Oh, Mother

Oh, Mother
"Your parents will be arriving soon." Malachi whispered, breaking us out of our little bubble and I groaned.

Things had definitely slowed down, but Malachi and I were still struggling for a moment alone with each other which we both longed for.

Everything was great between us, and we worked together seamlessly - but it didn't stop me from feeling a bit down about our relationship. Everything had been so rushed from the beginning: The mating, the marriage... and I was starting to wonder if that was just what our life was always going to be like: Crazy.

"Let's go and grab a bite to eat first. I'm starving." I suggested and Malachi gestured towards the door with a grin.

We made our way down stairs and entered the pack hall, where there was always a flurry of activity with people ducking in and out. We hadn't even dined in our own little private room yet and preferred to mingle with everyone else. May came out of the kitchen with two plates loaded with the biggest steak sandwiches I'd seen in my life.

"I was just about to bring these up to you!" She exclaimed with a relieved look on her face, "Those stairs are going to be the death of me."

"Send the younger one's up May, or even better - just mindlink us and we'll just come down to you." I laughed and she shook her head at me.

"No, no, no, If you came everytime I wanted to feed you, then you'd never have time for work." She laughed and clicked her tongue. She was truly the mother of the pack.

She looked behind us and smiled softly and I turned around to see who she was looking at. I chuckled slightly at noticing Rhydian had just entered the room.

Since my conversation with Isla about the pair, I've been noticing their subtle interactions so much more and I was slightly getting frustrated that they were hiding it since there was obviously a lot of love there.

Malachi and I sat down at a table as he made his way over to us.

"Did May tell you about the Elders meeting that we're going to have within the next few days?" Rhydian asked, and we both shook our heads.

"I was just about to bring them lunch and let them know, but they beat me down here!" She chuckled in response.

"What's the meeting for?" Malachi asked, cocking his eyebrow curiously towards the both of them.

"Just a general chit chat about things now that everything's slowed down, my dear. We just want to check in with everyone." May said, as she smiled warmly at him.

"Now, you two had better hurry because Lucian and Alethia will be here any minute now." Rhydian scolded and we started scoffing down the food in record time, sneaking knowing glances at May and Rhydian who sat down a few tables over and had their heads together, whispering low enough so that we couldn't hear them.

"What do you think they're talking about?" I whispered to Malachi as I leant back in my chair, I was heading for a food coma and since I wasn't going to be able to take a nap, I needed something to distract me.

"I feel like there's something more about this meeting that they're not telling us." He whispered as he leaned back into his own chair for a few moments before sitting up again. "You're parents have just arrived."

With a sigh, I got up from my chair as Rhydian and May did as well and we all headed towards the front of the packhouse.

"Aureliaaaaaa! This is incredible!" My Mother called out as she got out of the car and looked over the packhouse in amazement.

"We can't thank you both, and Whitebridge, enough. We owe you big time." Malachi exclaimed with a smile as he shook my Fathers hand.

"No, no, no - just promise us that there's no bad blood between us all and that you'll both stay out of trouble now." Lucian teased with a twinkle in his eye.

"So, are we utilising your new ballroom this weekend?" Alethia wiggled her eyebrows at us.

"What's the occasion?" I teased, and rolled my eyes knowing full well that none of us had a choice.

"A Goodbye party for the world's best Beta of course!" Landon's voice sung out from behind us, and my Mother's grin grew even larger.

"The perfect excuse!" Alethia giggled. "Macie, May and I will begin planning immediately!"

I saw Macie shrink back shyly behind Landon and instantly felt bad for her. We had spent some more time together this week and I could tell she was still uncomfortable with her new life, since her old one had been completely turned inside out.

"Macie and I actually had some more Luna sessions planned! We've been busy this week, so Landon can help out since it's his party!" I winked at Macie who looked relieved, and Landon jokingly scowled at me.

"Oh you four are going to make the best team!" Alethia said proudly, completely missing what was actually going on.

She rounded up May and Landon, who shot me a look of disbelief and the three headed off towards the kitchen as the rest of us burst out laughing.

"Nothing gets between Alethia and a party, but happy Luna, happy Alpha, happy Pack, right?" Lucian laughed and Malachi nodded in agreement.

"Shall we escape before Mother realises that she was tricked?" I laughed, offering my arm to Macie who quickly linked her elbow in mine.

We walked off towards the Orchards with a skip in our step in a comfortable silence.

"Thank you, Aurelia, you didn't have to do that." Macie finally said quietly.

"I won't be around to bail you out forever, but under Alethia's guidance you'll be throwing incredible parties in no time." I giggled.

"But seriously, I know the time has come for you guys to head back to Whitebridge... How are you feeling?" I pried.

"I'm grateful that I've had time to hang out with you this week, but I'm scared. I was happy with my life, and my routine, and the thought that I'll never know what to expect terrifies me to no end. I'm not really an adventurous person..." She sighed, looking at her feet.

"Are you not an adventurous person, or have you never been given the opportunity to have an adventure?" I asked softly, and her head snapped up to look at me.

"I... I..." She stuttered, not able to form a reply.

"I think that you've been working your whole life for our family, and Whitebridge - that you don't really know yourself outside of that and you've been doing the same thing for so long that you thought that your life was just... it for you. It's time to get to know yourself outside of your previous identity Macie, have an adventure, learn new things. You already know how the pack works, just think of it as another job, a new position BUT you'll just get to work closely with your mate. Confidence will come." I finished, crossing my fingers that my pep talk worked.

"Thanks Aurelia, you're right. I might head back and help Luna Alethia plan, if that's ok?" She smiled softly, with a new look of determination across her face.

I smiled back and nodded in the direction of the packhouse and she ran off, feeling proud of my friend for taking this massive bull by the horns.