Back Home
2350 Words
Freddies POV
Once we had stepped through the portal and were back home, everyone went their separate ways to reunite with their families and get cleaned up. I was still holding Willow’s hand as everyone dispersed.
“Everyone is going to their homes or to the packhouse. I’ll show you to my house so we can both get cleaned up and change.”
“Alright,” she says looking around the area.
“If you would like you can stay with me at my house. Anything I have is at your disposal,” I tell her as I lead her toward my house.
“Ok,” she says softly.
We rounded the corner of the packhouse and walked down the pathway that connected to the other houses close by. I take her down the path to the first house in the area. We turn and walk up the sidewalk to my home. I hear her gasp from beside me. I slow my pace and look at her wondering what’s wrong. She’s staring at the house with wide eyes and an open mouth.
“It is a pretty house,” I say smiling at her.
“It’s not pretty, Freddie. It's beautiful,” she says in a breathy voice.
“Wait until we get inside,” I tell her as we continue to walk toward the front porch.
The house I live in is a two story, cream colored modern build. The porch runs the length of the front of the house with a swing on one side of it, and chairs and a table on the other side. From the outside you can see several large windows that let in a lot of natural light.
We walked through the front door of the house into the living room. The wood floors shined from the sunlight coming through the windows. The furniture was soft and inviting. I could see she was inhaling my scent as we stepped inside. The whole house smelled like me but my bedroom would be the most potent room of all.
“Wow,” Willow said softly.
“Come on, little one. I’ll show you around real quick, then we can get cleaned up.”
I showed her to the kitchen first. There was a large kitchen with an island and a ton of cabinets. The dining room had picked out a decent sized table with wooden chairs that have plush cushions on them. The dining room also has a nook in the corner for sitting.
“I like to sit there and drink my coffee in the morning,” I told her while pointing at the nook.
“That sounds lovely,” she says with a smile.
I move on down the hall and show her my home office that I use every once in a while. The room was small but had books, a desk and chairs in it.
“I don’t normally work here at home. Usually I like to work at the packhouse so the members can find me,” I say watching her facial expressions.
She was like a child taking in everything in wonder. Her soft smiles made me happy. I hoped that this would work out for the both of us. I just needed to take it slow. There’s no telling what she has been through. Not to mention what I have been through.
I took her a little further down the hall and showed her my room. Letting her explore the space on her own. I have a king sized bed in the room with gray bedding along with a night stand on each side of the bed with its own lamp. To one side there’s a fireplace for cold nights..
She explored the closet and the bathroom attached to my room. I wonder if she wants to stay here in my room with me or if that would be too much too soon.
When she’s done looking around I tell her, “the last thing is the upstairs.”
“Alright,” she says with a smile.
We go down to the end of the hall and up the stairs to the second story. I show her where the bathroom is and all three of the extra bedrooms. Only one of them has a bed and furniture in it.
“You can stay in any room in the house you like. If you want you can even share the room with me downstairs. It’s up to you,” I tell her.
She looks at me with those amazing blue eyes of hers. I can tell she’s weighing her options.
“Can I stay up here for now?”
“Of course,” I reassure her.
“Ok. Then I’ll stay in this room,” she says putting her bag down on the bed in the spare room.
“Alright. I’ll let you get cleaned up. Meet me in the living room once you're done, little one.”
“Ok, I will.”
I walk off down the stairs to my room so I can wash the battle away and put some proper clothing on. I shower swiftly then got dressed in a black t-shirt and some blue jeans. I went into the living room and had a seat on my couch as I waited for Willow to finish upstairs. I heard the shower turn off in the bathroom and then heard her moving around.
My heart started to speed up when I heard her start to walk down the stairs, her honeysuckle scent tickling my nose. I watched as she walked into the living room looking refreshed and gorgeous. She was wearing a blue and yellow sundress that went just past her knees. It tied in the front showing off her small curvy body. Her hourglass figure was on display and I felt the need to run my hands all over her. I took a breath to calm down.
I took note that she had on some old white sneakers also. She might need some new clothes and shoes. I would be able to take care of that. I would be able to take care of her.
She took a seat on the couch with me while I just stared at her for the longest time.
“You’re beautiful, little one,” I whispered.
She blushed and looked down at her clasped hands that were in her lap.
“Thank you, Freddie,” she answered softly.
I cleared my throat and said, “I figured we could take this time to get to know one another a little better.”
“Ok. What would you like to know?” she asked looking at me curiously.
“We will start with the basics and play a little game of twenty questions,” I tell her with a smile.
