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Mum moved over to the large book cabinet in the corner, withdrawing a thick, black leather box from amongst the mass of titles. Her hands were gentle as she handled the old box, gently unlocking and lifting the lid. It contained her most precious memories of dad and her parents, all of which had passed away before my birth.
She placed it down and began to search through it. Carefully faded pictures, family mementos and notes and trinkets from dad were removed, each one placed lovingly down. I watched her, wondering what could possibly be in there to show me. Until finally, her delicate hands sought what they had been searching for.
A small, deep dark blue jewellery box was extracted and placed gently beside the larger one. The boy’s eyes flickered in my mind, being such a similar shade of blue. As Mum walked over and placed herself down onto the sofa beside me, I scolded myself for thinking of him. He was a stranger. No more, no less.
My eyes landed back upon mum as she stroked the lid of the box. It seemed that her previous excitement had been lost, replaced with reminiscence. ”This," she said quietly a moment later, opening the box, "was given to me by your father." She turned it to face me.
I peered inside, my mouth gaping. On a navy cushion lay a dainty pendant. The green gem, an emerald I presumed, had been faceted so that it sparkled perfectly under the lights despite the wear of age on its surface. Swirling fingers of gold clasped the beautiful stone tightly. "Wow," I breathed, taken aback, "May I?"
Her blue eyes met mine. It looked as if there was sheen of tears to them and I knew that looking at such a precious gift from dad made her sad. "Of course," she laughed, seeing the mystified look on my face.
Slipping my fingers under the cool pendant, I gently pulled it out from the box and let it sit in my palm. I was careful about how I handled it, not wanting to damage the gorgeous piece. I ran a finger over its glistening surface, imagining Dad presenting it to Mum.
“It has a lot of meanings,” she sighed, making me look up, “the emerald.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “It’s supposed to be a sacred stone of Venus, given by one lover to another to strengthen and bring success to their love. Or so your father told me,” she chuckled softly.
“Is that why he gave it to you?” I asked, enchanted by the thought of my parent’s love story.
She laughed gently and shook her head. “No, it’s an Alpha’s pendant. Since the position of Alpha is usually passed from the Alpha male to his oldest son in our pack, the necklace will stay in the family for generations. This is the Matthews pendant. The Alpha male will give it to his mate soon after they have met for her to protect. Your Dad’s other part was just a sweet idea to make me swoon.”
“Oh. So this is belonged to all the generations of our family that were Alphas?” I questioned, flipping the gem in my palm. Each time I did I became more amazed by it. It was even more precious than I had originally thought.
“It sure did,” she nodded, gazing out of the window, “It an antique. Our ancestors believed that the colour of our eyes was incredibly special, like part of our soul. That’s why the pendant will be the colour of the first Matthews Alpha male. It’s amazing that those beautiful eyes passed all the way down to you and your father.”
“That’s amazing. And it’s so beautiful,” I murmured.
Mum smiled, playing with the box in her hands. “That it is, sweetheart,” she replied. There was a silent pause before she whispered, barely audibly, “It’s meant to help to heal the heart, too, but it’s failed so far.”
My chest gave a squeeze and I held the necklace back out to her. “Here, mum, thank you for showing it to me. It’s a gorgeous gift.” I wanted her to take back her part of dad and remove the sadness that had fallen over her.
She held up hand to stop me. “I would like for you to take it.”
I froze, stunned. How could such a beautiful thing ever be given to me? “Mum, you don’t mean that. Please, don’t you want to wear it?”
"No, no. I hid it away after your Dad was killed, afraid that I would break or lose it being in such a state. And the way that Leila Sole used to look at me when I wore it,” she let out a low growl, “My heart would have broken even more if anything had happened to it. I decided today that maybe it was time to pass it down to you."
I had no idea what to say, but I managed a “Thank you, mum. I will treasure it.” I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tightly. She rubbed soothing circles on my back and I heard her make a small sniff. The necklace reminded her of everything she had lost.
