Chapter 38

Nan’s POV

“Hello….Who is this?”

“Dena, it’s me. It’s Nan.”

There is silence. Her breathing is the only sign that she has not hung up. I wait.

But she stays silent. It is clearly up to me to start this conversation. So I do.

“Listen, I’m sure I’m the last person you want to speak to. I know our last…talk, didn’t go too good. But I want to put that behind us.”

As I expected, she does not respond. ‘Dena can out stubborn even me.’ I hold in a sigh.

“Please Dena, I need to talk to you. Can we meet up?” I ask pleadingly.

“…sure.”

I breath out of relief. “Can you meet me at the old bar on Rosewood?” Alcohol would be needed for this conversation.

“Yeah. When do you want to meet?” She asks me.

“Are you available tomorrow? Around 5?” I check.

It would give me some time to make excuses to get away. For some reason, I just did not want Lionel to know about Dena nor I did feel like explaining about her. It feels too personal after being so vulnerable around him already.

‘Well, any more than he does if he has not pried already into my life without me knowing.’ I think bitterly. This bitterness still catches me by surprise. It is starting to worry me.

It reminds me too much of…

“Nan? Are you still there?”

“Yes, yes I am.” I reply hurryingly.

“I said that works for me. See you then.” She hangs up without any further questions.

Perhaps it had not been the best idea to reach out to Dena. But I saw no other option. For all that we argued, I knew Dena would always be there when I truly need her.

I go to check on Patti.

“Patti? Have you already finished your homework?” I ask her.

She smiles at me mischievously. “Mom, I did that before dinner.” She replies cheekily.

I laugh. “Patti, did you play a trick on your Dad? That’s not very nice.”

She grins. “Maybe. But Vera did want some alone time with Dad.”

I furrow my brow. “I guess that makes sense. It must be hard in you girls sharing us.”

“Not really. Vera just sometimes wants to be with Dad, and I want to be with you. We just don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings.”

“Patti, you won’t hurt our feelings. If you girls want some quality time with us, just say so. Okay?”

“Okay, Mom.” Patti says. I brush my hand along her dark hair. Then I smile at her.

“You know, I called Aunt Dena.” I tell her.

Patti jerks her head up and an excited look lights up her expression. “Really? You did my idea?”

“It was a good idea. Thanks for the help.” I reassure her.

Vera and Lionel return just then with countless bags. Vera proudly presents them to me, doing a show-and-tell for me. I am amused.

“I won’t be available in the evening tomorrow. So you’ll have to keep an eye on the girls.”

I can feel his attention snap to me. “Oh? Sure, I can do that.” I ignore the curious prompting in his tone.

“Good.”

The next day comes and goes. Before I know it, I am standing outside the sketchy bar. Through the dusty glass I can see Dena.

Dena and I had always favored our maternal grandmother’s side. Both physically and personality wise. Our grandmother had been a tiny, but fierce woman.

We’d always been little carbon copies of grandmother. Short, but curvy. Grey eyes and dark, wavy brown hair.

If I wanted an idea into how I might look in the future, I just had to look at pictures of my grandmother. Or at Dena.

I stepped into the bar and sat at the stool beside my sister. Neither of us speak. We only look at each other.

I wonder what she sees. Does she see a more jaded, tired version of myself? Does she notice the dark circles under my eyes, the exhausted scrunch at the corner of my lids?

The ice between us breaks. “Nan, I’m sorry.” Dena apologizes.

“It’s okay. I know you had good intentions.”

Dena barks a laugh. “Maybe. But I could have worded it differently.”

“Probably.”

Her steel grey eyes take me in. “You look different. How have things been?”

I huff. “Tired, you mean?”

She shakes her head slowly. “A little. But that’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean, then?” I ask defensively. It’s all too easy to fall back into bad habits around Dena.

She does not rise to the bait. “Nan, what’s wrong? It must be pretty bad if you reached out first.”

I deflate a little. Take a swig of a beer the bartender slide towards me. Tap my fingers on the table nervously.

But Dena does not falter. She waits patiently. Another aspect of her personality that we share.

I begin my tale. From the rescue, the contract, my feelings, and our kiss and argument. I even tell her about the pain in my chest, the coldness, and the fear about this growing bitterness inside of me.

Dena listens attentively. I can see the thoughts running through her eyes during certain moments. But she lets me speak without interrupting.

I have downed at least a beer and a half by the time I’ve finished. It gives me a little liquid courage. “So…pretty crazy, right?”

“You’ve had a very…exciting few months, haven’t you?” Dena asks wryly.

“That’s one word for it.”

She laces her fingers around her beer. ‘One of her own nervous ticks,’ I notice. I have a feeling I will not like what she has to say.

“Nan, maybe this is all for the best.”

I inhale sharply. “What makes you say that?”

She hesitates. Clearly not wanting to start another fight. But I had asked for her opinion, so I would have to take it as it is.

“Dena, just say it. I promise I won’t be mad, this time.” I promise her.

“Look at how those rich bastards have treated you the moment you walked into their world. You’ve been looked down on, attacked, and spied on at every turn. And I don’t see them stopping, not even if Lionel would mate you.”

I swallow. ‘She has a point,’ I think uneasily. I’d been treated badly for a lot of things in my life, but lately it had gotten so much worse.

“And do you really think an alpha like Lionel would ever be allowed to mate someone like…you. If they ever found out the truth about it, you would never know peace. And if Lionel found out, he could take Patti away from you right away…”

That is my worst nightmare. For Lionel to find out I’m wolf-less, to wholeheartedly reject me and lose Patti. After the disaster of a cocktail party, I also knew I did not want to try and deal with that kind of nasty attention either for the rest of my life.

“Nan, you know the struggles you’ve already faced due to your nature. Our own parents…I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“I guess you’re right Dena. Maybe it is for the best.” I reply dejectedly.

Lionel would be defending me for the rest of my life if I stayed. Did I have a right to put him through that? And after the sly, dirty tricks that had already been played, I do not want Vera and Patti to be pulled into this mess.

Really, what had I been thinking? That just because Lionel and I had a passion between us, everything would work out? ‘You know better than that,’ I scold myself.

Things wrap up quickly after that. I have no more energy to continue the conversation. Thankfully, Dena senses my mood and leaves with an agreement to keep in touch.

My mood does not improve when I get back to the house. To my displeasure, I run into an unwelcome face. Joseph, Lionel’s pervert brother.

He walks up to me. “Nan, just the person I wanted to see.” He exclaims.

“Me?” I ask skeptically.

“Yes. First off, let me apologize for my previous behavior. It was rude, untoward of me.” He says smoothly.

“Thank you…” I accept reluctantly. Ready to walk away.

“There is another reason I wanted to see you.” He adds.

“Okay…”

“I have a request to make of you.”