Dear readers!

fanfiction hasn't shown any views for a month and a half now. I don't know how much longer this will last.

My beta Julie has advised me to start posting again because she feels it's unfair to you that you have to wait so long for the sequel.

AND SHE'S RIGHT!

So here is the next chapter.

It would be nice of you to give me a direct review ... not in the form of words, but perhaps in the form of a smiley or a thumbs up.

Thank you ... Verena


Chapter 212

Judgments


Leah


"So what came out now?" asked Becky jitterily.

A question I had also asked, but so far, without getting an answer.

"Go ahead and sit down. Dinner is ready. We'll tell you how it was," Mom replied, already holding the first bowl.

Quickly we all helped to bring the food over.

All the children of the house were curious! Except for Ced. He was still at the neighbors for dinner, so that he didn't notice anything about the upcoming report.

Then our parents began to tell.


Flashback

Mike had been quite nervous, but that was probably on Jasper's account, while his father and the two lawyers of his appeared quite confident and condescending.

They would have started again with the story that the sex had been consensual. That Mike and Becky had not separated for good, but had only taken a break from their relationship due to insignificant friction in a teenage romance, and had virtually reconciled on the Tuesday in question. Only afterwards Becky had the vindictive idea to present it as rape.

However, one had quickly pulled out this idea from the lawyer's head.

Dr. Bennett testified that Becky's injuries were typical of such a crime. They would have occurred in the heat of attack and defense and could not easily be recreated to try to invent a believable story.

Dad's statement that Jake and Becky had gotten together a few weeks earlier and that Mike undoubtedly must have known about it based on his various behaviors toward Jake did the rest.

So there was a punishable rape.

When Dad was called, the opposing attorneys had first demanded clarification of family relationships.

They had not yet known about the marriage, but of course immediately took up the subject. There had been talk of nepotism. Dad - the adoptive father of the 'alleged' victim's boyfriend - found Becky and brought her to his father. Surely this could not be legal. Both the marriage as such, the adoption of a minor by minor children, and then that it was so fitting that Dad's father was, of all people, the attending physician.

But the judge shot down this whole issue at the outset.

The legal basis for this had already been discussed and it was all legal. Moreover, it was not relevant to this case. The judge himself had even objected that if Edward found an injured person, it would only be obvious that he would take him to his father - the doctor. A person he trusted.

Then it was about the seriousness of the crime.

Mike's attorneys, of course, presented an act in the heat of the moment.

Unplanned and unique. He was still almost a child who didn't really know what he had done.

But our lawyer was able to refute this as well. Partly through previous statements.

The severity of the injuries. Mike's own loud threat that he wasn't done with Becky yet and would take it by force if necessary.

The decisive factor, however, was a surprise witness.

Well. At least surprising for the other side. Or rather, the fact that he testified against Mike came as a surprise to them.

It was a former friend of Mike's.

One of those who were supposed to beat up Jake in the gym, which, as we all know, backfired. The latter confirmed that Mike had thought about it in advance and had just been waiting for the right moment. No one had actually taken it seriously and thought it was bragging. But when Becky showed up again at school with a black eye and the like, it was clear that it hadn't been stupid talk. He and one other would have asked Mike about it, hoping they were wrong. Because if they weren't, they'd probably be complicit in not taking it seriously and preventing it. But Mike proudly boasted that he had shown it to Becky after all.

This boy also told about the encounter on New Year's Eve.

He had ended his acquaintance with Mike and had been there as a guest.

Now he reported how Mike had tried to turn Becky on there again.

He had stayed in the background because there was nothing he could have done anyway. In this respect, he had not understood the words exchanged, but Mike's initial attitude towards Becky would probably have been unambiguous. Mike would have been told to leave, though. Unambiguously. I don't know who the tall dark guy was who had finally kicked him out of the house.

And he reported something else ...

