August's POV-
I didn't sleep for a minute last night after Emerald went to bed angry with me. Her words replayed in my head over and over until I noticed the sun coming up.
"And if you're really special, you get one of these."
I had always wondered if her eyes were natural or if they were forced like mine. Now I wish I didn't know. I wish I was still under the impression that they were supposed to be that way, but they weren't. He did something to her and it literally changed her physically, mentally, emotionally.
Now she thinks I only kept her around for as long as I did to find out about Scout. I hadn't exactly given up on finding him, but I had lost interest in finding out the specifics of his relationship with Emerald a long time ago. Before I even sent her away actually, I had already decided that I didn't care about that and just wanted her to be a part of my pack.
A part of my life really which is selfish.
I hated what she probably thought about me right now. Our talk was going so good too that I hadn't realized how late we actually stayed up together. I had checked on Helen multiple times, but I decided I would make breakfast to try and smooth things over from last night.
I hope she still loves bacon.
The kitchen was a little smoky, but I couldn't figure out how to turn the oven fan on to save my life. A small delicate hand is placed over mine and it guides me to the right bottom and I press it, turning the fan on successfully. I turned around and came face to face with Emerald. I guess I couldn't smell her because of the smoke that was already in the air.
Her hair was much frizzier now and went past her elbows just as they had done before when she was younger. She wore a baggy grey shirt and basketball shorts, but seeing her with her messy hair and those wild eyes. It made her look like this savage princess that escaped from the wilderness.
"Good morning Emerald." I said to her and she gave me a small smile before turning away.
She went and sat in a tall chair that was at the bar I guess to watch me struggle more to make breakfast.
"You never were a good cook."
"Some things just don't change I guess." I said to her, but she didn't smile too big at me like I was at her. She was still upset.
"Emerald, I don't care about what you know about Scout. I stopped caring about that a long time ago. The only thing I cared about was keeping you safe and away from him."
She stared back into me without giving any emotion away in her face. It was like she was searching for any indication of dishonesty in me. She wouldn't find it though because that was the honest truth. I would always be truthful with her.
"I still care about that now."
All I wanted was for her to trust me. I don't know why I have this need for it, but I do.
She stood up and walked around the counter and started to turn off all the eyes on the stove. She turned around and looked at me with a hint of amusement in her eyes.
"Want to go on a run with me?"
"Yes." I said back through a breath I was holding in.
She smiled big at me and turned away and started to run up the stairs I guess to get changed. I took the oven mitt I had on my hand off and quickly ran my hands through my hair again. I went into Helen's room and checked on her while Emerald got ready. She was still sleeping peacefully in the large king sized bed.
I sat in the recliner next to her and took her hand in mine and squeezed it. After a minute she squeezed my hand back and I sat up more when her eyes started to flutter open.
"Good morning Amma."
"Oh August, you haven't called me that since you were a child." She said through shallow breaths, but still managed to put a faint smile on her face.
"You are still my Amma. Even when I am an old man, you will always be my Amma."
I tried not to squeeze her hand so tight when saying this to her. It was hard to hold back the feeling I had in my chest when looking at her like this. I can't believe I'm losing my last relative. I will officially be the last of my blood line after she's gone. I will officially have no family left on this earth after she's gone.
"Where's Em?"
Before I could respond though, her soft raspy voice hit my ears and the smell of burning pine was in the air.
"I'm here Helen."
I looked over to see her changed into a black tank top and grey running shorts with matching grey running shoes. She was holding a glass of water with a straw and something else was cupped into her other hand.
She walked over by the side of the bed where I was and sat on the edge near the recliner I was in.
"Do you think you could help me sit her up to take this?"
"No, no more medicine please." My aunt said as she tried to wave her hand up to stop me.
I stopped and looked down at Emerald who was clutching the glass of water hard, turning her knuckles white. The glass was clear and I could see that her palm was red. Almost like it was burnt from touching a stove.
I grabbed the glass and slowly took it from her and looked back down at my aunt. I ignored that the cup was slightly warm and put a smile on my face.
"How about just some water then?" I asked and she smiled at me and nodded her head in agreement.
Emerald stood up and I handed her back the glass and looped my arms under my aunts and tried to gently pull her up more in bed. Emerald sat back at her side and held the cup out with the straw and my aunt took small sips of the water before saying she had enough.
She looked between us for a minute and a small smile came to her lips.
"Seeing you two together again makes me feel so relieved. I have done what I was meant to do here and soon I will be gone. I love you both more then you can ever know and you both have brought so much joy into my life."
