Her Forever

Jack

The quick k**s I gave Rosalie on the cheek was electrifying. I know she is starting to feel the mate bond. It takes humans longer to recognize the bond than supernaturals. Their little bodies just can’t understand that kind of gift.

Once leaving her in the foyer, I headed upstairs, where Bruce was waiting for me. He had mind-linked me while I was showing Rosalie around, letting me know he’d gotten all her background information. As much as I wanted to stay with her and show her more, I knew I had to see what we might be dealing with. I needed to know what she was so afraid of instead of forcing her to talk to me.

I was intrigued by how much Rosalie liked our pack territory. She loved the idea of the packhouse; she was so inquisitive and upbeat about every detail. From the large community dinners, parties, childcare, and how we provide for each other. There were several rooms in the house that I didn’t like personally, but she would give a big smile nodding her head enthusiastically. Rosalie was still quiet around me, the only person she reacted well to was Amanda, but I had to keep Amanda away from her mate for the next few days because she’d found her mate. Rosalie will just have to make due with me, which I’m happy about anyway.

When we headed to the library, I saw her eyes widen at large bookshelves. It was impressive; we made sure we had the classic literature and Werewolf history in here. If she really wanted answers, she could hunt through the books for some.

Rosalie’s hands brushed along the spines of the different books, and she looked in awe at how tall the room stood. The library was at the back of the house and was three stories tall. One could easily get lost or play hide and seek for hours.

“Do you like to read?” I asked.

“Very much; I spend a lot of time reading.” She continued to walk down one side of the room, tracing her finger on each book as she went by.

“What are some of your favorites?” I said, walking closely behind her.

“Oh, the basics. Great Gatsby, Jane Austin, Pride and Prejudice, and maybe Twilight.” Her face blushed red. “I’m a sucker for that one. Don’t ask why,” she laughed.

I started laughing. “Really? You didn’t seem like a person who would like those books after everything else you just named off.”

She shrugged. “I can’t help it. I liked the Werewolf and Vampire stuff. After that series, I started looking into other books online with that kind of theme. It was just a…” she paused, “a good escape.”

I put my arms around my back and held my hands. “Escape? Why would you need an escape?” I asked with concern.

She stiffened and paused, her finger on one of the spines of an extensive encyclopedia. “You know, teenagers always want an escape from the real world,” she gave an uncomfortable laugh.

I pulled her arm so she could face me. Tears were lacing the corner of her eyes, trying her best not to let them fall. “Kitten, tell me, why would you need to escape?” Keeping my voice as tender as I could as I stroked the sides of her arms. Trembling of her lips started, and then she took deep breaths and closed her eyes; her heart began to race.

“Kitten love, come back to me.” Putting a hand on either side of her face, I began chanting, “Just breathe, in and out, alright?” After a few minutes, she started to calm down, and she grabbed my hands with hers.

“Thank you. I’m sorry. I’d rather not talk about those things right now,” she whispered. Knowing she wouldn’t say anything more, I led her outside.

Who would have hurt my little mate? She is so tender and loving. She had no malice towards anyone, someone took advantage of her, and I was going to find out who and rip them to shreds.

Once we were out of the packhouse, her mood changed dramatically. The sun looked beautiful on her porcelain skin and strawberry blonde hair. Her curls dangled around her face in the wind as she took giant sighs of contentment. Keeping my hand on the small of her back, I took her to one place my mother likes to go to, the preschool and nursery. Emma was holding one of the more irritable babies trying to get him to sleep, then Rosalie saw the baby. Her eyes widened, and a small smile came to her lips.

I mind-linked Emma and quickly said, “Emma, see if she will hold the baby.” Emma and most pack members knew that Rosalie was coming and that she had no knowledge of Werewolves. Many people stayed away to give space, but many members were still too damn obvious with their actions and words.

Rosalie held the baby like it was glass. Carefully wrapping the baby and having it snuggle into her chest, Rosalie traced the baby’s face with her finger causing the little one to fall asleep. She was a natural and didn’t even know it. Emma smiled at me and linked me, “She’s beautiful, Alpha. A mother to the community already.” I smiled with pride at the comment.

The older pack members’ Wolves can sense when there is a new Luna or powerful being around. Werewolves can live to be very old, and once you start to be in tune with your Wolf, you can sense things that younger Werewolves can’t. Rosalie was lightly humming as she rocked the baby.

Rosalie was going to be a perfect Luna; she may not think so right now. She may feel weak from whatever past befell upon her, but she will rise above it. Making this far is a feat unto itself. Once she gave back the baby, Bruce had linked me, telling me he had her background information.

Opening my office door, Bruce stood at the side of the desk flipping through several papers he presented. “Alright, show me what you found,” I reached my hand for the documents.

“Are you sure, Alpha? She’s a very private person; shouldn’t you earn that trust?” I growled at him, and he quickly lowered his head. I know what is best for my mate; I will protect her in any way I can. Ripping the papers from his hand, I began to skim through.

Rosalie was an orphan dropped off at a local fire station only hours old. She jumped to different foster care homes until she was 7 and taken in by a single parent, Derek Vanderhoff. Staying until she was 14 and then was reported missing as a runaway. Never found, and once she hit 18, she graduated from the foster system and is no longer being searched for.