Becky was not the first. He didn't know who the girl had been. Or possibly THE GIRLS. He had just moved here last summer and had met Mike on vacation as a 'neighbor kid'. They had become fast friends because of their common interest in football. At a boozy party just before school started, Mike had told him that he had a special way with girls. A violent one, at that. He also rarely had just one girl, and he worked each one over for different lengths of time. For a while he played the lovable lapdog, but then - when his patience ran out - he'd pull other sides. He boasted that he already knew how to handle the girls. That one had to show them who was in charge. Even with violence, to clarify his superior position. That's how he would have gotten many a girl into bed. And if the bitch got any stupid ideas - like turning him in - you could always silence her with money. That would have worked very well once before! A long-time friend of Mike's - one of the few he still had - would have confirmed to him that it had really been like that. That he had actually forced a girl - also his girlfriend at the time - to have sex before. The opinion among Mike's friends was that the girl wouldn't have it any other way if she bitched like that. And this guy, who confirmed this to him, was apparently no better than Mike.

Flashback end


"Mr. Corbin had tracked down this boy in advance through Jasper's help and talked to him about all of this. But he had actually refused to repeat that in court. He was afraid of Mike and his influential family. Giving this information to the lawyer was one thing. To publicly mess with Mike and his father was quite another. Therefore, Mr. Corbin worked him over a bit. Rhetorical questions about whether he wanted that Mike could continue to pounce on various girls. Innuendos that he could be busted for knowing the truth but not saying anything. So he finally gave in and testified, but let Mike's lawyers believe that he would testify for him. Otherwise, I don't think he would have gotten to court in one piece," Dad explained.

"He was the last witness to be questioned. Everyone else had already given their testimony and then the jury retired. Not for very long though," Mom added.

"The jury unanimously found him guilty. But the sentence will be determined by the judge. Judge McCarty seems to have a fondness for the number fifteen ... Mike goes to prison for fifteen years, without parole. The main reason for this heavy sentence - although this was his first proven offense - was that Mike, to all appearances, believed that his behavior was absolutely normal. Or rather, that he could behave as he pleased. An opinion that your principal put very expressively on the record. Mike has already started this prison sentence. Although he was a minor at the time of the crime, he is currently on his way to federal prison, as he is now of age and the sentence will extend beyond his twenty-first birthday. In addition, he has been ordered to complete fifteen sessions of self-control therapy, as well as many years of resocialization therapy. At least one hundred and fifty hours. Since Mike is still quite young for such generally reprehensible and criminal behavior, the judge hopes to be able to reintegrate him into society once he has served his sentence. Mike also cannot avoid an entry in the 'Sex Offender Registry'. This is a public database in which sex offenders are registered and which anyone can look at. For example, future employers. After serving his sentence, he will be registered there for another fifteen years ... And as a final sentencing point, you were awarded about $50,000 in restitution - to cover your medical care and attorney fees."

I smiled, not to say I grinned.

Mike was history!

Becky also gradually began to smile more, the more she had presumably absorbed and processed from the many words. Then she bristled.

"And that means I'm going to pass that right on to you for Mr. Corbin's fees and Carlisle's hospital bill!" Becky stated.

"And you can put that out of your pretty little head!", Dad said with a stern face and a raised forefinger.

Becky would in no way be able to defend herself against this, which she quickly understood.

She hugged Dad gratefully for all the help from him and his family.

Dad, who paid for the lawyer. Carlisle, who had provided medical care and hired her father. Esmé, who had so sweetly taken her and Jake in for the days. Jasper, who had always been very patient and gentle with her about everything. Mom, who had lost her job because of Becky's ad. But the others had also played their part in making Becky forget that day so well.

"They're your family too, little star!" replied Dad gently.

A touched tear escaped her eye, which Jake immediately took care of.


We were sitting down to dessert when our favorite neighbor came over and brought Ced.

I assumed Ced was going to greet us in turn, but he was stopped. By the vanilla mousse that was in the middle of the table.

Dad immediately fetched him a small bowl and a spoon.

"Little sweetie tooth!", David titled our little brother. "You've already had dessert with us!"

"So?" asked Ced so dryly and matter-of-factly that we all laughed.

The short one was right! There was never enough dessert.

