Golden Rule

Chapter 19

Chapter 19 – Fernanda

We ran back to the spot we had left our clothes. And made our way back to the house where Frida and Rachel were waiting for us outside.

“We should get you back, but you need to know, we went into the school administration office and found Miriam’s file. There was no picture on her file. It was gone. Someone must have already removed it if the administrator said she saw it there and now it’s gone.” Said Frida.

I was taken aback. Who could have done that? I looked at my uncle who only gave me a side eye and stood rigid. No reaction from him. Frida and Rachel noticed him too and we all waited for him to say something.

“It wasn’t me, if that’s what you’re thinking.” He said.

“But you know something.” Said Rachel said crossing her arms.

“I don’t know what happened to the personnel picture. But, I could ask.”

“Who would you ask?” said Rachel looking at him suspiciously.

“That’s not for me to say.”

“You priests and your confessional secrets.” Scoffed Rachel.

My uncle only let out a deep breath and ignored her comment.

After checking on Miriam and seeing she was fast asleep and Violet giving us the update about Miriam being able to talk to her mother, I rushed to get ready for my first day at the school.

*******

Apparently, schools, because all of the kids were housed together in the same two story building. The grade school or elementary kids were on the first floor while the older kids were on the second floor. It was Tuesday and the students were due for their first day on Thursday, we were to be working to get everything ready for them and making sure everything was in order.

My plan was to go with the flow and stand where they needed me, answer questions the best I could and pray I wouldn’t get caught. I was still worried about Miriam’s picture on her personnel file. But Ms. Jackie hadn’t mentioned it anymore. She was just as cheery as ever and she showed me around and showed me to the office I would be using. I noticed that there was almost an even amount of werewolf and human teachers and they seemed to work just fine together.

It was after lunch that I sensed another were enter the building and I could tell it was the alpha, or one of the alphas. It was a new feeling, being able to sense another wolf like that and knowing who it was. I surmised it to my wolf being back on her native land, where she belonged.

I was still in my office, or what should be Miriam’s office, reading over Miriam’s documents that resembled IEPs when there was a knock on the open door. There stood Miss Jackie and Alpha Brandon. She had a small smile on her face while he looked like he was on business mode. “Good afternoon Miss Levy.” He greeted me.

“Good afternoon, Alpha, Miss Jackie. Please come in. What can I do for you?”

Miss Jackie spoke while they walked in the small office which now seemed tiny with the large alpha still standing. “I’ll get to the point,” Miss Jackie said sitting on the edge of one of the chairs. “One of the preschool teachers is pregnant, mated to one of the pack’s Golden Warriors. When we had that scare at the border, she panicked for his safety and had to be rushed to the hospital. She is now on bedrest with her risk of going into early labor. We know this is not what you signed up for but we don’t have anyone else to fill in for her.” She explained with furrowed brows. “We wanted to ask you to take over her class while we look for a replacement for her. Maybe you can call your pack to see if they have someone willing to come for a couple of months while we figure something out?”

My heart skipped a beat when she mentioned calling ‘my pack.’ It must have shown on my face because I noticed from the corner of my eyes Alpha Brandon c**k his head to the side looking at me. When I lifted my eyes to him, he was looking at me like he was gauging my reactions. I answered the best I could, with a smile on my face.

“I don’t mind at all taking over her class, and I could most certainly call the administrators to check availability.” I said hoping to convince the alpha staring at me intently. I was panicking on the inside, I know he could hear my heart accelerating and my stress coming off in waves. This was getting messy. But if I took over the class, maybe they wouldn’t need someone else from Miriam’s pack. Ms. Jackie wouldn’t have to call them and Miriam could help us figure out what to do.

“Great! I’ll get everything ready on my end. Alpha, seems we figured it out faster than we thought!” Ms. Jackie tells him. He only nods his head at her. “Miriam, I’ll show you to your temporary classroom so Alpha Brandon can continue with his busy day.”

Without saying a word, I followed them out of the office. I continue to blindly follow behind without paying much attention to their conversation. I’m deep in thought about everything becoming messy and I have a feeling that everything will come to a head sooner rather than later. Its not until Ms. Jackie mentions my father’s name that I perk up start listening to them.

“…Mr. Montez was so proud of those mares and stallions. Its such a shame their time is up.” I heard Ms. Jackie say.

“They are almost 30 years old, it is sad but it was bound to happen.” Alpha Brandon tells her.

“My brother and I enjoyed those Arabians so much. Such beautiful creatures and so special to the Tenok family.” Ms. Jackie continued.

At this point I had to ask, “Who has Arabian horses?”

“They belonged to a special family a long time ago. My brother and I kept them for years and when we got too busy with our careers, they were moved to the community stables. Now I’m afraid their time is up, they’ve aged well though.” Ms. Jackie explained.

For some reason I feel my eyes burning with tears. There is so much I missed in my life because of some bas***ds that had my family killed. I look back at Alpha Brandon and Ms. Jackie in front of me and realize they are looking at me with concerned expressions.

“Are you ok?” the alpha asks.

“Yes, I apologize, I just – its just sad about those horses.” I feel like a fool not knowing how to explain myself because I really don’t know what is wrong with me. Why am I getting so emotional about these horses that I just now learned belonged to my parents. Other than that, I know nothing else about them.

