Waindale
twenty. our last time

I follow Vivianne to her bedroom upstairs as her mom continues to talk things through with my own. Vivianne’s room is neat and tidy. The books on her bookshelf are ordered by color, and under her bed are baskets labeled according to their contents. I sit down on a chair that hangs from the ceiling while she crashes onto her bed, covering her head with a fluffy pillow. I stare up at the chair’s connection to the ceiling above and feel as if the thing is going to pop right out and send me tumbling to the ground.

“This is all my fault,” Vivianne whines, her voice muffled. “How could I be so reckless? So stupid? I shouted in front of everyone!”

“Yeah, I know,” I say, getting up from the chair. “Did you mean what you said about me? Do you really think of me that way?”

Vivianne comes up for air and tosses her pillow to the side. “No, Wrenley. I was just mad. So many girls would kill to be in your position, and you’re just ready to throw it all away.”

“That’s not true. I can’t throw it away.”

“From the conversation downstairs, it sounds like you and your mom are ready to book it out of here on the first chance you get.”

I sit down on her bed and place the pillow on my lap. “Part of me wants to run away, yeah. I can’t lie. I’m scared. But if I run, I don’t know how far I’ll make it without him.”

Vivianne mutters, “Yeah, I know, before you get too sick.”

“No. Before that, I’ll probably lose my mind from missing him so much. I won’t be able to stay away. He’s my mate. I need him,” I say. “Do you think he’ll forgive me?”

“I think so,” she says. “I mean, you’re mates, right? How mad can he be?”

Suddenly his scent comes into the air. I immediately stand and drop the pillow, clinging to the window like a magnet. Vivianne climbs off her bed and does the same. “He’s close, isn’t he?” She asks.

I try to look down the street but can’t see very far. “I have to go out there and talk to him. I can’t have him running into my mom. God knows what will happen.”

“If you go out the window and onto the lower roof, you can drop down from there. I do it all the time. If you go through the front door, our moms will stop you.”

I look to her and nod. Vivianne slides open her window and pops the protective screen off. She helps me through and onto the roof. I carefully step down the slope, making sure to not put my weight on any loose shingles. I peer back at her when I reach the end. “Turn around and get on your hands and knees. Then get your legs off and shimmy on your stomach till you can drop down. It might feel like a long drop, but it’s not,” she instructs me.

I do as she says and successfully get on my knees. Adam’s scent grows stronger, so I try to hurry up. I have a hard time sliding down on my stomach. My shirt keeps getting caught on the shingles and the rain gutter is in my way. Once my entire lower body is hanging in the air, I look back at her. She motions behind me but hands suddenly grab my hips. There’s no question of who it is.

I hold my breath as he lifts me down. When my feet reach the ground, I turn and face him as my heart vibrates in my chest. “Adam,” I breathe. He looks down at me, jaw clenched, brow furrowed. He takes a breath as I bite my cheek.

“Adam, I—”

“How did you manage—how did you manage everyone replaceing out? You were there for one day and suddenly I’m being asked by my Beta if a rumor he heard is true.”

“We can’t be here,” I say. “We have to go somewhere else.”

“What else have you done, Wrenley? Who’s in there?”

“My mother,” I say, trying to replace courage. “She knows. I told her everything.”

Adam steps back and brings his hands to his head, running them into his hair.

“I know it’s bad. I messed up a lot, but everyone replaceing out was a mistake, really. We didn’t mean for them to hear us. We were arguing and people overheard then everyone was looking. I panicked and left to replace my mom. That’s when I told her everything. So please, we can’t talk here.”

I lead the way down the sidewalk and thankfully Adam follows. Once far enough, I say, “Please, Adam. You have to believe me. I didn’t do it on purpose. Really, I thought about leaving. I told my mom because I was trying to convince her to leave Waindale. I was too scared of what you would say when you found out. I feel like I ruined everything.”

“You were going to leave?” He asks, calm.

“I-I thought about it. It seemed like the only option. I couldn’t face you.”

Adam grabs my arm as he stops walking, stopping me with him. I turn and look at him, but he doesn’t say anything. He watches me for a moment. “Adam?”

“You don’t leave, understand?” He says.

“Well, Tali is trying to convince my mother not to right now. She wasn’t too fond of what I told her.”

“No, Wrenley,” he clarifies, “I don’t care what you’ve done. You don’t leave.”

I place my hand on his, causing him to let go of me. I keep his hand in mine, though. We continue walking, and I say, “I won’t. I won’t leave.”

The beach becomes visible on the horizon and we continue toward it. Thankfully the rain stopped while Vivianne, her mom, me, and my mom were laying all cards on the table. The clouds have begun to break, giving way to the sun. The water ahead sparkles under it.

“I told them,” Adam says.

