I walk toward the center of the village where my mother lives.
It is loud and bustling.
My mother's house is small and slightly removed from the others.
It has a small vegetable patch and a wooden fence that surrounds it.
I am feeling a little nervous.
But Dean is right.
I have to do this.
I knock on the door.
She opens it.
"Marla!" she says. "What a nice surprise!"
She gestures for me to come in.
"Hi, Mom," I tell her. "I was wondering if I could have a word with you."
"Of course, sweetie," she says.
She smiles and lets me inside.
My mother wants me to marry Dean.
She believes we are the perfect coupling.
Before my father died, he was besotted with my mother.
Theirs was an arranged coupling, just like everyone in the pack.
They grew to love one another, fiercely.
It was
