The Mute Bride

The Dinner

Kylan’s mother was just putting supper on the table when she got home. Turning a bright smile upon the teen, Kylan was reminded of all the times she had come home to this very kitchen. She could almost see her dad still sitting at the table drinking his coffee and her mother smiling as if the world rose and set upon her family. If only it could be that way again. Her father’s laughter was missing from their lives and she would give anything to bring it back. “Hi Mom! What smells good?”

Sitting, she realized how hungry she was. Her stomach growled, her hand covering it as she ducked her head with embarrassment. Filling her plate with food, she quickly forgot that anything was even happening, her eyes lighting up at some of her favourites. For all that she didn’t put on weight, Kylan loved to eat.

It didn’t take long for the two to clear their plates. Kylan went to the modest kitchen, making her mother a warm drink fresh from the stove. It was almost a routine for them, a way for her to give back to her mother. Adding a dash of whiskey, she stirred it before completing the toddy with a stick of peppermint. Smiling, she brought it to her mother before the fire and went back to washing the dishes and putting them away.

Finally done, she returned to her mother, settling at the older woman’s feet and leaning against her legs. It was a familiar sight, mother and daughter before the fire as if nothing could be more comfortable. As they sat there, Ky stared at the sunset shining outside their front door. How many had her mother seen before finding their pack? How many since? “Mom?” she started, gently probing. Her mind ran over everything Carter had told her, her questions only forming more questions. What happened all those years ago? Does she have a sister? Why has it been kept a secret all these years?

“Did you and Dad ever try to have another kid? Storytime, Mama,” a smile graced her voice as she nudged the older woman towards the object of her curiosity. Maureen looked startled a moment, but she quickly overcame that as she looked down at her beloved daughter. A lot had happened to bring them to this moment, not that you would know if just at a glance. Her past had been filled with tragedy, making Kylan that much more precious to her and her husband, bless his souls.

A long moment passed before she started speaking. “A long time ago, your father and I had a little girl. Before you. We loved her very much, and would have done anything for her. She was our princess. It was before we came to live here, but she was kidn*pped and we never saw her again.”

Kylan’s brow furrowed. “kidn*pped? Who would do such a thing?” More importantly, perhaps, why was this the first time she was hearing of it? Shouldn’t they have told her? Although, something bothered her about the situation that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “I don’t understand, Mom. Why haven’t you ever said anything?”

Her mother looked almost ashamed at the question. Maureen knew that to explain would be to expose the darkest part of her history, and perhaps, even to put her precious daughter at risk. A part of her wondered if she would be able to protect her from what was coming. Anxiously, she cast her gaze over the fair, delicate features of Kylan. Sighing heavily, she nodded as if answering a silent voice. “You have to understand Ky, what I’m about to tell you, very few people know. In our pack, only the Alpha and Luna know about what happened before we came to join them. It was safer that way, for everyone involved, but after you were born,” her voice faltered, trailing off a moment before she continued, “well, after you were born, there was no secret more important.”

When she looked confused, her mother held up a hand for patience, taking a quiet moment to collect her thoughts before continuing. Kylan waited, lacing her fingers with the older woman’s for support. Earnestly, she examined the worry and the stress in her mother’s features, the subtle way she shifted as if afraid the ground beneath them were about to vanish. If only she knew what made her mother quake. Could whatever secret Maureen carried all these years really be as catastrophic as it seemed?