บท 14: Hello mother

Seth's frustration grew with every ring radiating from the phone. He reached out to pick it up, reading the name appearing on his screen let out a deep sigh, before answering it, "Hello mother".

Coming to her senses Angelica tried to get up from Seth's lap, and he responded by tightening the grasp he had around her waist. He wasn't about to let her escape.

She could barely hear what they are talking about. Only a word here and there followed by a "hmm" from Seth. She is still franticly trying to get up. First, she attempted to pull his arm off, and when that didn't, she grabbed the corner of his desk trying to use it to pull herself up, which also failed miserably.

Attempt after Attempt, she was getting more and more frustrated. In contrast, he was sitting back calmly while continuing the phone call. The entire scene seemed comedic. This went on for a few minutes.

"I'm not sure mom, I'll ask her," he said placing his phone down against his chest. "My mother wants to know if you want to have lunch together. It's fine if you don't want to".

She thought about it for a moment. Was she really ready to spend one-on-one time with His Mother? She had only met her earlier that day. It was a peculiar set of circumstances in which she had found herself, after all this wouldn't be just a straightforward lunch.

She suspected that Amber wanted to evaluate the woman who she perceived to be her future daughter-in-law and the one to fill her shoes as the pack's new Luna. Although she still hadn't made up her mind about her relationship with Seth, she knew that it would be important to get her approval. Besides, it didn't hurt that Amber probably could give her some insight into who Seth really was, as thus far she had really conflicting impressions of him.

Having thought it over she replied with all the determination she could muster up, "I'll do it". She wasn't about to let the fear that something could go wrong make her miss the opportunity in front of her.

If she could deepen her understanding of Seth, then maybe she would finally have some insight into his behavior concerning her, as well as be able to communicate her true wishes to him. She wanted to go home, her home, but she had a feeling that if she brought it up the result would only be another argument. Perhaps his mother could help.

Seth was astonished. He had honestly thought she would reject, but the fact that she didn't, served only to make him curious. What was she planning?

He looked at her skeptically before lifting the phone and relaying the answer to his mother, who was delighted at the news. She then proceeded to give him the location and time of the lunch.

Some time had passed since the call. Angelica was now on her way to Botanix, a popular coffee house just on the outskirts of the forest on the opposite side of town. As Seth described it as such a beautiful and tranquil place, she was excited to go there.

Seth stayed behind as he had a lot of work to take care of, hence he had someone drive her. A guardian had also been assigned to her. Seth had explained to her that guardian wolves were basically like the pack's soldiers, they handled any security issues, and under the Alphas' command, they would do anything.

She understood that he wanted to keep her safe, after all, he felt responsible for her being kidnapped last night, but was it really necessary to give her a 6.2 ft. babysitter, who was sitting next to her? They haven't even been formally introduced. All explanation she had received was that he was there to protect her. She felt like he was making all the decisions, and she was powerless, left with no choice but to follow his command.

The thought of it left a bitter taste in her mouth. Was this what their relationship would be like? Constant fighting? Him controlling her and restricting her freedom? Only being informed of decisions and not being able to give her input…

What kind of relationship would that be? All she'd be was his arm candy. A woman who is only there to look beautiful and give him children? Is that what he wanted?

Negative thoughts started spiraling in her head, threatening to consume her. One after the other came flooding in, each scenario worse than the last. She had a bad habit of overthinking.

She had read somewhere that overthinking was the art of creating problems that didn't exist, and she could testify that it was true. The negative would overwhelm her to the point where she would become blind to the positive.

It was not something she wanted to do but had naturally developed out of necessity. Her life hasn't been the easiest, so since a young age, she had to prepare for the worst.

In an attempt to divert herself she admired the scenery of the places they drove past. Unlike what she expected, the more she saw of the village the more beautiful it became. They also appeared to be almost entirely self-sufficient. She wanted to know more about this new world he introduced her to, but if she asked would he even answer? Probably not considering she was still a risk, one he wasn't ready to take just yet.

After some time of driving, they arrived. Botanix, read the large wooden sign over a vintage, cottage-like double-story building. There was a cobblestone path that led to three small steps and a large blue door. On the second floor, was a balcony with tables, and behind it, she could make out a building that looked like it could be a greenhouse. It all was surrounded by various flowers and plants. She noticed little labels under some of them. This place was something truly unique. She could see why it was so popular.

"Shall we enter", the guardian asked. Only then did she notice how long she had been standing there mesmerized. "Yes, we should." She replied before walking towards the entrance.