Chapter 30: Chapter 30

THIRTY

“Why do you look like that?... Like you’re panicking.” Charlotte asked as she texted away on her phone.

Willow looked away from the television and to Charlotte. Some reality show was showing but she could not even focus on them, she was not even one who liked reality shows.

“I am panicking.” She replied and emphasised each word. “Aleisa’s birthday is a week away and I still have no idea what to get her.” She sighed and fell back on the couch dramatically.

Charlotte rolled her eyes but continued typing on her phone. It is also very typical of Willow to panic over something like this. Charlotte had never even met any of Black’s relatives except for Caleb who seemed to always be at their apartment after school but she knew that Willow should not be panicking this much over a gift. If anything, it seemed like Black’s family was very well off.

“Why don’t you just ask for Black’s opinion?” Charlotte asked as if that was the most obvious thing to do.

“Of course I did that but Black told me to get her Nutella or anything that is food.” Willow huffed and turned over.

Black had told her that Aleisa would not be bothered even if she did not get her anything but if she really wanted to see her smile, food was the way. Willow had noticed that Aleisa was very much a foodie just as Black said. If she ate half as much as Aleisa did in a day, she would be way past keeping her figure and probably overweight. But unlike her, Aleisa was a werewolf which came with benefits like high metabolism and inability to gain weight.

Charlotte chuckled and turned off her phone. “You’ve been spending so much time with this woman, you should be able to know what she likes or wants by now.”

True, over the past two months that Black and Willow’s relationship started to grow, she also spent more time with Aleisa. They had reached a point where they could even consider each other as friends. Willow helped out whenever she could, especially with Kace and Aleisa told her all about the pack and about having a mate.

She had gotten to know a lot thanks to Aleisa. All the things about pack hierarchy no longer confused her and she understood why Isaac had such a domineering presence. And thanks to Aleisa, she also understood the whole mate thing a little better. It was great to be able to talk to another female instead of asking either Caleb or Levi.

“Exactly the point, she’s addicted to food!”

“Aren’t we all addicted to food?” Charlotte mused with a small smile. “If Black isn’t helpful then ask her baby daddy,” Charlotte suggested with a shrug.

Willow raised her body and glared at Charlotte. “Again, there is no baby daddy or baby mama.” She said in a scolding voice but received eye-rolling as a reply.

“But you did say that she got pregnant a few months after they were done with their senior year, she has a kid and they're basically just cohabiting?” Charlotte asked, mocking her niece.

“Yeah...it’s like that but you make it sound weird by saying ‘baby daddy’.” Willow’s defeated tone showed just how much she was not ready to argue about this again. “Look, for them it doesn’t matter if they're married or not. They are happy and basically a married couple.”

“The law is the law, Will. I’m not the one who said people should sign a document and exchange vows to make their marriage legal. No matter what you say, those guys aren’t married.”

Maybe they had argued about this more often than they realised. Willow still could not win the argument because no matter what she said, Charlotte would say some smart things that would block out her counterattack. It was not like her that she spent her days hanging out with werewolves or that for werewolves human marriage laws did not matter much to them.

“It’s not like I can just text or call Isaac,” Willow replied.

Even though Isaac was friendly and always tried to make her feel comfortable, she still could not get over the fact that he was an Alpha. For goodness sake, the guy was younger than her but he had such a huge position. He commanded so much power, it still made her uneasy. Other than that, she could not easily ignore the fact that Isaac could control the elements and read a person’s thoughts.

Every time he was in the room, she tried to block out any other thoughts, especially those about Black. The embarrassment she had felt after Aleisa had told her about Isaac’s abilities was too much. She had thought back to all the times she had been in the same room with him and admittedly thought that Black was very handsome. It had to be a lot of times. Even though Aleisa told her that Isaac could control it and avoided reading people’s thoughts, Willow still couldn’t get over the embarrassment.

“Why not?” Charlotte asked.

“Because he’s Isaac,” She replied simply. “I think I’ll just get her Nutella, besides it’s probably the only thing I can afford.”

Staying at home and not working was not the most ideal plan to save your bank balance and Willow’s bank balance was drowning. Finding a job had proved harder than she had thought, all of the local restaurants, eateries, and bakeries did not need any new employees and those that did, had requirements that she could not meet. She had even tried to look for other jobs but to no avail. All in all, jobs were scarce. And if she had to be completely honest, she had not searched for a job as intensely as she would have probably done four or five months before.

