Page 13 of Big Bad Wolf: B.B.W

“I didn’t care, because if he was fucking on those bitches, then he wasn’t focused on me.

He was very misogynistic. He thought that I should keep my ass in the house and be barefoot and pregnant.

When I graduated from high school, I left his ass in the dust.” I chortled at the memory of how mad he was that I left with no notice to his ass.

Jorie leaned forward on the table. “So, now that you’re here and it’s clear that you are Orion’s mate, do you plan to segregate from your parent’s pack and join ours? I mean, there is no real rush, but it does make sense.”

Her question froze me for a moment. I was barely a part of my parents’ pack.

If I hadn’t shifted in years, then it had been that much longer since I had spoken to my parents telepathically.

“I haven’t really thought about it. I mean, I’m in a pack with my parents, but I wouldn’t call myself an active member.

I mean I was born into it, but we haven’t communicated telepathically since my early twenties. ”

“What!” Jorie’s eyes were wide. “Did you just say that you haven’t talked to your pack members, no, your parents since your early twenties? Aren’t you in your thirties?”

I held my finger up. “First, I’m only thirty-two. I mean, the last time I shifted was maybe when I was twenty-four or something like that. I may have talked to them telepathically the last time a year before that,” I admitted. I felt a sense of shame about that suddenly.

Makayla giggled. “Girl, shut the hell up. Talking about I’m only thirty-two, then you have the nerve to say you may not have talked to your parents telepathically since you were what? Twenty-two. How often do you talk to them in general?”

How is a person with no beast reprimanding me about beast activities? Wow! I wanted to be offended, but I wasn’t sure if I had the right.

“I talk to them by phone maybe once a month.” My head cocked to the side. “Actually, I haven’t talked to them for a few months now that I think about it. I guess I’ve been in a bubble since Orion and I have been together.”

“Don’t blame that man,” Elsbeth said. She sat back. “I think you should reach out to your parents right now. What good is having friends if they don’t hold you accountable?”

My eyes bucked. “You want me to call my parents right now? In front of y’all?”

“No. We want you to mind talk with your parents. We’ll wait.” Jorie sat back in her seat.

I had three heifers sitting back in their seats with their eyes on me.

It didn’t escape me that Elsbeth said they were my friends.

It was crazy that, at my big age, I didn’t think I’d ever had true friends.

Anyone that held my secrets. Yeah, I had female friends when I was in college that I partied with, but that was as far as it went.

I met them at the club, we partied, then we parted ways.

My beast was part of the reason that I stayed distant and rarely dated seriously.

“Okay, but it’s going to look weird. I’m just going to be sitting here silent,” I told them. I wasn’t sure why I needed to tell them that as if they didn’t know. After they told me that they would talk among themselves, I sighed then opened my mind.

“Mom? Dad?” I called out in my mind. I waited for a response. It was like waiting for someone to answer the phone.

“Elodie? Sweetie. Are you okay, darling?” my mother asked.

“Yes, Mommy. I’m fine. I just wanted to check on you and daddy,” I said with a giggle. “Is everything alright? We haven’t talked in a while. I’m sorry about that. I’ve had a lot going on.”

There was a moment of silence before she responded.

“Oh, okay. I just assumed if you wanted to check on us that you would call. I can’t remember the last time that we’ve spoken like this.

” Now, it was her turn to let out a giggle.

“It’s good to hear that you have a lot going on. I hope they’re good things.”

“Yes, they are good things.” A smile rose to my face, which caught the attention of the girls who smiled at me. “I was recently promoted to the manager of my branch for the marketing firm that I work for. The other manager was horrible and embezzling from the company.”

“Oh my gosh! That is horrible. Well, it’s a blessing that she was found out so you could take your rightful place. I know over the years when we’ve talked that you worked hard for the company.” There was another moment of silence. “I’m proud of you, Elodie.”

Her words caught me off guard to the point that I choked.

I wasn’t sure what I was choked on, but I was.

The girls looked at me like I was crazy.

I grabbed my glass of water and drank it slowly.

I was happy that Elsbeth chose to have brunch at her house.

This would have been weird in a public place.

I assured the girls that I was fine after I finished drinking my water.

