Towers

The coffee was bitter and burnt my tongue. Though, no matter how much I drank, my insides remained frigid. The freeze was down to my very bones even though the season was summer.

I would usually seek out the warm embrace of the man before me. He’d secure me tightly, chase away any goose flesh upon my arms. What was perplexing was that he had been the one to cause this reaction. He made me cold.

His brown eyes were hooded, cast downwards and away from me as he spoke. Sounds were assaulting my ears but I refused to understand the words. I refused to acknowledge what he was revealing. Yet, I felt such emotion all the same. My heart demanded to bound out of the ribcage that protected it so fiercely.

“Say something,” he whispered.

His eyes met mine now, tears threatening to cascade down his cheeks. I inhaled deeply, trying to calm myself. I wasn’t going to cry over this man.

“I acknowledge you,” words murmured from my lips. “I accept what you’ve said.”

One tear fell. “That’s it?” His chair scooted back. “Just like that?”

I nodded. “Just like that.”

He stood, lean muscles stretching fluidly. He straightened out his thin t-shirt and let out a sigh. Rubbing at his face, he gave me a slight nod. And then he left the quiet parlor.

I sipped at my coffee and relished the burn trickling down my throat. Why not match pain with more pain? I’d much prefer it over my chest threatening to cave in on itself. My heart was so weak now. I was afraid to move lest it imploded. My ribcage hardened, clutching in.

With the last sip of coffee gone, I placed the empty cup upon the small table next to me. Eyeing the untouched and still steaming coffee cup across from me, I called for my mother’s assistant.

The door opened and entered a mouse-ish girl, scurrying to my side. “Are you finished, Miss?”

Glaring at the warm cup, seeing familiar brown eyes instead, I nodded. “Completely.”

Rising, I exited the parlor, cursing the room and vowing never to enter it again. As I paced down the vast hallway, I contemplated boarding the disgusting room up. I wouldn’t want to seek out the soft pink satins and blue silks that adorned the curtains and furnishings. They were stained with the putrid scent of betrayal now.

My bedroom was my only place of solace. The vast open space I had all to myself was a sort of castle on its own. The beige flooring was the foundation, the milk-white paint covering the walls were my iron gates surrounding my enclosure. I locked the door behind me, not wanting to see another face for the remainder of the evening. I wanted to wallow in my self-pity alone. I wanted to be able to cry and sulk and pace about the room without concerned eyes penetrating the back of my skull.

Knocking on the door made a very unladylike growl escape from my throat.

“Don’t let that creature affect you like this,” my mother spoke sternly. “You’re better than that.”

“Does the locked door not clearly indicate that I’d like to be left alone?” I called out. “Must I place a sign up to get the point across?”

Clicking within the lock echoed throughout the bedroom, noting my mother was using her skeleton key to enter against my wishes. She did this so often it had gotten me to the point of questioning why I ever bothered to use the lock at all. There was no such thing as privacy within my private castle’s walls.

The door creaked open, allowing for a glamorous woman to enter. Her violet chiffon gown kicked out as she walked forward with such purpose. Her keys rattled at her side, clipped onto the belt she religiously wore. The only time she ever took it off was to bathe and to sleep.

“The Moon will curse him,” she assured me. “Mark my words.”

“Does it really even matter?” I cleared my throat. “By tomorrow I will be nothing but a memory to him.” I settled on the side of my bed, my fingers playing with the soft blanket. “He’s done nothing wrong.”

My mother frowned. “He’s given up an opportunity of a lifetime.”

I slumped back, my head resting down. “He’s found another, I cannot fault him for that.” I breathed deeply, willing myself to gain control over a deluge of emotion that was pressuring me to release it. “What I can fault him for is his betrayal. He promised me forever. And he couldn’t keep his word.”

Mother’s footsteps approached. “And may Moon Mother strike him where he stands.”

Rolling over, I hugged onto a pillow. “Perhaps I should spend some time away from here...”

“And go where?”

I shrugged. “I haven’t seen Aunt Clementine for a while.”

Mother’s brows furrowed. “My sister is hardly the proper person to be around at a time like this.” She sat down next to me, patting at my leg. “Besides, she doesn’t understand the first thing about love and emotion.”

I sat up quickly. “Even more of a reason for me to go.” I scurried over to my closet and pulled out a suitcase. “Romantic encounters are the last thing on my mind right now.”

“I believe the correct thing to do right now is to show that male how much his rejection of you does not matter in the slightest.” Mother adjusted her skirt. “I know you could find another eligible male in no time.”

