2 – It’s a NO for Me
1663 Words
EYES on the wide monitor of the computer, her fingers were jumping on the keyboard. Her breathing hitched when she got what she was looking for.
She smirked.
“Gotcha!” She muttered loudly.
“Did you keep the burglar away?”
She glanced at the man on the far side of the room. He has a scowl on his baby face.
“Of course, baby. That guy will never know what hit him until it hit him in the face.”
Tati kicked her foot which made the swivel chair turn a few times. The foot of the chair made a squeaking sound at the fiction.
“How old do you think the guy on the other side?”
“Ten.”
The staff laughed loud at her statement. “You fought against a child. Wow! Very clever, Tati.”
“I tried. He attacked me first.”
“What did you do?”
“I annihilate his whole play.”
The man raised both his hands in surrender. That made Tati roll her eyes.
They were playing an online game when a gamer suddenly popped up. To her annoyance, she stalked the child and destroyed his games.
The boy must be crying by now.
“Come to my office, please.”
Tati saved the game before she stood up. She gestured at the staff in the monitoring room that she will leave. She received a wave from her before she left.
It was Winona who sent her the mind link.
Winona is the alpha of the Krieger pack. The woman has a resolve of steel. If she happened to put her mind on one thing, she would definitely do everything to have it.
If there was one person that Tati look up to, that was Winona Strange. They grew up together. Their mothers were siblings. They were each other’s strength whenever there were issues.
“Yow, cuz.” She greeted her upon entering the alpha’s office. “Where is the Luna?”
“She’s in the metro. She has an appointment with Twain’s old school.”
“Where is he, by the way?”
“They went together.”
Recently, the alpha couple learned about Twain. The boy was Uno’s son.
Uno donated her egg when she was younger to a friend’s request. She thought the boy died through a miscarriage but it was a lie that has fed to her. However, due to recent circumstances, her friend and her husband died in a vehicular accident and Uno was the person on the emergency list in case something happened to them.
All is well for the alpha couple who are now parents to a clever boy.
She occupied the seat in front of Winona’s table. The female alpha has her eyes on the documents in front of her. After a moment of scrutiny, Winona signed at the bottom of the page. She did the same thing on the next two folders.
“I got a phone call from Calhun Alexander. I got his go signal for the immediate installation of the security updates in his territory.” Winona spoke after she placed the last folder on the side.
“Great. I will send the team this weekend.”
The female alpha looked at Tati. Confusion marred her face.
“You’re not going?”
Tati shook her head.
“I have work to do. I’m working on three project proposals. One was from an allied pack.” She reasoned.
Winona leaned her back on the chair. Her hazel eyes were looking at the beta intently.
“What happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“I am asking you, Tatiana.”
“Don’t Tatiana me, Winona.”
The other woman hummed. Her eyes remained on the petite woman in front of her.
“You have not given me the report on what happened in Omittaa pack.” The alpha stated.
“I already did. The written report was sent to your email a couple of days after it happened.”
“Can you tell me again?”
“What is wrong with you, woman? Are you with dementia now?”
“No, but I want to understand why you don’t want to go back to that pack when you have a project there. You are always a hands-on boss, Tati. Is there anything that I should know?”
The beta was thankful that she was not given a chance to answer the question. The landline on top of Winona’s table rang.
“This is Winona.” The woman answered. After a minute, she placed the phone back in its cradle.
“That was Solana Petrov of Omittaa pack.”
“What about that woman?”
“She’s the beta but I think she will be the future alpha of a new pack.”
“You’re telling me this because?”
“You might be interested.”
“Isn’t she supposed to be the alpha of the Omittaa pack?”
“Yes. It was supposed to be her mother then, but her mom declined since she was mated to a vampire in a European clan. Since it was a family Pack just like ours, Solana refused the position, too. She became the beta but due to a recent event, she gained a territory.”
“Is she any good?”
“I heard things about her. Calhun adores the woman.”
Tati shrugged her shoulders.
She has met Alpha Calhun Alexander and Beta Solana Petrov a few times in the Werewolf Union conferences. They were humble individuals. Both were approachable.
It was expected since the Omittaa pack was one of the oldest packs in the world. One of the peaceful packs, too.
Winona cleared her throat. Hazel orbs met her eyes.
“Solana told me something.”
“What?”
The alpha blinked her eyes twice. “About their cousin, the acting beta---”
“What about that blasted woman?”
“The acting beta----”
“F*ck it, Winona! You should not believe what that crazy woman told you.”
Tati stood up. She placed her hands on her hips and walked in front of her cousin’s table.
“D*mn that woman. She cannot keep her mouth shut. Dammit!” She muttered under her breath.
She lifted her face only to see that the female alpha is looking at her with unspoken questions in her eyes.
“She told you, didn’t she?”
Winona did not say a word. The alpha remained quiet but her eyes stayed on the female beta.
She swore again.
“Don’t let Uno hear that. Not when our boy is here.”
Tati rolled her eyes but eventually nodded.
The alpha cleared her throat again. “Tell me.”
She huffed. Hands still on her hips, she stared into the eyes of the female alpha.
“It’s a NO, Winona.”
The frown on her cousin’s face deepened. She eventually exhaled.
“Look, I’m not like you. I cannot just accept what is. If you fought for your birthright, I will also fight for my right to choose. You know my stand when it comes to choices, Winona.” She divulged. “I can’t do this.”
“Do what exactly?”
“I’m not like you, okay.”
“Enlightened me, Tatiana,” Winona spoke.
The other woman’s hand crossed in front of her. Her face was devoid of emotion. Tati got her full attention.
“I cannot just accept that my mate is a woman, alright. I’m not like you, Winona. I have a choice whether I would accept this mating that the Moon Goddess has given me. I can reject her and have my chosen mate.” Her hands were waving in front of her as she explained.
“W-what?”
“I’m not a lesbian. I’m not into women. Not now, not ever.”
“What do you mean ‘reject her’?” There was a hitch in the alpha’s voice.
“I want to have a family, Winona. A normal family. I want to have kids.” She looked into the eyes of her cousin. “I respect your mating with Uno. I have nothing against your mating with her. But that is not for me. I can’t do that.”
The female alpha heaved a sigh. She nodded after a while.
“Being with your mate is the best thing that could happen to you, Tati.” Winona disclosed.
It was delivered gently. Not being a pushover.
“Not from where I stand. Thank you for your concern, Alpha. Tell Solana that I appreciate her concern, too, but this is my decision. That acting beta can go to hell for all I care.” Tati said with all seriousness that she can muster.
She turned deaf at her wolf howling in her head. Bentley will understand eventually.
“I should go. I will give the full report regarding the project in Omittsa pack before the team goes there.”
The beta turned in the direction of the door.
“Thank you for telling me about your mate.”
Eyes wide, she glanced at her cousin. A sad smile formed on Winona’s lips.
“W-what?” She asked in confusion.
“I was about to tell you that Solana wanted to get our services. She wanted an upgraded and state-of-the-art security system in her mate’s office building in the city.”
“W-what?”
The female alpha chuckled. “Think about it, Tati. Some were not given a chance to meet their mate in their lifetime.”
“NO!!” She yelled in annoyance. “NO, NO! You should have told me that you were asking about some other things before I spilled my guts, Winona!”
Her cousin laughed even louder to her annoyance.
“Shut up!”
The door to the alpha’s office was closed louder than intended. She could still hear her cousin’s hysterical laugh in her head.
- Writer
