Filed To Story: Their Bullied and Broken Mate by Teri Petry
Ruby Meadows
*LIAM POV*
6 months later
The weather is so warm today, and I am beyond excited about it. So much has happened in the past 6 months. Not just for the pack, our coven property, but also for our little family. Maddix just turned two in January, and Phoenix just turned four last month. The girls are almost 7 months old now, and are getting so big. They are crawling everywhere, and starting to eat solid foods. Whatever we eat that is mushy, we let them try it. So far, Adelina is our pickiest eater. She will eat nothing green, but she loves some mashed potatoes and gravy. Alette won’t eat the potatoes unless one of us has sweet potatoes, but she will eat everything green. Asteria, she eats it all, and will eat until she can’t swallow another bite. Even then, she would still try. I was laughing a few weeks ago that she must have the highest baby metabolism in the world, because she eats like Loki, but is still so tiny. He didn’t find that as humorous as I did.
Rico and Grace had a beautiful little girl, with bright red hair, and sparkling blue eyes. They named her Ivy Hopper. Grace was hesitant about her middle name, but Rico insisted. He said, and I quote, “Nick was a piece of us both, and his legacy will live on!” It was announced that Loki and I would be her godfathers and Melian would be her godmother. That sent Mel over the moon. I have never met another person who was as obsessed with children and keeping them safe as my wife. I loved that about her. She has been busy the past couple of weeks helping Christy get ready for her and Tobias’s wedding. It would have already happened, but Christy insisted on a beach wedding. That is what we are doing this weekend. I know the whole wedding thing is a moot point when you are a werewolf and are already bonded, but sometimes being bound also by name is comforting. Knowing you are a part of one another completely in heart, soul and name, to me, just solidifies it all together. Loki, Rico, Tim and I are taking Toby out to a local pub tonight, and I am the designated driver. Which is fine with me.
As far as my wife, she is a trooper. She had her surgery after Maddix’s birthday, and thankfully it wasn’t cancer. The biopsy on the organs after her surgery showed her ovaries were filled with cyst type tumors that were infected. The infection caused her blood platelet levels to be wonky, and because the cysts were likely to return, it was still better that they were removed. For about a month and a half later, she wasn’t herself. She was depressed and very melancholy. She started to see Peter again, without any urging from us, and soon after started to come back to us better than ever. She said that what we have right now is perfect, but once the girls are a little older, she would like us to adopt another boy to ‘make things even’. Loki and I are totally onboard with that idea.
Today, Loki and I are at the coven property, Ruby Meadows. Our first market season is underway, and we just wanted to check on things. Walking through the shops that have been opened and the farmers’ market with Gretchen has been exciting. So many cool things are sold, and the quality of the vegetables and fresh meats in the market is awesome. We bought a plethora of veggies, beef and chicken to take back home with us, and even talked with Luke and Pablo about opening a tourist diner near the market. The shops and market are packed with tourists and residents of the nearby towns. We think a mom-and-pop diner, with freshly made dishes, desserts and breads would be a hit. I told them we would get together after the wedding to make plans. As the day went on, I noticed Gretchen tiring quicker than normal. Even for a woman in her 70s, she was usually a spitfire of energy. Seeing her tiring like this was concerning. I pulled Ginger aside and spoke to her about my concerns. “How long has grandma been tired so easily?” I asked her. Her eyes lowered, and she whispered, “For about the past 3 months. Please don’t tell her I said anything. Mom and I have been trying to get her to see a healer, but she says that she’s getting older, and she doesn’t need a healer to tell her that. Mom thinks she is getting closer to having to do a transference ritual, and dad is throwing a fit about hearing it.” My heart broke for her. A transference ritual is where the elder witch of the family who is ready to pass on transfers the powers that they hold on to a family member who they deem best to carry the responsibility of said powers. It’s basically the last deed they do as an elder witch. It is an intimate and private ceremony for just those closest to the one passing. I’m not sure how my mate, Jason, or their uncles are going to take this news. They had all just found each other less than a year ago. To lose her now would devastate them.
I gave Ginger and Gretchen a huge hug before I went into the bakery to grab Mel some of their fresh baked apple raisin bread, and a chocolate raspberry cake. It was a very specific request, and we were threatened with being shunned for a week if we didn’t bring it back. She knows we can’t stand to be away from her, so that is always the threatened punishment. We all know she won’t make it a day away from us, but we oblige her anyway. I also grabbed the kids a bag of snickerdoodles, and some brownies, and a cheesecake for Loki and me. I had gotten some fresh strawberries, raspberries and blackberries from the market, and they would go perfect with the cheesecake.
Bidding everyone farewell, Loki and I got into our truck and pulled out of the gates. Apparently, my brother noticed my mood, and instantly questioned me. I didn’t want to go against Ginger’s trust, but knew Loki wouldn’t say anything if I asked him not to. I explained what I was told, and his mood also dropped. Loki loves Gretchen a lot, and losing her would affect him greatly. She has become somewhat of an advisor to him. Someone for him to confide in when he doesn’t feel comfortable talking to anyone else. It was going to be hard to keep this from our wife, but I wanted it to come from the source. If it became to much, I would have to talk to Ginger about telling her.
