: Talking to Mom

Thalia POV

That last job paid me enough to get out of this area. That businessman was grotesque. I don’t know what made him think I was going to open my legs to him, but he was sweaty, fat, bald with a really sad comb over, and smelled of alcohol and cheap cigars.

He thought that I was a pretty young thing selling my body. No, cupcake, I’m a pretty young thing sent to off your pathetic ass for backstabbing your partner. I made sure to tell him that before I slit his throat too. Once the job was done and I sent my proof, the second half of my payment was deposited. When I checked my private account, I saw almost seven figures staring back at me. That’s enough to give Mia and I a new start. I need to figure out where to go lay low before making my permanent exit with Mia. That’s my plan. We will start in one place and then pivot and move in the night and disappear. I will change our names, and we will live our lives for ourselves. Not for any man, trying to control what we do and don’t do in our lives.

I get back home and when I enter, my mom is waiting for me in the kitchen. “Mi hija, I was starting to worry. How was your evening?”

“It was long mama.”

“I heard about your argument with your father. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Why? I’m not marrying Armando. He is a creep and doesn’t respect women. You know, like papa.”

My mother knows I’m right. My father doesn’t even respect my mom. I think at one point he was in love with her, but his greed made him forget how he started and who was there for him in the beginning…my mom. My mom is a beautiful woman too. Even though she is older, I look like her. Dark curly and wavy hair and dark eyes, olive complexion, full lips, and eyebrows. She is a beautiful woman. I wish she would have left my dad years ago, but she stayed because of me. Then Rodrigo and Mia came along and by then, she felt trapped. Sometimes I wonder if she regretted having me, instead of leaving my dad. She could have had a different life if not for me.

“Thalia, I know you and your father don’t get along. You both have very strong personalities. But he does love you. He loves all three of his kids.”

“You don’t force your eldest daughter to marry a man simply because you want to control the man’s business. You know don’t force your youngest daughter to work for the company until a suitable husband can be found to strengthen the family business and make your daughter give up her dream of becoming a doctor. That’s not love mama.”

“What?” She said.

“You didn’t know?” I asked.

“No. What are you talking about?” My mother asks me. She looks horrified. This tells me that once again, my father is only giving her half-truths.

“Ma, papa told me he wants the Reyes ports. He wants me to marry Armando to infiltrate their business and take it over. Then the Moreno Family controls all the ports.” I begin, “Then Mia told papa about going to medical school and he said he wasn’t going to pay for medical school for her to become a doctor. He said she would work in the mailroom of the business until he finds her a suitable husband. That means, a husband that will help the family business grow. I won’t let that happen. Mia and I deserve to have a loving and peaceful life.”

“Mi hija, I didn’t know. He just said he wanted you girls to marry into stability.” My mom said. “No, you won’t be marrying Armando. Your dad is putting you in danger with the way he is thinking.”

I grab my mom’s hands and whisper to her. “I’m leaving with Mia, mama. You could come with us. We could get out of here. I’ve been saving money. I can hold us a float until we get something permanent.”

“No, mi hija, I cannot go with you. I chose this life for myself, but it doesn’t need to be your life or your sister’s life. Where do you think you want to go?”

“I’m not sure, ma. Somewhere they can’t get to us easily. Until I can get our names changed and start over somewhere new.”

“I have an idea. Your father is leaving in a little while for a meeting. Once he leaves, let’s call your uncle Raul. He is in a pack, plus he is a doctor, perhaps Mia can get a letter of recommendation from him for a medical school.”

“Okay, mama.” I left for my room. I showered and changed into my sweatpants and T-shirt. I waited until I heard my dad left.

My mother knocks on the door, and I see her face. He has hit her again. Her cheek is bruised. “What happened, ma?”

“Shh…I bought us time. Now let’s call your uncle. We have about an hour, and we will need to cover a lot in that time.”

She grabs a tracker phone. I didn’t even know she had one of those. She dials his number and after two rings the phone answers, “Dr. Moreno, how can I help you?”

“Raul, it’s Blanca. I need your help.”

“Blanca, what’s wrong?” He asks. He sounds concerned. I don’t know if he knows about the abuse or not.

“Diego is trying to marry off Thalia and Mia to bad men. He is doing it for greed and not for their well-being. Thalia has saved money, but she needs somewhere to go. I know you went to a pack. Can they come to you?”

