"It's very nice to meet you," Amelie told Aaron shaking his hand, after giving him a brief nod of respect since she was an alpha as well, which Aaron returned. "Our sister speaks very highly of you and Alexi has always been a good judge of character, so I'd like to welcome you to the family. Treat Alexi right and we won't have any problems."
It was a subtle warning, but Aaron accepted it as one alpha to another and also because Amelie was Alexi's sister and they obviously loved each other very much.
"Amelie!" Alexi exclaimed blushing.
"It's okay, sweetheart," Aaron said. "Your sister is doing exactly what she should do and that is to make sure I know that hurting you will bring down her wrath on me. It's the wolf way. She's only looking out for you and she should."
Aaron looked back at Amelie and said. "I have no intention of hurting your sister. I love her and I knew she was the one from the second we ran into each other. I know that your sister at least has had some bad experiences with other alphas who aren't really alphas because they don't know how to act properly. Basically, they throw they're weight around and try to intimidate, which is not the wolf way."
There was no mention of immortality or reincarnation, as Alexi had believed that neither Amelie or Audra would believe it, at least not until they got to know Aaron better.
Aaron had to admit that Alexi was right, because the humans of the 20th Century tended not to believe in the supernatural, even though it was right under their noses. There were some exceptions of course when it came to humans believing in the uncanny. When he had been born people had believed in the supernatural, even if they didn't know shapeshifters and werewolves existed. Human back then had been highly superstitious.
"Alright, then," Amelie said with a nod of acceptance. "Let's enjoy our late lunch."
Audra who said nothing to throughout the exchange greeted Aaron politely and nodded in deference, which Aaron returned.
"It's nice to finally meet you Aaron. Alexi talks about you constantly," Audra said. "Amelie and I were wondering we were going to meet you."
"I should've introduced you three sooner," Alexi admitted blushing little. "I just wanted to keep him all to myself."
"That's been rather obvious for awhile now," Amelie said with a mock glare at her sister. There was no heat behind it however.
"We just want to let you know that we mated just a couple of days ago," Aaron said.
"You had a wedding without us," Audra asked in a hurt tone.
"That is not the wolf way, Audra," Alexi corrected her sister.
"Of course we can have a wedding ceremony if Alexi wants, but we mated out in the forest that's behind my home, as that's traditional. I own many acres of land and we were totally alone, except for the animals."
"This is something that we didn't know," Amelie said finally.
"I'm not surprised considering what Alexi has told me and that is the three of you grew up in an orphanage. Just so you know that never should've happen."
"I would think it's quite common," Audra mentioned.
"Not with our kind," Aaron said with a shake of his head. "You must've realized years ago that secrecy is of absolute importance. That the staff at your orphanage was rather lax and careless, which was lucky for you, because if one of the staff had seen wolves in one of your rooms, instead of children what do you think would have happened?"
"They likely would've tried to kill us as they likely would have assumed that we had eaten the occupants of the room or at least hurt them," Alexi said with a shudder, as she thought abut that possibility
"They likely never would've realized that we were the wolves they were chasing," Audra said.
"This is something that all of us realized a long time ago," Amelie said. "I think we all realized how lucky we were."
"Also, you need to realize that the orphanage was probably nowhere near a forest and it would be very suspicious if a wolf suddenly showed up. After all, how could a wolf get into town and not be noticed, much less three of them and why would they bother when the forest is their home. One of your relations should've taken you in. I'm sure you had aunts and uncles, cousins at least. If your parents were both wolves they likely had at least one sibling piece."
"Actually, our father was human," Alexi said.
"And as far as we know he had no brothers and sisters," Audra added.
"Well, that changes things a little," Aaron observed. "It's not unusual nowadays for a wolf to marry a human, though it is risky. Still, it's not forbidden so long as that wolf understands that if their partner speaks of the existence of werewolves or shapeshifters that they will be killed. It also widens the gene pool so that the risk of inbreeding lessens."
"I would think that people wouldn't believe him anyway," Alexi said.
"Most people wouldn't," Aaron acknowledged. "However, there are some people that would believe it until proven false. There is a subset of humans that believe in a lot of things that science can't explain, magic for example. There are humans out there, our greatest writers, thinkers, scientists that believe in the unexplainable. Some will pursue it to the detriment of others. Believe me, none of us need that kind of trouble."
"Aaron has a point you know," Audra said. "We are all different from each other and yes, I believe there are those that would seek us out just to prove we exist or for some evil purpose."
"Yes Aaron does have a point," Amelie agreed calmly.
"Even if your father had siblings it wouldn't've been a good idea to leave you three with him or her, at least if they didn't know about your mother or about you. Still, your mother was a wolf and she should have at least one sister or brother, but the odds are that she comes from triplets because that's what she had. That those siblings didn't take you in goes against every tenant that we follow as shapeshifters or werewolves for that matter. One of our strongest laws is that most humans can't know we exist. Of course, it doesn't include the ones that marry into a wolf family like your father."