My heart panged at the mere mention of him. He was the one that was to hold my hand until the day I left this earth. He had promised to catch me whenever I fell, amongst other romantic cliches that I should have seen through. My ribcage tightened even further.

“Well,” Mother huffed. “At the very least, don’t let my sister fill your head with nonsense about mates.”

I nodded. “I promise, mum.”

Mates weren’t real. People who claimed to have found their other half were either experiencing a bout of indigestion or abrupt infatuation. My family hadn’t been tied together by the mate bond for generations. And lo and behold, things had worked out just fine. Why let a superstition influence your heart when you can work at falling in love naturally?

I had had that with him... And now it was gone. All because he claimed to have found the other half of his soul. My stomach clenched at the thought. I wouldn’t be pulled into such stupidity.

*

Aunt Clementine wasn’t home when I pushed open the oak door. I sighed, searching for the nearby lamp that she usually kept by the front door. Feeling out in the dark, stretching my fingers in front of me, I felt along the smooth surface of a table. Random items clattered to the floor and I was sure that I broke a few things after accidentally stepping on them as I moved about.

My fingers pulled on a small tether cord and yellow light illuminated around me. I placed the key I had found under the doormat beside the small lamp and let out another sigh.

The front room was just as cluttered as it usually was, right down to the cut-up magazines on the sofa. The familiar scent of peppermint and lavender invaded my nostrils, filling me with nostalgia. I hadn’t seen my only Aunt since the age of seven. Being back in this house had memories flashing behind my eyes. How Aunt Clementine would have blueberry muffins fresh from the oven for breakfast, the sweet smell of lilies in her garden, freshly plucked for the vase on the kitchen table. Even the memory of my mother and her sister squabbling as siblings do. They didn’t see eye to eye on everything, but what set of siblings ever did?

Setting my suitcase by the stairs, I sauntered into the kitchen to search for a glass and some water. The plane trip had been a long one and the first thing I wanted to do - after the water - was have a restful night’s sleep.

Climbing up the stairs, suitcase in hand, the familiar creaks of floorboards welcomed me back like a long lost friend. Small layers of dust clung to my fingers and humbled me. My mother had employed cleaners and maids and others of the like to tend to the chores while Aunt Clem did it all herself. I appreciated the simple life she was living. Surprisingly, it was something I’d envied.

The door swung open, my feet led the way into a most familiar place. Transparent yellow curtains hung in the window, a slight breeze making them sway, tickling the hairs on my arms. A twin-sized bed positioned adjacent to the open window was adorned with a light pink floral blanket and matching pillows. On the nightstand stood a wired lady. It had been a little friend I’d created for myself a long time ago, in the absence of friends with flesh and bone. Approaching it, I held the lady in my hand. The sharp pricks of wire pinched at my fingertips, the unusual fabric of her clothing scratched at my palms.

Setting her down, I laid on the bed, wrapping myself in the additional thin beige blanket. Warmth encased me, comforting me with its softness. The cool breeze outside couldn’t touch my already chilled heart.

Breathing in deeply, I exhaled all the pent up stress that seemed to have traveled with me from Canada. My nerves were almost shot, my stomach still queasy. And all my torturous mind could do was force me to imagine brown eyes. Very specific ones, at that. Warm caramel pools that had once easily drowned me in emotion. Suffocated me with affection. And I had enjoyed every damn second of it. It was a feeling I never wanted to experience again.

We had our entire future planned out. I’d take over my family business and he’d take over his. We’d be amazingly successful. My parents would have been proud. That future was long gone now, though, I supposed I’d eventually find someone else to fill that position. I just didn’t think I could bring myself to love anyone the way I had loved him...

My ears picked up the groaning of the front door downstairs, its protest to opening. Familiar steps shuffled about, encouraging me to shoot up from the mattress.

My feet quickly overcame the stairs as I crashed into the women’s arms. The scent of her surprise invaded my nostrils, her laughter tickled my ears.

“Oh, my dear!” She chuckled. “I so hoped that I’d arrive home before you did.”

Warmth cascaded me. “Auntie Clem, it’s been so long.” I inhaled her scent, reminding myself through my memory of our familial bond.

She smoothed my dark hair around an ear. “Much too long, pet.” She pulled back so her grey eyes met my own. “How I’ve missed you, Valerie.” She led us into the kitchen and placed a kettle on her gas stove. “I haven’t had good company for tea in a while,” she grinned.

The corners of my lips turned upwards. “As long as you fill me in on what’s been going on around here, I’d be the best company.”