David brought one of his laptops.

The next update tour for his lab software was coming up and he asked Mom to take a very critical look at the program before applying the update to the customers. Had until the weekend, though. At the same time, he asked my parents overall to take care of Sonya when he was out with his clients next week. She was actually doing very well, but he didn't much like the idea of leaving her almost completely alone for two or three days because the customers were so far away - or, from experience, were keeping him late.

Of course, my parents would check on her.


Becky and Jake then drove together to their parents, and it was about time for me too.

I had an appointment.

I went upstairs again to my room.

My cell phone was hanging on the charging cable.

As I did so, I glanced again at the letter I had on my desk.

A letter from Kate. Nanuk's fiancée. The page was quite worn by now, a bit torn and crumpled, so many times I had read the letter. It was only a few lines, but I was still looking for the meaning between the lines. So also now again.

I sighed in frustration, grabbed my Chicago-bag, said goodbye and away I went.

Halfway to the garage to undress, I lingered briefly and grinned.

"Do you think that because your siblings are out of the house, you have to go, too?" Dad namely just asked my little brother with great interest.

He answered nothing and a possible gesture I did not see through the door.

"Forget it! You stay at home," Dad then said.

I undressed, packed my clothes, and ran through the forest.


I had an appointment with Kate in Kennebunk. A small town south of Saco.

For me, the place was easier and more expeditious to get to than Cornish, where she lived - whether as a wolf or by car - while Kate was on her way to Boston and always got on the interstate there.

We had an appointment at McDonald's. Kate's suggestion, which I was only too happy to agree to. They had Cheese Donuts. I had to go for it.

In the end, I had taken a full tray of boxes and bags from the counter, even though I had had dinner less than an hour ago. I was nibbling on my apple turnover when Kate entered the fast food place.

With widened eyes she stopped in the doorway and looked at me.

"Kate," I stepped toward her.

She flinched, as if I had woken her up or something. Hectic or jittery, she looked around indecisively for a moment. Was she getting her bearings? Was she thinking about leaving again?

I couldn't tell and passed over this hesitation by simply hugging her.

"Hello, Kate," I murmured as I did so.

"Hello, Leah," she replied after all. "Thanks for coming."

"Why not," I said appeasingly. Neither in her letter, nor in the short telephone conversation that followed, did she sound bitter or that she wanted to hold me accountable for anything. So why shouldn't I have agreed to a meeting?

I went back to my table and disposed of the empty wrappers while Kate, in turn, grabbed something from the counter.

Also Cheese Donuts.

I smiled at that.

And a Coke.

"Nanuk and I used to make a little stop here when we went to Boston," she told me as she threw her jacket over the chair.

"From Cornish, that's certainly quite a distance," I reflected. That was inland and could be reached almost exclusively by country roads. From Saco, I had been on the road for just a few minutes. Well, I had come here as a wolf through the woods, but it didn't take twenty minutes by car either, since you could drive right onto the interstate in Saco.

"Yes. I've been on the road for an hour," she confirmed.

As expected.

For a few minutes we chatted about trivia while Kate ate her donuts. But then she took a deep breath.

"You're probably wondering why I asked you here, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yeah right. Your letter alone made me wonder."

"I told you on the phone I didn't have your phone number, but I found your address in his records."

"You could have just asked Akai. He has my number. Phoebe, too," I explained.

"Yeah, but I pretty much stayed away from his family after the funeral was over. I needed distance from them."

I nodded.

I could understand that. She had been a part of his family, but when he was gone, it was no longer hers. No one would banish her, certainly not, but without Nanuk it would simply be different.

"But why didn't you even contact them for so long? They were worried about you," I asked.

"I could not bear them ... I have a feeling that something is being kept from me. Something that concerns Nanuk. It drives me crazy! This feeling as such, but also that they feel they have to keep something from me. The only thing I know for sure is that it has to do with you. Because whenever your name came up, everyone would immediately get all busy. They were evasive, just so they wouldn't have to answer me ... That's why I knowingly avoided them for some time. And that's why I wanted to see you one more time. Just you alone ... I was never told why Nanuk had to die. Sure, he lost to ... blood drinkers. That's not what I mean. But why he was alone in the forest. Where he'd been all day. Why Edward, of all people, brought him back to us ... I want answers at last! ... Above all, I'm interested in the question of whether I was still his fiancée at that time!"

