The Pack and The Ruffian

Friendships

“I’m going to take her to lie down, being the go between is not easy.” Taylor kept a hand on Tris’s arm. “You can fill me in later, baby.” She walked to where Mya stood at the door and leaned up to kiss her. “I’ll see you at home.”

“Yes,” Mya said. She wasn’t sure why she was upset. But something was burning in her gut. She’d seen the way Taylor looked at Tris. She shook her head. No. Taylor was worried about Tris, that was all that was. It’s just the way Taylor is. “I love you.”

“Love you.” Taylor smiled as she touched Mya’s arm. She let Tris lean on her as they made their way outside. Addi came running toward them, her eyes wide.

“What’s wrong?” Addi skidded to a halt and looked from Taylor to Tris.

“Nothing kid, I’m fine. Just a bit of a rough day.”

“You look crappy. Tay, what’s going on?”

“Like she said, she’s okay. I’m just taking her to rest up a bit, she went through something that took a lot of her energy out of her.”

“Like what?”

“Jeez, do you ever just take an answer?” Tris laughed.

“Nope, how else am I supposed to know things?” Addi fell into step next to them and Taylor shrugged. Apparently, Addi was going with them. “I was hoping to talk to you.”

Tris looked down at Addi as they walked. She already felt better, but her body still felt the presence of something that wasn’t supposed to be there. Her wolf was irritated and she couldn’t comfort her. “Could we make it a bit later, kid?”

“Sure, I guess.” Addi stopped and smiled. “Let me know when.” She turned to walk away.

“Wait.” Tris hated the dejected note in Addi’s voice, the kid obviously needed to talk and she’d decided to trust Tris. Tris wouldn’t let her down. “Come on. We’ll go to the coffee house and have an ice-cream.”

“You should go lie down.” Taylor said.

“I’ll be okay, I’ll come straight home when I’m done with Addi.” Tris promised.

“I’ll walk you over, I want to talk to Alice anyway.” Taylor kept her arm on Tris’s as they walked. Addi followed a little behind them, her mind obviously somewhere else.

“Thank you for this,” Tris said. They’d walked to the coffee house in silence. “I know you’d rather be back there.”

“I can get everything I need from Mya, but I know how it feels to go through what you did.” Taylor smiled down at her as she watched Tris sit down. “Don’t keep her here too long. Adds, she needs to rest up.”

“Okay, thanks Tay.” Addi grinned up at her. She grabbed a sugar packed out of the holder on the table and started twisting and pulling at the packet.

“You keep doing that, we’re going to have sugar all over this table.” Tris said mildly. “Just start, the words will come as you need them.”

“So, you know I’m three right.” Tris nodded. “And you know we age differently, usually. But my mom, you know, she’s like a different kind of wolf. So, grandma has been checking on me. And we’ll, I'm aging differently even than usual. Grandma still has to talk to my moms, but there’s so much going on.” Addi shrugged. “See, with mom’s blood, you know, mom A, Amber, my wolf has matured. Where Pax, my friend, is like two years or so away from maturing, I’m there. And something is happening to my body that we’re not learning about yet.”

“Uh, maybe you should try and talk to your moms about this, they need to know that you need help.” Tris reached across the table and took the sugar packet from Addi, then took Addi’s hands in hers. “But, for now, what do you need to know?”

“Well, my wolf, she’s strong, and she pushes me to run a lot. But I’m not allowed to run alone yet, and with all the stuff going on, I don’t want to take guards away from my mom's’” She shrugged. “And I can’t run with Pax.” She shook her head. “He’s well, I guess my mate, or something, and my wolf doesn’t understand why we can’t, um, you know.”

“I know.” Tris laughed a little as Addi waved a hand and shrugged, obviously unsure how to voice what her wolf wanted.

“Okay, well, let’s do this, I’ll talk to your mom, and see if it would be okay for me to run with you. You need to talk to your mom about what’s happening to your wolf. Or get some sort of surety that it’s okay to talk to me, and for me to talk to you.” Tris smiled at her. “But, since I have no idea really what you’re going through, it’s probably best to talk to mom A.”

