Scarlett's Soft Spot

I jogged down the hallway to Annie’s room the next morning. I knew she hadn’t slept at all during the night. I heard her tossing and turning all night. I had been tempted to ask her if she wanted to go for a run, but I knew that my mate was not in the sleuth and I would have to eventually leave to be with my mate. She needed to be able to function without me around. Or at least that's what Osprey said when he intercepted me in the hallway. I knocked gently on her door.

“Banannie?”

She instantly pulled it open. “Gerry! Hi! Come in!” She said excitedly.

I followed her inside and sat on the bed while she moved around the room, searching for something. Fin and Farley jumped on the bed to curl up next to me, pawing at me. I lightly scratched Farley’s belly. They were the only cubs that survived a few years prior, when Annie’s pet passed away during labor. She sank to the floor in front of them, smiling as she cooed to them.

“I’m going to miss you!”

I chuckled as I patted her shoulder. “Did you find someone to watch them while we’re gone?”

She sighed. “Tell me again why we can’t sneak them in our bags.”

“Because we’re shifters, Annie, and besides, Elena would smell them and make you leave them.”

She laid her head on my knee, looking up at me. “I wish it was only Beanie going with us. He would let me bring them.”

I laughed as I shook my head. “It should only take us a few days, sis. They’ll be okay.”

Farley looked up at me with her blue eyes sparkling at me. She glanced at my hand, and I gripped her body as I moved her around the bed while she playfully chewed on my hand and kicked my arm with her legs. Annie giggled before picking Fin up to cradle him in her arms.

“How can you be so okay with leaving them behind?” She whispered, distraught.

I gently took Fin from her to pull her onto my lap. “Because, Annie, you’re going, and you’re my favorite.”

She threw her arms around my neck. “I’m only your favorite because of Fin and Farley.”

I patted her back. “Nah, you're my favorite because you steal Osprey’s jelly beans and share them with me.”

She giggled. “I thought he was going to eat me!” She confided softly.

I stood her up so I could get up, too. “I wouldn’t have let him eat you. Are you ready to go? I can hear Elena telling Hannah that we’re leaving in five minutes.”

She walked over to her dresser to get her duffel bag before coming back to hold it out to me, smiling sweetly.

“Will you carry it for me?”

I rolled my eyes, trying to feign irritation. After I took the bag from her, she kissed my cheek.

“Thank you, Gerry.” She petted both foxes before heading toward the door. “We better hurry before I take them with us.”

I followed her out, leaving the door ajar. I knew the foxes would follow us. I also knew that Scarlett and Osprey would be seeing us off, and Scarlett would make Elena take our babies. As I predicted, Scarlett and Osprey were standing in the foyer, chatting with both sets of Betas. Annie ran down the stairs to hug Scarlett. Besides me, Scarlett was her favorite person. In all fairness, Scarlett was everyone’s favorite. When Fin wound his body around Annie’s legs, Elena growled.

“Absolutely not, Annie!”

Annie heaved a depressed sigh as she reached down to pick him up. He instantly nuzzled into her cheek.

“I know, Lena. You hate them. I don’t know how they got out of my room,” she sniffled.

As she defeatedly scooped up Farley, who was trying to climb my leg, a tear rolled down her face.

“Annie, do you want to take them with you?” Scarlett asked as Annie walked upstairs.

“Auntie, no! I agreed to babysit Gerry and Annie, not them and some food!”

Scarlett’s aura came out warningly. “She can take her pets, Elena! But she is fully responsible for them,” she said sternly.

Annie gave a shout of happiness as she ran back down the stairs to hug Scarlett, almost choking the foxes as they were trapped between Annie’s arm and Scarlett’s body. Annie turned to beam at me.

“They can go!”

I smiled softly at her. “I heard.”

“Whatever! Let’s go before I leave you all here!” Elena grumbled.

I carried both my bag and Annie’s out to the car while Annie carried our foxes. She deposited them in the backseat before climbing in with them. I placed our bags in the trunk before getting in next to Annie. She immediately laid her head on my lap, looking up at me. I raised an eyebrow at her.

“Take a picture; it’ll last longer,” I teased Annie as Elena started driving.

“Tell me about your mate, Gerry. I love hearing you talk about her,” she requested dreamily.

I smiled as I began to stroke her hair. “I want her to be kind and loyal. I want her to help both people and animals. She has to love music, climbing trees, and running. She must be able to walk into a river and come out with a salmon. Not just any salmon, but the biggest salmon you could ever see. She has to smile a lot, have an unforgettable laugh, and be loved and admired by all.”

Annie slapped my shoulder. “What else? What does she look like? What does she sound like? What else would you want her to be like?”

I chuckled. “One of these days, little Banannie, you’re going to have to tell me about what you want in a mate.”

“I promise I will; you just keep going.”

“I want her to be shorter than me with dark hair,” I said softly as I leaned back and closed my eyes. “I want her to have brown eyes that I could get lost in forever. I wouldn’t mind at all if she was a little chubby. I want her to look like a little fairy, but when she speaks, I want her voice to have power in case she needs it. I want her voice to shock everyone who hears it. I want her to be honest and tell things as they are. She also has to be willing to stand up for those who cannot do so for themselves. I want her to know when to be gentle and when to be fierce.” I paused to let the image I always imagined when I thought about her dance in my mind. “I don’t really care what she looks or sounds like, or even what she likes or doesn’t like. As long as she likes you, that’s all that matters.”

I opened my eyes to see that Annie had fallen asleep on my lap. I shook my head. Even at 14, she still couldn’t stay awake for long on car rides. Coupled with the fact that she hadn’t slept the night before, I was surprised that she made it out of the driveway.

“Why do you fantasize about what your mate looks like?” Elena suddenly asked me. “She might not even be a she. He might be a he. Might be a human, a wolf or a bear. You never know.”

I frowned at her. “It helps me to not be crushed every time I meet a new person and they aren’t my mate.”

“And it will crush you even more when your mate doesn’t fit into your little box of what you think they should be,” she retorted.

I rolled my eyes. “Shut up, Lena. Let me live my life, and you live yours.”

“I’m just trying to help!” She snapped. “Besides, you’re teaching Annie bad things. You shouldn’t encourage her to do it, too.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “You mean to dream? There is nothing wrong with dreaming, and when my mate is perfect, I want an apology.”

“What makes you so sure that your mate will be perfect?”

I met her eyes in the rearview mirror. “Because they will be mine, and that is all they need to be.”