Forced To Love You

Beautiful And Breathtaking

Harmony ran her hand over a selection of red roses. She lifted one out of the metal pots they sat in and took a breath of the scent it gave off. "Do you have a favorite flower?"

I glanced at all the flowers and felt overwhelmed by the selection. There were so many to choose from and I knew nothing about flowers. "I don't know."

"What about a favorite color?"

I hummed to myself as I thought about which I liked most. "I'd have to say pink."

She nodded and put the rose back where she'd gotten it from. She walked me over to the selection of various pink flowers and pulled out a cute flower that was shaped like a circle. She handed a singular flower to me. "This is a Camellia. One of the few plants that grow this time of year. It doesn't smell so if you want something scented, a rose is the better way to go."

"These are nice."

"Nice?" She questioned. "Blair, flowers aren't nice. They're beautiful and breathtaking works of art. The Goddess blessed us with flowers to show us that there is beauty everywhere."

I turned to her. "The Goddess... Can you tell me more about... her?" I wasn't a religious person. I didn't believe him a higher power such as God or anything. Even a Goddess seemed far-fetched. But I did believe in heaven enough to think and believe that my family was in a better place. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part.

Harmony began gathering flowers and rested them on her arm as she added more to her bouquet. "The Goddess is what gives us life. She created life and all that you see around us. She is similar to fate or God. I like to think that God is for humans and the Goddess is just for us werewolves. She gives us a partner to spend the rest of our lives with and children to continue our legacy and bloodline. Everything we have is thanks to her."

"She's not... a real person, is she?"

Harmony laughed. "No. More like a spirit. You can talk to her but she doesn't talk back. More so her actions speak for her."

I nodded. I still wasn't believing completely but at least I knew more.

"I know this is a lot for you to take in. Not knowing about werewolves and then being thrust into the world surely is confusing and frightening for you. Christian said you weren't adjusting well when you first arrived."

I glanced over at her. "He talked to you about that?"

She nodded. "I'm a pretty good listener. Plus, sometimes Christian needs someone to talk to and Zeke isn't exactly good at giving advice."

I ran my hand over the top of a fluffy purple flower. "What did he say? About me, I mean."

"He's quite smitten over you. Even when you first came to Twisp, he was already talking about your future together. I was worried he would push you away. He can be a bit... intense sometimes. He does things at 100% or not at all."

"I've noticed that."

"Christian's been waiting for his mate for a long time. I understand his excitement. You have no idea how happy I was that Zeke was my mate when we first turned 18."

"How did that work? Did you just like fall in love with him or something?" I only knew how mating worked between Christian and I and even that was minimal.

"We were in love before our eighteenth birthdays. It was a young puppy love. A high school romance. I didn't know if it would go anywhere but I wanted to see if we could make it work. I turned 18 first. I was so worried that he wouldn't be my mate and we would have to stop seeing one another. But the Goddess made it happen. A few months later, he turned 18 and we knew it was meant to be. He's the love of my life." Just from the way she talked about him, she was smitten. She even got that far-away look in her eyes.

"Can I ask you something? And please, don't be offended by what I'm about to ask."

She laughed. "Go ahead."

"What do you see in Zeke? Has he always been so..."

Her laugh got a little louder. "He likes to act tough but he's really just a softy. Christian's intimating because he's quiet and keeps to himself. Zeke has to find a way to imitate that same attitude so others take him seriously as a Beta. But that isn't him so it's a bit difficult. Don't let him scare you. He's harmless."

"I'll make sure to tell him you said that the next time I see him."

She headed for the register and set the flowers down on the counter. "I'll tell him myself. Along with Christian, he also has to listen to me."

I laughed and looked at the door as the bell rang. Christian walked in and my breath hitched in my throat. I could tell the same happened for Christian but he played it off much better than I did.

He approached us and leaned against the counter, just far enough to give Harmony space to wrap up the flowers I had picked out. "Pretty flowers."

Harmony looked at me as she rolled her eyes.

I laughed.

"What?" Christian asked.

Harmony handed over the tied bouquet with the flowers neatly grouped together inside a plastic bag. It had Harmony Florist printed on the front in cursive writing. "Oh, nothing. Thanks for stopping by. When you have time in your busy schedule, you should come over. We'd love to have you for dinner. Both of you."

I started to reach for the flowers but Christian beat me to them.

"I will. Thanks, Harmony."

"Don't we have to pay for the flowers?" I didn't like the thought of ripping Harmony off for the flowers.

"I wouldn't dream of asking you to pay. It's my pleasure."

"But-"

She held up a hand to stop me. "I won't accept your money no matter how hard you try."

"It was really nice to meet you," I said, giving in to her.

"Likewise. Come back and visit. Maybe I can teach you and thing or two about flowers." The wink she gave me hinted that she wanted to discuss more than just flowers and plants.

Holding back a smile, I followed Christian to the exit. Before we left, Harmony called out to us.

"Don't be a stranger, Christian!"

The car was once again along the curb waiting for us. Christian opened my door for me and I got inside without arguing. He walked around to his side and got in, resting the bouquet on his thighs.

As gracefully as I could, I slid over to the middle seat and leaned against Christian's side. I put my head on his shoulder and we drove the rest of the way in silence.