Chapter 15 Chapter 15
The next morning, Suki sat at the dining room table, resting her face in her hand as she used her fork to shuffle the berries around on her plate. Servers moved all around her, adding food to the table for her and her father to enjoy. However, her father was nowhere to be seen, and this was no surprise.
“More tea, dear?” Mildred, the maid who tended to her the most after her mother passed away, asked as she placed a hand on her shoulder.
Suki smiled weakly, looking up at her, “Yes, please.”
Humming a soft melody as she poured, she looked around and sighed, “Is your father not joining you?”
“As usual, he was meant to be,” Suki shook her head when she realised the attitude in her tone. She breathed into a calmer tone, “He’s just busy.” Her ears tickled as her attention went to him, down the hallway, having another serious conversation on the phone.
“That man works too much,” Mildred clicked her tongue. “Make sure you eat all that, don’t think I haven’t noticed you skipping meals.”
She cleared her throat and nodded.
“Is everything okay? I haven’t seen you skip meals since…”
“Since Mum passed away?”
Mildred pressed her lips flat. “Is something going on? You know I’m always here to listen if you need someone to talk to.”
Suki traced her fingers over her necklace and gripped her teacup as she exhaled, “I just have a lot on my mind, it’s nothing I can’t handle. Thank you.”
Smiling, Mildred grazed a finger over the crystal and gently held it between her thumb and finger, admiring it. “I’m surprised your mother never put this stone into a necklace. She wouldn’t go anywhere without it. It was like her little good luck charm.”
“Yeah, she was very protective of it, wouldn’t let me touch it. I think I was 8 years old when she first let me hold it. When I did, the light hit it at the right angle so that it looked like it glowed, and I was mesmerised by that. Mum said that it meant I was destined for greatness.”
“How sweet,” she said, placing down the teapot.
Her smile slowly faded, “I know she only said it to me to distract me. Dad decided earlier that day that my training would commence to make me the perfect daughter of the Beta. My childhood was about to end, and my mother wanted to give me one last thing to hold onto.”
Mildred tilted her head, “Oh, and what was that?”
Suki paused for a moment before looking up at Mildred. “Hope.” The burning of tears teased her eyes. Suki sniffled and rubbed her eyes to stop them from escaping, glancing down at her plate. “Um, I…”
“I miss her too,” Mildred said, squeezing her shoulder. “I’ll leave you in peace. Finish up your breakfast.”
Suki sipped her tea as the room became silent once more, with all the staff finishing their duties and moving on to the next. The silence only permitted her to hear more of her father’s agitation.
“If you cut ties with us, all we’ll have is less than a handful of packs left in alliance. The Silver Moon pack is already under a lot of pressure to mend their pack after their curse was lifted.” The volume of his voice kept altering as Suki listened – he was pacing in his office, and the stress was clearly getting to him. “I understand your goal is to protect your pack, that is what we’re trying to do too and–” A short pause. “No, I don’t know what the seer saw– Yes, whatever it was she saw is a threat to us werewolves, but that’s all the more reason for us all to stick together– No, don’t hang up– Damn it!”
The sound of something smashing startled Suki. Jumping to her feet, she rushed towards her father’s office. “Father,” she knocked at the door, “is everything okay?”
He swung the door open and fixed his suit jacket, “Fine, sweetheart.”
Suki’s eyes shifted inside his office to see a shattered lamp against the bookshelf. Her eyes met her father’s once more. “Can I help?”
“Yes,” he said, leaving his office, shutting the door behind him and swiftly making his way towards the front door, “send one of the maids to the office to clean up the mess. I’ll be back later.”
She sighed, “You know that’s not what I meant. Father, I can help. What is going on between the packs?” He ignored her and continued walking. She hastened behind him, “Dad.”
He froze, gripping the handle of the partially opened door.
“I gave up my childhood willingly so you could train me to be an important piece of the pack, so I could help those in need. Why aren’t you letting me help?”
Clearing his throat, he straightened and gave her a strong stare as he spoke, “This is too dangerous, we know so little and…” he looked down at her necklace, his gaze softening as he looked back into his daughter’s eyes. “This goes beyond your training.”
“Then train me more.”
“No.”
“But–”
“You will do as I say,” he snapped.
Suki stepped back, standing tall, but her head lowered in shame. “I’m sorry,” she said, clasping her hands together. “I stepped out of line. I just wanted to help…”
This wasn’t like her. She would always do whatever her father said with no comments back. What had gotten into her?
Her father sighed and stepped towards her, resting a hand on her shoulder. “If there is a time I think we require you to help, I will tell you. For now, you continue your regular duties, understand?”
A nod. “Yes, sir.”
“Good,” he said, planting a kiss on her head, “I’ll be home later tonight.”
“Dad?”
About to leave, he turned towards her again, “Hm?”
She looked away, “Nothing, never mind.”
As she watched him leave their home, greeting his driver and getting inside his car, she couldn’t help but degrade herself for her cowardice. She didn’t want to ask him for anything bad, anything that would result in her danger. No. All she wanted was quality time with her only family, but she didn’t want to be shut down again and again, like she had her entire life growing up.
✧ ✧ ✧
Needing to clear her head, Suki decided to head out for a walk. She walked mindlessly without a particular destination in mind, not even focusing on her surroundings. When she finally pulled her mind back to reality, she noticed she was close to the edge of the pack, heading towards the borders.
She swallowed thickly and turned around to head back to the pack. “That was a close one,” she said to herself.
An odd but somewhat familiar scent filled her nostrils. She froze, her eyes shifting from side to side as she tried to process what exactly that scent was. The sound of rustling behind her from a distance had her swivelling back around to face the borders, but as she scanned her surroundings, there was nothing out there.
Yet, she knew she smelled and heard something, something that shouldn’t be there. She didn’t have to leave the borders to check, just a little bit closer, and–
“Ki?”
Startled, Suki turned around to see Reynard rushing towards her. “Rey? What are you doing here?”
He half-laughed, “I should be asking you that.” He scanned her face, knowing she was waiting for an answer to her question. “I’ve been assigned to monitor this sector of the border, and I’m glad it was me. If anyone else caught you here, you realise they would’ve immediately told your father?”
“I’m sorry,” she shuddered at the thought of her father finding out. “I needed some air, I was just walking and…” She looked out towards the pack borders, where the only sounds were the wind rustling through the forest. “I thought I heard something.”
“Really?” He looked out in the same direction she looked. “I’ll send word so we can monitor.”
“You believe me?”
“Of course I do, silly,” Rey smiled, moving her hair out of her face. “Anything suspicious is worth reporting, even if it turns out to be nothing.”
Stepping towards him, “You really are the perfect soldier, aren’t you?” she placed a hand on his chest and smiled faintly.
Rey took hold of her waist and pulled her closer slowly, “Anything to keep you and our people safe.”
Suki sighed and rested her head on his chest, “When do you finish your rounds?”
“In about an hour, why?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her.
“I want to go on a date.”
His face beamed. “Really?”
She nodded, wrapping her arms around him.
Pulling back enough to glance down at her face, Rey held her chin and scanned her expression. “Is everything alright?”
“I hope it will be, but we can talk about it later.”
“It’s a date.”