Page 17 of Big Bad Wolf: B.B.W

I felt like I was in an alternate reality.

I was at my parents’ house with my man, and they all got along.

I wasn’t sure how my parents would feel about his beast, but once again, this alternate reality proved itself around me.

Was I in an alternate reality now, or was my previous reality the alternate reality? In either reality, I loved it here.

After dinner last night, my dad and Orion went to the backyard to have their man talk while my mother and I stayed in the house.

After the kitchen was cleaned, we settled in the den on the couch next to each other.

I didn’t realize how much I physically missed my parents until I was here.

It was weird because I did everything to get away from them when I was younger.

“I see you’re still taking great care of your hair.” My mother complimented me before she put her hands in it. “Do you still make the conditioner that we used to make together?”

I giggled at her question.

“You know I do.” I turned my body to face her. “Mommy, I even figured out how to make it a leave-in, and it smells so good. I have some in my suitcase. You want to smell it?”

She gave me her beautiful soft smile. “Of course, I do. Bring a comb and brush too. I’ll braid your hair.”

“Okay, Mommy.”

It was childish how quickly I jumped up to get my conditioner and what she needed. We had been making our own haircare products since I was five years old.

I wasn’t sure if she still sold her products, but they were definitely worth the buy if she did.

I loved fishtail and butterfly braids. Mary Summerville was the only one that could do them properly, and you couldn’t tell me differently.

Once I had everything that I needed, I returned back to the den.

My mother sat in the position that I remembered. Both of her hands patted her knees.

“Come on, lil girl.”

I sat between my mother’s legs, crossed my legs in front of me, and settled in to get my hair braided. These were the times that I loved during my childhood.

“Thank you, Mommy.”

She lightly pinched the top of my ear. That was her silent way of telling me that she loved me. My father and her had ways to tell me that they loved me, but I rarely heard them say it with words.

“Oh, this smells amazing, Elodie,” she said after she sprayed the conditioner into my hair. There was a still silence until she broke it. “Tell me when I can expect my first grandchild. I want to make sure I have enough time to do all of my knitting.”

“Mommy, we haven’t even been together long enough to talk about having children.

Can we at least get to a year? He might not want forever with me.

” I talked out of the side of my neck because I knew more than anyone that Orion wanted forever with me.

It was a scary thing to think about, but I wanted that with him.

My mother popped me on the shoulder. “No man that charters a jet to get you to your parents is not going to want forever with you. I saw how he looks at you. I know you see it because he’s looking at you.”

Although I sighed, she could probably see my smile from where she sat behind me.

“You don’t think it’s too soon to talk about babies and all that stuff? We just said I love you to each other.”

“Elodie, you two have shared one of the deepest secrets and connections with each other. Once you two have gotten past that, there is nothing that is too soon. All I’ve ever wanted for you was to be happy and loved.

” Her hands stopped moving in my hair. “I know you struggled when you were here to find what you were looking for, and I know me and your father didn’t make it easier. ”

I shook my head. “No, Mommy. You and Daddy didn’t do anything. I was just ? —”

She cut me off. “Young lady, did you forget that your father reads minds? Your mind has been talking since you got here. It’s alright, Elodie.

We don’t have to go deep into it if that’s not what you want.

” She tapped my shoulder, then pulled it back so that my body would shift so we faced each other.

“I want you to know that we love you more than life itself, and we’re sorry if we didn’t show it right all the time.

“We’ve missed out on your life because of things that we couldn’t say.

I’m so proud of you, Elodie. I’m an old woman, and they say closer to the end of your life, you recognize the mistakes you made near the beginning.

I don’t want to make any more mistakes when it comes to being your mother if I can help it. ”

Tears freely flowed down her cheeks. My tears were a twin to hers.

“Mommy, I love you too. I’m sorry for staying away so long. I promise it won’t happen ever again.”

She leaned down and kissed my forehead. “You have nothing to be sorry for, child.”

We sat there and talked about Orion, the pack that he was a member of, and my promotion.

That conversation included telling her about Sherrie’s stupid ass.

After a while, Orion and my father came in.

