Peaches

XIV

"Mum? Are you gonna answer me?" I say, frustration coating my voice like thick paint.
"Well, I didn't think you'd ever need to know."
"What about after I found out Adam was my mate."
"I'm sorry honey I should've told you, I didn't ever want to have that conversation with you."
"Its okay I understand I guess."
"Oh honey."
I stare at the ground preparing to leave.
"What happened tonight?"
I look at my mother teary eyed, mothers have a way of bring hidden emotions out of you involuntarily.
"He just dropped me off, I don't know what happened. Everything was fine and then it wasn't." Tears drip down my cheeks and my mother embraces me as I cry. She doesn't let go until I decide to and she immediately goes to get me a glass of water to help me stop crying and it works.
"Honey, I need to tell you something."
"What is it?"
Suddenly, my father walks in and places his arm around my mother and kisses her on the cheek.
"Hi Reiney, how was your date." He says with an unreadable expression.
"It was fine, mum you were saying?"
She looks panicked and walks toward me and kisses my forehead. "It's late hon you should go to sleep, you'll feel better in the morning."
"Okay." I get up and grab my glass and head up the stairs to my bedroom not missing the sound of bickering emanating from the kitchen as I leave but I'm too tired to care.

Lately it feels like everyone has secrets, the foundation of all the relationships in my life built on them. People have kept things from me my whole life so I shouldn't be surprised. So I sleep. I sleep to forgot the things hidden from me, to forget my transgressions and sins, my wrongdoings and my position in life. Powerless.

The next day I woke up early but slept in until the loud ringing of my phone became too prominent to ignore so I snatched my phone off my bedside and answered without looking at the name.
"Hello," I answered groggily.
"REEIINNEYYYYYY!!!"
"(Grunting noise) Nat?"
"Why are you still in bed?"
"Why are you awake?"
"Just go downstairs idiot?"
"What why?"
"Just do it." She hung up so I closed my eyes but couldn't sleep because the idea of something happening downstairs and me not knowing was just irritating so I pulled myself out of my covers, not without complaints. My hair was wilder than normal and I only wearing pj shorts and one of Adams t-shirts I fell asleep crying into.

As I left my room and headed down the stairs, I rubbed my eyes to adjust to the light and four figures came into view. The blurriness subsided and faces became clearer and I saw Nat. She was here! I immediately ran into her arms and jumped wrapping me legs around her and she caught me while we were both squealing like piglets. "Nit Nat." I whisper into her.
"Rieney." She whispers back.
After a while she dropped me and let me go.
"I missed you," I say.
"Its been less than a week Reine."
"You're the one who came all this way to see me."
"Actually..."
"This place is on your tour isn't it."
"Kinda... it is one of the biggest packs in the world, but I really did want to see you, I made dad move it to the top of the list, plus he has urgent Alpha business or something." I arch my head behind Nat to see her sister, her father and my father standing behind her.
"Alpha Lila." I shoot a wave to her sister. "Michael." I stretch my arms out and he gives me a short hug when I hear my dad say
"Formalities Riene."
Michael says from his loud booming voice, "Thats alright Beta, little sunshine can call me whatever she wants." He smiles down at me and I know my dad is secretly jealous of the father figure the Alpha is to me.
"Where are you guys staying?" I ask.
"We're all rooming at the pack house with the future Alphas, and your cute brother." She whispered the last part. "Is he still single?" She asks.
"He's mated."
"Oh," she says disappointed.
"She's pregnant too."
"What! That guys not ready to be a father, a couple months ago I watched him pour milk into a cereal box because all his bowls were dirty."
"Exactly, thank you I've been saying that but in all honesty she's changed him."
"Gross is he like a grown up now?"
"Pretty much, she's awesome though."
"Hmmm," she mutters.

A loud clearing of a throat echoed from behind. "I'll leave you two here as Lila and I have some meetings to go to. Thank you for having us Beta." He shakes my fathers hand.
"It was an honour Alpha Aarle."
As they're leaving, I grab Nat's hand and drag her up the stairs into my room.
"I've got so much to tell you, I found my mate."
"What?" She says. "Please tell me it was one of those sexy alpha twins you always talked about."
"Sssshhhhh." I hushed her until we could get to my room. I really didn't want anyone to overhear all I was bout to tell her and I told her all. Everything from my encounter with Raphael at the club to the sickness and everything about Adam including the mating ceremony except I left out everything that happened after we talked about that, you know the crying and the tense car ride, I didn't think telling her how miserable I am was relevant but it felt good to tell someone as I couldn't tell Jude as his duty to his alphas and his best friends would override any duty to me as a secret keeper or maybe it wouldn't but I couldn't take the risk with secrets like mine.