Read with BonusRead with Bonus

CHAPTER 6 Delivery

Mama Agnes

It was late in the afternoon when I arrived back home, my arms laden with groceries. It was my sixtieth birthday tomorrow and I wanted to make a special dinner for the two special people left in my life, Draven and Evie.

It's been a while since I've seen them together. Usually they took turns visiting me and were only together during special occasions and holidays. However last Christmas, Draven invited his catty girlfriend, Cheryl, to celebrate with us at his suite at Blake Towers, to my horror. It was the worst Christmas that I had ever experienced since I became his guardian.

It made Evie uncomfortable being in the same room with that woman and I, I was livid.

Once Evie arrived, carrying presents and a nice bottle of wine, the fake blonde immediately kept insinuating Evie was a gate-crasher, a third wheel, an unwelcomed guest... ultimately, a pest. I watched her make one snide comment after the other while Draven allowed her to get away with it. I gripped the stem of my wine glass so hard to control my anger, it was a wonder it didn't snap in two.

When dinner was served, a plate setting had mysteriously disappeared when I had done the table setting myself. I watched Cheryl enter the dining room smiling smugly, apparently pleased with herself. She quickly sat beside Draven and cruelly dismissed Evie from the dining room.

"The help eats in the kitchen," she said, looking at Evie and gesturing for her to leave the dining room. Before Evie could say anything, I spoke up.

"If you say so," I said, walking towards the kitchen door. "Evie, you take a seat, darling, and I'll eat in the kitchen." Draven shot Cheryl a warning look, but she ignored him, smiling wickedly.

"No, Mama Agnes, I meant-" Cheryl began, but I cut her off.

"Do not call me Mama, young lady. You can address me as Miss Agnes. The name Mama Agnes is reserved to people who I know and trust, and that includes people who know better to never touch my table setting especially when I organized everything myself."

Cheryl's eyes narrowed dangerously. She placed a hand on Draven's arm, one side of her mouth curving upward in a cruel smile. "Are you accusing me of something?"

"No. I just don't want you to call me Mama... ever," I said, taking the big bowl of soup from one of the servers. I quietly served the soup to Draven and Evie, but before I served Cheryl, I whispered in her ear, "You behave or I will pour this scalding hot soup all over you."

She scowled the whole time, barely touching her food, complaining it was too hot, too sweet or too salty for her to eat. When dinner was over and Evie and Draven retired to the balcony for coffee and dessert, Cheryl grabbed my arm while I was cleaning up and threatened me.

"Once I become Mrs. Draven Blake, I'll have you shipped to a nursing home in Miami, Florida," she sneered, her face utterly grotesque. I couldn't help, but wonder how Draven could choose her over Evie. Evie was a natural blonde, slim and tall, with silver eyes that sparkled in the moonlight. Evie was well-mannered unlike this uneducated tramp!

I laughed, amused fake Barbie had the balls to say something like that to me. At least, she was entertaining... dumb, but entertaining.

"Sweetie, you'll never become Mrs. Draven Blake and you know why?" I asked, my eyes twinkling with laughter. "Because if I ever hear about your engagement, I will personally snatch you up, rip your body into tiny pieces with my teeth, and feed you to the wolves." She stared into my eyes, not believing a word I had just said. "You don't believe me? Have you ever asked Draven whatever happened to his other girlfriends?"

"Not really," she answered, thinking or at least trying to think. "But he did mention a couple of his girlfriends suddenly disappeared." She shook her head. "No, you couldn't have-"

I smiled sinisterly at her. "And yet I could have," I snarled, my eyes turning dark. She gasped, letting go of my arm, and backed away from me.

"W-whatever you are... just s-stay away!" Cheryl exclaimed before running to Draven. I waited for Draven to scold me for my bad behavior, but Cheryl, surprisingly, kept quiet

Cheryl never asked to see me again nor did she ever ask Draven to tag along during his visits. However, last month, while I was running errands, I saw her entering a trendy restaurant downtown. Believing she was going to have lunch with Draven, I followed her inside to say hi to my ward, but discovered she was canoodling with a gentleman who looked older than me.

