A Twisted Anthology: A Twisted Design Book

Love is Blind Part 7

When I woke up Saturday, I was a ball of nerves. My mate was finally of age. He would know who I was as soon as we were together again. I really hoped he had been honest when he said he would accept his true mate. I’d been falling more in love with him over the past week. He was all I thought about.

I got out of bed and put on my last pair of jeans and a comfy t-shirt. I brushed my hair and headed down for breakfast. Mom was cooking when I got to the kitchen, which was odd. She normally only cooked on Sundays.

“Have a seat at the table and I’ll bring you your plate. I have some great news.” She said cheerfully.

Dad said hello to me as I sat in my place. He sounded happy, too. I wondered if Mike and Beth were expecting. They’d had some trouble trying to conceive and had been consulting with the witch coven since the curse was broken, trying to find a fertility spell that would help them.

The rumor around the pack was that Cam and Harmony’s first born would become first in line for the Beta seat if Mike and Beth couldn’t produce a pup. That would be the end of our family line as Beta of the Hallow Moon Pack.

Mom put my plate in front of me. I sniffed. It was all my favorites. French toast, steak, eggs, and fresh strawberry-rhubarb compote.

“What’s going on?” I asked, suddenly suspicious.

“Well, we’ve been talking and… we found you a mate. He’s the Beta of the Polar Star Pack in Alaska. He lost his mate in childbirth and would rather choose a mate than wait for the goddess to grant him a second chance. He’s excited to meet you.” Mom told me enthusiastically.

“I have a second chance mate. I don’t need an arranged marriage.” I stated firmly.

“That national mating conference is so busy and dangerous. You’d be away from us for a whole week. Goddess only knows what could happen to you there.” She insisted.

“So you want to send me away from you for the rest of my life? To what, be a broodmare for little Beta babies? And Alaska of all places. Let’s send the blind girl to a place that has two seasons, winter and slightly not winter. That’s a wonderful idea!” I scoffed.

“Don’t talk to your mother like that. She’s been working hard to find you a new mate ever since she found out you were rejected. Do you know how hard it is to…?” Dad trailed off.

“To what? To find a man willing to mate with a blind wolf? Gee, dad, that hadn’t occurred to me. Having my mate tell me that he had to reject me because I’m defective and could never be the mate he needed didn’t clue me into that fact. Because I’m so simple and sweet that I couldn’t possibly understand the searing, mind-numbing, excruciating pain which last for literal hours when your mate severs your bond. I’m just too weak and pathetic for either of my goddess given mates to want. Right? No one will ever want me because broken wolves should have been drowned as pups.” I growled, echoing something I’d heard an older relative say on my seventeenth birthday.

My mom took a sobbing breath. I could feel the anger pouring off of my father. I didn’t know if he was entirely mad at me, or at the fact that I was making some solid points. No one really paid attention to me when I talked. They wrote me off more often than not.

“You will marry Beta Roald of the Polar Star Pack. This discussion is over.” My father commanded in a low tone.  

“I would rather die.” I replied, standing and heading toward my room.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He demanded, following me.

“I’m going to get my things and I’m moving to the pack house. I’ll take one of the free rooms there until I can claim my second chance mate.” I told him.

“You are my child. You will do as I say!”

“I am an adult. I will do as I please.” I said, coldly. “If you’re so hot for this Beta, you marry him.”

A hand grabbed my shoulder roughly and a sudden, sharp pain flashed across my face. I put my hand to my cheek as I realized my father had just hit me. Neither of my parents had ever hit me in my entire life.

“You can’t protect yourself. No amount of bravado is going to change that. In the end, you’re just a little girl screaming for attention. You’re not an adult. You never will be.” He snarled.

I turned to my room and took a deep breath. I was an adult. I closed my eyes against the tears. Rock believed I was an adult. I centered myself before turning back.

“I will be collecting my clothing and my computer and leaving. If you attack me again, I will report you to the Alpha of the pack. I will leave your credit cards on the dresser. Let me know what I owe and I’ll pay it back as soon as I can. After this, I would appreciate no contact for at least a week. That way we can talk with cooler heads. I will not be treated this way. I have always tried to be a good child. I have worked hard to cope in a world that is not made for me while everyone around me acts as if I am fragile or can’t think for myself. I don’t deserve this.” I told him.

Without another word, I went to my room, grabbed my clothes for the party and my laptop before loading them into my suitcase. I picked up my purse and pulled out my dad’s credit cards, leaving them on the dresser. I put my purse on my shoulder, grabbed the handle of my suitcase, and pulled out my collapsible cane from the drawer I kept it in.