It wasn’t until I got myself together that I noticed my dad hadn’t chimed into the conversation yet. That wasn’t like Chogan. He always had something to say.

“Thank you, Mommy. That means a lot to hear you say that to me. I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard you say that.” I picked the napkin up from my lap to wipe my eyes.

“Mommy, is Dad sleeping? I’m not used to him being so silent. You know your husband talks a lot,” I said playfully.

This talk with my mother had a lot of moments of silence. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

“Um, sweetie, your father is in the hospital. He had a heart attack some time ago.”

I jumped to my feet. “What! Mommy, how could you not tell me? Is he alright?”

“Honey, I know you have a busy life. We didn’t want to interrupt your life.” There was sadness in my mother’s voice.

Her words hurt my entire soul. My parents felt that they couldn’t reach out to me to let me know that my father had a heart attack. Had I really been that distant? Yes, yes. I have.

“Mommy, that is crazy! I’m coming home. I’m going to take the next flight out, okay?” It wasn’t a question that she needed to answer. No matter what she said, I would be there as soon as I could.

“Elodie, you don’t have to do that. I can keep you updated, sweetie. You just said that you were recently promoted,” my mother rushed out. She had me messed up.

I shook my head vigorously as if she could see me. “It doesn’t matter what I have to do. I want to, Mommy. Don’t worry about my promotion. The company’s owner is my mate.”

I dropped my head. That was not how I wanted to tell her about Orion. Plus, with a slip of the tongue, I called him my mate instead of my boyfriend, which I knew would imply that he had a beast.

I didn’t allow her to respond before I told her that I would be there soon and closed my mind. Everyone’s attention was on me.

“My father is sick. I need to go home.”

Less than twelve hours later, I was on a privately chartered jet with Orion.

Since the reveal of our beasts to each other, we’d spent a lot more time in Lumberton.

The brunch with the girls was over after I told them that my father was sick.

I rushed to Orion’s house where he was with the guys.

I barely spoke to them as I rushed up the stairs to the bedroom to pack a bag.

As soon as I told him what happened, he was on his phone to charter the jet. I didn’t expect him to go with me, but he said that wherever I was, he was. Orion’s hand on my leg stopped it from jumping up and down in my seat.

“Love, calm down. I’ve met parents before,” he said with the corner of his lip raised.

We were in a car on our way to my parents’ house.

I was nervous because, outside of Dyami, my parents had never met any of the guys I’ve dated.

That was to be expected since I was across the country, but yeah.

This was the man that I hoped to spend the rest of my life with.

I leaned my head on Orion’s shoulder. “I love you,” I mumbled.

He kissed my temple. “I love you too. You know we are in this shit together, right? I showed you my beast. You showed me your beast, so that means we’re beastin’ together forever.”

My neck leaned back to find the sincerity in his eyes. I knew that he had no reason to lie to me. Since we’d known each other, he had not lied to me once. More so, he had never put himself in a position to lie to me. We had a conversation once, and I would never forget what he told me.

It’s easier for a person to be transparent versus honest. With transparency, honesty is an afterthought or not thought of at all.

If you are forthcoming about the things that are going on in your life, then a strong foundation of trust is built.

Outside of our beast situation, which we both have reconciled, I have and will never put you in a situation where you have to ask me something that I haven’t already told you. Transparency saves time and sets trust.

I loved it when we had our deep conversations in the dead of morning about life and ourselves. He was right, nothing was off limits. I knew more about him than I knew about anyone in my life.

“You are so amazing.”

His neck leaned forward, and his lips kissed mine. “I have to somehow match your awesomeness. We have to be evenly yoked.”

Moments later, we pulled up to my childhood home. I gazed at the Victorian style home that looked just like I remembered it. My parents took exceptional care of their house.

My mother’s gift from the gods was horticulture.

She could successfully grow anything and had an eye to turn drylands into a Garden of Eden.

Her business name, Garden of Eden Landscaping, derived from this fact.

My mother’s business was more than just lawncare.

She honored her gift from the gods by going to college to cultivate it further.

By education and skill set, she was a landscaping architect.

From the appearance of the front yard, at the tender age of seventy-nine, Mary Summerville had not lost her touch.