After Six Years The Alpha Begs For My Return Chapter 28
She only held my hand and, in fragments, told me stories from my childhood.
How at five, I climbed the magnolia tree and broke my arm, and even a werewolf’s healing couldn’t spare me a month in a cast. How at seven, I insisted on bringing home a stray cat and got my hand clawed bloody for my trouble. How at twelve, I secretly bought a dress to impress Gideon, only to discover it was a size too small, then hid in my room and cried.
“Mom,” I cut in, “how do you remember all that?”
She smiled faintly, a touch of color rising to her sallow face. “You’re my daughter. Even without a wolf’s perception, I can read your heart.”
Outside, the daylight dimmed, staining the windows a warm orange.
“Avery,” she said suddenly, her grip tightening. It wasn’t much, but it was the most strength she’d shown since I’d arrived. “I know there’s bitterness in your heart. But there’s something I’ve always wanted to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“The hardest thing in life isn’t forgiving other people. It’s letting yourself go.” She looked at me. “Your father and grandfather have their plans. Gideon has his responsibilities. Ophelia has her jealousy. None of that is your fault.”
“Leaving White Ash River was not a betrayal. Refusing the mate the elders arranged for you is not childish stubbornness. You do not have to bear the consequences of anyone else’s choices.”
I bit my lip, forcing back the emotion that rose in my throat.
“My only wish,” she said, her voice growing lighter, “is that every decision you make from now on is not to avoid someone, and not to prove something to some Alpha or elder. Make them only because it is the life you want.”
After that, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, her breathing long and even, as if she had finally set down a burden she had carried for a very long time.