The love of friends
*MELIAN POV*
Man, I am so thankful that life is slowing down. It’s been a lot of peaceful and easy days for quite a while now. I had my surgery in January, and I had no cancer evident in the ovaries. Just very big cysts that would reoccur. The surgery was for the best, so I wouldn’t stay in pain or sick from the infections they caused. I was sad at first, but after talking to Peter for a while, I didn’t see any point in being sad anymore. Not when I had so much to be happy about. We decided that in about a year from now we would adopt a little boy. Just to make things even. Our babies are growing like little weeds, and are so stinking smart. Phoenix just turned four and can already read basic stories. It’s adorable to watch him read simple books to Maddix. They are super close, and Phoenix is very protective of his little brother. Both boys are beyond protective of their little sisters, and it’s so cute to watch them get onto their daddies when the girls cry.
Last weekend we celebrated Christy and Toby. They held their wedding ceremony at Cannon Beach, Oregon, and it was beyond beautiful. The weather cooperated perfectly, and everyone had such a good time. I got to see my uncles, brother, and my mother’s side of the family. Grandma Gretchen had pulled me to the side to speak to me after the ceremony, and I didn’t like what she had to tell me. She wants to do a transference ritual with Luke soon. Usually, when an Elder Witch wants to hold her transference ritual, it means she is close to passing. However, she assured me this wasn’t the case this time. She said the older she gets, the harder it is for her to hold the energy that her magic requires. She wants to live a happy and lively life, and just can’t deal with the weight her powers put on her anymore. She wanted to make sure that I wasn’t upset about her giving them to Luke, and not me. Personally, I am beyond thankful she didn’t choose me. Luke is much better suited in that department. I am happy with the Fae magical traits I have, and I hope that no others surface. My life is full, and I don’t need it any heavier. To prove that she wasn’t near her end, she had Luke show me her future. We definitely had a lot more time with her. The last vision Luke had was all of us, including grandma at Trinity’s wedding. That would be years away considering Trinity just recently turned 3 years old. I squeezed her tight, and thanked her for showing me she would be around for us all, and told her that I loved her very much. She then informed me that Liam and Loki had known about the ritual for a couple of days, and it explained their dreary moods. I asked her if it was alright if I shared what the vision had shown me with them, and she told me that I had better. I kissed her cheek and went to find my mates.
“I heard you both got disturbing news at Ruby Meadows a few days ago,” I said as I approached them. Liam immediately started to apologize, and I flashed him a sweet smile, showing that it was OK. “I have an upside to the news you both heard. Grandma isn’t dying. She is just tired of the heavy burden her powers give her. That’s all. She will be around to torment you both for many more years,” I told them. Loki’s eyes widened, and his mood perked up. He kissed me on the forehead and went to find grandma. Liam tried to apologize again, and I stopped him in his tracks. “I know you were sworn to secrecy, and I understand why. I am no longer a weak girl, babe. You don’t have to worry about me crumbling. I know dying is part of life, especially when you get up there in age. Don’t ever worry about talking to me about things like that, OK?” I said as I wrapped my arms around his torso. He nodded his head and held me closer. “I have a pretty phenomenal wife, did you know that?” he asked. I started to giggle and told him I knew, and he had best not forget it.
The rest of the night, we ate, danced, drank and had a great time celebrating our friends. Christy and Toby looked beyond happy, and everyone had an amazing time. Rico and Grace danced like they were newlyweds, and the love they had for each other showed every time they looked at each other. I couldn’t wait until they had babies. With Christy’s dark hair and Toby’s crystal blue eyes, they were bound to be gorgeous. Speaking of gorgeous babies, my goddaughter, Ivy Hopper, is a beauty. I am beyond in love with this little girl. I know Nick is watching over them all with love. I to this day strongly believe Nick encouraged the goddess to pair Rico and Grace together. His best friend and his mate needed love, and he made sure they would find it together. Now he is their little ones’ guardian angel, and when I am around them, you can feel Nick’s spirit. It warms my soul. Tim and Hazel have finally quit apologizing, and have both earned their places back in our group. Timmy loves Hazel so much, and they just took in a pair of 6-year-old orphaned twins from Jason’s pack. Kyle and Kelsey. They are so smart and silly, and fit in perfectly. Hazel also just found out she is expecting, and I am so excited for her.
Sometimes life doesn’t always go the way we think it should, but in the end, it turns out how it is supposed to. The goddess puts people in our life that either enrich it or make us learn a lesson, and in my case, she did both. I don’t think I would have the heart I do now without me going through the turmoils I have in my life. Thank you, Moon Goddess, for enriching my life with these amazing people.
Transfer
*Gretchen POV*
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.