"So you believe mother had at least one sibling," Amelie asked.
"I would say it is at least 99% likely, as unlike with humans, single births are very rare among shapeshifters," Aaron said. "I won't say it is impossible that your mother had no siblings, as it does happen, like one of the siblings dies for some reason after they're born or they get themselves killed after they are an adult, but the odds are against it."
"If we do have an aunt or uncle out there we never knew about them..." Alexi said softly.
"I certainly don't remember mom ever mentioning having a brother or sister," Audra said.
"We were young when they died though, just seven, so maybe she did and we just don't remember," Amelie said.
"It's quite possible that your mother and her sibling were estranged," Aaron said. "Just because you're twins or triplets for that matter doesn't mean that you have to be close, though that is usually the way it turns out. I'm certainly close to my twin brother Aric."
"And we are certainly close," Alexi added to her two sisters who looked identical to her. They could certainly be mistaken for identical triplets as they had the same brown hair, the same shape and color of their eyes, the same chin and cheekbones. They might very well be identical for all Aaron knew for they certainly looked it. That was one thing that hadn't been brought up when he and Alexi had been talking about their families.
"I wonder if it would be possible to track this aunt or uncle down," Amelie mused thoughtfully.
"Probably," Aaron said. "It will be hard though depending if your mother had a brother or a sister, even both. Her brother wouldn't have changed his last name if he mated, but her sister likely would have, though not necessarily, since more and more women are keeping their maiden name nowadays for various reasons."
"That's for later though," Audra said. "I'm not really sure if I want to track down a possible relative. They did abandon us after all."
"There could be numerous reasons for that though," Alexi commented. "They may even be valid."
"That's very true," Amelie agreed soberly. "We really should try to track down any relatives and get their explanations for why they abandoned us. Of course, if they're dead and have been, since we were little girls then that's the explanation. If that's the truth that would at least explain why they never took us in."
"I suppose so," Audra finally agreed.
"Even if they're alive they might not necessarily have known that their sister was dead, especially if they were not close."
"That's true too," Audra said. "They could be in the military and have been away a great deal over the last couple of decades for example. I know that the Navy SEALs are always on one or mission or another."
"They'd be awfully old to still be in the Navy Seals, but I suppose it's possible," Alexi said.
"I have to agree with Alexi being in the Navy Seals is for the young and the fit," Aaron said.
"So any nieces and nephews in the near future?" asked Amelie.
"It's certainly possible," Aaron said with a grin. "I'm actually hoping that she is, but if that's the case, it's much too soon to tell, since we only mated a couple of days ago."
"We'll look forward to the announcement that our sister is pregnant then," Audra said.
"I might not be you know," Alexi reminded her sisters blushing fiercely. "It's not that I wouldn't want to be, just that I might not be presently. We'll let you know as soon as we're sure."
"Good enough," Amelie said. "It was really nice to meet you and and I hope we'll see both of you often."
"Of course you will," Aaron said. "You are welcome to visit any time or we can visit you."
"Just make sure you call please in case we're busy," Alexi added. "We might be out on a date for example."
"You might be in bed making love," Audra teased her sister.
"Audra!" both Amelie and Alexi shouted at the same time looking scandalized, Alexi blushing fiercely at her sister's rather crass remark.
"That was totally inappropriate," Amelie told her sister before slapping her on the back of the head hard in a physical rebuke.
"Ow!" Audra protested, but she said nothing else knowing she had deserved it due to her inappropriate teasing of her omega sister, especially in front of her new mate. Once they got to know Aaron better well then they could tease.
Aaron said nothing, but it was clear he was amused, as he and Aric acted exactly the same on many occasions. Aric was an Omega of course, but more than capable of taking care of himself.
"So are you going to have a wedding ceremony?" Amelie asked Alexi.
"I don't see the point," Alexi shrugged. "I know Aaron owns a large company and knows many people, but still we mated in the forest and to shapeshifters that is supposedly considered marriage. I suppose though, we could have a ceremony so people don't believe we're living in sin."
"Personally, I don't care what people believe," Aaron said. "It's not going to hurt my business I promise you. There might be a few that will refuse to work with me anymore, because they're very old-fashioned and believe that we are living in sin, but not enough to worry about. I'll go by what Alexi wants, as it truly doesn't matter to me."
"We can always say that we married in a small private ceremony because that's what we wanted," Alexi said. "I'm sure that some people will not believe it, because what bride doesn't want to really celebrate her wedding day? I'm sure that many will assume that I'm pregnant and that Aaron married me because of it."
"Which doesn't make it true, even if that's what a lot of people assume. We can also say we got married out of state at some exotic location with just the closest family and friends. We can just say that Alexi is shy and didn't want many people there and so I decided to accommodate her," Aaron shrugged nonchalantly, truly not caring one way or the other. "We could have a reception, so that all the important people are invited."
"That might be a good compromise," Alexi said.
"I would say so," Audra agreed.
