Finding Love With Her Triplet Princes

Dreams

Flashback

“Hey Mom! I’m on my way home from school. Are you and dad home?” School just ended for the day. I only have a few months of my senior year left, and to be honest, I can’t wait to be done. I have had my fill of high school to last me a lifetime.

My mom mind-linked me back. “No, Hun. I’m not home yet, but I believe your dad is. My plan is to make chicken parm for tonight. Why don’t you start working on the sauce when you get home?” I smile. Chicken parm is my favorite. I love making it with my parents.

“Okay! That sounds like a plan. I will get dad moving when I get home and we can work on it together. I love you! I’ll see you when I you get home.”

“I love you too, sweetie. I’ll be home in an hour or so.” I cut the link with my mom, got into my car, and drove the five miles from school to our house. I park the car, gather my things, and walk up to the door.

Suddenly, I hear my dad speaking to me through our mind link. “I love you so much, baby girl. You and your brother are the best things I have ever done. I’m so sorry my girl. Take care of your mom and Tommy for me. I will always be with you.”

What?! What’s he talking about?! As I open the door, I feel this pain in my chest. My heart is literally aching. I grab my chest and hold onto the wall with my other hand, bracing myself to stay upright. What the hell was that? What is happening?

Out of nowhere I hear my mom in my mind. “ALAIA!!?!?!??!”

“I’m here mom! Did you feel that too? What’s going on?”

“Alaia! Go check on your dad! Quickly!” I drop everything and run into the house. I look in the kitchen, living room, and everywhere else on the first floor. When I come up empty, I run upstairs. “Dad! Where are you!?!?!” I’m screaming out for him to hear and don’t get a response. I check every room and finally make my way to my parents’ room. My steps slow, and deep in my mind, I know I should be afraid of what I will find. This is the last place he could be. I walk in, stepping through the doorway.

There, lying peacefully on my parents’ bed is my father. I suck in a deep breath, trying desperately to hold myself together. I walk up to him, sitting on the bed beside him. I take his hand in one of mine and place the other on his chest. There is no movement. I see no rise and fall of his chest. I start to shake him gently. “Daddy.. Daddy wake up.. please wake up..” I bring my ear to his mouth and hear nothing. There is no breath coming from his lungs. Tears well up in my eyes, and I choke out the sob I have been holding in since I sat next to him. I collapse on top of him, repeating his name over and over again like a prayer. I pray to the Moon Goddess to bring him back but to no avail.

A few minutes go by, and I hear footsteps barreling up the stairs. “Alaia! Where are you, baby? Where’s dad!?” I don’t answer, not because I don’t want to, but because I literally can’t. I don’t even know what to say right now. Suddenly, I heard a gasp. Not long after that I feel my mothers’ gentle touch and her arms wrapping around me. “Alaia.. baby girl.. talk to me, please?” I turn my head towards her, tears falling down my cheeks in waves. I look at her, seeing the tears in her eyes starting to slip down her cheeks.

“He’s gone,” I whisper. “Dad is gone.”

End Flashback

I bolt upright in my bed, trying desperately to catch my breath. I wipe my cheeks and eyes, the evidence of my tears still there. I take a few deep breaths and let out a sigh, swinging my legs over the side of the bed to sit up. I stand, walking out to the little kitchen in my little apartment. I reach into the fridge and grab a bottle of water, quickly drinking down the cold liquid, sighing in relief as it coats my dry, scratchy throat.

I keep thinking these dreams will go away, but they never do. I walk into the living room, my eyes going straight to the picture on my wall of Mom, Dad, Tommy, and myself. It was the last family picture we had taken together. That was just a few months before my father left us. I feel a small smile forming on my face as I think about all the amazing years we had as a family.

It has been four years now, and I still remember it like it was yesterday. Four years ago, I felt the pain from my family link with my father being severed as he took his own life. What I didn’t know then, or rather what I and everyone else failed to recognize, was that my father had been suffering from depression for many years. Wolves think they are exempt from such human emotions, but the truth is, we are not. Dad had been depressed for years, hiding it well to all of us who cared about him. It has been difficult knowledge to bear, coming to the realization of just how sad he was. So much of me wonders if I could have helped him find his way out of the darkness if I had known. Staring at the picture in front of me, I shake my head and sigh.

