Laughing at the shock on Bronze's face as he realizes the hole he has dug for himself, I make my escape.
Chapter 14
FENYA
Stretching as I wake, every muscle in my body screams. I need to control my mouth more. Commenting on Ember and her bat was one of my many recent faux pas. She certainly proved her ability and made me eat my words. Humble pie. I seem to be getting a taste for that lately. Astra said she would only do the bare minimum to help me recover from the bruises and sprains, and I can’t say I blame her.
Alpha Falan will expect me to stay here when he returns to Wolfsong. I know he likes Alpha Lyle. They struck up a friendship from the very first. Well, if he likes him so much, he can stay here and mate with him!
I want to spend time with Hunter. Get to know him better. I like Hunter very much and I know he feels that way for me, too. I don’t want to lose my fated mate because you're just as stubborn as a mule. Maybe I’ll ask the Goddess to put me witha sensible human instead of one who can’t see the wood for the trees! AAH! You make me so angry at times I wish I could bite you!
‘You don’t even know Hunter well enough to say he feels the same,’ I respond to Astra.
Oh yes, I do. Even if I didn’t, I trust the Goddess enough to give it a chance. You disrespect her with your poor attitude. You disrespect Alpha Lyle as well. He has waited for his fated mate, waited for you, and this is what he gets for that patience.
‘What about what I want? What about Fenya’s say in all this? You have given me no thought in all your selfish plans of love, romance, and pups!’
What you want? You have never known what you have wanted your whole life! You flit from one idea to the next. You are only such an outstanding warrior because you have nothing else in your life to concentrate on. You pour your energies into training and fighting as though it is the only thing in the world. Well, here’s a news flash, Fenya Stormhowl! There are more important things than that in life and there are other people to consider, too. Do you know why Zephyra is still here as your friend?Astra asks me with more than a little attitude.
‘What is that supposed to mean? We have been friends all our lives.’
Yes, you have. But did you know she also turned down her fated mate because it would have meant leaving the Wolfsong Pack? Leaving you? She knew that if she left, you would have no one! I promised never to reveal that, but it’s time you saw the world outside your little bubble.
‘YOU LIE! She did not do that!’ I snarl.
Do not ever call me a liar. You go too far, human. She has waited for you to find your mate so that she can go to hers. He waits for her in the Night Shade pack to the north of Wolfsong. Turning down your mate will crush her.
My eyes smart as tears burst forth. I had no idea. Why would she not go with her mate? Living her life knowing that her mate was waiting for her. Am I so blinded by my own self-importance that I don’t see the world around me? That is a terrifying thought. Now I must take a mate so that Zephyra can go to hers and live the life she deserves?
It is the life you deserve, too. You should have someone in your life to make you complete. Only then will you see the world as it truly is, and not just your little corner of it.Astra’s tone calmed somewhat.
‘Would you like a run in the forest?’
It is not I that needs the forest. You should take a stroll in the grounds. You enjoyed it when you walked with Alpha Lyle.
Sighing, I respond, ‘Perhaps enjoyed is rather a strong term, but…’
Oh, please. Enough. Now who is lying to herself? You enjoyed the experience. All aspects of it. Go for a stroll and let me have some peace from your troubled mind.
Knowing she is right and I can’t keep arguing a lost cause, I head out for the gardens. The borders surrounding the packhouse are magnificent. I don’t know what the flowers are that fill them with blooms, but they look stunning. The scent coming from them has Astra give a sneeze.
Turning a corner, I am in the kitchen garden, and it too is spectacular. Rubbing my fingers against a tall bushy plant, Ismell them and am rewarded with a strong smell of mint, but with something added that I can’t place. Astra identifies it straight away, though.
‘Yes. Ginger,’ I repeat this out loud and am startled by a voice close behind me.
“Well done. Few can make that connection, it is so subtle.” A woman smiles at me and I smile back without conscious effort. “My name is Ash. This would be part of my domain were I at home. I am ruler of all things food and kitchen at the Eclipse pack. Luna Tati asked Luna Taria for my assistance, as they are currently without a kitchen manager.”
Her name, for obvious reasons, has me giggling. Giggling? Me? What the hell! I don’t do ‘giggling’.
“Ash. That is an unusual name.”
“When I was young and believed I knew everything, I would burn everything I cooked. Perhaps cremated would be a more apt description. Hence, I became Ash.” The woman smirks more to herself than me.
“And now? Not that you’re not still young…”
“I know what you mean. I was recently promoted to Chef Ash. I chose not to lose my nickname in honor of how much I have achieved. Tell me, Fenya Stormhowl, what nickname would you give yourself?” Ash gives me an intense stare.
Frigid bitch would work!Astra snarls.
