SWNOVELS Chapter 72
Chapter 72: Ayla
I stopped the recording and saved the file with the date. I had just finished a three-hour session with Álpha Torin and was pleased with the content. Today, he told me about the talk his father had with him when he graduated high school. Torin said he had carried that talk with him ever since, and it was one of his greatest moments when he shared it with his son, Theo.
It was touching to hear the way he spoke about Theo. The speech was impressive, discussing what being a pack leader meant. I understood why it made such an impact on Torin. I wondered how Theo felt about the experience. It was on the list of items I would need to interview him about.
I hadn’t seen him since the day I arrived, which I was grateful for. It helped me gain some perspective on the situation. For the most part. It was overwhelming at first. I felt so guilty for days after we k*ssed that night. My mind had drifted off several times, remembering how good it felt. But I had done what I needed to do. I stayed true to Kingston, and that brought me comfort.
I hoped Theo’s distance meant he was also finding closure and moving on. I didn’t want to hurt him, especially after our conversation that night. We both wanted each other to be happy. I prayed that he would find that someday.
I closed my laptop and stood from my chair on the porch. This had become our favorite place to record each day. I found that our sessions lasted longer when we were outside, close to the forest. Torin’s condition was becoming more obvious to me each day. It really hit me when he told me about his first shift. The way he spoke the words, I could tell he missed running through the trees, and it pained him to
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not have that freedom anymore. But sitting on the porch seemed to bring him some comfort. At least he could still experience nature this way.
I headed back to the guest house to put my stuff away. Apparently, Theo comes up every Friday to give his father a weekly update on the pack. I was going to hole up in the guest house while he was here, but Mina messaged me and said she and Briggs would be coming up too. Luna Grace wanted to make an evening of it. She said the guys would probably be off by themselves most of the evening, so us women could have a girls’ night.
I was putting my laptop on the charger when I heard a car approaching. I smiled and headed outside. I paused on the small porch. It wasn’t Mina and Briggs yet. Theo’s black luxury sedan pulled into the empty space beside Alpha Torin’s truck. I wrapped my arms around myself as he got out. He paused when he saw me. He seemed to want to come to me but settled on a wave and gentle smile.
I returned the gesture and watched him head into the main house. I pushed down the feelings that churned within me. I wasn’t about to analyze them. I knew they were caused by the mate bond, which didn’t make me trust them or what it would do to me if I acknowledged them.
I went back into the guest house to grab my phone to see how close Mina was. There was a text from Emma asking how things were going and letting me know she missed me. I messaged her back with a short update, letting her know I would call her tomorrow. Her reply came as Mina and Briggs pulled up. I went to meet them so we could join the others inside.
Briggs went to join Alpha and Theo in the home office while Mina and I found Luna Grace in the kitchen. She was making some kind of fruity drink in the blender. She cut it off when she saw us come in.
“Just in time,” she said with a bright smile. “I’ve got everything ready
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for the boys to get dinner ready. So us girls are going down to the lake.”
She poured the contents of the blender into a pitcher. I grabbed the glasses that were sitting on the counter, and we followed her lead. A maintained path led down to a wide dock on the water. There were lounge chairs set up for us to choose from. I set the glasses on a built- in ledge so Luna Grace could fill them.
“So what is this concoction you’re treating us to, Luna?” I asked.
“For the last time, call me Grace. And it’s nothing too special,” she laughed. “Just some daiquiris to go along with the girl talk. I’m excited to hear about Mina’s plans for her mating ceremony.”
“Ha, what plans?” Mina said as she took her glass. “We haven’t even settled on a date.”
“Yeah, what’s going on with that?” I asked. “I thought you guys had narrowed that down.”
Mina sighed. “Briggs wants to do it before Theo’s Alpha ceremony. I’d rather wait until after. Especially since Theo’s ceremony is only a few weeks away. It’s a lot to plan in that short a time.”
“Well, that’s what we’re here for,” Grace said. “Over the years, I’ve gotten pretty good at making things happen in a short amount of time.”
Mina smiled at her. “I’m sure I’ll have to take you up on that, but it’s not just that. I want our ceremony to be separate from Theo’s. I know that both are important to the pack, but at the same time, they both deserve their own celebration. I don’t want either to take away from the other or add to it.”
“That’s perfectly understandable, honey,” Grace said. “So, you tell Briggs it will be after Theo officially takes the Alpha role.”
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“Yes,” I agreed. “All that matters is that he’s a part of it, and you two are marked in the end.”
“I’ll tell him you both say so,” Mina giggled.
“Okay, so what ideas have you had? Have you found a venue? Any dresses strike your fancy?” Luna Grace asked.
Mina and I laughed.
Over the next few hours, we made it about halfway through the pitcher of daiquiris. It had been a while since I had laughed that much. We had been swapping stories about mating ceremonies we had attended and were looking at pictures of terrible dresses when one of the guys mind-linked Luna Grace.
“Well, it seems the menfolk caught on and managed to fix dinner without us,” she teased. “Come on, ladies. It’s time to eat.”
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