"Hey, Mom, can you come out with my robe or a towel, please?" I mind-linked her.
"Adi! Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you!" My mom's voice came through, frantic in the mind-link.
"Sorry, Mom. I needed some space to sort out my thoughts. I forgot to tune in and lost track of time. So, can you please come out the back door with a robe?"
"Why? Are you okay?" she responded, concern lacing her tone.
"Just come out, please." I tried to keep my annoyance at bay with her mind-link interrogation.
My mom walked out the back door, froze at the sight of me. With pride swelling in my chest, I purred and rubbed my head against her body. "Hi, Mom." I settled down on my paws.
She shrieked with excitement, running back inside to call my dad. He came out, hair matted to one side as if he had just woken up.
"Hi, Dad," I said through the mind-link.
"Adi, is that you?" he asked, lunging at me with open arms. He pulled my head into his embrace, and Void purred at him. My parents knelt, running their hands over my fur. I felt their excitement and pride radiating toward me. We purred together and rolled over for belly rubs, my mom laughing as she scratched Void's belly.
"Hey, Mom, can I shift back now? Rope, please?"
She covered us with the robe and turned around as Dad walked inside. I shifted back—painful, but nothing I couldn't handle. I tied the robe around my body and followed my mom inside.
As soon as I entered, my parents wrapped their arms around me, tears of pride streaming down their faces. I couldn't help but cry with them. Sorry, I'm a social crier; I can't hold back when I see others in tears.
My dad whispered, "I thought you didn't have a wolf. I even cursed the goddess for not giving you one... oh goddess, I'm so sorry I doubted you." We rocked side to side in a heartfelt embrace.
My mom pulled away and cupped my face in her palms. "So, what's her name?"
"Well, she didn't have one. She asked me to name her," I replied.
"What? I've never heard of that happening... to anyone," Dad said, tilting his head in confusion.
My parents exchanged glances before my mom said, "Honey, that's never happened before."
"Really?" I was puzzled. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know, honey." She kissed my nose. "So... what name did you come up with?" My dad looked at me with anticipation.
I lowered my head, thinking about the name my wolf had chosen for herself. "Well, I came up with all sorts of names, but my wolf kept shaking her head. Then I started saying random words until she finally settled on...," I gulped, "don't judge me, okay... Void."
My mom stepped back, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Void?" she asked, sarcasm creeping into her voice.
I rolled my eyes and walked away. "I knew you were going to judge me." I heard her chuckle behind me as my dad shushed her.
"Baby, I'm sorry... it's just... 'Void' is so weird... like... 'We Are Void!'" she teased in a playful growl.
I couldn't help but laugh as I headed up the stairs to my room. If you're wondering where I get my sense of humor from—my mother, ladies and gentlemen.
In my room, I quickly changed into pajamas and curled up in bed, scrolling through Facebook for any gossip about me. I spotted Donna, the village ho, posting about how she knew Clark had rejected his mate for her. Ugh, I rolled my eyes—typical. I scrolled further and saw photos from the banquet, including one of me walking out with the caption, "If rejection were a person, lol." Damn, these people don't miss a beat, do they?
I shook my head and continued scrolling, ignoring the notifications dinging in my messenger—now at 24 unread messages. Ugh, I couldn't fight my OCD any longer. I clicked on the app, and Camilla's name came up first. Time to face the music.
I scrolled down to her first message, sent three hours ago, just after I left the hall:
"CLARK IS AN IDIOT!"
"Panda (her nickname for me), I'm so sorry to be related to a moron."
"Mom and Dad are pissed at him. Mom told him he doesn't deserve you, and I fully agree—because only I deserve you wink emoji hahahaha."
"So, Mom told him he needs to get to know you first before he makes another stupid decision... hope you're okay with that."
"Also, Dad told him he knew about all those 'floozies' (his word, not mine) he brings home... LOL."
"Mom slapped him, hahaha."
"Call me, okay? I love you... maybe more than this dumba**... haha."
"Hellooooo.... Call me!"
"Crying emojis."
"You know you can't ignore me."
"You know Mom and Dad would totally adopt you and disown Clark, right... hahaha."
"Huge imploring eyes emoji"
"Please call me. I know you won't do anything stupid after what happened, but please call... I miss my panda."
"If I find out you're ignoring me, I swear to the goddess I will find you and make you pay... for lunch and dinner."
"Hahahaha."
A rollercoaster of emotions, this one—goddess have mercy. I clicked reply and typed:
"You know I could never ignore you... you're my penguin (my nickname for her), my better half, the love of my life, hahaha. I miss you too! heart emoji You know you could've just sent one long message instead of 1000 short ones, smh."
"Come over tomorrow, k? We'll plan our attack then, hahaha. Love you, penguin."
Sent!
