Page 29 of Big Bad Wolf: B.B.W
My mother cleared her throat. “Baby, we understand that. That came up in our conversation, and we figured you may think about that. We stayed up into the early morning thinking about the different options.” She giggled. “I’m surprised that I was able to get up and cook this morning. The solution that we came up with, that would possibly take a big life change that Chogan and I agreed with, is to join Orion’s pack.”
Orion’s enlarged eyes matched mine. “Oh, okay. Is that what y’all want to do? If it is, I can certainly speak with the chief and pack leader about it. How would that work, though? Because they would probably want to meet you and have the ceremony.”
He had all of the questions that I had. One of the main points of pack life was for protection as well as family. If they joined the pack in Lumberton, they would be a part of a new family.
My father leaned forward on the table. “Your mother and I have missed so much of your life, and we don’t want to miss anymore. We both are getting older, and I never want you to feel how you did when you found out that I was sick. We’ve decided, if the tribe and pack will have us, to move to Lumberton.”
I jumped up from my seat. Orion grabbed my chair before it fell back.
“What! Y’all want to move to North Carolina?” I felt like I had ants climbing up my legs because I couldn’t stay still. I looked down at Orion. “Can you call Thaddeus to ask? Please, can you?”
He stood up, then wrapped his arms around my waist. After his lips blessed my temple with a kiss, he let me know that he would make the call now. He excused himself from the table. While he was away, my parents told me their plans for the house and my mother’s business if they did move. My father was a mental health therapist, which was crazy if you considered his gift.
We were interrupted by a knock on the door. Orion told us that he would get it.
“I know you’re fucking lying!”
Orion’s outburst caused us all to hurriedly get out of our seats to get to the front door.
What the hell!Dyami stood there with a huge bouquet of roses.
“Dyami, what are you doing here?”
With a straight back and a smirk, he responded. “I came to check on Mr. Summerville. I wanted to make sure everything was going well with him.”
“Oh, so you brought those flowers for Pops? That’s such a nice gesture.” Orion snatched the bouquet out of his hands, then turned to hand them to my father.
My father took it from his hand, smelled it, then said, “No one’s ever given me flowers. I feel so smitten.”
When the hell did my father become so petty?When my mother, who stood next to my father, bent down to smell the roses, I almost lost my mind.
“Don’t they smell lovely, dear?” my father asked mockingly.
“Actually, those roses were for Elodie,” Dyami said as if it was alright. “I wanted to check on her too. Mrs. Summerville, are those your cinnamon rolls that I smell?”
Before I could make a damn move to stop it, Orion’s fist met the middle of Dyami’s face.
“I warned you in that fuckin’ hospital about playing with me. I’m not sure what you thought this was, but you will never disrespect me or my mate.”
Like I knew he would, when Dyami got his footing, he came back at Orion full force with a punch. The fight spilled out into the front yard. My parents’ house was on three acres of land, and the next house was more than four miles down the road. Those facts unlocked a fear that was all too real.
Orion and Dyami were going blow for blow, but my baby was getting the best of him. If I remembered Dyami’s ego, that would not be something he would be alright with. Just as my thought solidified in my mind, my fear came a reality. Dyami shifted into his beast.
“No!”
My father grabbed my arm before I could rush over. He pulled me to his chest.
“No. Let your mate handle his adversary.”
“Daddy, I don’t want Orion to shift. If he does, Dyami might call the rest of the pack!” The thought of it mortified me. “He won’t survive that!”
Dyami’s beast lowered the front of his body in an attack mode. When he growled, Orion laughed.
“You think your little wolf is supposed to put fear in my heart? Let’s see how you play with this.”
I closed my eyes in anticipation of what was to come. I only opened one eyelid because I was too scared to open both of them. Dyami had stepped all the way back at the sight of Orion’s centaur beast. I told my parents that Dyami was calling his pack. There was no way that he wasn’t.
“If they arrive, Chogan, you do not shift. You speak for Orion. Elodie and I will shift,” my mother said. Her instruction shocked the hell out of me.