She reached out and took Emerald's hand and then tried to raise her other one for mine. I reached out for her hand and held it tightly in mine as she looked at both of us.
"I have done my best to do what I can to take care of both of you. Promise me when I'm gone that you will always take care of one another."
She said this and slowly brought our two hands together. She let go of my hand and placed it over Emerald's and held our two hands together with her shaky ones. I didn't know how Emerald was feeling, but not knowing didn't stop me from having a firm grip over her soft hand. This was an easy promise to keep for me. I have always made sure that she was taken care of anyway, so continuing doing that wouldn't be an issue for me.
"I promise."
"I promise."
I didn't mean to, but I gripped her hand a little tighter when we both answered in unison. My aunt smiled and she let our hands go, but I didn't let go of Emerald's right away and she didn't pull away from me either.
I felt my hand start to heat up in hers and that's when I decided to let go. She immediately balled her fists up and put them in her lap, but kept her gaze away from me and on Helen instead. I forced myself not to touch my hair and ignored the situation and tried to focus on Helen instead of her. I felt so guilty and selfish and disgusted with myself all at once for being so easily distracted from my dying aunt by her.
She was intoxicating to be around and her smoke scent just has me wrapped up in a thick smog making it hard to focus on anything else.
"You two should go do something fun, go enjoy your health and youth. Alpha Paul will be here soon to see me. I'm about to bite the dust, but my mind is still sharp and for that I'm grateful."
She must be able to still mind link which is a good sign that her wolf is still alive. Emerald giggled a raspy chuckle at her adopted mother and patted her hand.
"We are just going on a run. I will be back as soon as we are done, so don't bite the dust just yet." She said lowly to her with a small smile on her face.
I loved seeing her smile. Especially when it was genuine. It was hard not to want to smile too just seeing it. It made you feel good and made you feel like things were okay despite the situation.
"Don't worry about me when you have a handsome guest here to show around." She said through her shallowed breathing. Just talking you could tell how much it took out of her.
I looked at Emerald to see her reaction and she had a small blush across her cheeks. I hated it because I loved it. I shouldn't. It's wrong for me to be anything more to her then.. whatever it is I am now.
It never really crossed my mind about what Emerald saw me as. We only knew each other for a few weeks when she was just a kid before she moved here, so what would that make me to her? Just someone she used to know? I didn't want to be that to her, but I wasn't really sure what it was I wanted.
What do I want her to see me as?
Emerald just squeezed Helen's hand and leaned over and kissed her forehead before turning to me. That one brown and one green looked at me and all my thoughts vanished and nothing else mattered except those eyes.
"I'll be waiting out back." She said and soon she had left me and Helen alone in the room.
It wasn't until Helen's voice spoke that I realized I was still staring at the door where Emerald had went through.
"What's worrying you nephew?"
I didn't know if it was because she was my aunt or because she was on her death bed, but I decided I could be honest with her and that she would take it to her grave. Literally.
"It's wrong Amma."
"What's wrong? You are an unmated man and she is an unmated woman, who don't know the first thing about one another. You think you do, but you two are strangers August and you are both adults." She said this and then started to coughing harshly making a rough crackling noise come from her chest.
"She is hardly an adult and she is not my mate."
I didn't want to upset her or make her think I was mad. The situation itself is just upsetting. I don't want to look at Emerald and then find her attractive. I don't want to get lost in her eyes and high on her scent like a greedy thief. I wanted to.. I don't know.. see her. I didn't think seeing her was going to be like this though.
"You do not know that for sure nephew. The moon goddess has brought you two back together after all these years, right around the time of the blue moon. Can't you see that she is your Luna?"
Now I was mad.
I ran my hands through my hair and tried to soften my eyes when looking at my sick aunt.
"The moon goddess would not bring us together through your death Amma. She is not my mate and I am only here to say my goodbyes to you."
She didn't seem fazed by it and only gave me a sympathetic look and shook her head.
"I am tired."
"I'll let you rest." I said and stood up from the recliner and walked out of the room to give her privacy.
I hated that I argued at her when she is in her last few days on this Earth. I hated that I had to now go and spend alone time with Emerald and would have to force myself to keep a reasonable distance between us. I decided she should stay viewing me as someone she used to know and that after Helen's passing I would go straight home and let her live her life.
I don't know what I was thinking wanting to come here and see her. I cant see her as that little girl anymore and what I see now.. it's too much and most importantly wrong.
Besides she wouldn't ever see me as anything more then a scarred alpha anyway.