“Who?”

“My father and my mother.”

My eyes trickle to the pavement, watching my feet come up and down. “What does that mean?”

His grip on my hand tightens as if he’s keeping me from escaping. “It means they want to meet you as soon as possible. I couldn’t let them replace out from anyone else. I had to do it.”

“When?” I ask, not freaking out all to show no fear.

“Immediately. I’ve come to get you, to bring you to them.” This time I stop walking. My eyes stay glued to him. “Wrenley, they can’t do anything. My father has already formally stepped down. The ceremony is in days.”

“So what? They can’t hold the Alpha position above your head? They can’t hold it against you if you don’t leave me?”

“I am going to be Alpha. No one else can take the position,” he tells me. “When I’m Alpha, I can protect us. I can protect you. They won’t have any power over me.”

I shake my head. “I don’t want to see them. They’re going to hate me. They’re going to blame everything on me.”

“I need you to be strong for a few days—just until I officially take the position, okay?”

I can’t help but give in. Having to face his parents while they surely believe I’m nothing but a burden on their family—I can’t think of many worse things. I say, “Okay, I’ll come,” anyway because his touch brings a sense of safety. I know nothing bad will happen to me as long as I’m by his side.

We make our way back to where Adam says he left his car. I glance down at myself and see the Waindale Academy uniform under my coat. Either his parents will be pleased that I attend the Academy or offended that I didn’t bother to change. All of my knowledge of ‘meeting the parents’ comes from romantic comedies and T.V. dramas. In such shows, it’s usually the mother that the girl has to worry about. Mothers don’t seem to like it when girls take their sons away from them, especially when they’re deemed unworthy.

We quickly pass Vivianne’s house and a few properties down sits a shiny silver truck. When I open the passenger door, his scent is everywhere, seemingly embedded into the seats. I hike up into the tall thing and yank the door closed. Oddly enough, I’ve never been in a truck. There’s so much room, so much of him, plenty of seat space for curling up and falling asleep.

“Wrenley?”

I look at him. “What?”

“I asked if you want the heat on,” he says.

I sheepishly nod and remember how he doesn’t get cold so easily. Adam starts the car and presses a button, releasing a gust of heat against my chilled face. I take off my jacket and thaw. As he drives I rest my head back and watch his hands move the wheel.

“Will they ask me questions?” I ask Adam.

“I’m not sure,” he says. “Maybe. They will likely want to know more about you.”

“Will they tell us that we can’t go through with this; that we have to stay far away from each other?”

Adam glances to me. He opens the small heating vents on his side and points them in my direction. “Don’t worry about what they say. All you have to do is meet them.”

“What if they try to get rid of me; steal me in the middle of the night; ship me off to god knows where, or worse?”

“Okay, that’s enough,” he says.

“It’s like those movies where the prince of some made-up country brings home a girl, but the girl isn’t royal. The Queen disapproves and tries to get rid of her so her son can be successful. The Queen already has a bride picked out for her son, and this new girl is ruining it,” I ramble. “I feel like the girl your mother had already picked is just the ideal of your mate that she had in her head. I’m going to come in and stomp all over her dreams.”

Adam looks over to me again, probably wanting to leave me on the side of the road. “Don’t worry about my mother’s dreams. I’m sure she’ll get over it.”

“I’m just saying, if I disappear, promise you won’t stop looking.”

My phone vibrates in my coat pocket. I take it out and see a text from Vivianne. “They want to know where I am,” I tell him.

“Who?”

“My mom and Tali.”

“Tell them that you’re with me and that you’re safe,” he says.

I text Vivianne back just as Adam stops the car. I look up and see a large house in front of us. It’s old-looking, Victorian almost with its intricate details and grand wrap-around balcony. It’s white with white railings and spiraling columns. I haven’t been to this side of Waindale yet. I peer down the street but there are no houses nearby. The forest sits directly behind the elaborate place, and behind that is the mountains.

I turn to Adam, but he’s already looking at me. “This is my family’s house. It’s where the Alpha lives. My grandfather built it with his father and members of our pack way back when.”

“I mean, it’s really beautiful,” I say while leaning forward, taking it in.

“Are you ready to go inside?” He asks

I sit back and quickly run over the possibilities of his family ridding their son of me. Where will I end up? Florida? Mexico? Europe? Dead?

“I’ll be right with you the entire time.”

I take Adam by surprise when I stretch over and wrap my arms around him. “I wanted to do this once just in case I don’t get the chance again,” I explain as my chin rests on his shoulder. I feel his arms come around me as well. I can’t help but close my eyes. Hugging him feels really good, just as I suspected.

His hand rubs soothing circles on my back as he says, “Don’t worry, Wrenley. I promise this won’t be the last time, okay?”