“Mom won’t mind if we run,” Addi assured her.

“Your mom is the Alpha, kid, and I’m a visiting wolf. We need permission.”

“Permission for what?” Sam stood behind Tris’s chair. Tris made to stand, and Sam pressed a hand to her shoulder. “No, sit. She walked to the open chair and sat after kissing Addi on her head. “Hey kid.”

“Hey mom.” Addi grinned at her and the love that she felt for her mom was palpable.

“I’ll give you two some space.”

“Sit, Tris.” Sam said. “Addi, what do you need permission for?”

“Um, I asked Tris if she would run with me.” Addi said quickly. “I know you have some stuff to deal with and the guards are busy, so I don’t want to bother them with following me.”

“You guys get to run, Addi, there are set times for it.”

“I know but…” She looked at Tris. Tris nodded and gave her arm and an encouraging squeeze. “Grandma hasn’t talked to you and mom yet.” Addi said, her voice uncertain now. “But, I’m not aging like the other kids.”

“Addi…”

“Mom, I’m mature. My wolf is pushing me to run, to do stuff.” She waved a hand and looked at Tris again. “Tris can help me with the running, she’s a grownup and she has some time, she said so.”

“Wait, hold on, back up, kid.” Sam smiled a little, but she couldn’t shake the confusion and fear. “What do you mean you’re mature?”

“If I may, Alpha. Could you maybe for a second scent the air?” Tris asked. “I guess I picked it up because I walked in not knowing anyone. But because you are around her a lot and because you are the Alpha and your mate, she has a very strong scent, you sort of missed this.”

“Excuse me?” Sam felt her hackles rise at the stranger who seemed to know a lot more about her daughter than she did.

“I’m not challenging you, or anything like that, just scent her.” Tris persisted. Sam snorted but looked at Addi and blocked out the rest of the pack behind her. She let her wolf rise and sniffed the air, her eyes popped open, and she stared at Addi. “Ah, s**t kiddo, why didn’t you say something?”

“You and mom are busy and with Jane…” She trailed off and her eyes snapped at Tris. “Well, you have a lot to deal with.”

Sam slid off her chair and knelt next to Addi. “You always come first!” Sam said. Then to Tris. “You’d run with her? Keep her safe?”

“Yes.” Tris nodded. “While I’m here, I will be her running partner.”

“Then you have my permission for that.” Sam tugged Addi down into her arms and she sat with her on the grass. “As for the rest, mom and I will talk with you tonight.” She kissed Addi. “I promise.”

“Okay mom, I’m okay.”

“Yes, I believe you are.” Sam chuckled and shook her head. “Just like your mom.” She stood with Addi in her arms.

“Mom, come on, I’m too big for this.” Addi said, but she hugged Sam tightly before sliding down her body.

“You’ll never be too big for a cuddle.” Sam laughed. “I have to get back. I told them I’d be back soon.” She shook her head, serious again. “I just had to talk to the guards at the gate first. Apparently, we don’t have rules set in place to keep strangers out.”

“It was easier than I thought it would be to get in,” Tris told Sam.

“We’ll hope that’s sorted out now. Take care of her.” Sam said, and left them.

“Well kid, wanna run?” Tris stood.

Addi jumped to her feet. “Try and keep up.” She joked and, laughing, they ran toward the woods and open space to let go. Tris wondered why this amazing child chose her, why she was the one that Addi trusted? She shook her head. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she didn’t let her down.

Tris drank deep from the lake, her tongue lapping quickly at the water. Addi was next to her, but plopped down in the cool water, she had water running out the side of her mouth. Tris turned her head and poked Addi with her nose. Addi c****d her head and stared at Tris. Her wolf felt relaxed and happy for the first time in a long time and she felt better too, a little less of the tension in her lower body pushing her to mate.

