A Soft Spot For You

5.2

There must be something about the way Celine walked that made everyone part as she marched through the wererabbit territory.

Instead of waddling and stumbling through the crowds, we easily crossed the burrows and entered the City Hall. No one blocked our way, no one bit us in anger, and no one threw a piece of carrot at me.

Was I just so unthreatening, compared to Celine? I did not know how to feel about that.

When we reached Auri's office, Celine wasted no time in the formalities. She swung the door open, entered, and said, "You must be Auri. We need to talk."

Auri had been reading something on her desk. She lifted her head from the sudden intrusion, and as her eyes darted from Celine to me, her lips tugged upwards.

"And you must be Celine," she said, clasping her hands together. "Hello! Bodie talked a lot about you."

Celine blinked. She glanced at me. "Y- You did?"

I shrugged. "We were chatting about our lives. You're... a big part of my life."

"Oh." Celine scratched her head. "That's kinda sweet, Bodie. Thank you. A- Anyway, enough of this. Auri, we are here to talk to you about—"

"About the burrowing project?" Auri cut her off with an excited slam on the table. "That's so awesome! I love talking to people about my passion project. Come, come, sit here, let's talk!" She gestured to the chair in front of her desk before turning to me with a smile. "Oh yeah, Bodie, I placed a lunch order over at the cafe before work. Could you help me pick it up?"

"Uh..." And leave Auri alone with Celine? I did not feel too comfortable about this. But with the wererabbit's large, shimmering eyes glued on me, I could not help but mutter, "Sure."

I bolted out of the room and sprinted towards the cafe. I needed to make it back to Auri as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, Selena and Josh, the owners of the cafe, took their time packing Auri's sandwiches while arguing about what was the best type of cabbage (Selena swore by cannonball cabbages, and Josh would die for red cabbages). When they were done, I grabbed the bag and hurried back.

Anxiety grew within me. Celine was strict and adamant—when she had a goal, she made sure to achieve it, no matter what. She could be ruthless and cold if needed. She resembled Victor in this way, and maybe that was why they fell in love, maybe that was why Victor chose her as his mate.

She could be yelling at Auri now, or making her cry, or breaking her, or worse...

I increased my speed. I needed to get back to Auri as soon as possible; I shouldn't even have left her alone...

"Auri!"

I burst into the office—and came to a full halt.

Celine was hunched over and crying in her hands. Perched on the desk next to her was Auri, holding a box of tissues and handing some to Celine every so often.

Huh? Since when did Celine cry?

And what the heck happened here?

"And then just like that," Celine said in between sobs, "he's gone. He- He promised a life with me, but now he's gone. Now, I- I have to face this alone. I have to face life alone."

"Oh, Celine." Auri patted her on the back. "What are you talking about? You have the rest of the family, don't you? And me, now. I'm here for you."

Celine blew her nose into a piece of tissue. I finally snapped out of my state of shock and asked, "What's... What's happening?"

Auri smiled in response, giving Celine a gentle squeeze on the arm. "Nothing much. Celine here is just under so much pressure. You know you don't have to carry it all alone, Celine. You deserve to take a break and let your emotions out."

"I... I can't be weak like this, Auri..."

"Crying is not weak! You're being too hard on yourself, girl. There, there, let it out, let it out..."

Celine let out an uncharacteristic wail and buried her face deeper into a fistful of tissues.

My mouth was wide open in shock. Did Auri... get Celine to open up? The perfectly raised werewolf, the mate to the previous Alpha heir, the Celine?

How?

I found myself frozen to the spot as the two women talked for what seemed like forever.

Celine's therapy session soon transitioned into discussions about their skincare routine, their dream locations for vacations, and their ideal traits in a partner. After a while, we ate lunch together before somehow ending up at a mall for a long shopping session. I became the designated shopping bag carrier, of course, and when all was done and we returned home, it was already nighttime.

I collapsed onto the sofa, the dozens of shopping bags sprawled in front of me.

Celine slumped next to me. "Bodie, what the hell was that?"

"What do you mean?" I said, my voice barely a whisper.

"How... How did she get me to become so... soft?"

I frowned. "I- I don't know. I mean, I think it's great. You made a friend—"

"No, it's not great!" Celine sat up. "This is not like me at all! Oh my god, I'm becoming like you, aren't I? Victor is gone, and I'm becoming like you..."

I was not sure if I should feel insulted by her statement. "I don't know, Celine, you were enjoying yourself a lot with Auri and everything—"

"We need backup."

"What?"

Celine stood up. "I'm getting Max to help us."

I jolted up as well. "What? No!"

But it was too late. Celine had left the house, determination written all over her face.

✦⤐☽⍋☾⬷✦

It was now my fourth consecutive day of entering the wererabbit burrow and meeting with Auri. This time, my father's most trusted beta, Max, was with us. If Celine had been commanding and frightening, Max was a huge, spine-chilling beast.

The pit in my stomach became heavier as I watched Max enter Auri's office. The man was unquestioningly loyal to my father, so there was no way he would cave in to any of Auri's requests. There was no way Auri could get out of this now—

Wait a minute, why was he crying?

Huh?

"It's just... It's just so frustrating sometimes, you know?" Max whimpered into his handkerchief. "I work so, so hard, and I care so much about him, but he never, ever shows me any sign of appreciation."

"That must be really frustrating." Auri nodded. She was sitting on her desk again, so she was at eye level with the crying werewolf, and patting Max on the back.

"Like, I know he doesn't want to seem weak, but... but couldn't he just thank me privately? Give me a small note of thanks? Show me an inkling of evidence that he appreciates what I do for him?"

"You should talk to him about this, Max. Not in a confrontational way, but as a suggestion?"

Max shook his head. "He's scary, Auri. He's the Alpha."

"But you are his most trusted beta! If there's anybody he would listen to, it's you."

"Perhaps..."

"I believe in you, Max."

"Thank you, Auri, I- I needed that confirmation..."

I exchanged an incredulous look with Celine. This was insane. Auri... broke Max too. The most trusted beta of the Alpha, the pillar of the pack, the Max.

"You know," Celine whispered, "if you came up with a good reason and a feasible alternate plan, maybe your father would change his mind."

I nodded. Werewolves never back down, but... we kinda had to now. There was no way any of us were saying no to Auri.