Try Me

Chapter 6

Willow's POV

I got Shade and their mother. I only knew that Shade was a hundred percent color blind and that their mother didn't really like me. Neither I have spent any time with. Shade doesn't really spend time with anyone to be honest. All the others are strong and capable warriors while he tends to keep his nose in a book. His mother also babies him because he has a handicap. Today I was standing in the kitchen of the guest house, wearing Jacey's hoodie, making myself a cup of coffee when I noticed Shade walking outside. He was headed towards the woods, looking over his shoulder every now and then. What was he up to?

I put on jeans and my combat boots before following his scent. I found him sitting by the iced over lake. "I thought you dragons hated to cold," I said to him. He looked up at me and sighed, "I had to get away from them." "Yeah I noticed your mom likes to baby you," I said with a nod. "That's only part of what bothers me," he confessed. "My brothers don't see me as a man because I'm not a warrior. They taunt and they tease and I'm getting tired of it. It's not like I chose this." "If you could choose, then what would it be," I asked him. "To be able to fight and help protect our home," he replied. "To be able to prove myself to them."

I shrugged, "So choose that. In the end it's your life." "It's not that easy," he told me. "But it is," I told him. "You just have to make the choice." "And who will train me," he asked with a slight shake of his head. "I can," I offered. "There is a cave not that far from here that's wide and warm due to the hot springs that are just beneath the floor." He looked at me skeptically. I rolled my eyes, "I didn't get to be Chief of Warriors in my pack for nothing. It's your choice Shade. Warrior or handicap. You know where to find me." I stood and walked back to the house to enjoy my coffee.

I was working on Jacey's gift when there was a knock on the door. I put it away before going to open the door. Shade was on the other side, scratching his head nervously. "I wanna take you up on your offer," he told me. I smiled, "And here I thought you'd take longer to decide." "Yeah well, my siblings got into an argument and I tried to defuse the situation but they snapped and said it was warrior business and I needed to butt out of it," he said with a sigh. I nodded, "Be prepared to get hurt. I'm not gonna go easy on you. I'll meet you there at six tomorrow morning." "Can it stay between us though," he asked me. I nodded, "Of course." He smiled, "Thanks Willow." He then left and I couldn't help my soft smile.

Jacey's POV

I watched as Willow walked around the bar with her tray. Over the last week, she has tried to get to know my siblings and my parents. At first I thought it was just because she was secret Santa to two of my family members, but then I saw it was almost everyone she was trying to get to know. It made me happy that she was putting in effort. I just wish some of my family members would also return that effort. I also wished her family was close so I could get to know them as well. I would have to wait for the summer to visit them in Alaska. If they had a place for me to rest in my dragon form that is.

I watched as Willow went over to a table of Vir wolves and she seemed to be keeping her distance, not a single hint of a smile on her face. She wrote down their orders before she came back to the bar. "Everything okay," I asked her. She handed me the top page of her notepad, "Just a couple of lights."

I looked at the page, they smell like root and we're talking about trying to sell as I walked up to the table.

I nodded, "You got it." Root was a hallucinatory drug that could make the user go feral if they took too much of it.

Willow says the back table of Vir wolves smelled of root and were talking about selling some while here, I said in the mind link

I watched as Ethan and Jax approached the table from behind. They escorted the wolves to the back. A moment later Ethan came out and gave me a subtle nod before heading up the stairs to turn in what they found to my parents. My parents came down, furious and went to the back. I was glad I was not them.

After the bar was closed and we finished cleaning up, I walked Willow up to her room. "I have a question," I said to her. "I may have an answer," she said with a soft smile. "Do you plan on celebrating Winter Solstice," I asked her. She nodded, "Yeah. My mother is making me appear on video to open the gifts some are sending me. I also have to do the same on Christmas." I nodded, "I want to spend it with you. My mother has given us the day off after to catch up on sleep. We can spend it in my cave." She smiled brightly, "I'd like that very much Jacey." She kissed my cheek, "Good night handsome." "Good night Willow," I said before she went into her room.

I went back to the mountain and my mother was in the kitchen, making herself a cup of tea. "I want to thank Willow for reporting those wolves," she said. "How should I go about doing that?" "Just approach her and thank her," I said slightly confused. "No Jacey," she said. "I mean properly repay her. It could have been a disaster had someone got their hands on that stuff then we would have had a messy situation on our hands." My mother is a strong believer in paying back a favor done for her or us. She even does it for her children when she asks us to do something of importance. "I have learned that Willow is a simple woman who doesn't ask for much, if for anything at all," I shared with her. "So you will have to figure it out on your own mother. I can't just tell you then it may not be authentic, and you'll feel that you haven't properly repaid her." She sighed and nodded, "You're right. So does she plan on celebrating Winter Solstice?" I nodded, "Her mother is requesting she be on video to open the gifts her and a few of Willow's pack members are sending her. Her mother is also requesting the same of her on Christmas. Willow and I will be in my cave celebrating." My mother nodded, "Your brothers have agreed to cover your shifts. I hope you enjoy yourselves." I nodded, "Thank you mother." I then went to my room for the rest of the night.