SWNOVELS Chapter 46
Chapter 46: The Wishing Tree
*Riley*
I sat beside Nicolas at the head table at dinner, where the Alpha and Luna of the Evermane pack would usually sit. Liam sat on my mate’s side while Noah was seated beside me. Everyone else was sitting around the dining hall.
The only one I didn’t see sitting around the large room was my sister. If Ava was the Luna of the pack, she should have been sitting on the other side of Noah. That spot was left empty without a plate even set
out.
Even if you ignored the fact that my sister was missing from the meal, I was still uncomfortable. I was never allowed to eat with the pack like this. Without a wolf, my father didn’t consider her to be part of the pack, so I wasn’t allowed to eat with them.
Now I was sitting in front of the pack in the lead position. It was embarrassing looking out at everyone. I was sure that everyone had to be thinking the same way as me. I didn’t deserve to be sat here, at least that was what they had to think. I was sure of it.
It was sad to think about such a sad memory of my father with his funeral just around the corner. I didn’t want anything else to stain his memory of him while I could help it. I would rather try finding the good times that I was mourning about him. Most were much older
memories, but they were good, nonetheless.
So, I was stuck eating by Nicolas’s side with eyes set on my plate and anxious shifting back and forth in my seat. I had to eat fast, praying to get out of there as soon as I could.
Nicolas would look at me every now and then as if sensing my discomfort. I didn’t say anything when I met his questioning looks. I didn’t want to give him any more reasons for him to dislike my birth pack.
I finally finished my meal, faster than any of the others around us, then glanced up at my mate beside me. Delving into the mind link we had connecting us. I’m going to go get some fresh air while you all finish your meals,’ I told him silently. ‘Let me know if you need me at all.’
He looked back down at me with a nod. Still chewing on another bite from his half-finished plate, ‘Alright. Be safe.”
I nodded, saying that I would. Then I stood from my seat with one last look around the room, taking my leave out of the dining hall.
I initially planned to just take a step outside, but when my eyes locked onto the woods my feet started that way without hesitation.
I slowly moved into the woods I would run to again and again. I missed breathing in the smell of the spruce trees around me. Or the sounds of the branches clacking against each other in the wind. I loved the palace; it was just nice to hear something so familiar again.
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Chapter 46 The Wishing Tree
I continued until I stopped in front of a clearing sitting deep into the woods. A smile lit up my face as I immediately recognized it.
The clearing wasn’t large, only wide enough for it to be like a little oasis for whoever came to find it. That person ended up being me. There was a single tree at the very center with the ground being grassy with daffodils spread around it all.
I used to come here all the time when I was running from my life. Noah. couldn’t always be there to protect me from the bullying and, while Liam tried to be helpful on the front sometimes too, he couldn’t be there all the time either.
So, whenever it all got to be too much, I ran from it all to be here. To be away from my pack and away from my life. Out here I wasn’t wolfless or an omega. Out here I was just Riley. Simple, tired, Riley.
I would come to lay in the soft patch of grass and stare up at the sky. Shine or rain, I would be there. It was such a lovely place that I missed while I was away. It was my favorite place to be on pack land. I moved now, to go lay near the tree with my head closest to the tree in the
center.
Closing my eyes with a sigh, I enjoyed my time being back here. It may even be my last, which I wasn’t sure if it was sad or exciting. I opened my eyes, ready to go back to the pack to find my mate. However, my gaze immediately landed on weird scratches etched into the bark. That was when it came back to me!
I nearly forgot about the tree! I called it the Wishing Tree because that was where I carved every wish I ever had deep into the bark. I thought the deeper it was carved into the tree, the more likely it would be to happen.
Many were duplicates. Asking to be accepted into the pack. Asking for my family to be nicer to me. Asking for my very own wolf- that one was carved again and again.
I traced each one with my fingers, remembering the days that some of them were written out. I got to one at the very center of them all and laughed out loud at the idea of it. ‘I want to be with Noah forever.”
The Wishing Tree was a hoax I made up in my young mind to cope with everything that was going on.
Things are very different now. I knew that writing into some poor tree wasn’t going to change anything. To find a change in life I would have to make that happen myself. Which was what I planned to do.
I was far too into walking memory lane, I barely realized that I was being watched. A chill ran over my skin and even my wolf perked up at the uncomfortable feeling. I forced myself to sit up and look around frantically.
No matter which direction I looked, I couldn’t find anyone. Which only made me more nervous for whatever was messing with me in the woods. I decided to take my leave with the anxious feelings in my
bones.
Chacher The Wishing Tree
It took a while to get back, using the way that I came the first time. I had just taken a step out of the woods when I noticed the face missing. from dinner.
Ava stood off away from the main pack buildings. She had a cigarette. in between two fingers, raising it to her mouth to take a deep inhale.
My brows furrowed, confused when she started the terrible habit. I turned away from her to go find Nicolas while I was going unnoticed. Only Ava seemed to have a different idea in mind.
“Wait, Riley!” I hesitated but stopped and looked back at her. “Do you think we could talk?”