She pulled away a few moments later, wiping away a stray tear. “Here. I’ll put it on for you,” she tried to smile, taking the necklace from my hands. I turned on the sofa, lifting up my mass of curls. As the necklace looped around my neck, my heart leapt. What if mum spotted the dried blood? There was no way to explain it without worrying her.
I bit my lip and sat silently, praying that she wouldn’t see or ask about it. A second later the pendant fell against my chest and mum exclaimed, “Done.” I dropped my hair with a sigh, my tensed muscles slacking. She had been too distracted to notice.
I turned back and pressed myself deeply into the sofa. “Thank you,” I smiled, relieved. I stroked the gem one more time, enjoying the coolness of it against my skin. It felt wonderful to be the owner of such a thing.
She stroked my cheek. “’Emeralds will help you to see the truth, no matter what clouds your view’. That’s what your grandmother told me. If, of course, you believe it that sort of mystical thing.”
“We exist, don’t we?” I laughed. I snuggled back against the sofa, tucking my feet underneath me to warm them and leaning my head into the crook of her neck.
“True, true,” I felt her nod. We settled into a more comfortable silence, her fingers soothingly running over my hair. Then a thought suddenly struck me, inspired by our conversation.
"Mum?" I asked quietly, playing with the hem of my top.
"Yes honey, what is it?"
"You know you spoke about the meeting of mates. What... is it like?" I questioned nervously, my cheeks beginning to burn.
Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Do you think you have?"
"Um, no," I replied quietly, “I was just wondering how I’d know, if, in fact, I had.” She couldn’t know who I was referring to, but how could I ignore the feeling that had swallowed me when I’d met my attacker? I was probably making it all up. I couldn't seem to push him out of my mind though, no matter how hard I shoved.
"Well I can't tell you what you should feel, there’s not some textbook definition. But what I can tell you is that when I met your dad it just felt perfect. He wasn’t just one of those people who looked perfect, he felt it. I knew then that he was the best person I was ever going to meet in my entire life.” Her fingers tightened on the arm of the sofa.
“Are they, like, really predestined then?”
“I don’t like to think anything’s already decided for you, but who knows? You’ll know when you see them,” she replied with a gentle smile, “Even then you don’t have to be with them. Everything is up to you in the end, baby.”
"What do you mean? Some people ignore their mates?" I asked, a little surprised by this fact.
She nodded. "Of course. Just because they’re signalled out to you doesn’t mean you have to drop everything in your life for them. It’s just something we have to help us choose, and even then some people never meet their true mate. Most people do give in though, sweetie. Who can resist the idea that they have someone perfect for them?"
"Wow. And what about the mates that get ignored?"
"I can’t say. I’ve never experienced it. I never fought your father. There was no doubt in my mind,” she laughed and then sighed, but contentedly this time.
I sat for a moment contemplating the thought, playing with my necklace. There were so many questions whirling through my mind. What if my reoccurring thoughts of the blue-eyed boy were because he was my mate? If he were, would I ever see him again? Why had I never seen him before? Could I ever be perfect for someone? It was all too much for me to cope with.
Mum touched my cheek and brought me from my thoughts, "But sweetie, you do whatever you have to do. Don’t stress about it now, I can tell that you are. I know you'll make the right decision when the time comes. Whatever happens in your life, I will always love you."
"Thanks mum,” I smiled, “that means a lot to me.”
“Come on, let’s have some dinner.” She gave me a final squeeze and pulled away.
* * *
We ate together at the dinner table and quietly chatted. The large house was solemn and peaceful, the way it had been since I was born. I tried to keep mum distracted, sometimes succeeding at keeping the earlier sadness from her blue eyes, and in return she quizzed me about school and my new friend in Rose.
After helping mum clear away, I said goodnight and headed up to my room. I had taken the small blue box upstairs with me and I placed my precious necklace inside, before aligning it perfectly on the bedside table. Beyond pleased with the day I slipped into bed, thoughts of that boy filling my head.
For the first time, I was so distracted that the nightmare didn't haunt me.
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