Aunt Clementine pulled some teacups from her cupboard, grabbing saucers and little spoons. She set them out before us at her small table covered in a slightly yellowing lace table cloth. The sugar bowl was the same as when I last saw it, small little wolves frolicking on the white porcelain. When I was younger, I liked to imagine that the two wolves were lovers, in a romantic game of chase.

“You know, I was going to ask you the very same thing.” Aunt Clementine sat across from me, settling back in her chair while the water boiled.

I drew in a deep breath, knowing this topic would come up sooner or later. I just wished I had time to figure out how to tell the people who asked. How to explain the tearing of flesh within my chest. I had left home without telling my friends why I had to go so suddenly. I knew my mother would do her own rendition of damage control, however compromising of my situation it may be.

Aunt Clementine’s eyes remained still, watching me intently. I wasn’t going to get out of talking about him... My heart pounded in time with the clock ticking on the wall. The back of my neck began collecting moisture.

The kettle screamed, steam shooting out. Aunt Clem poured the water into the teapot and set it on the table. “Your mother told me only a little about what happened.” She settled into her seat, pouring some loose leaves into the teapot. “Though, I suppose you could shed a little more light for me. It’s good to talk about these things.”

My chest tightened as my gaze cast down. “I don’t see how talking about him will make me hate him less.”

“Mmm, hate is such a powerful emotion.” She poured the hot tea, filtering out the leaves. “I don’t believe a person has truly felt hate until they have everything they ever wanted and then had it taken away.”

I frowned. “Is that not what I had? A man to love and a home to cherish.”

She grinned slightly, casting a glance in my direction as she finished stirring the additions into our teacups. She handed a saucer over to me which I took graciously.

The first sip settled better than coffee. It wasn’t as bitter but the pain from the heat was still there, trickling down my already parched throat. The sugar became sticky at the back of my mouth, making it hard to swallow down what my aunt was telling me.

Aunt Clementine put down her cup. “Surely that’s not all you wanted in life? Do you not want to find your mate and have a bundle of pups together?”

I sighed, knowing that my aunt’s obsession with mates was only because of a fantasy of finding her own one day. I had always found it odd that she had not just settled down with any male and just started a family of her own. Instead she lived in a little cottage in the middle of nowhere, isolation and silence her only companions.

“Sure, reproduction is the idea,” I mumbled. “Though, I don’t think that’s my focus right now.” I cleared my throat. “Tell me, Aunite, did you get everything you wanted? Are you happy?”

Her grin faded. “I could have been happy once, sure. But I suppose it wasn’t meant to be.”

My brows furrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She shook her head, tendrils of dark locks swayed about her face. “Just that I value my family’s wants and needs above my own.” Sipping at her tea, eyes met mine. “Believe me when I say that I am quite content with my current situation. I enjoy my home and the friends I’ve made over the years. It’s enough for me.”

The silence stretched on until our teas cooled. I didn’t know if I could stand the isolation my aunt found herself in. Wolves were social creatures by nature, we needed involvement from our kind. We craved it.

Back home we had our own society separate from Wolves who chose to live in packs. We lived in cities and suburbs and attended gyms and book clubs and whatever else to fill the void of the emptiness crushing us all. Besides, my parents had a huge company I was to take over when the time came. I had large shoes to fill.

“Well,” my aunt stood abruptly. “I’m sure you’re exhausted from your journey here. We can play more catch-up in the morning.” She grinned. “Are you still a fan of my blueberry muffins?”

I smiled, “Always, they’re amazing.”

I assisted with cleaning up the teacups and spoons then headed up to my bedroom for the remainder of my visit. I would spend a month here and it would be nothing but relaxing and sleeping in and not caring what was going on in the real world. This was my escape and I was to take full advantage of it.

Up in the bedroom, I peered out the window to the west of my aunt’s house. The sun had set maybe an hour prior but I could still feel the residual heat from the day as the crickets chirped their songs. A soft breeze ruffled the yellow curtains and I inhaled deeply, scenting out the dusk air. I smelled something different, enticing. I ignored everything but that one scent, my eyes scanning the yard outside. The smell was intoxicating, mindnumbingly addictive. I could tell it was coming from a Wolf. I knew that my Aunt lived on the outskirts of some territories, so I shouldn’t be surprised picking up another Wolf’s scent, but here I was, breathing deeply with undivided attention.

There, in the prickly bushes and tall evergreens on the edge of the property, a large golden Wolf’s eyes reflected in the night.

*****