“Okay?” Tris’s voice was clear in her head. She jumped a bit at the sudden question and unfamiliar feeling. Mom S, was always the only one in her mind. Being Alpha, she could communicate with everyone. And she knew some of the other wolves had that ability too, but she’d never known she had it too.

“Uh, yeah.”

“You don’t sound sure, kid.” Tris plopped her butt down too and sighed when the water soaked her fur and cooled her body down. The kid could run, she’d had a hard time keeping up and, at some point, feared that she’d lose her.

“Uh, I’ve never had anyone else in my head but mom,” Addi admitted.

“Oh, I admit this is a bit strange, usually it’s limited to a pack link. But I felt our connection, so I gave it a shot. If you don’t like it, we don’t have to do it.”

“No, no, that’s not what I mean. I just didn’t know I could do it.” Addi dropped her head and drank more water. “That was a good run.”

“Yes, you’re faster than I thought,” Tris admitted. Her wolf felt better after the run too, the discomfort at being invaded like she’d been, gone now. “I needed that run too.”

“Can a person have more than one mate?”

Tris choked and water ran out her nose as she drank water. The question surprised her. “Uh, why do you ask that?”

“Well, you know, Taylor and Mya, they had Jane, so there were three of them. Taylor was mated to Jane, but Mya is not a wolf, so she couldn’t mate with them. But they still had the bond, anyone could see that. I know sometimes people love more than one person, and sometimes the same, like female and female, but like, what if Taylor and Mya want someone else? Could they find someone again? Or do they only get one mate?”

“Uh, jeez kid.” Tris shook her wolf head and c****d her head. “I think everyone is different. But, if Taylor and Mya find someone that they love, and want to be a part of their relationship, they don’t have to be mated, as long as you love that person with all your heart, and want to be with them, then that’s enough too.” She looked at Addi. “Why do you really ask?”

“I think Pax is my mate.” She shrugged her wolf shoulders. “But there’s this girl. She’s new to town too, she and her mom moved here about a month ago. We’ve started hanging out, and I’m helping her with catching up at school and stuff. And I have these feelings.” She trailed off and stared out over the lake.

“Why do you think Pax is your mate?”

“Well, we hang out all the time, he’s my best friend, and we do everything together. I love him like crazy! And when we’re not together it feels like a part of me is missing.” Addi turned and walked to a patch of grass, she lay down still in wolf form and Tris followed.

“Okay, look. You have all these feelings, and things are confusing right now. But you have time, a lot of time, to figure things out. Don’t put yourself in a box right now and feel like you have to be a certain way or be with someone. Sometimes, a good strong friendship with someone is better than a mate bond. And sometimes, that confuses feelings. But let me tell you this. The moment you find your mate, you’ll know. There won’t be any question in your mind.” Tris bumped her nose into Addi’s shoulder. “Sometimes it takes a long time for our wolves to realize their mate was in front of them the whole time. So don’t worry too much about that. Live your life, and when it comes, you’ll know.”

Addi thought about what Tris said. “So, neither of them might even be my mate?”

“Honey, you need to talk to your mom about the s*x part of this. Because I think that’s where this is going. Your wolf needs to ah, tangle, let’s call it that. And you feel like you need a mate for that.” Tris laughed a little. “You see what your moms have, and you want that, I get it. They have something special. But sometimes, just like the mate bond, you have to go through a few, uh, options, before you find the right one.”

“You’re really uncomfortable talking about the s*x parts.” Addi stood. A lopsided grin on her wolf's face. “Thank you, for talking with me, for the run. And for helping me talk to my mom earlier.” She shook her body, drops of water flying everywhere. “Ready to go again?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Tris laughed. “Let’s go.” She took off after the smaller wolf. The kid had a good head on her shoulders. And she was going to be a great leader one day. But, Tris thought, with a mom and Alpha like Sam, she’d not have to worry about that for a very long time. She sped up as Addi darted between the trees and out of her line of sight, then felt relief as she spotted her again. The kid was going to be the death of her, she thought. A huge wolf grin on her face as she gave chase.