I didn't tell Draven knowing he must have already caught the lingering scent of tobacco from the cigar that was constantly in the older gentleman's mouth. I believed it was only a matter of time before Draven found out, that's if he didn't already know about it.

While I placed all my grocery items away, I glanced at a photo of the three of us taken at Draven and Evie's high school graduation ceremony and sighed. I had thought since Draven was now of age, he would finally realize Evie was his mate and they were meant to be.

I spoke to him about it before we all decided to move to California. It was summer in Chippewa Falls and my vegetables were all ripe for the picking.

"Draven, I know I shouldn't interfere nor invade your personal space, but I need you to be honest with me," I said, while he was training and I was harvesting vegetables. I personally taught him self-defense and combat from my learnings at wolf primary school where I went to school.

"Yeah? What do you want to know?" Draven asked, while he practiced on a wooden dummy.

"Do you speak to your wolf often?" I asked him. At night, after his parents died, I would hear him telling his wolf to go away and leave him and never come back. Wolves are sensitive creatures most especially wolves who were destined for greatness.

He averted his eyes. "No," he answered. "I know where you're going with this. On my eighteenth birthday, you didn't see me shift."

"You weren't home during your eighteenth birthday. You ran off the night before," I said, recalling that day. "Even Evie stopped by and asked me to give you her birthday present remember?" I stood up in the middle of my garden and inhaled deeply. "I know you've shifted, but your relationship with your wolf isn't good. You don't follow what he dictates and he doesn't like how you ignore him."

"My wolf is not in charge of my destiny. I am," Draven growled. I smirked knowing that wasn't true.

"You can't be Alpha without your wolf, Draven. You need to become one. If not, how can you lead your pack? How can you continue the legacy of your parents? Ultimately, how can you find the one person who completes you if you are constantly at war with yourself?" I asked him. "It's a difficult life relying solely on yourself. Ask the humans."

"How can I be one with the thing that killed my parents, Mama Agnes?!" He growled angrily, his eyes turning a golden hue, the eyes of his Alpha wolf. Feeling his wolf was at the surface, Draven quickly lowered his head and blinked rapidly, calming himself down. After several moments, he chuckled and lifted his head, his chocolate brown eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Good one, Mama Agnes. But no, you will not see my wolf. Anyway, thanks for helping Evie out and sponsoring her for college. I really appreciate it," Draven said.

"I didn't help her. You did, Draven," I said matter-of-factly while crouching down to harvest some carrots. "Anyway, why help Evie if you believe she isn't your mate?"

"Believing I have a mate, ties me down," Draven said. "Evie is my bestfriend and will remain my bestfriend unless I decide otherwise. No wolf will dictate who I want to be with. Not even my own wolf."

"Then you have to set Evie free. You can not constantly have her by your side when you need her, then dismiss her when you don't," I argued. "This is all my fault. I had told you to keep her with you at all times, knowing she makes you strong. If you are a good friend and want her happiness, you have to allow her to find her own path."

"No. She will remain by my side... forever, Mama Agnes. Like you have all these years." I stared blankly at him, not knowing what to say.

I created a monster. One that constantly feeds on the love Evie hopes for. I felt terrible knowing I was the sole reason for her heartbreak, but I knew one day, Draven will realize his mistakes.

The doorbell rang. Finally, the delivery I was expecting. I opened the door to find a man reading a sheet of paper on a clipboard.

"Hello, Omega," the man lifted his face, sneering at me. His eyes were dark while fangs protruded from his mouth. "We've been looking for you for quite some time."

I gasped in horror as I quickly tried to shut the door. The wolf kicked the door before it closed and forcibly entered my apartment.

"I will fight, wolf. I will fight until the end!" I growled as I shifted into my wolf, Maple.

The delivery man quickly shifted into a light gray wolf. Just like me, he was an Omega. Much younger yes, but younger didn't always necessarily mean stronger.

We growled and snarled at each other, ready to pounce, attack and defend. I could see my wolf's reflection in his eyes while I waited for him to make the first move.

My front door suddenly burst open, distracting him. I pounced with my mouth wide open, aiming for his neck.

I may be old, but I still got some fight left in me.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter