Sierra sighed, “Like the Werebengals. I don’t know what every single one is. They are private and there’s a part of the list I literally don’t have access to.” Dylan asked, “Do we have any Mermaids, Phoenix’s, Dragons, and most importantly Bigfoot?”
Sierra snorted, “I assume I can safely say Bigfoot isn’t coming; however, as I said I don’t know what some groups are.” Dylan said, “Fear not young Sierra, Dylan Frost is on the case. My blog will persevere!” Sierra checked her watch.
My Beta Female announced, “Everyone will arrive by morning. Charles, how long will Melanie be out?” Charles checked his phone and frowned, “Probably until tomorrow night.” Sierra said, “Good. Let’s all get some sleep.” I did not find that good.
Oden growled, “Neither do I. With Freya, they had to hit mate really hard to knock her out for that long.” Sierra left the room along with everyone else. I couldn’t move and I certainlyI couldn’t sleep. I heard a throat clear behind me. I turned knowing exactly who it was.
I greeted, “Hi, Uncle Bjourn.” He sat down beside me. I asked, “Shouldn’t you go get some sleep?” Uncle Bjourn gave me a look before saying, “I don’t need much sleep, like you. Your mother practically shoved her emotions at me to talk to you. I was going to anyway.” We’d always had a close bond.
Uncle Bjourn would listen without judgment. He never said things like ‘it will all be ok’ or acted like my feelings were crazy. He was always just there. My Uncle urged, “Talk to me.” I sighed, “I didn’t answer my phone, and I blocked out my link because I was dealing with Trevor’s friend. I could’ve stopped her.”
Uncle Bjourn disagreed, “I don’t think you could’ve. Your mate is very resourceful and determined. She was going to do this no matter what.” I stood, “Melanie and I discussed talking this over then my wife just jumped into it. They could hurt her and I can’t get to her. Melanie has been hurt enough. I’m so fucking tired of being away from her. I just got her.”
Uncle Bjourn reasoned, “She’s not going to be gone from your side that long. Might I suggest when you get her back, let her know you’re supposed to be by her side. Your dad will tell you communication is something you always work on and he’s not wrong.”
“Hell, your Aunt Astrid and I still work on that. I once spanked, and fucked, my wife so hard she couldn’t walk nor sit down without wincing for two weeks.” I snorted, “What happened?” Oden perked up in my head too.
Uncle Bjourn answered, “After Hastein was born I was in court with your grandpa. Astrid got word about a threat. She left Hastein with her mom then left to handle the threat on her own. She left a note for Aaron knowing he wouldn’t get it for several hours.”
“I felt her pain, but she was supposed to be training. Instead of going to her at first, I just plotted the horrible things I was going to do to her training partner for hurting her. When Aaron ran in and showed me the note I lost it.”
“I’m fully aware your aunt is more than capable of taking care of herself. She is not only a Hackura who is my Queen, but she’s the daughter of the former Commander of our Army. I have never doubted her ability to take out an enemy or take care of herself.”
“When I arrived, my mate was fighting beautifully. It was quite the turn on. I made sure Astrid knew that I knew she was capable and could fight on her own. I would never stop my wife from doing that. She never went off like that again though.”
“Your Aunt doesn't keep things like that from me. She tells me when she’s going out, and I’ll be on standby to be by her side if she doesn’t want me there. It’s a balance in a relationship. It sucks sometimes, but that’s the truth of it.”
I snorted, “You may be on standby, but I know you. You send people to have her six. Melanie did try to tell me though.” Uncle Bjourn nodded, “I see the ‘but’ in your eyes.” I sighed, “Because there is one. But my wife could’ve pulled me to her. She could’ve tugged on our connection. It feels like she knew she wouldn’t get a hold of me. If she didn’t have to call Aaron, we might not have known she left for hours.”
Uncle Bjourn responded, “Us? No. Her friends? They would’ve seen the green code and known.” I said, “They wouldn’t have told us until they had to. They probably would’ve let us assume she was somewhere, running everything. Until I got here and said she wasn’t here they wouldn’t have admitted it.”
Uncle Bjourn agreed, “Probably not. Melanie was thrust into a role she didn’t get any training for. People follow her and that happened before she found out she was the White Wolf. If she’dbeen with us, I’m sure your mom would’ve had her sitting with me, Aiden, Astrid, and Lucinda.”
“Hell, Haley would probably have mom and dad, your grandparents, talk to her too. Melanie’s not technically going to be a Queen, but she’s leading people. She’s doing it on instinct too and it’s impressive. Mentors are always helpful though.”
“I’ve had my parents, Aaron, Uncle Zader, Uncle Lief, and several other mentors. I traveled around with Astrid and our children to each Lord and studied how they kept order for the kingdom. I saw many different styles and discovered what worked best for me. I was guided, but Melanie wasn’t. She doesn’t even kind of rely on others to make decisions.”
I responded, “Neither do you.” Uncle Bjourn laughed, “I listen to the counsel of those I trust, and I make many decisions with your Aunt Astrid. From what we just heard, Melanie often rejected the opinion of those around her.”
“I’m not even saying that was the wrong decision because I don’t think it was. I’m sure the argument that went down when she got back about them using Arlina as bait was intense. She has a crusade to keep people safe, and they were going to let someone fall victim to the Ring; even if it was temporary.”
“As a King and Protector of the Realms, I understand that. Not unlike your mother, Melanie cares a great deal about the people she loves. There was a path where she tracked down your mom or Arlina though.”
“Melanie could’ve found a way to talk to both of them about the plots against them. They would have agreed to be bait. As much as I don’t like that about your mother, she would do that. Haley would even agree to keep it a secret. I don’t know if Melanie considered that. She definitely didn’t get the chance in Arlina’s case; however, I know of at least twenty attempts on your mother. “
I gaped at him before shouting, “Twenty?!” Oden grumbled, “No one tells us anything.” Clearly. My Uncle nodded, “Yes, and that’s in the last seven years. I suspected the Resistance stopped those plans. We stopped a few, and all our people felt they were being watched.”
“They could not hunt down whoever they felt was watching them, I’m pretty sure it was Melanie. She has her friends that work with her. I do believe your wife trusts them, but I don’t think she would trust anyone but herself to stop the attempt on your mom.”
“For as much as your wife trusts people she has a wall around herself. I think when push comes to shove Melanie relies on herself because deep down she believes that’s the one person who will never let her down.”
I argued, “I’ll never let her down, Uncle Bjourn.” He smiled at me saying, “I know that, and I think she does too. One thing we learned when your mom came to us, is that you can’t undo years of abuse in a day, a month, or sometimes even a year.”
“Your mom still deals with things that happened in her childhood. Melanie was raised to fight back, unlike your mom. That doesn’t mean the words she thought were her family’s and pack’s, didn’t cut her deeply. It doesn’t mean that your mate doesn’t hold onto the fear that she’s not enough for you.”
“Your rejection was held over that young woman’s head. Your mate’s desire to have some normalcy with you was ruined by the things that happened to her. You couldn’t mark Melanie when she wanted you to, nor could you take a joyful first run.”
“I’ve never met a wolf that didn’t get to enjoy their first run, except your wife. Now she has the fact that she will be a goddess thrust on her. A role she’s already taken on, to a degree, by fighting for all these forgotten packs.”
