Fighting her instincts to protect her freedom - Chapter 25
After some thinking about her situation with Sebastian, Ariel decided not to tell her parents about her bond mark. She felt happy about her decision until her parents called her, quite unexpectedly, on Sunday evening.
- Ariel?
- Oh hey mom.
- Don't 'hey mom' me, why didn't you tell me you were mated?
- Huh, because I'm not.
- But you have been marked.
Pause. How did she know?
- You can stop lying to us Ariel. We saw a picture of you on the GoldenFire facebook page.
Facebook! She had forgotten about that! She should have removed any tags of her but of course she hadn't even thought about it.
- Mmm yeah, I'm marked, but not mated. We haven't made it official yet.
- But it's going to be soon right? When were you going to tell us you were getting married? Were we even going to be invited?!
- Married? We're not getting married! And we are not completing the mating yet. I'm not ready. Mom you know me!
- What?! I thought you'd stop with these stupid notions when you found your mate!
Great, if her mother was mad at the thought of not being told that her daughter was mated, she was even more outraged by the fact that Ariel was as stubborn as ever and wasn't planning on getting mated or married anytime soon.
- Well, you were wrong. I found him last year, but he waited an entire year before marking me, because he knows I'm not ready to jump into a serious commitment without having time to...
- You are crazy! You met your mate and you made him wait for a year?! Why did he do it? Wait, is there something wrong with him?
- No! He's perfectly nice and smart.
- Then what's the problem?
Ariel sighed. Hadn't she already explained this before?
- There is no problem, I just need time. I'm..
- 'too young'. You're insane, that's what you are. I was already pregnant when I was your age.
- Well, I'm not you!
Ariel hung up the phone so violently, it shattered into pieces.
She was furious. Beyond furious. Why was it so hard for her parents to understand that she wanted to control her life and not let fate dictate everything? She went to her bedroom with her eyes filled with tears.
....
The next day she went to the University with big bags under her eyes. She hadn't been able to sleep properly. As she was arriving to her classroom, she saw Sebastian waiting for her next to the door.
- Hey Seb! What's up?
- Oh, hey Ariel. What happened? Are you OK? You look tired and... Sad. I tried to call you last night but you didn't answer your cell phone.
- Oh, yeah. I broke it. My parents saw our picture in the GoldenFire facebook page...
- Oh. And they weren't pleased to know the news that way, huh?
- They weren't pleased to know we weren't mated yet or that we weren't planning our wedding already.
Pause.
- But I thought your parents would know your views on the subject.
- I thought so too, but apparently they thought I would change my mind the minute I met my mate.
- Oh.
- Yeah.
- It'll be fine. We can talk about later tonight if you want.
- No, that's ok.
- I mean it Ariel, you can talk to me.
- I know, but it'll be fine. I'll have to go shopping for a new cell phone though.
Sebastian knew she was trying to change the subject. He came closer, gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead.
- Send me a text when you buy it, OK?
- Sure.
Ariel gave him a kiss before rushing to class, not wanting to be late.
...
During lunch, Ariel went shopping for a brand new cell phone with Alonso. He was very enthusiastic about it but had very little attention spam, which was quite funny. For example, while passing a clothing store, he just entered totally distracted by the cool outfits and forgot to say anything. Five minutes later, Ariel found him looking through some jeans.
- Hey, Alonso, what are you doing here?
- Oh Ariel, look, aren't these jeans to die for?
- They are cool, but would it kill you to let me know you were entering the store? I thought I lost you.
- Oh sorry 'mom'. Anyway, you should have called me.
- Alonso, I don't have a cell phone anymore, remember? That's why we came here!
- Oh right! Sorry.
Ariel laughed. The rest of the time, she made sure to keep an eye on her friend. Finally, they found a good smart phone for Ariel and they went to the food court for a well deserved lunch.
- So, how are things going with Sebastian?
- Good.
- Just good?
- Well, they're great, but I had a fight with my mother last night, and I'm still...
- Mad? Melancholic?
- Yeah.
- How bad was it?
- Well, I kind ended up with a broke phone at end of it, so...
- So pretty bad.
- Yeah.
- Aww. I'm sorry. Parents can be quite annoying sometimes.
- No kidding.
- What happened?
Ariel shrugged looking to her plate. What should she say? She couldn't talk about mates and she didn't want to lie to him.
- It's just that my mom saw a picture of me and Seb and...
- And? She doesn't approve?
- She wants to know when we're getting married.
Alonso almost chocked with his soda upon hearing that.
- What? But you're so young!
- Thank you! Exactly what I said!
- Why does she want you to get married? Wait, are you pregnant?
Now it was Ariel's turn to choke.
- What?! No! Why would you think that?
- Well, it would explain why she wanted you to get married...
- No, it's not that. She's just... Well, I don't know, weird I guess.
Alonso took her hand and patted it softly.
- C'mon Ace, let's find you a hot pair of jeans. It'll make you feel better.
- Shopping therapy, huh? Why not.
She smiled, happy to have a good friend on her side.
When they returned to the University, they stopped at the cafeteria to buy coffee before their next class and that's when she saw him. Standing tall, arms crossed and staring right at her was Alpha Rafael. She nodded politely and kept walking. However, seconds later she heard her name. He hadn't raised his voice so Alonso hadn't heard it, but she had. She sighed and told her friend she had forgotten something and that she needed to return to the cafeteria. Alpha Rafael had picked a table and asked her to seat with him.
- Sir, is there something wrong?
- Yes, Sebastian hasn't been returning my calls.
"Not surprising", she thought.
- Oh.
- So, why is that Ariel?
- I assume he hasn't changed his mind about not wanting to work for you.
- Do you know why?
- Yes, and so do you. Can I leave now?
- No.
- What else do you need.
- I need him back.
Ariel shrugged. What was she supposed to do? Besides, she agreed with Seb, he didn't have to go back.
- Ariel, he is my nephew and my son will need him when he takes control of my pack. I need him back.
- Why are you telling me this?
- Because you are going to bring him back to me.
- No.
- Yes you will or...
- Or what?
- Or you will be expelled from my pack. Without my protection, how long do you think you will remain alive?
- Are you planning to kill me?
The Alpha laughed. It was eerie and Ariel felt unprepared for the fear inside her.
- Did you really think there weren't people out there who wished you dead? You brought down an alpha and killed another important leader. There are many who would want to kill you in return. So far I've kept you safe, but I don't have to keep doing it.
- How long do I have?
- One month.
- Five weeks.
- Why?
- I can't work magic.
- You don't think he'll come back to keep you alive?
- He would, but I want time with him before he starts hating me for asking so much.
Alpha Rafael smiled.
- Fair enough.