She had talked herself into a bit of a frenzy, realized it herself, and took a deep breath. She mumbled an apology while sipping her Coke.

I swallowed hard and looked down at my nervously playing hands.

What was I supposed to tell her? Didn't she deserve the truth? On the other hand ...

"What does it matter? Now? ... No matter what answers I give you, it won't change anything. Nanuk will not come back. Not to you, not to me."

"I'm well aware of that, but all these unanswered questions really drive me crazy. Every evening, when I've successfully put another day behind me, I lie in bed and all these ambiguities won't let me fall asleep. I then answer them for myself. Always different. Always more assuming the worst," she murmured increasingly quietly, while playing with her drink. She lifted her gaze and looked me in the eye. "That I had already lost Nanuk before he perished in the forest!"

"That would be the worst thing for you?", I cautiously dug deeper.

"Yes and no ... That's the answer it mostly came down to. Even before the funeral, when I kept asking his family about it. They always told me not to worry so much. Nanuk would have loved me. Sometimes it even came as an accusation. How could I doubt Nanuk! After all, I would have his ring to prove it! ... I'm just tired of hearing these excuses all the time!" she grumbled again, but seemingly reminding herself to calm down again, took another sip. "Well. Yes and no ... I loved Nanuk and wanted to marry him. In that respect, of course, such an answer would be very devastating, since I assumed the same of him. To be simply replaced after all these years. Even more so - please forgive me - by a little girl. No offense meant, Leah. I just mean the age difference between you. Not very high numerically, just four years, but in our overall young age, four years is already a milestone. You're in high school. We're almost done with college. That's where worlds collide. In exaggerated terms!" she explained.

"I understand what you are trying to say. We're teenagers, but you're not anymore," I admitted. We could certainly have the same interests, be on the same wavelength, and get along very well. But in our ways of thinking, we differed. For teenagers, the future, the serious side of life, would come at some point. For almost-finished students, however, it was all already there.

Kate nodded in affirmation.

"On the other hand, no. It wouldn't be the worst thing. It was not his decision that you should be his fate ... Amarok - and then Akai - tried to explain to me several times what a tremendous power was behind that bond. When I think about it that way - that is, in that way - I actually just felt sorry for Nanuk. He was standing between us. No matter how I felt about it all the time, it must have been even harder for him. The same way for you. Not knowing who you belonged to. Then I would have been happy if his brokenness had come to an end, and he could finally be himself again ... But not knowing what the truth is now, being in the dark and just mulling over all the scenarios, I can't stand it any longer ... I'm asking you for answers, Leah! Openly and honestly. Without excuses, because you think it won't change anything or hurt me anymore," she then asked calmly.

"Okay, Kate. I'll tell you about Nanuk's last day," I promised, but I felt like fresh air and a little quieter surroundings.

I also wanted something to drink, and Kate had to go to the bathroom.

We met again at the end of the parking lot where there was a bench.

On the way there, I talked to Marcus on the phone. He was with Mr. Corbin at his mother's and wanted to either pick me up or come to my house afterwards. Depending on who would be ready sooner and how it would go here with Kate.

I then began to tell, starting with the fact that Marcus had broken up with me the day before I had been to dinner with them.

This was new to her.

I had expected that, since I had not told anyone from Nanuk's side, which is why I told her now.

I reported further.

Mentioned our small meetings, where then always someone had been there, because I continued to fight against the imprinting. If not for me, then for Nanuk. How we were in the Indian village, and I had overheard the conversation between Akai and Nanuk. All the way to that all-changing Monday. Holiday. We had wanted to go to Boston with our friends, but I had been in the woods instead. Completely at my wits end after all the back and forth between Marcus and Nanuk. As she had thought it would be, it had been a very confusing and very sad time for Nanuk and me. The feelings for the partner on one side, the tremendous power of imprinting on the other. No matter what we would do, nobody would have gained anything. Not even us, because we would have lost her and Marcus. But that morning I could not longer.

