie is keeping Alpha Tyrell on his toes and he has to channel his wolf a little to dodge her attacks. They go back and forth like that for an hour. Marie manages to flip Alpha Tyrell on his back once more before they call it quits. She is a bit battered and bruised but has a huge smile on her face. Alpha Tyrell barely looks touched but he did break a sweat trying to keep up with Marie. Oscar and Alpha Tyrell have mirrored looks of pride as the trio walk back to the house. Marie bounces through the house to the kitchen where Kiana and Luna Ciara are prepping lunch.

"I flipped Alpha Tyrell on his back!" Marie says immediately when she sees them with pride. Luna Ciara looks at her husband who just walked in along with Oscar with surprise.

"She speaks the truth. The girl is good," says Alpha Tyrell pulls Marie under his arm and then squeezes her face with his bicep and forearm.

"Congrats sweetheart. Now go upstairs and get washed up for lunch." Marie says okay and heads upstairs after escaping Alpha Tyrells hold. The men sit on the barstools at the kitchen island.

"You were right Oscar, Marie is a true warrior just like her father was." Alpha Tyrell says. "I unexpectedly had to use my wolf."

"Never expect anything when sparing with Marie. That is something I learned the hard way." Oscar says and everyone laughs.

Marie walks into her bedroom after washing up and grabs the gifts for her godparents. She walks downstairs and places them on the coffee table in the living room. She walks into the kitchen to help Kiana set up the dining room for lunch. Everyone is now seated and digging in. Marie inhales her food, sparring always leaves her starving. There is light conversation at the table while they eat and when everyone is done Oscar and Alpha Tyrell clear the table for dessert. Luna Ciara brought a peach cobbler and butter pecan ice cream. While Luna Ciara and Kiana dish out dessert Marie heads to the coffee table to gather the gifts. She comes back to the dining table and hands each person their gift.

"What's this Marie?" Luna Ciara admires the gift bag Marie handed to her.

"I made you all something. To show my love and appreciation for you. I hope you'll like it." Marie looks expectantly at the group, waiting for them to open their gifts.

Alpha Tyrell is the first to open his bag and pulls out a wooden statue of a man and two little boys. The two boys a child and a baby are lying in the man's lap. The man has a book in one hand and cradles the baby's head with the opposite arm. The statue depicts a comforting sight of the man cuddled up and reading to the two boys. The book in the man's hand has writing carved into it. The words are painted over in black to make it easier to read. It reads 'There once was a scared prince ...'. Alpha Tyrell is stunned by this. This statute is a scene straight out of his memories. "Wow" is all he says in a soft voice. He is reminded of when he would read bedtime stories to his sons. Their favorite was the one he made up about a prince being scared to be a father. When they asked him for a new story he couldn't think of anything and just based one on himself.

Luna Ciara is the next to open her gift after hearing her husband say wow. She looks into the gift bag and sees something purple on either side of a brown handle. She sticks her hand in and pulls out a wooden basket that has wooden flowers carved to look like the basket is filled with fresh flowers. Luna Ciara immediately can tell that the flowers are hyacinths. They remind her of the ones from her grandmother's garden. Her grandmother planted them before every spring and said they meant the start of new beginnings. Luna Ciara tilts the basket to see the wicker design on the side. Her eyes widen as she reads what is written on the side. Carved and painted the same color as the flowers the words read 'To my dear flower, I hope the rain and sun help you grow'. The exact words her grandmother said to her before she moved to the Delta Blue Pack to live with Tyrell. Tears begin to well in her eyes as she thinks about her grandmother. It has been six years since she passed away and she still misses her dearly.

Kiana looks into her gift bag at the same time as Luna Ciara. She pulls out what's inside and is confused at first but then tears cloud her vision. She holds wooden baby footprints in her hand. They are small in her hands and have a glossy coat. There is a date carved into them. She recognizes it as the day she and Oscar learned they couldn't have kids. They did tests to find out why they hadn't gotten pregnant after years of trying and the doctor informed them that they both had little to no chance to conceive. She turns the feet in her hand to check the bottom but notices little pictures on the side of the feet. She turns the wooden feet around to look at each picture. There are herbs, music notes, books, chef hats, and apron symbols etched on the side. All the hobbies she took on after learning she wouldn't be able to do the one thing she always wanted. She had to find joy in life somewhere else and she did. She finally flips it to the bottom of the feet and another date is carved on there. This date was the day they officially signed the paperwork and adopted Marie. Kiana broke out in sobs no longer being able to hold it back.

Oscar rubs circles onto his wife's back. While comforting her he uses his free hand to pull out his gift. He places it on the table to look at it. Facing him is a wooden statue of a man holding up a plate in both his hands above his head. The man is down on one knee and his muscles are straining to hold this plate up. His face however is calm and he is smiling. The man looks happy to keep this plate lifted up high. On top of the plate are weights of various sizes and instead of numbers carved on them there are words. The words say responsibility, family, protection, and love. The statue makes Oscar think about all the things in his life he has to balance. They stress him out at times but he would continue to do them every day with a smile on his face.

Marie sits and watches everyone open their gifts. She is nervously waiting to see if they like it. She spots the tears Kiana and Luna Ciara shed. She feels guilty for making them cry. She looks over at Alpha Tyrell and her father and they look at her with happy smiles. She doesn't have the chance to sit and contemplate why they are smiling and her godmothers are crying, because she remembers she left something upstairs. She runs up to retrieve it before running back to the dining room. She walks to Luna Ciara and hands her a bag.

"Another one?" Luna Ciara says as she wipes the tears from her eyes.

"Yes, but it's not quite for you."