"What?"
Had I heard her correctly? Or maybe she'd said something else and my brain had made out something totally different from what she'd said.
"He is my mate."
She repeated and went back to casually making dinner. I didn't know how to receive the news. Initially, I had thought she had probably been ambushed and abused by the pack members but that was not the case which should be a relief to me and it was. Honestly, it was. But I had not expected this either. A mate? What mate?
Salted chips momentarily forgotten, I asked.
"What mate?"
"What do you what mate? Don't you know what the term mean?"
"Of course I know what a mate means but you found a mate? How? No one in this pack wants anything to do with us, so how did you acquire this mate, mom?"
"I'd keep it down if I were you."
"Sorry mom. I'm just overwhelmed right now."
"Your mother's too old to have a mate, is that what you're insinuating?"
"Mom, you know that's not true. You're beautiful and still very much in your prime, but a mate is shocking. I don't know. I find it quite…"
I trailed off not getting a grasp of the word I wanted to use to describe the situation.
"Bizarre? Flustering?"
"Bizarre mom, exactly."
She sighed. "Me too."
"How did you meet this mate? And who is your mate in this pack?"
"When I left the house, I decided to avoid the routes that pack members generally use. You remember that hilly path that nobody remembers to use?"
"What hilly path?"
"The one that leads to the boundary of the pack."
"Oh, yes I remember now."
"That was the one I took."
"But you have never used that path before, not even when this whole saga about us started."
"Yes, I know. But I didn't have the strength for their mockery and spiteful words today. I just wanted to enjoy a walk in the place I've always known to be my home and thought that you and your own children and their children before them will enjoy. I didn't want to listen to bad words before leaving."
"I understand. To just leave with fond memories of your last day out of here. I get the point, mom."
"Exactly. So that was the route I took and I guess I was enjoying the lone stroll I didn't take note of the weather or time. I didn't even realized I was out of our own boundary and onto the next one."
"What mom? You mean to say you passed our boundary to the next one?"
"Exactly and it was unintentionally."
"Okay. So what happened next?"
"Be patient, Kathy. Let me pay attention to these vegetables and stir them well so they don't become so weak and lose taste or even get burnt."
I waited, impatiently though. I could not wait to hear the rest of the story. My mother had left our boundary and gone into another pack's. That was a big risk. What if the Alpha of that pack had caught her and accused her of trespassing and being a spy sent from another pack to get information? Alphas are usually brutal to themselves. Each always suspicious of the other. She was done making the sauce, she was about to cook rice. She washed and set it on fire. Then came to join me, she hopped onto the next stool.
"So what happened next? But you took a great risk, mom."
"How?"
"What if you'd been caught? What if it was the Alpha if that pack that had seen you? He might have perceived you as a spy sent from another pack to get information about his pack. You could have been thrown in a cell or or worse, killed on the spot."
"Well, your thoughts do know how to run wild."
"But it's a possibility. Seeing how territorial and brutally protective these Alphas can be of their property and people."
"Yes, I get your point and you're right. Thankfully, the Moon Goddess did not allow that fate befall me. Instead she gave me a mate."
"Yeah, a mate."
I said listlessly.
She observed my face.
"You could at least try to be happy for your mother."
"I am happy for you, but what about me? Will he like me? Does he even know about me?"
"What did you think my walk took longer than intended? We talked at length. Knew some things about him and vice versa."
"What was his reaction when you told him about me?"
"He was all the more pleased and accepting. Though, if he had not accepted you, I'd have walked away. It's me and you for life, darling."
She nudged me playfully. My smile was wan.
"What is it?"
"I am used to me and you? I know he might have other family. I don't know."
"You feel we might not be accepted by his family?"
"Something like that."
"Something like that?"
My mother's brow was raised in perplexity.
"I might be the sore thumb sticking out."
"My daughter is no sore thumb. She is beautiful and courageous and wonderful. So stop spewing nonsense."
She dutifully admonished.
"What if it gets tough? I'm not saying it will but what if?"
"Then we'll both leave."
"You'll leave your mate?"
"Where my daughter isn't accepted, I'm automatically not accepted."
She tossed out the words like she did not care. I would not complain anymore. No matter how bad it was, I was going to take. If my mother was happy, I'd be happy too. She had lost enough because of me, she did not need to lose more. If truly this werewolf she'd net was her mate, then I was going to accept him and his family, if he had any.
"Don't worry mom, everything will go well."
I assured her.
"I think the rice is boiling over, let me go check it."
She walked back to her counter and finished her cooking. In minutes, dinner was ready.
"Go make the table, darling. Let me go have my bath. I feel hot and sweaty."
"See, this is why I hate the kitchen. The whole steam and hotness just makes one uncomfortable and itchy."
"But you love what comes out of the kitchen."
"Unabashedly."
I grinned at her. She let out a chuckle and went to her own room to freshen up while I dished out food and set them on the table.