Looking at my Fitbit, I see it is 4 AM. I don’t have to be up until 7 AM, but I know I won’t get back to sleep at this point. Going into my room, I head to the bathroom to wash my face, brush my teeth, and pull my hair back. I step into my closet, pulling out a pair of black leggings and deep purple racerback top. Out of the drawers I take out one of my sports bras. Once I have everything, I get dressed. Maybe a workout will help me feel better.

I go to the kitchen, make a quick protein shake and fill my water bottle, slip on my sneakers, and head downstairs to the first floor. One of the nice things about my apartment is it has a gym in the building. It is a nice one too. It has so much equipment that it makes me all giddy inside. I walk over to a treadmill to warm up, doing a light jog for about fifteen minutes. I decided to bench today, working hard to lift more than I did last week. I pumped through three sets and am really starting to feel better. This has been something that has worked well for me the last few years.

An hour later, I finished my workout and headed back to my apartment. Once there, I shut and lock the door, then head into the bathroom. I hop into the shower and let the waterfall shower head flow over my aching muscles. After standing under the water until it turns cold, I wash myself quickly, rinse off, and get out to get dressed. I brush my hair out, pull the top half up and leaving the rest down, then head out to my kitchen once more. I make a quick breakfast sandwich, refill my water bottle, then grab my purse and my backpack, quickly heading out the door so I get to class on time.

After my dad took his life, I made the decision to go to school to become a mental health nurse practitioner. So many wolves suffer alone because they deal with the same stigma that humans do regarding this. No one thinks depression or anxiety are real things, but they most definitely are. Werewolves think it’s a human thing and nothing that they need to worry about. That couldn’t be further from the truth. They need help, and I want to be there to help them. I figured that maybe werewolves would be more willing to speak with another werewolf instead of a human.

I am in my final year, having worked tirelessly to get through my degrees as fast as possible. I completed my associate degree in nursing in a year and a half. From there, I went straight into my combined bachelors and master’s program, and I am now heading to the end of my final term. I have been working as a nurse in a local psychiatric facility for humans while completing my degree, trying desperately to get all the experience I could. I am looking forward to graduating, taking my licensing exam, and being able to help the wolves of our pack.

As I am walking to class, I am pulled out of my thoughts by my phone ringing. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw it was a Facetime request from my mom. I smile sadly, realizing this is probably going to be another one of our conversations where she asks me to come home to visit. Since coming to school, I haven’t been home much. I suspect it is me still trying to get over the loss of my dad, but in all honestly, I probably need to go back to deal with it all. I answer the phone, holding it up in front of me so we can see each other.

“Hi mom,” I say with a smile on my face. “Hi baby girl,” she says. She is smiling brightly. It makes me feel even worse for staying away for so long. “How are you doing today, my girl?” she asks as she always does. I smile softly, “I’m doing okay. Just heading over to class now. What’s up?”

Her smile fades for a moment, and she looks almost nervous. I started to worry. “What’s going on, mom? I can tell something is wrong.” She appears to be getting more and more nervous. After a minute or two, she takes a few deep breaths, slowly exhaling. “I have some news, sweetheart. I was hoping to tell you in person, but things are changing, and I need to tell you now.”

“Okay… what things, mom?”

She pauses for a moment, takes another deep breath and exhaling after. “Um, I met someone.”

I c**k my head to the side, taking in her nervous appearance. She looks worried. Why is she so worried? Who did she meet? I think about this all for a moment, then suddenly it hits me. I look straight at her. “No…” I start to say, shaking my head back and forth, not wanting to believe what she’s going to tell me. “You didn’t…”

Mom lets out a sigh, nodding her head in agreement. “Y-yes, I did. I met my second chance mate.” I feel numb, not ready for this at all. I just nod my head at her, hang up the call, and find my way to the closest bench. I sat down, placing my head down in my hands just wishing I had never taken the call.