Free mate

Maria

“Daniel, we have a situation”, Hanna rushes in, waking me up from the shallow sleep that I had fallen into. Daniel stands up, looking serious again. He doesn't ask anything, just nods and takes his phone.

“I was planning on staying until Sera came but we can drop you off to Maria's place”, he says to me. It was late, I assumed he'd be gone for the night but I didn't know where Matt and Sera were. We were clearly in rush so I didn't bother questioning him, just took my jacket and followed them. Hanna shifted as soon as we stepped out of the elevator but Daniel didn't make a move to follow her lead, just picked up a fast walking speed that I had to almost jog to keep up.

“Maria and Lina should both be there all night so if you need anything tell them to call me”, he says as we walk down the street, Hanna's wolf jogging next to us looking alert and ready to bounce. It made me nervous but Daniel didn't seem too worried.

“Where are Sera and Matt?” I asked.

“I needed them to help with something. They're both okay and will be back tomorrow so no need to worry”, his answer is vague and doesn't tell me anything but I nod anyway. The walk was short and in a few minutes we were standing in front of a building. Daniel pressed in a code and the doors slid open.

“Up the stairs and first door right. Stay safe”, he says and before I can reply Hanna picks up speed and Daniel runs off behind her so I walk in and find the right door. Thorn, I spell the name written on the door before knocking. I hear footsteps and Maria is opening the door.

“Kate, come in.” I follow her into the apartment. It's messier than the one I'm staying in and there's a lot of colors everywhere. Big paintings on the wall, bright yellow couch and blue curtains make the room feel vibrant and happy. There's a teapot whistling and Maria points me to sit down before rushing in the kitchen.

I look around the room, wondering at all the stuff scattered around. There are small statues on the bookshelves and very few actual books, clothes piled on a chair and I notice a sword hanging on the wall. Maria comes to sit next to me, offering a cup of tea.

“Thanks”, I take the cup. Green tea, sweet and warm. I'm glad for a moment to relax but Maria's words make me tense again.

“Lina will come home soon but I wanted to talk to you before that.” She was serious, the easy smile that suited her well was gone but her eyes were still kind when she started to talk.

“I'm not going to force you to talk but it really would help.” I'm shaking my head and she gets stern.

“Kate, I mean it. I wasn't born in this pack, when I met Lina's father I was in a difficult relationship. My husband wasn't my mate but he was a beta of the pack I used to belong to and at first I thought we could live together forever. He was charming and fun, I never suspected anything bad of him. Until one day I said something that made him angry. I don't even remember what it was, just that he slapped me hard enough to split my lip.” Her hand brushed her lips, probably without noticing. I didn't know what to say, I wasn't expecting anything like this. Maria seemed so strong and fierce, I couldn't imagine her in a situation like that.

“He was so sorry, begging for me to forgive him. It was just a moment of blindness and I loved him, of course I forgave him. Just like I forgave the next time, and I don't even know how many times after that. Even when I stopped believing him I still had hope and I didn't know what else to do. He was the alphas best friends and the whole pack loved him, they would have taken his word over mine. For years I stayed with him, we got married and at one point I was pregnant with his child.” I can see how hard this is for her to talk about, even though it must have been a long time ago. I wish I knew how to comfort her but I was speechless, waiting for her to continue.

“When I had a miscarriage something changed. I didn't know if it was caused by the stress but after I got the idea it wouldn't leave me. I realized how horrible it was that I'd been relieved that the child didn't live to see him. Next time he was out for the night I ran out, seeking shelter from this pack. Jonathan, Daniel's father was the alpha then and he promised to take care of me, giving me a home and a pack that cared about me.”

“Did they come to look for you?” I asked.

“They asked around but when they saw that I wasn't willing to leave and that they would fight for me he let it go. For years I was scared, waiting for him to change his mind but last I heard he found a mate. I only hope that he treats her better than me. I fell in love with Lina's father and we're still happy, even if we aren't mates. He treats me well and I'll always be grateful for everyone who kept me safe. Redmoon isn't a big pack but we have a reputation as a place where people can find shelter, you aren't the only stray taken in.”

“How did you...” move on? Stop being afraid? My voice breaks before I can finish but Maria understands.

“I didn't right away. I told them what I was afraid of which helped since I trusted Jonathan to do his best to help me. I talked with my new friends and started living, got a job at the café and just lived. Eventually it faded enough. It's never going to go away but with time everything gets easier. I think... once you can trust Daniel the bond might help but I don't have experience with that.” I believed her but it was so hard to let people in. Deep in my gut I knew Daniel wouldn't hurt me but I still had a hard time trusting him.

“So I won't rush you but when you can, talk to someone. It doesn't matter who but it will help.” I nod and bite my lip. Maria takes a sip of her tea and smiles again, the past still haunting her eyes but she moved on with surprising ease.

“Daniel is a good boy, you will be fine in time.”

“Does it bother you to have such a young alpha?” Everyone acted casual around him, except the few times he'd been angry. With the threat of Rubymoon I would imagine they'd want an older alpha to fight for them but Maria shook her head without hesitation.

“He deserves the title, no one is questing that. Of course, I worry, seeing him grow up so fast and remembering the little boy but that bloodline is strong and he's smart. Age doesn't matter when he's proven to have authority without force against his own pack.”

“You think he can win the Rubymoon alpha if they do fight?” I ask. Maria raises her eyebrows, questioning how I know about that.

“If they knew who would win there would be no fight. I hope this could be settled without violence but I suppose it's too late for that. We can't know the future so the only thing to be done is live and see whatever happens.” That wasn't reassuring at all but I didn't argue with Maria. I was still thinking of her story, how someone moved on from that relationship to this tough woman that makes me wish she was my mother. I sip at my already cooled tea and thought about her words. Already I had more faith in myself than I did a few weeks ago, maybe I could live through this.

“Now, I'll make your bed for the night. Sera will come home in the morning and they can pick you up on the way.” Maria gets up but I stop her.

“Where are they?”

“Sera takes care of his business in another city, it's just a long drive so they have to stay away for a while.” When I don't ask anything else she leaves me to sip my tea while she makes the bed in another room.

Lina comes in soon after and jumps over the couch back to sit next to me. Her bag flies to the corner of the room and she props her feet up on the table, letting out a long sigh.

“I love my job but some people are just too much. I had a woman yell at me for writing her name wrong on the coffee she was taking to go with her as if a single letter missing is so f*****g bad. She kept telling me how she was in a rush but still had time to spend like five minutes making sure I knew her name was Miryam with a y.”

“Language!” Maria yells from the table she was filling some papers in. Lina rolled her eyes at me.

“Sorry, Ma.” She did not look sorry and I got a feeling this wouldn't be the last time she swore. I was still lost in my thought but Lina didn't seem to mind. She put on the tv and searched for the show she told me we should watch.

“I need to take a shower but after that we can finally watch this.”

“Great”, I make myself smile at her when she gets up to clean up. She left the first episode running so I made myself focus on that, trying to forget the thoughts running in my head. It worked better than I expected and by the time we all ate dinner on the sofa, commenting on the show I was able to forget most of my worries and enjoy this normality that I was growing used to.