“I can’t make that decision, Blanca. Pack life is different, you know that. I need to ask the Alpha about letting my nieces, who don’t belong to a pack currently, come into the pack to live. The Alpha here is kind, but he is no pushover. Plus, the girls don't know anything about pack life. I need time to prepare. It’s late right now. I will talk to the Alpha first thing in the morning. If he agrees, then how long do you think it’ll take to get here?”

I speak up, “a month, Tio.”

“Thalia, my sweet niece, when you get here, you and Mia need to have learned pack hierarchy and pack culture. Can you both do that for me?”

“Si Tio, we will know it. Mama will help us.” I say as my mom nods her head.

“Okay, wait for my text message tomorrow, Blanca. If he says yes, don’t worry, I will take care of them both, like they were my own.”

“Thank you, Raul.”

We said our goodbyes and then hung up. Now we wait.

: Fine, I’ll Go

Aiden POV

“Bro, come on!” My twin pleads with me, “You don’t have your mate yet, but it’s not like you are actively trying to find her either.”

“Reid, dad and mom found each other.” I said.

“Yeah, but one of them had to leave their pack. It was mom. Maybe this time, you need to leave the pack. Come on. One weekend, we will go to the coast in the southeastern region. You never know, maybe you will meet her. If not, you still got to see the ocean.” Reid said, negotiating with me.

I’m thirty-two years old. I took over for my dad as Alpha, fourteen years ago. Reid took over as Alpha at Blue Moon, since it was originally my mom’s pack, even though she only went there quarterly, otherwise her uncle managed the pack since he was closer.

Unlike Reid and Rory, my kid sister, I haven’t found my mate. Reid was mated to Navy, and Rory was mated to Jonah, which practically destroyed my dad. She was and remains the apple of his eyes, but he had to accept her growing up. Then Nala and Julian were mated when they turned eighteen. The only two not mated are Isaiah and me. Isaiah is twenty though. He still has time. Adrian found his mate at Blue Moon and went to be Reid’s beta there.

Me, I’m desperate to find my mate. Somehow, I don’t think she exists. I used to visit all the packs in the area, and each time, I came back home disappointed. Lately, I’ve been considering choosing a mate. No matter how hard I try to accept the idea though, I just can’t bring myself to do it.

I know there is one woman that has been hanging on me for a while now. Tina Clark. She is twenty-five years old. She could be Luna, just not my Luna. She’s pretty and has a gentle disposition about her, but Leon, my wolf, and I don’t trust her. I’m not sure what it is, but there is something about her that screams ‘red flag’.

Now Reid wants me to waste more time; going to the coast and having some fun, when I have a pack to run. He is relentless though. Mr. Party Til The Sun Comes Up, is not going to let this go. In my life, I have learned it’s easier just to give into him. “Goddess, you are relentless, Reid. Fine. We will go this weekend. If nothing happens, promise me you will drop the whole conversation.”

“Fine. But at the very least we are going to have some fun. You’ve always been too serious bro. I hope you find your mate and she drives you crazy.” He said laughing.

“Get the fuck out of here. I have work to do.” I said shaking my head.

If I find my mate, I hope she doesn’t mind that I work a lot. After the first ten years of not finding my mate, I’ve done nothing but work. I know mom is worried about me, but honestly, I can at least leave a good pack for Isaiah to take over if something happens to me. I don’t have an heir, so the pack would go to him. He is responsible like all of us Willis kids.

‘I know we have a mate, Aiden. Mood Goddess has blessed everyone around us with mates. We have one too, I know it.’ Leon said.

‘I’m not holding my breath anymore, Leon. I doubt we will ever find her, if she even exists.’

‘She exists Aiden. She has too. I bet she is beautiful too.’

I allow myself to daydream for just a second. If I had a mate, what would she look like? I bet she’d be curvy. Well, it would be nice if she were at least. Hair is not too long, but curly. I have always been attracted to women with big hair. Plus, if she is fearless like my mother was in her youth, I would love it. It would also be nice if she wasn’t an only child. Maybe the eldest, but not the only child. I just think it would be nice to have additional family. I hope she will want a big family with me too. I also hope she is smart. Not trying to act smart or intelligent, but actually smart. I mean, I could list every attribute I can think of, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t think she exists at this point.