I headed for the front door. Mom was in the living room, crying. I stopped short of where the door was, because I felt my father’s presence in front of me.

“Go back and unpack that suitcase. I’m warning you only once.” He growled.

“Don’t make me report you.” I said.

“I already contacted Trent and told him you’re acting out for some reason. I told him you threatened to tell him I hit you. He won’t believe you. Now, do as I say.” He commanded, using his Beta voice.

Normally, this would make Blanche nervous and she would encourage me to listen. Normally, this would make me nervous and I wouldn’t need the encouragement. Right now, all it was doing was pissing me off. I needed to leave. He needed to understand.

“I found my second chance mate. He’s not old enough to recognize me yet. If he rejects me too, I’ll accept this Beta Roald. I’m not going to tell you who he is, because I don’t want you trying to influence him. I don’t want to stay with someone who doesn’t want me. I can’t just give up hope when I have a second chance at a goddess created match. That is why I’m fighting so hard. I didn’t want you and mom to get your hopes up.” I told him quietly.

“Why are you keeping so much from us? What did we do to make you not trust us?” Mom asked.

“Well, arranging a marriage without talking to me isn’t exactly a good foundation for trust. Neither is hitting me and telling me that I’ll always be a child and lying to the Alpha so I don’t have a safe place to go when I feel threatened. You two have always been like this to some degree, just never so cruel. I don’t understand what I did that made you try to hurt me.” I replied.

“You never told us about the rejection. Were you planning to tell us if there was a second?” Dad asked.

“Yes. Because I was going to request a pack transfer. I wouldn’t want to stay in the area if he rejects me. I would certainly never want to go to Alaska, but I’m willing to do this if you found someone who wants a defective mate.” I sighed.

“Maybe you shouldn’t go to your friend’s party. You don’t look like you’re in a party mood. I’m sure he’ll understand.” Mom said.

I knew she might try to say that I shouldn’t go. Luckily, Gray gave me Sean and Rosario’s phone numbers. I pulled my phone from my purse and voice dialed Sean.

My dad took the phone and put it on speaker. Sean picked up after a few rings.

“Hi Sean, this is Carmen.” I said.

“Oh! Are you calling to confirm when we’ll be there? It’s still a couple hours. They felt it would be better if we came after the first twelve hours.” Sean replied.

“No. I’m calling so you can tell my parents why I can’t break my promise to go to this party.”

Sean knew to keep quiet about the mate stuff. I’d messaged him earlier in the week to tell him I was keeping my connection to Rock a secret. He would know what to say.

“Well, promises and oaths are very important to the fae. If you break a promise to a fae, they could demand repayment or even brand you an enemy of the fae. That wouldn’t help the treaty Hallowed Moon is working on with Queen Maeve.” Sean explained.

“What sort of repayment would he demand if she just missed a party?” My dad scoffed.

“This isn’t just some party. It’s a coming of age party. This is a huge deal, especially to trolls. She wouldn’t just be insulting him, but insulting every troll who is expecting her. Which is pretty much all of them. It would be like saying she didn’t want to associate with them, but in a petty sort of way. Trolls hate people who won’t be honest to their faces.” He replied.

“What’s the repayment?” I asked.

“Hang on.” Sean said and the line went quiet.

After a few minutes, there was a click and a new voice came on the line.

“This is Queen Maeve of the fae. The trolls would be entitled to demand her first born child to be theirs to raise. If she refused, the next troll who saw her after her refusal would be in their rights to kill her in any way they deem fit, and they are not kind to their enemies.” She said. “In fact, their methods of dealing with enemies can be quite painful and gruesome.”

My mother gasped. I wished I could see my father’s face. He was barely breathing.

“You’re sure?” He asked.

“I’m certain. I have ruled over these people for hundreds of years. If she isn’t feeling well, I would tell her it was in her best interest to suck it up and go to that party. A werewolf doesn’t stand a chance against a pack of angry trolls.” Maeve answered. “My son will arrive to pick her up at eleven. I suggest she be ready to go.”

She hung up. That was a little frightening. It was a good thing that I never had a second thought about going.

“Okay. You should probably go to that party.” My dad said quietly.

“I’ll be in my room if you need me.” I told them, heading to my room and closing the door.

I quickly pulled my dress out of the suitcase and hung it up, so it wouldn’t get wrinkled. I was going to make sure that all those trolls envied my mate. I spent the rest of the morning lotioning my skin after I carefully shaved my legs and underarms. I would make sure I was extra soft and sweet smelling for the party.