Lady and the Wolf [Book One, Lady and the Wolf Series] -Published-

Chapter Fourteen: A Promise Kept

She couldn't. She shouldn't. But she had to. She took a leap, and she finally gripped it by the neck and shook with all her might. She was going to do it... she was going to ask the dreaded question.

Aira bounced on the balls of her heels and smiled that ever gleeful smile at her mother. She prayed to all that was holy and divine that Emma wouldn't shoot her down again.

"Mom... can I ask you something?" Please, God, Zeus... Santa, anyone! Let today be the day Emma finally caved, were the fleeting thoughts that crossed her mind as her mother turned around from the cooktop and smiled back.

"Hmm?"

It was now or never. "I want to wax my eyebrows... and shave. Please, Mom! I'll be thirteen soon. I'm old enough!"

Emma stiffened for a moment. Aira had been asking the same question for weeks now, and each time, the answer was no. Emma didn't want Aira to be ruled by vanity like most teenage girls; Aira knew this. She wanted her daughter to be happy with the way she was, and besides, her eyebrows were as light as anything. The girl was tanned naturally, of course, and you could barely even notice her eyebrows as it was. Shaving, however, was a big step Emma just didn't think Aira was ready to take, but Aira knew what she was ready for, and shaving was certainly on that list.

Aira kept her hopes up, as her mother turned around, that smile still bright and sparkling. For a moment, Aira was adamant Emma would say yes. That is until she sighed and repeated that dreaded word, "No, Aira."

Her posture instantly slumped, and her head went limp. "Whatever..." she muttered under her breath.

Emma's eyes widened considerably. "Hey, what's with the attitude lately?"

Aira's pouty lips twisted into a sulky frown. "All the other girls are allowed to, and I don't see why I shouldn't be—"

Emma cut her daughter off as she held her hand up in the air in a "stop" motion. "Aira, no. Your eyebrows are fine. Leave it."

Aira spluttered and gawked. "I'm nearly thirteen years old. I'm not a little kid anymore!"

Emma rarely, if ever, lost her temper. The woman was a saint in her own right and tried to do the best she could, but Aira knew her behavior was starting to get on her mother's nerves. The girl didn't know why she was becoming so dramatic over something so little, but she was tired of being treated as if she were still a mute — never being heard, just spoken down to.

"After what happened at school yesterday, you don't deserve anything," Emma grumbled under her breath but instantly regretted the words that left her lips.

Emma saw the look of hurt that washed over Aira's face, but before she could apologize, Aira was shooting up the stairs, tears racing down her face. Emma sighed as she watched Aira fly off.

It wasn't fair! She never got to do anything her friends got to do. She was never allowed to go to the mall with her friends alone, she wasn't allowed to catch the bus like other kids her age, and she most certainly wasn't allowed to use makeup or shave.

She stomped straight passed Vaughn, who watched after her, obviously confused. Aira had never ignored her pet without at least patting him on the head or giving him a treat. He trailed after the upset girl but instantly backed away out of fright when Aira ripped the ladder down that lead up to the attic.

She climbed up the ladder and once situated in the attic, Aira pulled the ladder back up with a loud bang. She had hoped she made the house rattle and maybe even topple down. Ugh, why had Emma said that?