Page 20 of Big Bad Wolf: B.B.W
Thinking about that boy gave me the creeps. He was in the pack that was on the reservation. When my parents married, they segregated from the pack to make their own. When my beast came, I automatically joined their pack of two. Dyami’s father was the pack leader at the time, and for some reason, he wanted his son to date me. He came to my father and told him as much, so next thing I knew, Dyami and I were going on a chaperoned date. I wasn’t sure what was so special about me when there were plenty of girls in their pack that would be honored to be his mate.
“Was he abusive or something?” Makayla asked. She sat back in her seat. “Now, I don’t have a beast, but I have a gun named beast. That muthafucka sings too. She’ll take a wolf the fuck down.”
We all laughed because her ass was serious as hell. From the campfire gathering, I knew that she was the unhinged one when it came down to it.
“No, he wasn’t abusive. I’m not the type of woman that you abuse. Well, at least physically. In hindsight, he may have beenemotionally and verbally abusive. He cheated a lot because I wasn’t fucking, and he talked out the side of his neck often.
“I didn’t care, because if he was fucking on those bitches, then he wasn’t focused on me. He was very misogynistic. He thought that I should keep my ass in the house and be barefoot and pregnant. When I graduated from high school, I left his ass in the dust.” I chortled at the memory of how mad he was that I left with no notice to his ass.
Jorie leaned forward on the table. “So, now that you’re here and it’s clear that you are Orion’s mate, do you plan to segregate from your parent’s pack and join ours? I mean, there is no real rush, but it does make sense.”
Her question froze me for a moment. I was barely a part of my parents’ pack. If I hadn’t shifted in years, then it had been that much longer since I had spoken to my parents telepathically. “I haven’t really thought about it. I mean, I’m in a pack with my parents, but I wouldn’t call myself an active member. I mean I was born into it, but we haven’t communicated telepathically since my early twenties.”
“What!” Jorie’s eyes were wide. “Did you just say that you haven’t talked to your pack members, no, your parents since your early twenties? Aren’t you in your thirties?”
I held my finger up. “First, I’m only thirty-two. I mean, the last time I shifted was maybe when I was twenty-four or something like that. I may have talked to them telepathically the last time a year before that,” I admitted. I felt a sense of shame about that suddenly.
Makayla giggled. “Girl, shut the hell up. Talking aboutI’m only thirty-two,then you have the nerve to say you may not have talked to your parents telepathically since you were what? Twenty-two. How often do you talk to them in general?”
How is a person with no beast reprimanding me about beast activities? Wow!I wanted to be offended, but I wasn’t sure if I had the right.
“I talk to them by phone maybe once a month.” My head cocked to the side. “Actually, I haven’t talked to them for a few months now that I think about it. I guess I’ve been in a bubble since Orion and I have been together.”
“Don’t blame that man,” Elsbeth said. She sat back. “I think you should reach out to your parents right now. What good is having friends if they don’t hold you accountable?”
My eyes bucked. “You want me to call my parents right now? In front of y’all?”
“No. We want you to mind talk with your parents. We’ll wait.” Jorie sat back in her seat.
I had three heifers sitting back in their seats with their eyes on me. It didn’t escape me that Elsbeth said they were my friends. It was crazy that, at my big age, I didn’t think I’d ever had true friends. Anyone that held my secrets. Yeah, I had female friends when I was in college that I partied with, but that was as far as it went. I met them at the club, we partied, then we parted ways. My beast was part of the reason that I stayed distant and rarely dated seriously.
“Okay, but it’s going to look weird. I’m just going to be sitting here silent,” I told them. I wasn’t sure why I needed to tell them that as if they didn’t know. After they told me that they would talk among themselves, I sighed then opened my mind.
“Mom? Dad?”I called out in my mind. I waited for a response. It was like waiting for someone to answer the phone.
“Elodie? Sweetie. Are you okay, darling?” my mother asked.
“Yes, Mommy. I’m fine. I just wanted to check on you and daddy,”I said with a giggle.“Is everything alright? We haven’t talked in a while. I’m sorry about that. I’ve had a lot going on.”
There was a moment of silence before she responded.“Oh, okay. I just assumed if you wanted to check on us that you would call. I can’t remember the last time that we’ve spoken like this.”Now, it was her turn to let out a giggle.“It’s good to hear that you have a lot going on. I hope they’re good things.”
“Yes, they are good things.”A smile rose to my face, which caught the attention of the girls who smiled at me.“I was recently promoted to the manager of my branch for the marketing firm that I work for. The other manager was horrible and embezzling from the company.”
“Oh my gosh! That is horrible. Well, it’s a blessing that she was found out so you could take your rightful place. I know over the years when we’ve talked that you worked hard for the company.”There was another moment of silence.“I’m proud of you, Elodie.”
Her words caught me off guard to the point that I choked. I wasn’t sure what I was choked on, but I was. The girls looked at me like I was crazy. I grabbed my glass of water and drank it slowly. I was happy that Elsbeth chose to have brunch at her house. This would have been weird in a public place. I assured the girls that I was fine after I finished drinking my water.
It wasn’t until I got myself together that I noticed my dad hadn’t chimed into the conversation yet. That wasn’t like Chogan. He always had something to say.
“Thank you, Mommy. That means a lot to hear you say that to me. I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard you say that.”I picked the napkin up from my lap to wipe my eyes.
“Mommy, is Dad sleeping? I’m not used to him being so silent. You know your husband talks a lot,”I said playfully.
This talk with my mother had a lot of moments of silence. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
“Um, sweetie, your father is in the hospital. He had a heart attack some time ago.”
I jumped to my feet.“What! Mommy, how could you not tell me? Is he alright?”