‘Excuse me, Alpha?’ Dr. Moreno reaches out in the mind link.

‘Hey doc.’

‘Do you have a minute?’

‘Sure. Do you want me to swing by the hospital?’

‘I’m in the pack house. Do you mind if we meet in your office?’

‘Sure.’

When I get there, I can see that Dr. Moreno looks worried, even though he is trying to hide it. “What’s going on, doc?”

“My nieces are looking for a place to stay. They are having difficulties at home, and they reached out to me. They are good girls and won’t be any trouble.” Dr. Moreno says, as he gets to the point very quickly.

“What pack are they from?”

“They live in the human world on the coast, Alpha. They don’t have a pack.”

Interesting. No pack. They live in the human world, what kind of difficulties would they have there? Wolves are stronger than humans.

“I see, how old are they?”

“The eldest is twenty-four years old and the youngest is seventeen and will be eighteen in the next couple of months. Their mother, Blanca asked me if I could take them in and I told her I needed to clear it through you first.”

Well, with no pack, I don’t have to do transfer paperwork. Technically, they are rogues. But Dr. Moreno has always been an upright pack member. If he says they are good girls, then I believe him.

“Okay. But I would like to meet them when they get here. How long before they arrive?”

“Thank you, Alpha! They can be here in a month.”

“Alright, I will meet them when they get here. You can let their mother know.”

: She’s MINE!

Aiden POV

Reid has worked on every damn nerve I have this week. He won’t shut up about the trip. Thank the Goddess, we leave in a couple of hours. Then I'm sure he will grate my patience about something else. All week, he has been asking me about things I’d like to do on the coast. What clothes am I bringing? What SPF do I need for the tropical climate? If he wasn’t my brother, I would have thrown him in a cell by now.

I just finished my day in the mines. I was busy making a clearing for some new security to get installed next week. When I took over the pack, I thought of a lot of different ways to bump up security around and in the pack. It costs the pack some money, but we are wealthy, so it’s not an issue. Plus, it gives everyone a better sense of security in the pack. I think it’s worth it and so does everyone else.

My father was proud of me for making changes, of course. He looked at the whole technology thing and told me back when he was younger; he wanted the latest and greatest available too. Then he told me to wait until I’m older. Technology will continue growing and our brains eventually don’t keep up. I laughed of course, but I know what he is saying will come to pass, just like everything else he has ever told me.

Now that I’m back in my room, I go to the bathroom to shower. Then I will pack a carry-on luggage, since we are only staying the weekend. I am not looking forward to this trip, but my brother is, and we haven’t spent time like this together in a long time. It’s probably been close to five years. I know one thing is for sure though, I will not get a moment’s rest once we land. Thank the Goddess for separate rooms.

After showering, I get dressed. I look at my closet, half-filled, and the other half empty. Another one of the things my dad used to tell me. Before he met mom, he always kept her half empty but cleaned. It was his way of acknowledging that he has a mate somewhere, and the Moon Goddess wasn’t ready for them to meet yet.

I adopted the same behavior, though, after fourteen long years, I should probably just give up on the idea. It’s something to think about. Meanwhile, I pulled out the linen pants and tropical shirt my brother told me I had to wear when we fly out. I think I look ridiculous. I much prefer a pair of jeans and a solid button-up shirt. Once again, my brother, being the loud one of us, I give in to his craziness.

I make my way downstairs with my carry-on and meet my brother at the bottom.

“Bout fucking time princess. Took you long enough.”

“Fuck you, bro. I worked all day and had to shower.”

“Big surprise there. You are working all day.” Reid rolled his eyes, “If a hitman ever needed to figure out your schedule, it wouldn’t be hard to figure out. You keep the same damn schedule.”

I flip him off and say, “Are we going, or are you going to continue to complain like a little bitch, dude?”

He chuckles, “Let’s get out of here. Palm trees and ocean air awaits!”

***

We finally landed in Coast City. It’s a human town and we have to keep a low profile. We can’t let our wolves out to run, so we are going to be in human form the entire trip. Leon isn’t happy about it, because he wants to feel the sand beneath his paws. This is our first time coming near the ocean and that part intrigues me.