Her life was comfortable now. Charlotte was the only one earning and that bothered her but in between her time at MediamNoctemSidus, spending time with Black and being at home, she did not want a 9 to 5 job ruining that schedule.

“I’ll lend you some money,”

“For real?!” Willow looked at Charlotte with excited eyes and moved closer to her. “You’d do that for me?” She asked dramatically.

“You better find a job soon, you’re literally leeching off me.” Charlotte rolled her eyes playfully.

“Hey, family don’t leech off each other, it’s called sharing.”

“Whatever. And if you can’t find a job, you should think about school.”

“Ugh! Not this again.” Willow sighed. “Char, I’ll tell you when I’m ready. I do want to go to college but I don’t want to burden you with anything. Just let me earn some money.”

“You won’t be able to earn any money if you continue like this,” Charlotte stated. “I don’t understand why it is so hard for you to just apply, you won’t be the first to have student loans.”

Willow exhaled and looked at the television. “Let’s talk about this another time, right now I need a solution to my problem.”

“You said she’s rich and can afford anything because if her baby daddy...” Charlotte started which caused Willow to sigh exasperated. “...if she loves food, just get her Nutella. It's the only thing you can afford anyways.”

“I thought you were gonna lend me some money?” Willow asked with a shocked look.

“Yeah, let’s talk about that another time, right now I need to know if that woman is going to be able to get fillers without any complications,” Charlotte replied sassily while pointing at the television screen.

“Very funny,” Willow said before standing up and walking away.

She walked back into her room and removed her phone from the charging point. When she went back to the living room, Charlotte was back to paying more attention to her phone than the surroundings. A smile danced on her lips just as her fingers typed away on the screen.

“Are you texting Owen?” Willow decided to tease her and wiggled her eyebrows. She sat back down and tried to take a peek at Charlotte’s phone screen.

“Get out of my face.” Charlotte pushed Willow’s head with her hand and continued texting.

Willow sighed but continued trying to see what had Charlotte’s attention on the phone. Just as she had predicted, Owen’s name was on the header. Willow smirked and elbowed Charlotte teasingly.

“Are you guys dating?” She asked.

Charlotte remained silent for a few seconds before answering. “I don’t know, it’s like casual flirting but having too much involved to just call it flirting.” When Willow raised a questioning eyebrow, she decided to explain further. “Both of us are scared to put a label on our relationship. I haven’t been in a relationship for so long while he just got out of a stressful relationship...other than that, we’re work colleagues so it’s a bit weird.”

“I want to say I understand but I don’t. If you guys like each other, why not just date?” She asked with a shrug.

“You shouldn’t be talking to me about relationships. You don’t even have a label on yours yet but you and Black are always kissing.”

Willow did not like the fact that she easily blushed. Even because of the slightest teasing, her cheeks would still turn red. She touched her warm face and pouted.

“Don’t bring me into this, not everything needs a label.”

Charlotte laughed. “Continue being like that and you’re also going to be a baby mama, cohabiting and wasting all of your baby daddy’s money on food.”

Willow groaned and picked a pillow, ready to hit Charlotte. “You don’t get it, it’s not like that!” She yelled but Charlotte seemed uninterested to consider otherwise.

A knock on the door made both of them look at it. They both looked at each other, silently asking ‘Are you expecting anyone?’ with their eyes. Both of them shook their heads and Charlotte stood up and went to open the door. Caleb stood outside when she opened the door with a grin on his face.

“Is Wil—what am I saying, of course, she’s here...she doesn’t have a job.” Caleb invited himself inside after greeting Charlotte.

“What is this? Does everyone want to have a go at me?”

“Wills!” Caleb screamed excitedly and jumped onto the couch, next to Willow. After he had heard Levi’s nickname for Willow, he had also decided to adopt it and said mates share everything.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at school?”

“Of course not, school ended like ten or fifteen minutes ago,” Caleb replied quickly. Charlotte joined them on the couch and looked at Caleb with a confused expression just like Willow.

