Once Upon Her Three Wishes

Chapter Nine

The sun blaring through Sergei's window later that morning woke him. He sighed as he got out of bed. For a second, his sleep-deprived mind forgot his mother was gone. The painful memories of yesterday's funeral rushed to the surface. The grieving young man didn't want to remember that he'd buried his mother. His wolf, Oby, was pacing anxiously. "We had a visitor last night."

Sergei shrugged unconcerned, "It was probably just Poppa."

"No, he never came home."

Sergei stopped washing his face and looked in the mirror, staring at his reflection. "She isn't even cold in her grave and he's already moved in with someone else." He slammed his palms down on the cold porcelain sink. The sharp sting gave him some relief from his anger. This feeling surprised him.

"The visitor left you a note and vanished."

Sergei walked to the kitchen and found an envelope on the table, his name written in the familiar feminine script of his mother's hand, "How did she do this?"

His wolf remained silent, knowing that Oksana hadn't delivered it. That would be a conversation for a later date. Oby knew that the man who had delivered it had plans for his human and they were grand plans indeed. The devious wolf couldn't wait until the visitor's plans came to fruition.

Desperate for answers, Sergei tore open the envelope and read the sheet of paper hungrily.

"My dearest Sergei,

I'm so sorry for leaving you the way that I did. Please know that I felt I had no other choice. My body was tired and so was my wolf. I waited until I knew you'd be with your mates and free from your father. Just know that I am now free from the torture and agony of the things your father did. Be kind and gentle with your mates, and don't repeat your father's mistakes. Remember, you are destined for greatness, at any cost.

I love you, Momma"

Sergei wiped the tears from his face, "Why didn't she just leave?" He asked as he hit the table angrily. He went into the kitchen and made breakfast, still slamming things about in a poor attempt at relieving his anger. Finishing, he washed the dishes and left the house with the door slamming sharply behind him. The angry young man made his way down to the cottages where his useless father would shack up. He wanted nothing more than to pummel him into the ground. It was Aldrik's fault that Oksana died and he would make him pay for it. Pounding on the door of the first woman, he hollered, "Get out here! You worthless asshole!"

The woman opened the door bleary-eyed from a late night with other guests, "What are you talking about?" She wrapped her robe around herself so she wouldn't expose herself to the public. She followed the rules in place by the Alpha here. While her profession wasn't frowned upon, it was the mated men that were. She didn't care to check who was mated and who wasn't when they showed up at her door. Those men were on the honor system.

Sergei looked down at the woman, "Where is Aldrik?" Sergei was no longer interested in calling him, "Poppa."

The woman looked at the furious man on her front porch, confused, "He hasn't been here in days." She looked a little saddened by the admission. "Have you tried the other girls?"

"No, you're the first." Sergei's eyes grew dark, "But you slept with a mated wolf, did you not?"

The woman shrugged, "Yeah, so?"

Sergei slapped the woman across the cheek, "Because you know better."

Her startled cry of pain jerked Sergei back to reality for a minute. He gasped when he realized what he'd done. "Oh, my goddess! I'm so sorry!"

The woman just shook her head and shut her door. The unexpected stinging on her soft cheek was a reminder that she did indeed know better, but so did the men that sought her and her friends out. The reality check is that the actions of the men that came to her not only affected the women these men weren't keeping, but the family, too, stung.

Sergei walked away from the cottage shaking his head in disappointment. Why did I hit her? His mind raced as he thought of a way to prevent this from continuing. He did not want to be like his father. Oby shook his head, he would have to teach his human that it was the only way to show how strong he was.

*************

Irina sighed, she could see the pain that filled Sergei's eyes after the death of his mother. She lifted her cup of tea, "Matushka, how do I help him?"

Tatyana gave her daughter an encouraging smile, "Oh, moya milaya doch'," she said while sipping her tea. "The best thing to do is be there for him. He's going to have a hard time for a little while." The older Boyets woman lifted a Pryaniki and bit the deliciously spiced honey cookie.

Irina nodded and lifted her favorite cookie, a delicate shortbread cookie dipped in powdered sugar, and bit into it thoughtfully. "I just hope I can help him."

Alexei walked in then, "Hello, moya doch'," he leaned in and kissed his daughter's forehead tenderly. "It won't be long before I won't be able to do that anymore!"

"Poppa, you will always be able to give me affection!" Irina giggled. "Why wouldn't you?"

"Yes, but you'll be mated soon."

"But you'll always be my Poppa," Irina assured him as she bumped her dad's leg.

He ruffled her hair and snagged a cookie from the silver tray on the table. Irina's father's gentle banter took a serious turn, "Just remember don't ever let him treat you poorly."

Irina smiled, "Don't worry, Poppa, I won't."

He looked sternly down at her, "See that he doesn't."

********

Sergei stomped from cottage to cottage searching for his worthless father. The young wolf's anger rose again with each negative answer. At the final house, his anger had reached its peak and Oby's persistent egging on drove Sergei to repeat his earlier mistake. This time, though, it was so much more than a slap on the cheek.

After he walked away, the anger in his body nowhere near abated and Aldrik was nowhere to be found. Sergei walked back to his mother's cottage. Oby was congratulating him on a job well done. "Remember, this is how you get what you want."

Sergei was still seething, "So all those whores have no clue where Aldrik is? I think they're lying."

Oby's voice was slick and somewhat soothing to Sergei, "Then you just go to them and speak their language."

"What do you mean?"

Oby's shoulders shrugged, "Sleep with them."

"No, I have a mate."

His wolf laughed, "And you're a virgin." Oby was taunting him, Sergei was certain of that. "And if you want to keep her sweet little ass and the cushy life that comes along with it, you better get your little soldier together."

Sergei closed his eyes, he couldn't believe his wolf would want to cheat on their mate before they even joined themselves. "Maybe I'll see about tomorrow. I'm more interested in where that bastard went."

There was a knock on the door of the cottage, "Who could that be?"

Sergei was shocked to see Bardik and a guard at his door, "How can I help you?"

Bardik's massive body looked down at Sergei, "We need to have a discussion."

Sergei crossed his arms, "About?"

"The young lady you 'spoke' to about your father," Bardik replied tersely.

Sergei swallowed, "So?"

"First of all, you should have come to me or my father about Aldrik's disappearance. We banished him. Second of all, take this as your only warning. Hit another woman again and you'll have much more to deal with than this conversation."

Sergei was shocked. Would he be free of his father? This was excellent news and the young man was immediately remorseful over what he'd done to the last young lady.

He looked at his future alpha, "You won't have to worry about it. It'll never happen again."

The guard was watching Bardik and waiting for the nod. It was so subtle Sergei missed it. The guard's fist was swift and landed its mark easily, hitting Sergei in the stomach and knocking the wind out of him.

Bardik and the silent guard walked away from the gasping Sergei. The guard, thinking that Sergei had learned his lesson, was satisfied. Bardik was worried about his sister's future. Punishing a pack member for unwarranted violence, especially on a woman was something he hated doing. Not because he didn't want to punish the abuser, but because no woman should have to deal with that.