I told Reid to allow a few hours during the day for me to rest. If this is a vacation, then I want to relax a little. Some time on the beach sounds like a great afternoon, even though I will probably only get three hours if I’m lucky, with Reid around.

“Come on Aiden. You are dragging your feet!” Reid calls out.

“Hey, this is a vacation for me, and I have never seen palm trees in person. Allow me a minute to soak up the scene, will you?”

“Minute is up, move your ass. We have dinner in an outdoor restaurant and its live music tonight.”

I sigh. I knew I wasn’t getting any rest. “Alright, let’s go.”

After we got to the hotel and got to our rooms, we both freshened up and then met in the lobby.

As we make our way two blocks to the restaurant, Leon perks up. He starts grunting and pacing back and forth in my head. He’s agitated. ‘Leon, are you sensing danger?’

‘In a human town, not likely. Something does feel off though, Aiden.’

‘Okay, let me know if I need to act fast.’

Reid seems oblivious to everything. “Hey is Chase sensing anything?”

“Nope. He’s quiet, why?”

“Leon is pacing back and forth. He says something feels off.”

“Well, isn’t that interesting?” My twin says with a raised eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“Chase did that when we found out Navy was our mate.”

I stopped. No fucking way. “Are you serious, right now?”

“I would never joke about this topic with you, bro. I know it’s sensitive for you. Yes, I’m very serious. How else do you explain that Leon is pacing like something is wrong, but Chase isn’t?”

Shit, I don’t even think I’m dressed to meet anyone, let alone my mate. If my brother is right, then my mate is close by, and we haven’t caught her scent yet. We walk into the restaurant and Reid is keeping a close eye on me.

Our wolves go crazy when we find our mate. The first thing we want to do is claim and mark our mates. It is instinctual. Reid being here is a good thing. He is going to have to keep me in check. I’m looking around and Leon is getting frustrated.

“Reid, how the hell do you control the agitation?”

“Bro, I don’t know. I’m in an unknown territory with you right now. I felt the bond with Navy and we were marked and mated by morning. I didn’t have to control any urges. You are going to have to reign in Leon.”

Suddenly, the host for the evening steps to the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, Damas y Caballeros, welcome to “El Rincon”!

Everyone is clapping, and I see a band on the stage. All the tables have couples. Each table has a glass of water with plumerias floating and releasing a tropical floral scent. There is also a candle lit and giving an ambience to the room. It’s an outdoor restaurant, so there is a slight breeze, and you can hear the slight rustle of the palms. It’s a romantic setting to meet my mate. I suddenly have an urge to get up and go searching for her.

“Cool your jets, Aiden. You cannot start barging through the area. We are in a human town. You can’t give away our kind.”

“I’m sorry, Leon is making me anxious.” I whisper.

The host continues speaking and then announces the first singer, “Now tonight, we have a special treat. We haven’t had this singer grace us with her presence in over two months. She is here with her family tonight. Let’s give a warm welcome to, Thalia Moreno!”

As soon as she steps onto the stage, her scent hits me. She smells like lime, mint, and rum. She smells sweet, exotic, and strong.

I hit Reid on the arm. “Ow, bro.”

“MATE!” I whisper yelled at him.

“The singer?” He whispers.

“Yes.” I stared at her mesmerized. Her voice is beautiful, though I have no idea what she is saying. She is everything I dreamed of in a mate. Big curly hair, a curvy body, and singing on stage in front of everyone would be considered brave to many. She looks exotic with an olive complexion, dark hair, and dark eyes. She has a red hibiscus flower in her hair and a red dress that hugs every part of her tempting body.

‘She’s perfect!’ Leon said.

‘Yes, she is. She sings beautifully, too.’

As soon as she is done singing, another man gets on stage. “Isn’t my daughter a beautiful singer? Let’s give her another round of applause!”

After everyone quieted down, her father continued speaking, “I wanted to take this moment to invite Armando Reyes on stage for a very special announcement.”

I see another man get on stage and stand beside my mate. Leon is growling in my head, and my eyes are darkening with rage. She’s mine. What is that asshole doing on stage with my mate?

“I wanted to formally announce my daughter Thalia’s engagement to Armando Reyes. I hope you all will join us in celebrating this joyous occasion!”

The crowd erupts and starts cheering. I can’t take it anymore. I stand up and snarl, “MINE!”