“They are quite a sight. Actually, why don’t you accompany Alpha Brandon to the stables to meet them? The work day is almost over and I can drop off the lesson plans for you tonight.” Ms. Jackie says a little too excited. She looks between the alpha and me and I can only look down at my hands not knowing what to say again. Because truth is, I do want to go see these horses. If they belonged to my parents and they are at the end of their time, I do really want to go see them. Thankfully the alpha speaks up.

“What do you say Miss Levy? Would you like to go see some Arabian horses?” He asks with a small smile.

I look up at him and respond, “I really would love that.”

*************

We make our way through the village and drive toward the open hills on the west side. It is breath taking scenery. The rolling hills with scattered patches of tall pines with creeks in the valleys of these hills. The whole time the alpha points out the ways to the cow pastures and farmlands. The land here is developed to accommodate the needs and demands of the animals and crops the pack raises with help from some of the humans. They have man-made ponds that collect the rainwater for irrigation and for drinking water for the animals. He points out the silos for chicken feed and says they are close to the horse stables so we are almost there he says.

But the whole time I feel his gaze on me. I feel him trying to figure me out and I know he wants to ask or say something. Maybe I’m being too standoffish and he suspects something is not right with me. Maybe coming with him and spending more time with him wasn’t a good idea.

“Is there something you want to say Alpha Brandon?” and I know I’ve caught him by surprise when I see a light blush.

“It’s, (clears throat) it’s really not my place to ask.” He responds.

“Well, being that I am on your territory, you have every right to ask about a wolf roaming around the place.” I give him a small smile. I need to know what he is thinking. I need to know if he suspects I’m actually not an educator and that I am not the real Miriam Levy.

“It might be inappropriate of me to ask but, what happened to your mate? The one who gave you the ring you wear?”

Oh, so that is what his apprehension is about. I let myself relax some and I know he noticed it.

“He was killed.” I say and keep my eyes straight ahead on the compacted dirt road.

“I’m sorry to hear that, and I hate that I asked and made you feel uncomfortable.”

“Its alright, really. He was human, I met him... in the city.”

“When you went to university?”

“Yes, he knew I was a wearwolf. Honestly, when I realized he was the one I choose to spend my life with, I didn’t plan to leave the city. We made plans to make it work, and it seemed it would all work out, and then it didn’t.” I continue.

“You didn’t want to look for your mate?”

“Not after I met him. I just knew he was it for me.” I didn’t realize I was holding onto my thigh so tightly until Alpha Brandon reached over and grabbed my wrist gently to remove it. I looked over at him and he was looking at me with a melancholy so strong it was almost suffocating. I took a deep breathe and realized it was both of our sadness.

“What’s your story? Have you not met your mate yet?” I ask him.

He scoffs, “believe me, I’m looking. I’m waiting.”

I leave it at that and look ahead to notice we’ve come up to several different farm buildings and getting out of the truck, I immediately know where to go to meet the horses that belonged to my parents. I don’t even pay attention to the workers milling around tending to their work. I know the alpha has stopped to speak to someone, but I pay no mind and walk until I stop in front of a stable with a beautiful light brown mare with blonde hair and tail. I look into the stall next to it and there is another majestic creature that is brown with black accents.

The mare catches my attention when she walks up to the door, I reach out to touch her head and she let her head fall down as if she's bowing. I get as close as I can to the door and put my forehead on hers. And a feeling of overwhelming loss takes over me.

Before my tears drop, I hear footsteps coming up behind me. By the scent I know it's alpha Brandon.

“How did you know these were the horses we were coming to look at?” He asks me.

“I'm not really sure, but they are the prettiest here” I respond. I look at him and he is smiling at me.

“Do you know how to ride? The boys can saddle them up and we can take them for a walk.”

I wrap one arm around my body holding on to the other, and I tell him “no I don't know how to ride, but I would love to see them out in the open, in their element.”

“That can be arranged” alpha Brandon says.

I follow him outside the stables to let a couple of guys get the horses. He continues to tell me about the pack territory and how they keep it running smoothly when he starts talking about his brother and his duties around the land. From what he is telling me, he is more paperwork and business oriented and his brother, Alpha Nathan is more hands on with the work and processes.

“I don’t really know why I’m telling you all this. You must be bored.” He stops and says.

“I’m actually not bored at all, I am interested in how the Golden Cross pack runs and how you’ve managed to keep it flourishing.”

“It’s a team effort. Everyone does their part. And if I’m being honest, have two alphas helps a lot. Though it wouldn’t hurt to have a Luna around.” He says while looking ahead toward the lowering sun and I can’t help but to notice his boyish charm. I take a deep breath in when Noah’s face comes to my mind.

I see two young guys bring out the Arabians and let them loose so they can gallop around the fenced in area. What a beautiful sight they are.

“The mare is Marigold and the stallion is Shamrock.” Alpha Brandon tells me.

“Who named them?” I ask.

“Their previous owners. They were former pack members and close family friends.”

“The same family friends that gifted that extravagant chandelier?”

“Yea, same ones.”

“What happened to them? Why did they leave their horses?”

But before he can answer we turn toward a commotion ahead to the right of us. If it weren’t for our werewolf hearing, we wouldn’t be able to make out the situation.

‘its his fault!’ ‘no one forced him to do it’ ‘what are we going to say?’ ‘Angelo, call your dad!’

Brandon and I looked at each other and took off running towards the commotion.