Chapter 20 Not a Princess

— Eveline —

Darren and I were sitting in the sunroom with Kevin, Kate, and Fred, chatting and drinking tea.

I liked Kate, she was a little older than me, but we seemed to get along well.

The sun was beginning to peek through the clouds after the rain spell we’ve had early this morning, and the day looked like it was to be pleasant—warm, but not too hot. There was a soft breeze sipping through the wide, opened windows of the room. Darren was sitting next to me on the couch talking to Fred about some movie I haven’t seen—his hand resting on my thigh, the side of my body pressed against his.

It was comfortable, natural. It’s strange how rapidly these little things have become habits.

In the last week since the altercation between Darren and his father, we’ve stayed mostly away from the others.

We’ve spent some time on the packland, but also in town.

Darren has been spending his days at work.

He still had a little under two months to go before he could finish his degree.

During the days, sometimes I’d spend them here. I spent a little time with Ana and Kate. We are starting to get along pretty well.

Other days, I’d ask Darren to take me to the city with him, so we’d travel together, and in the meantime, I’d shop, sit in cafes, or face-time friends or family.

His home did feel awkward at time. I found myself more at ease in downtown.

I met up with Megan one day and we went to a fabulous Spa to get ourselves pampered.

Ana decided to drag Kate and me to a water park not far outside of town, later that week. And on Thursday we went to the beach by a lake an hour from the Stonewillow land.

* * * * *[ Are those flashback and this structure the right on in this chapter? Is there unnecessary infocmation there.

Lyv Aiken 2021-06-09, 00:09]

We spend all morning looking like six beached belugas on the sand. The sun was glorious and the beach crowded, but we found a nice spot with a bit of shade under a tree. Kate and Ana had invited me, and I loved the place immediately. Beaches are my thing and the lake was gorgeous. Megan had joined us and she invited Marigold—one of her friends—, Ana invited Daniella, and there was Kate and I, making it six.

It was a big lake. We could barely see the other side, and there was gentle waves, created by either the wind or passing boats.

We’d prepared a thermos of Piña Colada from which we refilled our own thermos-cups

“I could do this more often,” said Daniella.

She was a soft-spoken jovial girl with brown hair in tight curls, giving her a sort of subdued afro that was to die for.

Marigold not the other hand, had hair the colour of rainbows, she wore ginormous sunglasses was taller than me, and had absolutely no timidity. When she’d come in she asked, “I heard this was a girl only thing. Can I qualify without a vagina?”

“You have tits girl,” said Megan. “You qualify.” Then she looked at us, daring us to say that anything was wrong.

I didn’t mind whatsoever. None of the other girls seemed to mind either. And it was a good thing, because Marigold was a blast. She had the same potty mouth as Megan, combined with Anabella’s energy, this was a pretty intense mix, and before long, one of us had Piña Colada sprouting up her nose.

“Hey there ladies,” said a man that walked in front of us and paused to take the sight in.

“Hello handsome,” said Megan loudly, stretching the syllables. It gave Daniella the giggles.

“This is quite the display you have here,” he said. “Any chance I can join you?” I could smell he was human.

“It depends on what merchandise you have to offer,” teased Marigold.

He looked at her, and realized he was not interested at all.

Megan took offence. Hard.

“It looks like we’re not interested. You have a nice ass gorgeous, but your face bothers me. It’s like there is this garbage smell you can’t shake off. I think you should go.”

And so he did, scoffing on the way.

“You didn’t have to go so hard,” Marigold told her.

“Yes, I did, sweetie,” she said. “Yes, I did.”

“Don’t worry. I got a hunk to keep me warm tonight,” Marigold told her.

“Aren’t you with Tyson?” Daniella asked Megan. Her reaction to the man’s flirt had not been that of someone in a relationship.

“We’re not exclusive,” said Megan. “Weren’t you with Malik?”

“No one is with Malik for long,” Daniella answered.

“Did you want to?” Kate asked her. “Be with him for long, I mean?”

“I don’t know. He’s a little intense. I don’t know if I’d keep up,” she said. “I like him. We had fun. I’d take more if it was on the cards. But other than that—,” she let the words hang in the air.

“It’s kinda hard to imagine how two guys like Darren and Zayn ended up hanging with oddballs like Ty and Mal,” said Megan.

“Yeah, Mal change girls like he changes underwear and Ty is not much better. Zayn, on the other hand, is quite the romantic type, and Darren just cruised through life as if nothing can touch him,” said Daniella.

“Well, I’d say Darren is quite capable of romance,” I said.

“Oh! Pray tell!” Meg gushed.

“Let’s just say we’ve spent good times together so far.”

“Points for Darren,” said Ana. “So that means we won’t have to have the talk with him.”

“The talk?” asked Kate.

“You know. ‘Before you stick anything in, make sure to take care of the surrounding area’ kinda talk.”

“It’s called a clit,” blurted Meg. “And yeah, any men who don’t know what to do with it, shouldn’t touch a woman until he’s ready to learn.”

