WINTER'S BROKEN MATE

EPISODE 3

It had been three weeks of chaotic packing and shopping, and Casey was exhausted. Amy relished the chaos, was thrilled by it, Casey on the other hand was thoroughly drained by it. They were all at the airport; Amy, Casey, Maze and Brett; Casey and Amy had decided to take a one-year break before they went to college. Amy wanted to study fashion design, while Casey wanted to take landscape design. She loved everything about flowers and plants. After her parents’ death she’d felt lost and disoriented. Amy and her parents had held her together. but nature had kept her sane. She remembered the first time she saw Thurston’s Garden; she had been lost in thought, in pain, and it seemed like she was stuck in limbo. It had been four months after her parents’ accident and she was supposed to be in bed, but she had snuck out like she always did. They had just moved to the small town after proceedings of handing over her pack to the beta had been completed. She was born to an alpha, but she was in no shape to lead, and everything about her old pack mirrored her parents’ hearts. Maze and Brett had come up with the idea of moving to another town, so they had. Casey knew they did it all for her, she was breaking into pieces with time, fragmenting into a shell of a human. After they had moved, Casey snuck out one night and walked through the town all night. It was quiet and safe. One night, on one of her walks, she wandered into the woods drawn by the sound of flowing water, and there it was, the most beautiful assortment of flowers and plants she’d ever seen. A garden near a small stream, Thurston’s Garden. It was filled with roses, tulips, daffodils, orchids, lilies, and those were just the ones she could name. she’d stayed in the garden into the wee hours of the morning, somehow here everything made sense, she’d always known the soil, appreciated it. Most people found it weird, but her place had always been with the dirt, she understood it, and most importantly, she felt at home. Like she wasn’t missing anything, and her world wasn’t tainted with grief and despair. Casey figured that was why the waterfall near her old pack was her go to place, she’d planted some flowers along the banks of the lake, and she loved watching them grow. Thurston’s Garden was like paradise, it was what she’d pictured her garden would be like. Thurston was warmth, light, love, pain and hope, he’d lost his wife ten years earlier, who had been suffering from leukemia, and even with the best medical help, she’d still passed away. The garden had belonged to Thurston’s wife, Marci, she’d been the one who had named the garden; Thurston's garden to honor him. Thurston Clancy was a wealthy man: not the kind of man you would find in a garden. The kind of man who was noble, regal and accorded esteem to those with proper manners. Mostly, all people saw was a snobby rich man, but his wife saw the countless sides to the man she adored. Marci always told him that if you looked close enough, you could see all the sides of Thurston in her garden, that’s why the garden was named Thurston’s Garden. It was how she saw her husband; regal, opulent, proper, vibrant, different, complicated, simple, but most of all beautiful. Marci had mirrored her husband’s heart into the garden. Casey had shed a tear or two when she’d heard the story of the Clancy’s. After Marci’s death, Thurston kept her alive. By keeping her garden alive, the garden in turn had kept him alive, Casey understood that.

As Casey walked with Maze to get some snacks before their flight, she thought about the woman beside her. Maze had kept her alive, like the garden had kept Thurston alive. Maze had been her mother in all the ways that mattered, even when Casey thought she hadn’t deserved such a wonderful person in her life. Maze had held her when she’d cried, wiped her tears with her palms, listened to her when she broke, encouraged her, loved her, above all Maze had always been there; like a candle that never went out.

“Maze?” Casey called cautiously.

“Yes darling?” Maze answered nonchalantly.

“Thank you.” Casey said.

“For what, princess?” She asked, confused.

“For everything.” Casey replied, “For taking me in when my parents died, for raising me with nothing but love and care, for helping me get through the tough times…. F f f for...” Casey stuttered a sob rising to her throat, “for being my mum, when I thought I’d never have someone love me like she did, thank you for all of it.” Casey said as tears gushed out of her eyes. Maze wrapped her arms around Casey, her next words breaking the young girl, yet still giving her strength.

“Oh, honey. I should be the one thanking you. You gave me something I didn’t even know I wanted, another daughter. You are mine in all the ways that matter, my green-eyed baby. If I could find a way to trade your pain, I would in a heartbeat. I love you so much, my darling daughter. I pray you never forget that.”

Casey cried harder, and this woman gave her everything. She thanked the moon goddess for her and Brett, her second chance parents.

“I love you too mum.” Casey said, and it was the first time she’d used that word in three years, it felt right.

“Mum.” She said again, more to herself this time, but Maze heard her and held her closer. When they let go of each other, Casey could see the tears in her mother’s big brown eyes. Maze wiped their tears away with a pink handkerchief she’d gotten from her bag.

“Let’s get you girls some snacks, shall we?” she said with a smile, before leading Casey into the supermarket.

Brett and Maze stayed with their daughters until it was time to board their flight. The girls were so excited. Casey and Amy said their final farewells. Maze was a bundle of tears as if she’d never see them again. Brett held her together for the most part, but when Casey hugged him and whispered, "Goodbye dad," he too turned into pudding and cried his eyes out, leaving his mate to hold him together. Amy found the situation amusing, and she was secretly happy that Casey finally accepted Maze and Brett as her parents. It was a lovely send off. Casey couldn’t sleep a wink the whole flight. In addition, her wolf was restless and anxious, so she and Cara resorted to talking about nothing and everything in her head. When they arrived in New Orleans, Casey found she was exhausted, unlike her sister, who had slept the whole flight like a baby and wanted to ‘explore the city’ which was code for shopping. Amy agreed to leave the exploration for the next day, so they went to their hotel instead and settled in. Casey drifted off to sleep immediately as she lay on the bed. She vaguely heard Amy call their parents and inform them of their safe arrival, but she couldn’t pay attention to the call as her fatigued body shut down and she dreamt.