"... We gave up the fight against our destiny. Were tired of fighting ... and ...", I stammered.

Kate had listened to everything attentively, asked questions here and there, smiled, her mouth twisted suspiciously, and reacted in other ways. But overall, she seemed very composed and almost relaxed.

"You slept together," Kate finished my sentence, continuing to be calm, although she seemed to be holding onto the bench.

Actually, I didn't want to go like a bull at a gate, and I was still looking for the right vocabulary for it. Was probably too late.

"Yes ... We did ... And it was incredible!", I admitted.

"It must have seemed like a liberation to you to be united," Kate reflected on this, and even smirked a tiny bit.

"That's how it was, yes. Finally the conflicts had ended," I remembered very well. "But those hours with him were also strange. We were happy, it felt right, and we talked about what would happen next with us. Now that we were together ... At the same time, there was the guilt inside us. The knowledge of what we had to finally give up for this and what we had lost. What we actually didn't want to lose. You and Marcus. We were sad about it. It wasn't fair."

"True. It wasn't fair. Not so much that afternoon as the overall situation," Kate muttered. She got up from the bench, pacing back and forth a bit. "So he was with you all day and wanted to end our relationship," Kate summarized.

"I'm sorry, Kate, but ... yes ... That's what he wanted ... We wanted to resign ourselves to our predetermined fate. With everything that goes with it," I admitted.

"Without hesitation," Kate stated more to herself.

"Without hesitation," I confirmed. "But also without 'Hip, hip, hooray!' ... As I said ... this day was a bit of a mess emotionally. It was right and wrong at the same time."

"I understood that," she smiled understandingly. "Then what happened?"

So I also talked about the rest of the day.

That my parents came back from their trip, how Jake and Becky then got to it, what we had seen about Ced's gift. The promised future? I still wasn't clear on what I had really seen there. It didn't matter anymore, though. None of it was going to happen. How Nanuk had set out on the way. The way to Kate to talk to her and his family about me.

"... Jake and I were going to do our wolf round before dinner when I suddenly felt dizzy. It was over in a flash, but that shouldn't happen to Spirit Warriors. Besides, I had a very strange feeling. As if I had to go to Nanuk immediately. So instead of walking around the town as usual, we walked through the forest towards Cornish. There we met two vampires. Two women ... They have previously met Nanuk ... For us, the two were no difficulty, but Nanuk was alone and had no experience ...", I now reported, with tears running down my cheeks.

Kate dug tissues out of her purse.

One for me, one for her.

"Dad kept running, looking for Nanuk. He hoped to find him only badly injured ...", I opined just as Kate jumped off the bench in a rage.

"He was hoping for that?!" she asked angrily.

I stepped toward her, raising my arms placatingly.

"Kate ... Please ... What do you think Jake, or I have been through. Broken ribs, skull fractures, bruised lungs, bone chips in the heart. Dad could see in the vampires' minds that it had been a tough fight, but the two of them then walked on without checking Nanuk's condition. He just hoped it would be the same with Nanuk as we've experienced a few times before and no worse. We are Spirit Warriors. We can't die so quickly," I explained.

"Then how could Nanuk ..." she looked at me desperately and fearfully.

"Vampire venom makes a human become a vampire. But for us, it's deadly ... He was bitten."

Kate's eyes widened in shock.

I put an arm over her shoulders, supported her the two steps back to the bench and held her.

"Dad tried to suck the venom out of him. It can work on humans if it hasn't been too long, but not on a wolf ... I got to him shortly after Dad ... He died in my arms," I ended, and we cried together.

A few minutes passed, during which we clung to each other in silence.

"That's all I can tell you about that day ... After that, everything was just dark for me."

"Bleak," Kate mumbled, nodding in agreement.