“Well, I don’t have that problem,” said Marigold.

“By the moon. I didn’t think about this,” exclaimed Ana.

“What, that I have a dick? Most people don’t go around thinking about what other people have in their pants, girl,” said Marigold.

“No. That there is a woman here, who thinks like a woman, but has actual insight and knowledge about men.”

That got everyone’s attention.

Megan turned to Marigold dramatically, with her eyes like giant saucers. “Oh, please Great One, teach us the mystical wisdom of the perfect hand job.”

I couldn’t stop myself from laughing which got everyone to hoot along. Those girls were weird in the best of ways.

And Marigold, in good humour, did spend the next twenty minutes going into details about hand jobs, male anatomy lessons and how to spot which way one prefers it.

Then things devolved.

Kate had been laughing for probably six minutes straight, straightening up to find the others laughing then getting the giggles again, which renewed ours, while Marigold took the stage of this Male Anatomy 101 class. My ribs hurt.

“You should seriously write a column, or a book,” Daniella finally told her.

“Bien sure, ma chérie,” she said with a flourish.

“Oh. Your French accent is pretty good,” I told her.

“You speak French?” she asked me.

“No, but I’ve gone there a few times. I know some words, but don’t ask me to translate anything.”

“Oh. I’d love to see Paris,” said Ana. “How is it?”

“I didn’t go to Paris. I often travel for my brother, as a sort of ambassador and liaison to other packs. I went to the Boisclair pack a few times.”

“Boisclair!” Meg perked up. “Met the Alpha?”

“Sure. Jean-Philippe. He’s nice.”

“Is he single?” she asked.

“Yes. He’s also pretty much the definition of jailbait. But in a year or two, he’s going to break hearts.”

“Man, how many millions is that pack worth now?” asked Ana.

“I think they deal in billions now,” I said.

“You think you could set me a meeting?” Megan asked me.

“You do remember my mention of jailbait, right?” I asked.

She sighed. “You’re bursting my bubble.”

“So you dwelled in those spheres?” Marigold asked me.

“Oh, missy. She’s kind of a princess,” said Ana.

“I’m not a princess. Werewolves don’t have princesses.” I blurted defensively.

“Why wasn’t I informed of this?” asked Meg shocked, as they all turned to me.

“I’m not a princess,” I repeated.

“Aren’t your brother a sort of King?” Ana said.

“Is he single?” asked Marigold instantaneously.

“No and yes.”

“Wait, is he King or not? I’m confused,” said Megan.

“There is no King,” I said a little loudly, blushing in embarrassment.

“Then why did you say that?” she asked Ana.

“Her brother is reigning over thirty-something Alphas and their packs. He might not have the title, but at the moment, that’s pretty much the closest thing to royalty that wolves have.”

“Oh, my! So you’re loaded?” asked Marigold.

“Well, let just say I could retire in style and never worry about my bills for the rest of my life, if I wanted to,” I admitted.

“And you don’t want to?”

“I think I prefer to do something useful with my life. So I work for my brother.”

“As an ambassador?” asked Ana.

“Most of the time, I’m more of a secretary,” I confessed.

“What did you study in?” Daniella asked me.

“Nothing, I didn’t go to Uni. Not that I don’t want to,” I added quickly. “Simply that I didn’t know what to study. And it felt wasteful to go to class if I didn’t even care.”

“Do you want to keep doing that kind of work?” Marigold asked.

“I really like it. I mostly cater to envoys, give them accommodations, take care of them, do some office work, then travel all over the world and talk to all sorts of important people everywhere. That’s kinda how I met Darren.”

“Well, you could study in hotel management. It’s not exactly your career but it’s similar enough and could help you gain some professionalism. Or you could go in secretarial work, or executive assistant. And not everything is necessary Uni either. Some, you could even study part-time, while you work. Or you could go with languages. If you travel that much, it could be practical to be able to communicate in multiple languages.”

“Danny is right, you should write a column. This is probably the best counselling I’ve ever had,” I told Marigold.

She beamed. “I think the first you would use would be languages.”

“I think so too.”

“What are the most used languages of those you work with, other than English?” she asked.

“French, Spanish, German and Russian would fight for top position. Then maybe Mandarin, Arabic, Hindi. A few more, but rarer.”

“Then start with the first three. I’d say go with French. French and English have around 20% in common because of all the conquest between the two countries. But it has a different root. Once you have one Latin language down, Spanish won’t be too hard to add. German is not the easiest language, but it shares roots with English, so it wouldn’t be as hard for you as Mandarin. And you don’t have to learn a new alphabet.”

“You are brilliant,” I told her.

We finished our Piña Coladas not long after, and before dinner, Darren came to pick me up, to go on a date for the evening.

* * * * *

On Friday, Michelle called me to join her for lunch.

I was a little nervous. We didn’t talk much since I came here, and seeing how strained the relationship between Darren and his father had become, I dreaded the meeting a little.

We met at a small Italian cafe.

