The Millennium Wolves Series Book Three Chapter: 02
Sienna
I felt a nudge in my back and turned to see Aiden still in wolf form.
“I’m sorry, I can’t,” I said, placing my hand on his muzzle. This is one tradition I refuse to uphold.”
Even my mate’s wolf eyes held disappointment and betrayal. It stabbed me in the heart like a sharp knife. It was all too much for me to take. I had to get away before I completely broke down.
I turned and walked off the stage as quickly as I could without running
When I made it to the ground, Jocelyn was there waiting to intercept me.
“Sienna, wait!
**Jocelyn, I can’t. I need to get out of here.”
“Okay,” she said, taking one look at me and realizing I was in no state to listen to anything she had to say. “Come with me.”
She took my hand and pulled me past the news vans. Already, reporters and camera operators had started to swarm around me, lunging with lenses and microphones.
By the time my security caught up with us, we had already made it to the Pack cars. One of the security team opened the door to a limousine and ushered Jocelyn and me inside.
The door slammed closed, and the sounds outside were instantly muted. As we sped away, I looked out of the tinted windows at the mob of angry wolves shouting at our car. I don’t think I’d ever felt so hated in my life.
Thankfully, I still had Jocelyn.
As the Pack Healer, she not only mended physical wounds but emotional ones as well.
We had become like sisters over the past year, and her previous relationship with Aiden meant that she knew him as well as I did, if not better.
That said, I had kept her in the dark about my apprehensions. She’d been brought up in the same Pack-centered world as Aiden, and if she sided with him, well, I decided I’d rather go it alone than risk tainting our friendship.
“Si, why didn’t you come to me?”
“I didn’t think you would understand. I thought you would tell me the same thing Aiden did.”
“Which was?”
“That it wasn’t a big deal. That it’s important for the Pack. That I’m overreacting. But now I see how stupid it was to keep it all bottled up. And now you both hate me.”
“I don’t hate you, Sienna, and neither does Aiden.”
“You didn’t look into his eyes like I did, ” I replied, fighting back tears.
“I’m sure he felt embarrassed,” replied Jocelyn. “And it certainly didn’t help that the Alpha of the Millennium was there.”
“Thanks for reminding me.” I cried, burying my face in my hands.
Jocelyn put her arm around me and stroked my hair, trying to calm me. I could only imagine what Aiden was dealing with right now. I had abandoned him there, with the crowd, with Raphael
I was such a horrible mate.
“I can tell that this is about more than just the ritual,” said Jocelyn in her soothing Healer voice.
Sometimes I hated how good she was at her job, but I had just witnessed what happened when I kept things to myself.
Besides, I had no reason to be afraid of Jocelyn’s judgment. She was my best friend. I felt embarrassed that the thought had even entered my mind.
“Aiden wants to start trying for a family, like now, and I’m not ready at all.”
“What makes you feel not ready?”
“I don’t know. It’s this feeling that’s hanging over me. I can’t explain it.”
“Does it have to do with Aiden?”
“That’s definitely part of it. It’s like he only wants pups because tradition says we start now. That’s crazy, right? You should want to have kids because you want to have kids, not because some outdated rules say you should.
Have you told him that?”
“I don’t want him to think that I’m ungrateful or that I don’t want to have his pups. What I want to say is that I think a big part of the world he was raised in is folksy bullshit.”
“Maybe don’t use those words,” Jocelyn replied, laughing, but every healthy relationship is based on open communication.”
Yeah, but that only works when your mate is willing to listen
I picked at the seat in frustration, thinking about my exchange with Aiden before we’d left for the festival, cursing myself for not being more assertive.
“And the other part?” asked Jocelyn.
“What?” I replied, returning from my thoughts.
“What is the other part of the feeling that’s hanging over you?”
I wasn’t sure I even knew, just that it was there, looming ominously above me whenever the conversation of having children came up.
“It’s like this fear lurking in the back of my mind.”
“Fear of what?”
“I don’t know. The unknown. I guess.”
“It’s normal to be apprehensive about the future. Si. Especially when it comes to starting a family.”
“No, it’s not about the future as much as it is the past, like where I come from.”
11:34 AM 1.7KB/S
-You mean your family?”
“Yes, but not my adoptive family, my biological one. I don’t know anything about them.”
“What about that frightens you?”
“I mean I was found in a carriage. They could be anyone. Before you pass along your genes, don’t you think you should know what they’re carrying?”
“Family is more than genetics, Sienna. Look at your adoptive parents. Do you think they cared who your parents were when they brought you home?”
“That’s different,” I protested.
“Is it, though?” answered Jocelyn,
“Of course it is. I was literally pushed into UNLIMITED their lives. Were they supposed to wait for a background check on my parents before bringing me home?””
“Si. I think you’re obsessing over this too much. Any children you have with Aiden will be fine. You’re a perfectly healthy, loving she-wolf, and he’s an alpha. They get half his genes too. you know.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not even mated.”