“Aside from school, remember when you called me about what Aleisa would like as a gift for her birthday?” He asked rhetorically and Willow nodded. “Well I found the perfect gift...don’t worry though, it’s not food. Ali wants an office in the house just like Isaac so that she can be of help and reduce the work burden.”

“An office?” Willow’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Aleisa had never mentioned anything about an office. She only ever went on and on about training women in the pack in combats.

Caleb nodded. “I’m moving back to my original room, so I think we should surprise Ali with an office. She’s been talking about it but hasn’t done anything because of...well because of me.”

Willow stuck out her bottom lip and thought about Caleb’s words. “What does any of this have to do with me?” She asked after a while.

Caleb rolled his eyes. “I need you to do whatever magic you did with Black’s house.”

Willow’s lips formed into an ‘O’ before she nodded. “I can do that.” She said with a small smile. Finally, somebody was not telling her to just get food as a gift. “Wait...but what about the money. I’m not exactly rich.”

“Don’t worry about that, Isaac is paying for everything,” Caleb replied. Willow’s eyes shined with excitement, even if she couldn’t pay for anything at least she would be helpful with her ‘Pinterest’ skill.

“Wait, hold on. Why don’t you just hire a professional interior designer? Willow has no experience.” Charlotte piqued in after silently listening to their conversation.

Willow groaned before glaring at Charlotte. She knew where this was going. Charlotte would mention school every chance she got, and well this...this was a chance.

“What? I’m just saying the truth, you have no experience whatsoever. You managed to help with Black’s house but you still have no qualifications.”

“Just say it Char...tell me, “Willow I don’t want to be seeing you around too much because I want to invite my boyfriend over so you need to go to college”...say it.”

“I don’t need you to be busy in order to meet Owen, I can easily go to his apartment.” Charlotte said in a ‘duh’ tone. “I think you should go to college, study, get the qualifications needed and make a career for yourself.”

Willow remained silent for a while, mulling over Charlotte’s words. Charlotte’s words held more wisdom than Willow would have liked to acknowledge. After many tries to find a job and falling short, she was growing desperate. She wanted to be able to help out no matter how comfortable life seemed at the moment. She still had to make sure her life was stable more than anything. Besides it was not like she could depend on Charlotte and Black forever. Whenever Black spends money on her, there’s always this nagging feeling inside her.

She took in a deep breath and nodded. “Let me think about it.”

“And while you thinking about it, please help a boy out. We only have a week.” Caleb pleaded, feigning his desperation.

“Don’t worry, I’ll do my best,” Willow replied.

......

“Black!” Willow whined. She was trying to focus on her task but Black made it difficult for her by leaving kisses on her neck and shoulder.

Black hummed as a reply and wrapped his arms around her, back hugging her. He breathed in her scent, the calming effect of it already starting to work. After a long day of working his muscles and helping Alex out, this was the best remedy for relaxation. As it was, he did not get to see Willow as much as he wished and the nights they spent together when she slept over did not feel enough for him. He wanted her by his side every time, which was impossible.

“You’re distracting me,” She said but her actions went against her words when she tilted her neck. Black smirked on her skin and continued kissing her.

“I can’t help it, you look too sexy when you’re doing your work.” He replied and kissed her once again. “Do you know how much I had to control myself before?” He asked before turning her around.

Willow gave him an unimpressed look. “Black...” She dragged his name.

He pecked her lips, going back in and kissing her lightly. It did not take long for Willow to respond. Her arms went around his neck and she deepened the kiss, kissing him just as fervently with an urgency. She had missed him and Black always had this intense hold on her after a long day of not seeing each other. She could easily melt into a puddle immediately after a soft touch from him.

The hold he had on her after such a short time was simply unnatural. But there was nothing natural about her life at this point. She was mated to a werewolf and literally everyone she knew was exactly that. And if anything, Aleisa had told her about how the mate bond affects a person. If Willow had not noticed it before, she surely did now. Yearning for Black’s presence when he was not around had become such a normal thing. And whenever Black was around, she craved his attention.

She moaned lightly when their tongues met and Black’s hand glided down her back, searching for where her shirt ended. Black’s hand successfully went under her shirt causing her to shiver. His touch elicited so many emotions and it didn’t help that all of that went through her body and down to between her legs.

