“Is that…your son?” Brynta gasps, and when I nod, she lightly slaps my shoulder. “I can’t believe it! He looks just like you!”
Brynta rushes around the table and instantly wraps her arms around Noah. “I'm your mother's friend. What's your name?”
“Noah,” he says, his voice muffled by her arms. When she finally releases him, Noah giggles as he stares at me. “Like Aunt Lyra…”
“Yeah,” I chuckle. “Brynta is just like Aunt Lyra.”
“Who is Lyra? And where have you been all this time? You have to tell me everything!” Brynta exclaims. “I'm managing the pack center now, so I could only stop by for a quick visit. But you must come by and tell me everything!”
“I will,” I relent with a sheepish smile, somewhat relieved that Brynta's warm welcome has me feeling less alone. Evenif Tyler had offered his home to us, I've been maintaining my distance and clinging to the walls I'd built to keep my heart protected from him, and I've been wary about exploring the rest of Portland and showing Noah around, unsure of how the others will receive us once they find out that I came back as a single mother.
Brynta's warmth extends to her bidding us goodbye for now as she hugs me again and reveals that the alpha was the one who told her about my return. Just as I suspected, he was behind it, and it's probably another attempt to get me to open up to him.
I'm smarter than I was in the past, and I know that I shouldn't let my guard down. Brynta's visit at least brings me ease, and I'm more confident about roaming around freely without being bothered by anyone who might object to my return. I've never had trouble before, and I don't want any trouble now, especially since trouble is what forced me back to Portland.
That's why I have to do some digging that might bring me answers as to why I've been having those strange dreams about James. Is it tied to the stranger I met at the diner, and finding our cottage in Oakland thrashed? Is it linked to my inner wolf's voice warning me to come back?
“Ari…” Tyler clears his throat when he's back at the table after Brynta leaves, snapping me from my overthinking mind. One brow is raised expectantly, as if he's waiting for me to thank him for calling Brynta over.
I remind myself that I cannot grow weak around him despite his efforts to chip away at my walls. If he thinks this makes up for breaking my heart and spirit in the past, he has another thing coming!
“It was nice of Brynta to stop by,” I say, stuffing my mouth with some pancakes. I haven't suddenly grown an appetite, but I'll be damned if I show him that anything he does affects me. With a nonchalant shrug, I continue, “I think I'm gonna visit her at the pack center. If she's managing the place now, I'm sure she can squeeze me in.”
“To do what, exactly?” Tyler frowns.
“Anything,” I sniff, thinking that it's time I got out of Tyler's house. “Laundry, cooking. I'd like to enroll Noah in the nursery, but I'll have to pay for it. Isn't that how the pack operates?”
Tyler takes a deep breath as he leans back and crosses his arms. I can't help but notice the way his muscles flex, and it takes every ounce of self-control to keep my eyes to myself.
“That won't be necessary. Noah can attend without you having to pay.”
“That sounds a little unfair, don't you think? Everyone has to pay,” I murmur.
Tyler huffs irritably. “I am the alpha—”
“And it won't look good for you to favor anyone,” I say, raising my brows and staring at him firmly. “Especially not a single mother who left without telling anyone.”
Tyler stares back at me through narrowed eyes, his jaw clenching as he contemplates what I said. “Fine,” he relents at last, picking up his juice. “I'll tell Brynta you can start working at the center after the weekend.”
I thank him with a curt nod, maintaining my coolness despite wondering if there's any reason for the long wait. At least he's agreed to it, and it gives me time to find my footing again inPortland, and maybe take some time to visit my parents’ graves and our old cottage.
Maybe I can fix the place up and move there with Noah. Working at the pack center will give me some freedom, even if I'm a prisoner to the way the alpha makes me feel by simply being around him, and a prisoner to the hatred I refuse to let go of.
Chapter 10 - Tyler
Returning from Concord after attending the meeting with the Bloodclaw Pack and briefly offering Hunter some moral support before his alpha trials commence, the weight of exhaustion hangs heavy on my shoulders. As much as I want to go home and bask in the comfort of my bed, there's something I must do, and it's all because Hunter's mother gifted me a bouquet of lilies to welcome me to their home.
The gesture was thoughtful, but it bears a burden of being caught between a rock and a hard place. I glance at the flowers I'm carrying, one hand lightly whispering over the white petals, the wavy, smooth texture taking me to a memory in the past.
It was the first time I'd truly given Arianna my undivided attention, after years of barely speaking to her. She'd been at the graveyard visiting her parents’ graves, and it was shortly after Tyson was laid to rest.
I was visiting, too, furious that my older brother had left me with his shoes to fill. I'd been drunk and high on some wolfsbane, and I was yelling at my brother's grave when Arianna heard me.
She'd walked over and offered me some flowers to lay on Tyson's grave. White lilies, like the ones I'm carrying now. Her kind gesture quickly sobered me up back then, and that's when we talked, and I felt most vulnerable. From that night on, I'd wander the graveyard, not to visit Tyson, but for the thrill of the secret rendezvous with Arianna, who was easy to talk to, as well as easy on the eyes. We'd become friends until the night of my farewell party, when I discovered that I found her irresistible, and just had to taste her kiss before I left.
If I took these home, Arianna might just think it's some sick, twisted joke, playing on the past and taunting her with the very same flowers that she extended as an olive branch to me in my time of need. She won't see it as an olive branch from me; she's been shunning all my attempts to chip away at the walls she's built around herself.
Sighing, I decide to take these to Tyson's grave instead. At least his spirit will appreciate the gesture, and he might smile down on me.
