Chapter 38: Violet

I looked at my phone at the time five thirty. I didn’t feel tired, and it didn’t seem like I was going to get any more sleep. I got up and went downstairs. I made myself some coffee and decided to watch the sun rise. I could take a nap today if I got tired. I didn’t have anything scheduled. I just planned on studying and figuring out what my next move would be with my coven.

I grabbed the blanket that I used last night and stepped outside. There was a chill in the air, but it felt refreshing rather than cold. I wrapped the blanket around me and watched the horizon brighten as the sun rose. I heard a snap in the distance. Another wolf watched me.

“Hello?” I said to the forest. This time I couldn’t see a figure like last time. “For wolves you aren’t very stealth. I’ve known each and every time you come around.”

Another shuffle came in the distance.

“Can I offer you some coffee? It is early and a little chilly out.”

No answer came from the forest.

“Suit yourself.” I said as I took a sip and hummed my pleasure as the warm liquid made its way to my stomach. “Yum, it’s so good.”

I smiled behind the cup of coffee. My acting was subpar, but I wanted to see if that could convince the wolf to come out.

A soft voice came from the distance. “I better not.”

“I won’t tell if you don’t.”

“I don’t want to impose.” The voice got louder.

“I offered. I’ll be back in a jiffy” I said as I got up and went into the cabin to make another quick cup. After a minute I have another cup of coffee made. I poked my head out of the cabin. “Do you like any milk or sugar?”

“No, black is fine.” A man emerged from the forest. It was the same man I handed the bag of books to in the packhouse. He was huge, not as big as the Alpha but built to withstand an attack. He made his way slowly to the stairs and I handed him the cup.

“Here you go.” I said and smiled at him. This was the first time that I have seen a wolf get this close to my cabin.

“Thank you.” He took it into his hand and sipped at it.

“May I ask you something?”

He looked around quickly then responded. “Um, sure.”

“Why is your pack watching me?” I said. I sat back down and wrapped the blanket around my shoulders. “If you want you can have a seat.” I pointed to the chair beside me.

“No thank you. I could be in enough trouble as it is for taking this cup of coffee from you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Your Alpha is that mean, huh?”

“Oh no, Alpha Simon is great. He really has turned this pack around. I mean his father started to but then he got killed. So Alpha Simon took the role and made jobs for us and really brought us together to become one of the strongest packs around.”

His name was Simon. That suited him. A smile spread across my face as I thought about Simon. “Hmmm, but he doesn’t take care of his family.”

“His Nana?” He asked, he took another sip of his coffee. “No, she’s batshit crazy. Excuse my language.”

“She’s not crazy.” I defended her.

“I mean she’s not, but she has her moments. She kicked her nurse out for looking through her books. That’s a little crazy,” he said and laughed.

“She had a nurse?”

“Oh yeah, Simon wanted his Nana to move into the packhouse, but she refused so he didn’t like her living by herself, so he hired a nurse to stay with her, full time. His Nana thinks she’s only a roommate but really Simon pays her a ton to make sure she is alright.”

“Wait, he actually takes care of her?”

“Yes. Better than anyone else would. Some of the elders were trying to press him to put her in a home but he doesn’t have the heart. He is holding out until she gets to a point where there is no turning back.”

I made a huge mistake. I felt the tears pricking my eyes as I thought about what I said to him yesterday. He was a good man that took care of his Nana. Dot did seem a bit spunky and impatient. He could have been busy, and I just flew off the handle and yelled at him.

“I feel stupid.”

“The way you yelled at him?”

“Yeah.” I shook my head. “Dot just told me he abandoned her and made her walk all the way to the store and back. But, in actuality, he was probably busy.”

“He’s working on this huge deal with the other packs around trying to offer jobs to those who need it. The other packs around here don’t have a lot of jobs to offer so he’s trying to help them out.”

“Well fuck.” I bit my lip. “I feel awful.”

“Don’t. It was an honest mistake.”

“So, he’s not super pissed and about to come over here and kill me?”

He laughed at that. “No. He’s not angry.”

“That’s a relief.” I took a breath. “Can you let him know that I’m sorry? Or I would be happy to talk to him myself to apologize.”

“I mean I can’t really say that you are sorry. I could get in trouble.”

“Why would you get in trouble?”

“I’m only supposed to check in on you. Not interact.”

“Why does he have you check in on me?”

“He wants to make sure you aren’t going to cause problems with the pack. Having you in such close proximity makes the pack nervous and he is making sure the pack is protected.”

I laughed. “He wants to make sure I don’t cause problems. What kind of problems does he think I’m going to cause?”

“You are a strong witch that lives right across the lake. He isn’t really sure what you can do but wants to be prepared.”

“You have my word I will not cause any problems.” I held up my hand with three fingers up. “Witch’s honor.”

“That’s good to hear.” He chuckled and took a sip of his coffee.

“I’m Violet by the way.” I leaned forward and offered my hand.

“Bruce.” He shook my hand with his giant hand.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Very nice to meet you as well.”

The sun started to rise above the horizon, and we watched it as it slowly showed its face. I could see storm clouds in the distance. At some point today, there would be a storm, and it looked like a nasty one.

“Thank you so much for the coffee.” He sat the cup down on the handrail in front of me.

“My pleasure. Thank you for the company.”

“I better make my way back to the pack.”

“Have a good one.”

“You too, Violet.” He jogged into the woods back to his pack.

The sun was almost completely up but the storm clouds started to hide it. The wind picked up and the blanket wasn’t doing much against the cold. I took a final drink of my coffee, grabbed his cup and went inside. I wasn’t sure what the day would bring but at least I had my spell book to read that would hopefully drown out the thoughts of Simon. Simon, I smiled to myself.