She could feel Black’s smile against her lips and when he pulled back, she wanted to scold him for the smirk she had clearly mistaken for a smile had it not been for her breathlessness. He kissed her jaw and gave her time to recover from the kiss before capturing them once again before she could speak. This time she moaned a bit louder because of the unexpected kiss. She could feel her legs growing weaker the longer he kissed her.

This time when they pulled away, she looked into Black’s eyes. His pupils had dilated and his eyes were darker than usual. She gulped when she saw them, no matter how many times she had seen his lust-filled gaze, it still took her aback. It scared her. She had seen a similar look in other werewolves and it never ended well with her. She couldn’t easily forget everything that had happened.

And even though she wanted to let go and forget and fully accept Black, it was such a high mountain to climb. Even if a part of her kept telling her that Black was different and thus was different, she couldn’t easily give in.

Black saw the look on her face, panic and fear and he opted to hug her. Willow remained stiff for a while, confused as to why he hugged her so abruptly.

“It’s okay, I told you that we’re moving at your pace.” He reassured her. “I’m not any of those people, so when you see their faces, try to remember mine. Okay?”

Willow nodded and hugged him back. “Thanks.”

Black pulled away but still kept one arm around her waist. “Now, I actually came to ask if you want some food. Isaac cooked and he’s a great cook.” He told her with an easy smile. Willow could not believe that this was the same man that looked like he could take her any moment just a few seconds ago.

“You’re a great cook as well.” She said before grabbing his hand. Black usually cooked for them when they were at the house and Willow could easily say that he knew his way around the kitchen.

Black nodded. “But not as great as Isaac. Come on, we need to lock this room, Aleisa is back on her way.”

Willow followed him out of the room and locked the room before they joined Isaac in the kitchen.

“How’s it going?” He asked and Willow replied with a simple ‘okay’. “Don’t forget to tell me when you need anything, don’t worry about the prices.”

Willow nodded as Isaac gave her a plate of food. Black sat next to her and she hummed after tasting the food. Black had not lied, Isaac was a better cook.

“This tastes great.” She told him and he thanked her with a small dramatic bow. After that, they continued eating silently and Black and Isaac exchanged information about things she could not understand.

“What do you think about a surprise visit?” Black asked her and her eyes widened.

“Surprise visit?” She asked and he nodded.

“Nina hasn’t met you yet and she’s been bothering me about it.” He replied and Willow was silent for a while. “It’s okay if you don’t wish to, we can do it when you’re okay with it.” Black quickly intercepted.

Willow looked up at him before looking over at Isaac who was watching them intensely. “It’s okay. I’m up for a surprise visit.”

“Really? Are you sure?” Black asked and she nodded but he was not yet convinced and asked once again.

“She said she’s sure, just take her already. Nina’s been spamming me with texts asking about her.” Isaac joined in.

Black glared at him. “I’ll only take her when she’s comfortable.”

“I am, don’t worry,” Willow said and stood up. “When are we going?” She asked as she washed her plate.

Black stood up. “Right now?”

“Sure.” She replied with a smile.

“Who’s gonna wash your plate?” Isaac asked Black.

Black looked back but only continued walking after taking Willow’s hand in his. Isaac’s grumbling could be heard as they walked out of the kitchen and to the living room. Willow thought Black would lead them to his car but he continued walking and went behind the house. He stopped when they were in front of the giant trees that surrounded the house.

“Since you can’t shift, we’re going to have to walk.” He told her. She looked at the dense vegetation in front of them and wondered how they were supposed to walk through all of it.

Black saw her face and laughed. “Don’t worry, there’s a small path after all this. It gets covered sometimes because we usually run there, in werewolf form.” He told her and she nodded.

“Can’t we drive there?” She asked still looking ahead with unsure eyes.

“This is the only path to Nina’s cottage.” He answered and that did not ease her uncertainty. “Don’t worry, if you’re uncertain I can carry you.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s okay. Lead the way.”

Willow kept looking around them as they walked down the almost covered-up path. Black’s hand around hers had tightened and he led the way but kept looking back at her to make sure she was okay. Willow was already so nervous about meeting the woman that had raised Black, this was like finally having to meet the parents‐except she had to walk through a forest.