I sat down at my desk and started to rub the temples. “Then how the hell did she go through so much schooling? Did she really graduate from high school and college, or was it all a farce?” I asked Bruce. Bruce shrugged his shoulders.

“How she was able to stay away and keep low is interesting. She’s smart though, I don’t think it was fake. She had to have finished school.” Bruce rubbed his chin.

“Nowadays, it’s hard to stay off the radar like that; everything is digital,” I hummed in response.

“Maybe we should contact this Derek guy? Maybe he can shed some light on some things? She probably got hurt after she left.”

“Or she was running from him…” Bruce paused. I didn’t think of that one.

“Either way, I need to get more info; this isn’t enough.” I threw the papers on the desk as I leaned back in my chair. I can’t protect her if I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Then you need to talk to her, Alpha. Don’t play games. She doesn’t trust people. Earn her trust, don’t just assume. She’ll come out in her own time. We all know you suck at patience, but the Goddess is teaching it to you with your mate.” I let out a scoff. Yeah, she would do that.

“Fine, I’ll do it the old fashion way.”

Rosalie

After regaining my senses from the k**s Jack planted on my right cheek, I decided to find Amanda. Before even going near her bedroom door, I was going to text her. Who knows if she was doing the nasty with her new boy Tyson.

Rosalie:

“Hey, what are you up to?”

Amanda:

“I’m in my room, want to come hang?”

Rosalie:

“Taking a break from Tyson?”

Amanda:

“He’s on security, come on up.”

Walking up to the second floor, where a lot of staff and other members of the estate stay, several doors were open. Walking down the hall, one door was blasting music that I was instantly falling in love with. Peeking in the door, a guy around my age was dancing and belting song lyrics at the top of his lungs. I started smiling at his jumping and dancing when he caught sight of me in the mirror.

I was caught, and this was going to be embarrassing for both of us. He ran to the stereo and turned down the music, and smiled at me, “Hey there, I’m Benjamin.” I gave a small wave.

“Hey, I’m Rosalie. Sorry to bother you, I really liked the music you were playing. What is it?”

“Oh, this? Only one of the greatest movie musicals, The Greatest Showman.” I gave him a blank look. I didn’t watch much TV; I always stuck my nose in books or computers because they were quiet.

“Goddess, you don’t know that movie?” He dramatically screeched. I shook my head no, and a high pitch squeal left his lips. “WE HAVE TO WATCH IT TOGETHER!” I jumped back and held out my hands, trying to shield myself since he was prancing towards me.

“BENJAMIN!” A voice from my left yelled. Thank you, cheeses; it was Amanda. I jumped behind her and whispered a “thank you.”

“You cannot freak her out like that. Small movements and voices, please, she is a bit jumpy OK?” Amanda scolded him like a child.

“I am terribly sorry; I just get so upset that you haven’t seen my all-time favorite movie! Have you seriously been living under a rock? In the dark? In a cold dark basement somewhere because there is no way you haven’t heard of this movie!” Benjamin rambled quickly.

I started chuckling at the irony of all that. “Sorry, I haven’t, but I would love to watch.” Benjamin was funny and was really making me laugh. “What song were you listening to?”

“‘This is Me’ is one of my favorites, but the whole movie is fantastic!” Benjamin ran over to his DVD collection and grabbed it from the shelf. Let’s watch it in here; I think the theater room is taken. Amanda, wanna join?”

“You know it, let me grab my phone.” Amanda walked out, and I continued inside his room. The walls were a bright royal blue with white floating shelves filled with plants of succulents and flowers. The room was fresh and clean, the cleanest I’d ever seen a male’s room.

“I’m kind of a neat freak, only because my mom would beat me if I didn’t clean.” He chuckled as I looked at him flustered; I wasn’t sure what to say.

“Are you serious? She beat you?” I asked, upset.

“She did; she was an alcoholic, now I have a fear of messy rooms. I moved here several years ago to get away from her. Best thing I ever did.” Hearing that someone as happy as Benjamin being beaten or hurt was devastating. His own mother did that to her child. “I’m not sure why I told you that,” he chuckled quietly. “I just met you.” He sniffed.

I walked over to the bed where he was now sitting and sat beside him. A small tear dropped from his eyes. Amanda was leaning against the door frame holding her phone. I glanced back at Benjamin. “You aren’t alone, Benjamin.” He looked up at me with his eyes glassy. “There are a lot of people that go through what you went through; having a parent, or foster parent, hurt them.”

“You?” he whispered. I nodded and rubbed his back. “I feel like I can talk to you, Benjamin. Do you want to share stories?”

“I haven’t really talked about my story to anyone,” he said, face turning red.

“Me either, but now that we have similarities, maybe we could help each other?” I haven’t had the urge to share my story with anyone in such a long time. Many would laugh, and I also had a few adults check on my home situation just to turn away. They couldn’t find anything wrong. So I stopped trying to get help. I stopped telling people because the more people I told and didn’t get me out, the worse it got.

Benjamin’s own mother beat him; here, I thought your real parents couldn’t hurt you, but here I am judging too quickly.

Maybe I was tired of it all. Having someone to hear my story could relieve some of the burdens. I wasn’t alone. Someone else suffered too. My heart instantly lifted, deciding to share my story with Benjamin.

I looked over at Amanda, who had a grim line on her face. Amanda walked in and closed the door with bare feet, and sat at the end of the bed. Her hands intertwined with both of ours as Benjamin began his story.