When he told me that he loved me in front of my parents, I was surprised, because for some reason, that action told me that this was real, and we were locked in, locked in. This was my forever. He was my forever.

Back to the Present…

I woke up early this morning to help my mother with breakfast. My mother reminded me of the chick on social media who made everything from scratch. We were up super early to make sure the dough rose in time. She loved making things with organic, unprocessed ingredients if possible.

One thing that I was surprised by when I arrived at my parents’ home was the chicken coop that was now in the back section of the backyard.

She told me that when the egg prices skyrocketed and she had to pay almost twenty dollars for organic eggs to the person that she purchased them from, she bought some chickens instead.

Now, it was time for us all to sit down and eat. Orion always made me feel amazing in the morning with his sneaky hugs from behind. My mother gushed when he did it this morning. My father, of course, scoffed jokingly.

Orion was surprised by the breakfast menu. My father was used to it, but he was still appreciative. My mother and I made steak, bacon, sausage, fried chicken, eggs, hashbrown casserole, my mother’s infamous cinnamon rolls, and a platter of fruit.

“Wow, this is a spread. Thank you, Mrs. Summerville and Mrs. Leventis.”

I didn’t mean to. I swear I didn’t. The way my drink flew out of my mouth, thank God I had the foresight to turn my head. Everyone laughed at the table.

“Mrs. Leventis?”

His cheeks rose to complement his beautiful smile.

“Well, yeah. At least I hope.”

His head tilted ever so slightly in my father’s direction, who nodded in return. What the hell is going on? Orion’s focus came back to me.

“When I thought about doing this at first, I thought it was too soon, but then I remembered that we are different. Beasts are on different times than regular people.”

My head snapped toward my mother whose eyelids were stretched open and her mouth open. Is he about to do what I think he is? No, I’m overthinking this.

“I thought about who I wanted to be included. After a discussion with Pops last night, it dawned on me that I was in the perfect place.”

He pushed his seat back and kneeled on one knee. I didn’t see the ring box in his hand until he opened it.

“I love you, and my father always told me time is not a factor when it comes to soulmates. I know you are my person, the beast for my beast. Elodie Summerville, will you marry me?”

My mind caught up with what just happened when the wetness hit my hand. My head lowered to look at the ring. My hand covered my mouth at the sight of it.

“Th-that’s your mother’s ring.”

When Orion and I were in Greece, Mr. Leventis treated me to lunch, just me and him.

We had an amazing time. While we were at lunch, he showed me some pictures of his late wife, Eleanor.

He also showed me the engagement ring that he gave her.

He wore it around his neck. It was a gorgeous diamond set, azurite stone ring.

When we talked about the ring, he admitted that it wasn’t an expensive ring when he bought it because it originally had cubic zirconia, but he replaced them with diamonds after the marketing firm took off.

“It is. My father wanted you to have it. Hopefully, when we have a son, we will be able to pass it to him for his forever,” Orion revealed. “So, will you be my person forever?”

I leaned forward so that our faces were close. “Yes, I will be your forever person.”

My mother jumped up from her seat. “My baby’s getting married. Yes, yes, yes!”

Orion slipped the ring on my finger before I kissed his lips. Our kiss deepened until my father reminded us of where we were. That got us right together. My mother grabbed my hand after our lips disconnected.

“Oh, Chogan, it’s so beautiful!”

There were tears in her eyes. My father came over to admire the ring, but something told me that this wasn’t the first time he’d seen it.

After we all calmed down, we finally started breakfast. One thing that I noticed about my man was that his ass could eat.

I remember I thought one time after I watched him eat, that if he ate that much in his human form, I would hate to see him eat after his beast exerted a lot of energy.

This man had every protein on his plate with a heaping of eggs, casserole, and two cinnamon rolls on a side plate.

If I knew him like I knew I did, he would eat fruit later.

We ate and talked about trivial topics for about ten minutes before I noticed my father put his fork down.

“Orion, last night we discussed something very important. I told you that I wanted to speak with my mate about it before I gave you an answer.”

I looked around the table before I stopped at Orion. I couldn’t think of anything that was more important than asking for my hand in marriage.

“What did y’all talk about?”