I instantly regretted letting the words out of my mouth. Being mateless was something that weighed heavy on Jocelyn, and although I hadn’t said it to be mean, I knew I had come off as the biggest bitch
**Jocelyn, I didn’t mean to say that. I was trying
“It’s fine. Sienna. I know your head is in a million places.” Her reassuring smile let me know she hadn’t taken it to heart. I breathed a sigh of relief
“You need to talk to Aiden, though…about both
items.”
As usual, Jocelyn was right, but how was I supposed to approach him after what I had just done?
-Well, that’s your advice on how to patch up the relationship with my mate. What would you prescribe for repairing my image with the rest of the Pack?”:
“I’m a healer, not a miracle worker,” answered Jocelyn, raising her hands in protest.
I had silenced my phone when we got in the car, excepting a torrent of notifications, but now I alanced down and saw that I had new meccanes excepting a torrent of notifications, but now I glanced down and saw that I had new messages from my mom and Selene.
Besides Jocelyn, they were the only other people in my life who I felt comfortable talking to right now. I knew they wouldn’t judge me for what I’d done.
“Answer them,” said Jocelyn. “I think I’ve given you all the advice I have, anyway.”
Mom
Honey, give me a call.
Mom I’m not angry. I just want to know you’re okay.
Mom
Don’t listen to what the horrible people in the media are saying.
Mom Si?
Sienna
Hey
Sienna Thanks for checking in, mom
Sienna
I’m fine
Mom What you did was so brave.
Mom Your father and I are here for you if you need us. We love you.
Sienna
Thanks. That means a lot
Mom This whole thing is really teaching me about my friends.
Mom Patty came over right away and started saying some not nice things.
Mom I don’t think I’ll be speaking to her again.
Jeez, was my mom seriously losing friends over what I had done? That was the last thing that I wanted to happen.
I hadn’t meant to divide the Pack. And what was the media saying about me?
Selene Sister, all the gals at work think you’re awesome
Selene I’m so proud to be related to you!
Selene Not that I wasn’t before lol
Sienna Thanks, sis
Sienna
I appreciate the support
Selene Im starting a new collection
Selene
calling it “fuck the pack-riarchy”
Selene too far?
Sienna Just right, Goldilocks a
So, I was destroying friendships and spearheading social movements.
Great.
The car dropped us off at the Pack House. I thought about having it take me home instead, but Aiden’s numerous texts and voicemails made it clear he had to deal with damage control and would be there for the rest of the day.
Aiden was on the phone when I arrived at his office. He held up a finger to let me know it would be a moment before he was free.
I took comfort in the fact that he looked at me with the face of a man buried in work, not an angered mate.
Still, his distance upset me.
I started running through what I would say to him when he got off the phone. How would I start? What if he said he was working late and I should go home without him?
“Hey, little girl.”
Was he finished already? I still had no idea how I should begin
“Hey, Mr. Wolf,” I said, stalling, “I wanted to know if you needed a lift home tonight.”
What? A lift home? No, I want to know if we can talk about how I just turned our life upside down.
“Depends on who’s driving,” he replied, walking toward me with a swagger that made my mouth water.
Focus, Sienna.
Instead of kissing me like I wanted, he stopped a few paces away and crossed his arms, expecting a reply
I couldn’t stand this tension between us. It was like we were each waiting for the other to take the first swing. The playful flirtations of that morning felt like a millennium ago.
“Aiden, I want to talk about this afternoon.”
–What about it?”
– Don’t do that.”
-What?”
“Don’t make me spell it out. You know I’m sorry about all this. It wasn’t my intention
“Look, Sienna, I understand why you didn’t shift.”
“Then why are you acting so cold?
imen wy are
“I didn’t say I agreed with it,” he replied, shifting his expression to one of disdain.
I couldn’t figure out what hurt me more, the fact that he understood how much pain it would cause me yet still pushed me to go through with it or that, even after the fact, he was upset with my decision
Any feelings of reconciliation began to evaporate and were immediately replaced by a boiling rage.
“Why is it so hard for you to let go of your stupid traditions!” I yelled. “Can’t you see they are tearing us apart, Aiden? And for what? So the Pack can sleep happy, knowing that their alpha and his mate are at home fucking every night, trying to conceive the next alpha?”
Why don’t we talk about this tomorrow, I think we’ve both had long days.”
I couldn’t believe he wanted to sideline this like it was some trivial item on his agenda. His nonchalance only stoked the fire pouring out of my mouth.
“Either we talk this out now or you find another place to sleep tonight!”
Surely he would know I was serious now.
tearing us apart, Aiden? And for what? So the Pack can sleep happy, knowing that their alpha and his mate are at home fucking every night, trying to conceive the next alpha?”
“Why don’t we talk about this tomorrow. I think we’ve both had long days.”
I couldn’t believe he wanted to sideline this like it was some trivial item on his agenda. His nonchalance only stoked the fire pouring out of my mouth
Either we talk this out now or you find another place to sleep tonight!”
Surely he would know I was serious now.
“I’ll see you in the morning then,” he said, straight-faced.
I couldn’t believe this was happening
What had I done?