Free Temptation (Journal of the Wolves of Spruce Hollow) by Tarrah Betts Page A

human.

Chapter 7
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    E veryone joked and traded barbs as we headed up the stairs into the house. We entered into the country kitchen and saw the Alpha’s wife, Rose, preparing a snack for us.
    “Rosie!” we all shouted in unison as we piled in through the door and crowded into the kitchen. 
    “Hello Boys! Everyone is waiting for you downstairs,” Rose called over her shoulder as she checked on a batch of cookies in the oven.
    Rose was a little gray haired force to be reckoned with. She had long gray hair that she braided and coiled all the way around her head, like a wreath. Rose and the Alpha were never blessed with any kids of their own and so, over the years, she had served as a surrogate mother for most of the pack’s children at one time or another.
    Whether it was cleaning scraped knees, wiping tears or sitting and listening while she plied you with her delicious chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk, she had been there for all of us and was well loved and respected by the entire Pack.
    She was especially loved by me and held a special place in my heart.
    In my eyes, Rose could do no wrong. She had stepped up without hesitation and treated me as her own blood born son when my own biological mother dumped me off on her doorstep and I considered Rose to be my mother in every sense of the word.
    “Hi mom” I said as I walked over to see what she was up to. She looked up at me with her warm amber eyes sparkling full of love for me. 
    “Hello darling, give your old mother a kiss, now,” she said as she jutted out her cheek in my direction.
    I obliged like a good son and planted a kiss on her soft, wrinkly cheek as I caught her scent in my nose as soon as I bent down. She smelled like apples and daisies. Rose’s smell was always one that brought out sensations of warmth and feelings of being greatly loved.
    Everyone in the pack had his or her own individual scent. It was with us from the moment of birth and was a handy tool that we could use to locate one another. No one in a Were pack could hide from one another for very long without being found.
    Which probably explained why “Hide and Seek” was not a terribly popular game with the Were children on the acreage, it was just too easy and therefore not very much fun once you factored in our enhanced sight, the ability to phase and superior physical speed and hearing into the mix.
    Poor Aspen used to love playing Hide and Seek when she was little, but none of the other kids would play it with her because it took her too long to find them.
    “How’s my little Aspen doing, Roan? You tell her to come and visit her grandmother and grandfather, we haven’t seen her in weeks.”
    Rose considered Aspen to be her granddaughter, while in reality; she would actually be her daughter in law. But it was hard to feel like a mother in law to a six-year-old child, so Rose became “Nana Rosie” from the time Aspen had arrived in Spruce Hollow.
    “Yeah, I’ll bring her over for a visit, maybe this weekend if you guys aren’t busy. She’s mad at me right now, so I’ll wait until she cools off,” I laughed. 
    “Oh, what’s Miss Aspen got her tail feathers ruffled about now?” 
    “Let’s see, this week it’s the Christmas formal, Justin Myers and I’m a big jerk and she hates me.” 
    “Oh, don’t you pay any mind to that, Roan. She’s just growing up and trying to find her own way. Hang on to her as best you can, son. Just a few more years and this will all be over with,” she said gently as she patted me on the back.
    We all made small talk for a few minute even though I was anxious to get downstairs and find out what was going on.
    “Here, be a dear and grab that for me and bring it downstairs with you,” she said as she gestured towards a plate of warm cookies.
    Rose never ceased to amaze me; she could cook up a meal singlehandedly for the entire pack without batting an eyelash.
    She was also a delegator extraordinaire