Chapter 0296

That painful conversation with my mother occurred five years ago. My father's betrayal slowly drained the life from her over three agonizing years. In the end, I'm certain he took another mate. Mom had been fading, but on that final day, her scream of agony still haunts my nightmares.

It was my sixteenth birthday. Mom had cleared her schedule to celebrate with me. So many of my birthdays had been tainted by my father's cruelty, but this one became the most devastating.

The morning had been perfect. We'd visited a secluded creek, hiking through sun-dappled woods. Mom hadn't been able to shift for years - her wolf had grown too frail - but we cherished every moment together.

The horror struck during dinner, right when pack celebrations would normally begin. Mom froze mid-bite, her face twisting in sudden anguish. Then came that terrible scream as she clutched her mating mark. I rushed to hold her, accustomed to these episodes by now. But this time... this time it killed her.

She died in my trembling arms, abandoning me to face the world alone at sixteen.

Without Theodore's kindness, I don't know where I'd be. Probably lost in the human foster system. But I'd already started covering Mom's shifts at the diner. She'd told Theodore she had cancer - impossible for werewolves with our healing abilities, but he never knew her true nature.

So when Mom got "sick," he let me work her shifts. After her death, he protected me - keeping me employed, ensuring I finished school. He retired from cooking months ago but still checks on me daily.

I'm always wary when bus travelers stop by. Many assume a lone waitress is easy prey for a quick fling. Theodore keeps me safe, but I stay alert around these transient customers.

Days before my eighteenth birthday, a massive man entered - built like the warriors from my old pack. Not just tall (though at 5'11" I'm no petite flower myself), but broad and powerfully muscled. His intense stare unsettled me before he vanished without ordering. The encounter left me wondering if he was werekind, but bus people are unpredictable.

On my eighteenth birthday, I wake with no intention of celebration. My birthdays mark only tragedies: failing to manifest my wolf, my banishment, Mom's death. The sole bright spot? Human law now recognizes me as an adult - no one can force me out.

All plans vanish when I hear her voice in the shower.

Oh Isolde, you've endured so much waiting for me. Forgive my long absence.

"Who's there?" I demand, yanking back the curtain to an empty bathroom.

It's me, your wolf. My name is Aurora.

"I don't have a wolf. I'm too old," I argue aloud.

I've always been part of you, but couldn't awaken until now.

Why the wait? I think, testing if this is real.

Our destined Guardian spirit lived beyond his time. The Moon Goddess honored another's plea to spare him. I waited until we received our proper Guardian bond.

You're truly my wolf?

Always, Isolde. You'll never be alone again.

Tears streak my face as decades of loneliness crash over me.

Aurora. At last.

At last indeed, my Isolde.

At work, I tell Theodore I need the evening off. When pressed, I admit it's my birthday - one I'd planned to ignore, but now must honor. He produces a cupcake with a wink, shooing me out the door.