The landscape of the entire pack always left her in awe. The trees grew with no disturbance and she even saw flowers and plants that she had never seen before. It was beautiful but it also brought a lot of questions to mind, like how no one noticed that such a place was occupied. She had lived near the place for so long and only thought that it was a forest filled with wild animals. She had never thought that people–well, werewolves could be living there, houses built and everything.

When the path started getting stony, Black once again suggested that he could carry her but she shook her head. The crunching of leaves below her had a satisfying effect. But after a while of walking and no sign of life or a cottage, Willow had to admit that the stony path was becoming a bother. She didn’t want to bother Black though. It was like Black could read her mind because he stopped walking and turned around.

“Let me carry you.” He offered once again.

“Black...” She rolled her eyes. “I’m fine.”

“Nina’s cottage isn’t close and I’m strong enough to carry you to and back.” He said and showed her his bicep to emphasize his point which made Willow laugh.

“I don’t doubt your capabilities but I think I can manage to walk.”

Black shook his head before carrying her in his arms. Willow gasped and looked at Black with wide eyes.

“Black!” She screamed. “Put me down!” She looked down at the moving ground and then back at him but he shook his head.

“Don’t make too much noise, there are actually wild animals in this forest.” He warned her in a low whisper. Fear crossed Willow’s face and she closed her mouth. Black tried hard not to laugh when he saw the look on her face.

“Don’t worry, as long as you stay in my arms no animal will attack you.” Black’s smirk made Willow get over her fear and look at him with eyes of disbelief.

“Did you lie to me?”

“Of course not. There are dangerous animals here.”

At the end she settled in his arms and rested her head on his chest, listening to the gentle beating of his heart and enjoying the gentle blow of the cold afternoon air.

Willow was on the verge of closing her eyes and sleeping when she finally saw a cottage. When Black walked to the front, he put her down and smiled at her.

“She’s a bit eccentric, don’t p—”

“Why are you lying about me, Blackie.” An older woman who seemed to be in her early forties walked towards them from the corner.

Willow immediately guessed that it was Nina. She perfectly fit every description Black had ever given her. She even had a garden shovel in her hands, fitting Black’s description of how she liked gardening. If the plants around the cottage in different flowerpots did not give it away, the shovel and garden gloves did.

“Finally, I thought I’d have to wait forever.” She said and discarded the shovel and gloves and walked towards Willow. “Such a refreshing sight.” She said excitedly before pulling Willow into a tight hug.

“Oh, I am so happy that my baby has found a mate.” She cried out dramatically before pulling away. “Heus!” Nina said and Willow’s eyebrows bunched up together, not sure how to respond.

“Not everyone picks up Latin phrases like Aleisa, Nina.” Black saved her.

“Oh, forgive me.” Nina laughed softly. “Hi, I’m Nina and you must be Willow. No need to introduce yourself Black described you so many times that when I saw your backside, I already knew that it was you.”

“B-Backside?” Willow stuttered out and looked at Black.

Black’s skin turned a deep shade. “Nina!...” He scolded. “I swear you’re horrible at wording things just like Caleb.”

“What did I say? I was talking about her hair.” Nina defended herself in Latin.

“Yeah but did you have to say ‘backside’?” Black retorted in the same language.

Willow looked at both of them, eyes moving from one to another. Even though she knew that they were talking about her in a language that she could not understand, she could not help but admire Black’s voice. The different language came off his tongue naturally and his voice sounded deeper.

“You’re disturbing me,” Nina said, shifting back to English. “Come on Willow, help me make some snacks.” She said before dragging Willow into the house, leaving Black.

“Chamomile tea?” Nina asked as she walked toward the teapot. Willow shook her head, she was not a fan of tea. “Are you sure? It’s great for relaxation. It clears my mind.” She said trying to persuade her but Willow shook her head.

“I’m so happy to finally meet you...I thought Black was keeping you away from me. Did he make you walk all the way?” She asked while removing different utensils just as Black walked into the kitchen.

Willow shook her head. “No, he...he carried me.” She chose to use her voice this time because she had been silent since they arrived.

“Whoa! I raised a gentleman.” Nina marvelled with a huge smile. “Come here sweetheart, I’m going to teach you how to make Black’s favourite food.” She said and ushered for Willow to come by her side.