CHAPTER 6: BECKY
1296 Words
AMBER
I woke feeling an emptiness this morning. Not having Adam next to me in bed felt wrong. I had automatically reached for him for our usual morning cuddle but found only emptiness and cold sheets where he should be. I sighed sadly and got up. Honestly, I could have happily just curled back up into a ball and given in to my sorrow, but I had two beautiful babies who needed me. They came first. I washed and dressed quickly and then headed into their room. Their smiling faces made me forget my problems for a moment.
My mind soon returned to Adam, though. I thought about the choice that I had given him last night. He may not have answered me, but I could see it on his face that it wasn't going to be me. Perhaps Ruby had been right, Maybe what they were feeling was, in fact, love, real love. I hadn't really considered it before, but what if the mate bond was the only thing that made Adam want to be with me in the first place? I had told myself that what we had was real, more than just a choice made for us by the Moon Goddess. Now, though, I was questioning that. I knew that I loved Adam, mate bond or not. I had fallen for the kind, loving, smart man that he was. I had believed that he felt the same way for me, but I must have been wrong. If Ruby hadn't found a magical reason for Adam's behaviour, then it could only mean one thing, he loved her. Paige was his true love, not me.
I decided that I needed another perspective on all of this. I called Becky and asked her to come over. I know that she isn't exactly an impartial party. Adam is her brother, and I am her best friend, but I just needed to speak it over with someone. She seemed a little distant on the phone but agreed to come. I wondered if everything was okay with her. She definitely didn't sound like her usual upbeat self. I made a pot of coffee while I waited for her to arrive. It was ready just as she knocked on the front door. I opened it and greeted her with as much of a smile as I could muster. I noticed, though, that she didn't return it.
We sat down, and she accepted the coffee that I offered. "So what is the problem? I'm assuming that there is a problem that you want to talk about," she asked. Her tone seemed off, but I shrugged it off, thinking that I must be imagining it. I did have a lot on my mind after all. "It's Adam. He wants Paige to be the surrogate for us," I began. Becky cut me off, sounding a little impatient. "That seems like a reasonable idea. What's the problem?" she said. I just looked at her a little confused, silent for a moment. "After everything that happened with the infatuation spell, I just don't feel comfortable with her being involved. Besides, it seems as though they have developed feelings for each other. To be honest, I'm afraid that he is considering leaving me for her," I told her sadly, my voice breaking as I held back tears. It was so difficult to say that out loud. To my surprise, Becky just shrugged. "You don't really seem surprised by any of this," I said. She sighed and looked me dead in the eyes. "Come on, Amber. Can you really blame him? Paige is amazing, and you, well, you are just a walking drama magnet. You should just do him a favour and walk away," she said.
I was shocked by her words. "You think that I should walk away from my marriage?" I asked, dumbfounded. I don't know what I had been hoping or expecting her to say, but it definitely wasn't that. "From Adam, from the pack, from all of it. Maybe it would be for the best if you made a fresh start somewhere else," she said. "But..... Lakeside is my pack. I am it's rightful leader, you said so yourself," I reminded her of our conversation up at the lake. She shrugged again. "Let's be honest, you didn't even know that werewolves existed outside of books and movies until not that long ago, never mind that you are one. Lakeside was never your home, the city was. Perhaps you should go back there," she said it as though she were suggesting trying a different hairstyle. I just stared at her, unable to speak. She rolled her eyes in arritation, as though she was bored with the conversation. "Look, it really is this simple. You don't know the first thing about leading a pack. Adam has been doing a great job. Maybe the whole reason that you two were meant to meet, that you are mates, was so that he could take his place as Alpha of the Lakeside pack. Maybe you were never meant to last. That's why you ended drinking that potion. You were never meant to give him children. Paige was," she said.
I just sat there shaking my head, her words repeating in my mind. She stood up and walked towards the door. "Just think about it, okay? I think that it would be what's best for everyone," she said right before disapearing through the door. My heart sank. Becky had promised to stand by me. What could have possibly changed her mind that drastically? I picked myself up and strapped the twins into their stroller. I needed to get out of the house for a while. Star had been quiet through all of this. I knew that she had spoken to Rusty last night, but she hadn't divulged any of the details of their conversation to me. I could feel that she was hurting, though.
I let the cool, fresh air fill my lungs and clear away the darkness that had filled my mind. As I walked, I found myself heading for the restaurant. Perhaps Ellie would be the voice of reason that I needed right now. If she told me to let Adam go too, then I would. She had never steered me wrong before. Besides, I knew that Ellie loved me as a daughter and the twins as though they were her own blood grandchildren. I smiled as I entered, thinking back to how kind and warm she had been that first day that I arrived in Lakeside, even though I was a total stranger to her at that point. Ellie was just a wonderful, kind, loving person in general. I didn't think that there was a mean bone in her body.
Ellie turned at the sound of the door, but it seemed as though she looked slightly disappointed to see that it was me. She showed me to a table, but something seemed different about her today. "Do you have a minute to talk?" I asked. She looked around, but the restaurant wasn't that busy right now. She sat in the chair opposite me. "What can I do for you?" she asked. I thought it was odd that she hadn't even glanced at the twins. Normally, she would have been showering them with affection. "Are you okay?" I asked concerned. She nodded. "I'm fine. What did you need to speak to me about?" she replied. I gave her a brief summary, but before she had said anything, the kitchen door opened, and Adam made his way into the restaurant to a table near the back. He had barely sat down before Paige was beside him. I watched in horror as they flirted and giggled like horny teenagers.
- Writer