“Sounds like fun,” she answers sweetly.
“I hope so. My first question is, what’s your favorite color,” I ask her.
“White. What about you,” she answers with a smile.
“Indigo. How old are you?”
“I’m twenty. How old are you?”
I took a deep breath. The Moon Goddess has jokes sometimes with her matches. Her being so young I feel is a jab at me for not being able to make things work with my first mate.
“I’m twenty six,” I squeak out.
“Wow, that’s a long time to be without a mate,” she says with wide eyes.
“It is but I had a mate when I was eighteen. She was in love with another so I ended up having to reject her after she cheated on me. I spent the rest of my time wondering if I would ever be able to have a mate.”
That was a lot of information for her. She had an empathetic look in her eyes though.
“I’m sorry,” she says quietly.
“It’s ok. Now I have the opportunity to get to know you,” I tell her.
“That’s fair. So what’s your favorite food?”
“I love honey. I could literally go out to the hives and get a comb out, and sit there to eat it and be happy,” I answer. I then ask with a smile, “What’s your favorite food?”
“I could eat peaches until I get sick,” she answers with a giggle.
That sound made my heart beat faster. I love the sound she made when she was happy. It sounded like a well toned harp being played with precision.
I smile and ask her, “Where’s your favorite place you’ve been too?”
She was caught off guard with that question and sat there thinking for a second with a smile still playing on her lips. I liked to watch her think about things. She was so adorable to just sit back and watch.
“I would say Lake Tahoe in Nevada was the most amazing place I have ever been,” she says with a dreamy smile.
I let her sit there thinking of the happy place. She then looks over at me and holds my gaze for the first time. I feel like she is getting more comfortable in my presence.
“Where is your favorite place you’ve been too?”
“Crater Lake in Oregon. The blue water completely surrounded by snowy mountains is breathtaking,” I answer remembering my trip I took a few years ago.
“That sounds amazing,” She says with a smile.
“I’ll have to take you there in the winter then,” I say jumping the gun.
I instantly regretted what I said. I knew better than to speak of the future after what I went through with Audrey. The look on her face told me that she was excited at that thought though.
“I would love that,” she says with a big bright smile.
I returned her smile thinking that maybe I could think of the possibilities of a future with her.
“Where were you born?” I ask her curiously.
“I was born in Smithville, Georgia. Were you born here at Trinity Forest?”
“Yes. I was born and raised here. Were you raised around other werewolves or around the humans?”
“Both. I went to a human school in Smithville for about six years then we had to move, and kept moving around until I graduated from High school,” she huffed out.
I could tell she wanted stability that she obviously didn’t get as a teenager.
“That must have been hard for you to make friends like that,” I said curious as to the person she was.
“Not really. I can make friends fast. I’m a people person,” she answers simply.
“Good. What do you like to do for fun?” I ask her.
I want to plan some fun stuff for us to do together. We would need to go on dates and learn about each other. Especially if I was going to gain her trust and if I was going to determine if I could trust her.
“I like to cook and garden. What does fun look like for you?”
“I enjoy watching a good movie or going for a swim. What’s a unique talent you have?” I ask next.
“I don’t know. If listening and consoling others is a talent then I have that,” she says with a smile.
“It might not be a talent but that’s great to be able to do. Not many people can be like that,” I tell her.
“Do you have any talents?”
“Don’t you dare make fun of me but I like to sing,” I tell her.
She looked excited by what I said. Her face lit up with happiness.
“I would love to hear you sing some time.”
I laughed at her excitement and saw her shiver from it. I could tell the mating bond was already affecting the both of us.
I brought a finger up to my lips to symbolize a secret and said, “Don’t let anyone know. It’s between the two of us only.”
She giggled and nodded her head. We shared a giggle before I asked my next question. I wasn’t sure how this would turn out but I wanted to know.
“Where are your parents?”
She took a breath before answering my question. She looked a little upset and I knew that I might be right. That she was all alone and might have been for a while.
“My father was killed in Smithville years ago by humans. That's why we moved. My mom packed us both up and kept us on the move after that. She was killed by another group of rogues right before I turned eighteen.”
“I’m so sorry, little one.”
“It’s ok. Life's different now. I’m not alone anymore.”
I took her hand in mine and said with a smile, “no, you're not.”
She returned my smile and lightly squeezed my hand. I look at the time and realize that it’s almost time for dinner.
“Lets go to the packhouse for dinner. I can introduce you to some important people,” I tell her.
She nods her head and says, “Ok.”
While holding my hand, we head to the packhouse for her to meet my people and to eat.
- Writer
