Chapter 15 A Parent's Love
Chapter 15 A Parent's Love
Amaris’s breath still feels uneven, the room too small with Beta Jon standing so close.
His presence fills the cottage in a way that makes the lantern light seem dimmer, the air warmer.
Wilhelmina isn’t intimidated in the slightest even though her son has the build of two men, she plants herself decisively between them with both hands on her hips.
“She just got here some ten minutes ago,” Wilhelmina says firmly, her voice steady even though she’s staring up at a man who could easily lift her with one hand. “You cannot expect her to march to the palace this instant, which would be rude. She needs time, for example, time to tell her family what is happening and her whereabouts.”
Jon keeps his eyes on Amaris and doesn’t argue with his Mum.
He doesn’t need to as his silence alone carries authority, and while he stares at her, her fingers twiddle in her lap as she resigns to fate.
Amaris lifts her chin before Wilhelmina can keep speaking for her. “No, it’s fine. I don’t need time, I can follow the Beta to the Palace from here.”
Wilhelmina turns toward her, startled. “Sweetheart, you absolutely need time, this is all too sudden. Moon knows what the King is up to or what he is trying to find.”
Amaris shakes her head slowly. “They already sent me away like I told you.” Her voice is calm, too calm for what she feels, but she manages to keep it level. “They were trying to avoid this… whatever this is. They didn’t want me anywhere near the palace, maybe because they knew something like this was going to happen, but who would have thought it would meet me here.”
Jon studies her closely, eyes narrowing just a fraction. “They sent you away? Out of the house? Because they knew something like this was probably going to happen? That’s interesting, considering the King only made the decree about two hours ago.”
Amaris nods and shrugs. “They told me to go to the back of the house to burn something and then come here.” Her fingers curl at her sides. “They didn’t explain anything. They barely looked at me. It’s like the moment they realized I had my wolf, they just wanted me gone from their vicinity.”
Her wolf gives a low hum inside her mind. ‘They were afraid… Very afraid.’
Wilhelmina presses a hand to her chest, outraged. “That family has always been useless, but this is a new level of foolish…”
Jon cuts in quietly, giving his mother a look of apology. “Did they say anything? Anything at all that could clarify why they reacted that way?”
“No,” Amaris answers. “They wouldn’t even answer a simple question. They kept pushing me out of the house.” She looks down at her hands, then back up. “So, no. I don’t need to go back there. I doubt they would open the door for me anyway.”
Her wolf laughs softly. ‘They would barricade it and pretend they aren’t home.’
Wilhelmina’s expression softens, sadness mixed with something like guilt. “You’ve been with them your whole life, and this is how they treat you on the day you come into your birthright. It isn’t right.”
Jon’s jaw flexes, but he remains composed. He steps aside just enough to give Amaris space. “If that’s your decision, then we can leave for the palace now, it’s just a little bit past mid-day.”
Wilhelmina bristles again. “Leave now? Jon, she is my guest and your mother is telling you that she needs at least a moment to gather her thoughts.”
Amaris gives a small smile. “I’ve gathered them, you’re the only one who has my best thoughts in mind but if that is where I have to be, and it’s an order from the King too, I have to oblige.”
Jon’s eyes soften by the faintest degree. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she says quietly. “I don’t understand what’s happening, but I know running from it won’t help. And I’m tired of being pushed around.”
Her wolf stretches proudly inside her chest. ‘There she is.’
Jon lets out a breath that sounds almost like relief. “Then I’ll take you up to where I can. The King needs to have everyone gathered at the Palace before sunset.”
Wilhelmina’s brows rise. “Needs to have them all gathered? Not wants? Just what is he up to now?”
Jon doesn’t answer directly. “It’s not something I can delay.”
Wilhelmina looks between them, then sighs and releases Amaris’s arm. “Fine, but I’m walking you both to the end of the road, and Jon, if anything happens to her on your watch, I will drag your father out of retirement and have him skin you alive.”
Jon actually flinches, just a little but enough to have Amaris chuckle and look down at her hands like she didn’t just laugh at their mother-son cordial relationship, something she never got.
“Yes, Mum.”
Wilhelmina nods her approval. “Good boy.”
Amaris bites the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing loudly.
Jon motions toward the door. “Come on.”
Amaris steps out into the sunlight with him beside her, Wilhelmina following close behind. The air feels different now. It’s all been uncertain since twelve, it’s all being a whirlwind really but at this moment, with Wilhelmina at least knowing where she is going to be, she feels like maybe things are looking upo more than a little bit.
Her wolf lifts her head proudly. ‘We are really going to the Palace… How interesting. And do you know? It feels like we are finally going towards something certain in the most uncertain place, you know?’
‘Toward what?’ Amaris asks, keeping her head down so no one would notice her chatting with herself or distracted.
Her wolf’s voice is soft, almost fond. ‘Toward the life you and I were always meant to have.’
And as they walk down the quiet road, Amaris cannot shake the feeling that her entire world has shifted, and nothing will ever be the same from this moment on.
Just then, Wilhelmina face palms, stopping just a few steps from the door. “Sure you can leave now, but I am not sending you away just like that…”
As Jon opens his mouth to protest, she shuts him up. “I am sure the King can wait one more hour, come on, let me put something together for her. She’s been out and busy all day, let me take a little care of her.”
Jon concedes, motioning Amaris back inside the warm building.