Chapter 34

Ashlynn

I was wrapping up in the clinic for the day. We had processed the five mares that arrived today. According to the data sent by the owners, they all should be in heat within the next four days. A horses heat cycle lasts four to seven days, so now we just had to wait and see when it began and start trying to impregnate them as soon as it started. It was to hard to know how each horses cycle would go, some were shorter than others. The window of opportunity was debatable. All the mares passed the health check and all arrived vaccinated, with papers and tracked heat cycles from their ranch veterinarians. One of the ranches veterinarians had asked to stay for the process. They were breeding a six figure mare for the first time and the owner was anxious about it. The Alpha took an understanding to this and occasionally allowed guest veterinarians or horse handlers. Typically we put them up in the bunk house. Thankfully, the bunk house manager handled all of that. This particular vet, I think I caught his name as Charlie, was a surely old werewolf. That was another thing, anyone not a werewolf was placed off site and only allowed to be present for the breeding process. There were rare exceptions, but that was the standard of practice around here.

Putting away my files, I heard the front door of the clinic open and peaked my head around. "Oh hey Mom, I'm just finishing up. Give me five minutes," she had mind linked me that she wanted to talk over dinner.

I went to the back to tell Garrett I was leaving and reminded him to lock up. Mike was on call for the night, so Garrett could pass any information on to him after he finished cleaning the stall that had held the last mare we inspected.

Mom and I made our way to my loft. "I hope you don't mind honey, I brought some groceries to your kitchen so I can cook. You can shower while I get our dinner ready." Mom smiled at me. My Mom was one heck of a cook and I was not going to say not to one of her home cooked meals. So while I headed to shower and change, she got to work in the kitchen.

I walked out of my room to the smell of roasted garlic and onion, my mouth watering instantly. I sat down at the counter watching my Mom work. She was making quick work of a garlic and white wine sauce, noodles boiling on the stove. "Let me guess," I asked, as I popped a cherry tomato in my mouth that was in the salad already set out on the counter, "Linguine in white wine sauce and shrimp?". It was one of my favorites, though we rarely ate it since moving here away from the ocean. Mom preferred fresh seafood.

"Yes it is, I thought I'd make your favorite to celebrate you finding your fated mate. That's something very special and rare you know," Mom smiled at me as she continued to stir the sauce, now throwing in the shrimp.

"Right," I said. I just hoped it turned out better than her and my father did, though I cannot imagine Dawson ever treating me like my father had treated my mother. Then again, he wasn't always like that, so who knows. As Mom finished up our dinner and plated it, I grabbed us some glasses and filled them with ice water. We sat to eat, for a few moments just enjoying the delicious meal my Mother had cooked for us.

Twisting her linguine on her fork, Mom looked over at me,"So you know that some of the men went to Godsend Ranch this morning, don't you?" she asked.

I nodded, "Yes Garrett mentioned it first thing, it's why it was just he and I today checking in the mares. I don't know why Dawson didn't tell me."

"That's not really his fault. The Alpha didn't give them any time to let anyone know, he was trying to keep it as quiet as possible. He did ask me to tell you though, so I figured we could talk about it over dinner." She put her hand on my arm for a moment, a soft smile. "Besides, I wanted to catch up with you on other things too."

I gave Mom a knowing smile, "Ok you first!"

My Mom has a wistful smile on her face. She was biting her lip, thinking about what she was going to say. I sipped my water while watching her mull things over in her mind. I'm sure some part of her didn't want to tell me certain things, I mean I'm her daughter. I definitely do not want to know if her and Cody are having sex. I at least don't want any details. Just like I don't want to tell her anything like that about me. That's sort of TMI in a mother/daughter relationship. At least for me it is.

"So," she began. "The night of the run, he was very patient with me. We skirted around everyone else and didn't venture to far into the mountains. His wolf was very cute, nuzzling me and licking my face." I made a face at that. I don't want my face licked, wolf or not.

"So once we returned, we sat on the steps at the pack house just talking for a while, then he walked me back to the main house. He walked me to the door and kissed me. It's truly the first time I have been kissed in a very long time. You're father barely touched me in that manner for the past ten years." Mom glanced over at me and smiled. "So that was nice, you know?" I nodded. I did know.

I was twirling my pasta on my fork deciding what to ask about their relationship. "So do you think this is going anywhere? Like do you see a future with Cody? Or do you feel more of a friendship," I asked.

Mom blushed. "I would love for it to go somewhere." She put her hand on my knee, "I've been lonely for so long Ashlynn. I always had you, but it's nice to have some positive attention from a man. He makes me feel safe."

I could not be happier for my mother, and I thought Cody probably felt the same way she did.

"Now you, how is it going with Dawson?" Mom was smiling ear to ear.

"Pretty good actually. I mean it helps that we already had a friendship and some chemistry there. The fact that he had already gone to Uncle Gabe for his approval to date me, makes me feel like there is nothing to hide." Mom was nodding her head in agreement.

"How long do most wolves wait to mate and to mark each other," I asked my Mom. I didn't want to get into any details with her but I would like to know if I am right to hesitate or if we should just get down to business. It's not like either of us is going to change our minds. Unless he was a total douche bag, I wouldn't reject him.

"I couldn't say for sure Ashlynn. It's not common to find your fated mate, but when you do, it's said that it's nearly impossible to resist the pull for very long. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to fight the urge. When I found your father, we were mated the same day, and he marked me the day after. I don't recall exactly how long, but we did wait for me to mark him. That was his request. I think I should have noticed that as a red flag back then, but anyway, it was at least a month or two." My mother shrugged her shoulders, staring into her water glass.

"That does seem strange Mom. Grady never deserved you." I rarely called my father anything but his first name. He wasn't worthy of the title.

"Thank you sweetheart. I know that now. In spite of it, I wouldn't change it, because I have you." The warmth in my mothers eyes when she looked at me, I knew she meant every word. "So, is Dawson going to move in here with you? I'd imagine your place is much nicer than his."

"We haven't talked about that yet, but my place is bigger and more modern. Not that his place is shabby or anything, it's just smaller and definitely all masculine." I laughed at that. "I honestly can't believe this is happening. It's all so surreal."

We continued to chat into the night, and before we knew it, it was after midnight. The men were not back yet from Godsend pack, and I was honestly getting worried. Mom headed back to the main house and said if the Luna knew anything, then she would let me know. I showered and climbed into my bed. Alone. I had to be up early. I can't be worrying like some mother hen. I'm sure everything is fine.