“I’m happy to have this time with you,” she told me, a little after I joined her.

“Me too,” I said.

“We didn’t have many opportunities to get to know one another.”

“No. We haven’t.”

We ordered and I went on.

“I just want to say, I’m sorry about how things have gone lately, and I’ve not asked anything of the kind of Darren.”

“I know dear.” She took a sip of water before continuing. “I’m not holding anything against you.”

“I didn’t want things to go this way,” I said in a small voice.

“Neither did I. But you’ll learn that relationships are not always easy, and sometimes we have to learn to make concessions, strike a balance.”

I nodded. We received our food and began eating. It was really good.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked me.

“Sure,” I said.

“Why don’t you want to come and live here.”

I was careful about my answer. “It’s a really lovely place. But to me it isn’t home. My family is important to me. My work is important to me. My parents have taken care of me all my life, and so has my brother, I believe now it’s my turn to take care of them. I may not be Luna, but I don’t see my position as less of importance. And I won’t let another dictate what is right and wrong for me. I’m the only one to make that choice.

I told Darren at the beginning that I preferred to stay home, but if he wanted me to come here, I would take the time to consider it. Only I’ve considered it since, and I wouldn’t be able to do it. It’s not me. In the end, I would be unhappy, and I believe Darren deserves better than someone unhappy because of his happiness. And so do I.

He told me he was okay with coming to live in Blakemore. That simplified everything for us. If he can be happy with me there, then I’ll do everything in my power to give him what he’ll need for that happiness as I expect him to do for me.”

“You could take more time to think about it?” she suggested.

“With all due respect, I will not stretch this unnecessarily. I know of someone who had had to deal with separation from a mate and I wouldn’t wish this on anyone, particularly Darren and I. Long distance is more gruesome than most think. And I promised myself I would not do it. We gave ourselves a few weeks to make our initial decision, and I stick by it.”

We ate some more in silence.

“You know—,” she said after a while. “James never wanted to cause you trouble.”

“I’m sure,” I said unemotionally.

“He’s not like that.”

“Of course,” I said. “He wanted to do what’s best for his family and pack, and he thought I could help him. Which I’m not against.”

Michelle’s head perked up.

“But in doing so, he’s using me. I won’t let myself be used. Just like I wouldn’t let anyone back home use Darren for their own gain. So I understand Darren’s reaction. I would probably have done the same if my father had done anything like that to him.” Well, I would probably not have screamed at my Dad, but I didn’t need to get into the crux of it. Besides, our situations were a little different.

“I’m not holding this against him, or any of your family, for that matter,” I continued. “I ask for no apologies. But I will not stand by if this is repeated,” I said firmly. “This hurts Darren. A lot more than he lets on. And it puts a wedge between him and people he cares for very deeply. I want him happy. I’ll do what has to be done for this.”

Michelle continued to eat silently, before I saw a few tears fall down.

My insides began to twist upon themselves. Was I being too hard on her? Maybe I could have been a little more diplomatic about this. I should apologize. I’m making everything worse.

“I know it hurts Darren. And even if James doesn’t show it, I know it hurts him too. It hurts him to see Darren go, and when he hurts he lashes out,” she said softly. “He’s becoming a grumpy old man. Being Alpha as taken a toll on him. It’s time he retires. He’s going to be far less stressed then. His father nearly destroyed Stonewillow you know, and he’s always been afraid of repeating the same mistakes. So he has spent all his life focussing on this, neglecting everything else in the process. He’s not a bad man, just an exhausted one,” she told me still crying.

It was hard to watch her cry without crying myself, and water fill my eyes slowly.

“I understand,” I said sombrely. “I think Michael will be an excellent Alpha,” I said as my tears began to fall in earnest.

“I think so too,” she told me still crying, but with a wry smile upon her lips. “Please take good care of my son,” she said her voice breaking at the end.

“Of course,” I said unable to contain it anymore and I went to hug her.

We cried like this for a little while.

After we managed to dry our eyes, we both tried to smile a little, more apologetically than otherwise, and she made me promise to make Darren call her often.

We talked a little after that, more casually.

She told me about Darren, about his childhood, and brothers, and some of his antics in high school with his little posse of friends. Around desert, she apologized about what had happened and the tears, and we hugged again.

We parted with a final hug a little after that.

She seemed like a good person, who really loved her family. I wished things got better before we left, but I’ve never really been a good psychotherapist.

* * * * *

As we lounged in the sunroom of Darren’s home that Sunday, chatting quietly about nothing and everything, Michelle came into the room.

“Will you stay for lunch with us?” she asked Darren. I knew by this she included me. We hadn’t eaten much with his family since Darren’s altercation with his father—either eating at a different time, or outside, or simply downtown. I’ve eaten with them a few times while Darren was at work, but it felt a little tense.

Darren gave me a quick look to see if I was okay with this, which I obviously was.

I was glad things seemed a little brighter.

Maybe they would get a good chance to talk, settle things.

I’ve always been a wishful thinker.