"We'll think of something," Aaron said. "Whether people believe it or not is not mine or Alexi's problem. Even if we married with all the pomp and ceremony that often goes with weddings some people would still grumble that I married inappropriately and that Alexi is a gold digger, just because she doesn't have a fortune of her own. The fact that I love her will pass over most of those peoples heads, so why should we try to placate them?"
"People will believe what they want out of jealousy, anger, greed or a lot of other negative emotions. No one can change their opinion, except them, so why bother to try?" Alexi said.
"You shouldn't," Amelie agreed thoughtfully. "You shouldn't try to placate such people, as it never works anyway. I think both of us understand that a lot of people in your social circle would consider Alexi a nobody, someone with no pedigree or money of her own."
"I might be rich, but I have no pedigree either. I made my own fortune, not my grandfather or my father. Both of them have been dead for a very long time," Aaron shrugged. "I've always thought so many people who are rich just look down on others who aren't. Being wealthy often make people uptight about who they will associate with. Anyone who doesn't have a whole heck of a lot of money and usually a pedigree that is a mile long. They also often treat their employees poorly, with long hours and as little pay as they can get away with. The fact, that I don't like most of those wealthy men, because of their arrogance and attitude towards those who aren't as well off is why I'm not willing to play along. I would only make both me and Alexi miserable. Once a shapeshifter meets their mate there's no changing it. Of course, those rich men we were just talking about don't know about the shapeshifter thing. We wolves release pheromones, even in human form when a shapeshifter is attracted to someone, you know. Of course, nobody except another animal could smell those pheromones."
"That's rather interesting and something that I definitely didn't know," Audra mused.
"I'm not surprised considering you were never taught about your heritage. I'm sure you picked up a lot about wolves over the years, and a lot of it is the same, but a lot is not," Aaron said shaking his head. "I'll be happy to teach you everything you need to know just like I'm doing for Alexi."
"That's really generous of you, Aaron," Amelie said, surprised at the offer.
"You're family now," Aaron tried to explain. "Not that I wouldn't have done it, even if it Alexi wasn't my mate, because what happened to you was wrong. They're shapeshifters and werewolves all over the city and somebody should have investigated what was going on at that orphanage. Somebody should have caught your scent at some point. Us wolves have a slightly different scent to human, so if one of our kind or even a werewolf had passed through where the orphanage was located they should have investigated the smell. That they did not..."
"Is it possible that someone never caught our scent near the orphanage?" Alexi asked her mate.
"It is possible," Aaron admitted. "I don't consider it too likely, considering you were there from the time you were seven until you were 18, but still, there is a possibility that's what happened."
"It doesn't really matter anymore," Amelie said firmly. "We're grownups now that have made good lives for ourselves. We survived the orphanage with no one discovering what we are, so let the past stay in the past."
They all continued chatting for a few minutes before Amelie and Audra took their leave.
"Alexi, show me out," Amelie requested of her sister.
Alexi complied, as she knew Amelie wanted to talk to her about something.
Once the three of them were out of a shapeshifter's hearing range Amelie asked her sister softly once Audra had gone ahead. "Are you happy?"
"Yes, I am, Amelie, I swear to you. I was very lucky when I ran into Aaron that day as I never really expected it. I was rather wary at first considering past experiences, but Aaron is a totally different kind of Alpha from ones we've all run into in the past. He makes my inner Omega very, very happy. He's genuinely loving, kind, compassionate and tender. He takes care of me. I know that he'll always protect me from those that want to take advantage of me. Not that I can't defend myself if I have to, but you out of all people understand what I'm saying," Alexi told her older sister.
"Yes, I do and so long as this is what you want and you're happy then that's fine with me," Amelie said knowing that her sister spoke nothing but the truth, as she could read it in her body language and expression. Alexi was practically radiating happiness which was another clue.
"You just want to make sure that I wasn't being forced," Alexi said knowingly.
"We've protected each other all our lives and I'm not going to stop doing that just because you have Aaron now and neither will Audra," Amelie said smiling. "I wish to be as lucky as you someday and find me a mate."
"I hope you do too, because I want you as happy as I am," Alexi said, even now she gave her sister a hug. "I'll see you sometime soon sis. Thank you for always being there for me."
"You're welcome," Amelie said smiling. "I'm looking forward to you having children, so Audra and I can spoil them rotten."
"You might not have to wait very long," Alexi said blushing, even as she subconsciously rubbed her belly. "We'll just have to see."
"Amelie are you coming?" Audra who had gone ahead questioned.
"I'll be right there, Audra," Amelie said. "I just needed a word with Alexi before we departed."
Audra nodded and disappeared towards the front door again.
"I had better get going, but we'll be seeing a lot of each other I promise you," Amelie said.
"Of course, you will, as you and Audra will always be part of my life, of Aaron life, of our children's lives. I know you'll be great aunts to them."
Amelie nodded satisfied and went to join us sister so that they could leave.
Alexi made sure the front door was locked before joining Aaron back in the living room.
~~~Aaron and Alexi~~~