"Yes, but with me it wasn't just metaphorically like that. I was in a kind of coma until the following Sunday. I relived the last minutes with Nanuk over and over again, but otherwise I didn't notice anything around me. Day or night, whether anyone was with me, where I was. Nothing. Deep darkness and incomprehensible pain. I was having seizures, screaming and thrashing around, but I didn't notice any of that. That's why I didn't go to Nanuk's funeral. I didn't know anything. Not even whether I was still at all. I thought that's how it would be for the rest of eternity."

"But you woke up," she noted, sounding a little hopeful, as if she were waiting for the long-awaited happy ending to a story.

"Yes, I did. But not under my own power," I said, and just in the corner of my eye I saw a dark blue Audi pull into the lot. He was right on cue. "Marcus brought me back from my sombreness. My mom had asked him to come see me because my parents couldn't think of anything else to do to save me. They were really scared for me. But with Marcus, something finally changed. He was my light in the darkness."

"That sounds kind of ... nice. Kind of romantic," she blew her nose and smiled.

"Looking back, I would say ... Yes! ... He helped me a lot and we decided, even though we broke up, to stay friends ... But the plan failed on our birthday," I smirked and saw Marcus already approaching.

Kate, however, had not yet noticed him.

"It's not so nice, though," she sighed.

"Yeah, well ... depends," I smiled, standing up and taking in my fiancé.

With a gentle kiss on the soft lips.

"Hi ...", I whispered.

"Hi ..." he replied in the same way, smiling gently. However, he immediately turned to Kate. "Hello, Kate ... How are you?" he greeted her and asked sympathetically.

"Surprised right now, I'd say," she looked at us, puzzled.

"Friendship wasn't enough for us. We are together again and want to get married," I summarized.

Indecisively Kate looked at us and through the evening dark area.

As if she was looking for something. Maybe she was looking for her opinion about it?

"That is ... you ... dishonor Nanuk's memory!" she had probably found an opinion.

Angrily, she looked toward us.

"Uh ..." was all I said. That caught me completely off guard.

"Those are very harsh words, Kate," Marcus stated, sounding somehow meekly at the same time.

"And yet it is!", Kate began to explain her judgment. "Nanuk and you ... you professed your bond. He could have finally lived again without his inner struggle. Admittedly with you instead of me, but that's not the point. The fact that he's gone is - as I see it - no one's fault. But you trample on his inner peace. By acting as if he had never been there. As if he had been nothing for you. Maybe it comforts you to start something with Marcus again, but in my eyes you're cheating on Nanuk ... And the fact that you get involved in this, Marcus, I can understand even less. I would have judged you differently. With much more self-respect! You're just her doormat!"

"Now give me a break!", I thundered at her. In a first impulse I wanted to scratch out her eyes. Certainly also in the second and the following, but Marcus held me back.

One arm was around my waist, with which he pulled me against him. The other hand pushed to my cheek and tried to direct my flashing gaze at him.

"Little wildcat," he whispered quietly against my ear.

With his deep voice, these words always upset me when he whispered. It sounded so ... intoxicating. Like it was vibrating inside of me. Add to that his look. Stunning.

"Be sweet ... Kate doesn't know anything about the connections," he went on, and breathed a placating kiss on the corner of my mouth.

"What kind of connections?", Kate then dug deeper.

"I don't see myself as a doormat who has lost his self-respect ... Leah's parents have a theory about Leah and me. In summary, they say that the human and the wolf should be considered separately, and each part seeks its own counterpart ...", Marcus began to explain.

Just that Nanuk was the counterpart to the wolf in me, but possibly only for purely wolfish/pragmatic reasons. The feelings for each other and that we were so attracted to each other could have been merely side effects to strengthen and unite the wolf line. And Marcus was my counterpart as far as the pure human in me was concerned. And I was more human than wolf. That is why I had fought against the wolf in me.

"And Nanuk?" inquired Kate when Marcus had finished elaborating on this theory.

I had gotten us something to drink in the meantime and Kate sipped her coffee in a relaxed manner.

"We don't know. The differences between the packs are already very great ... Maybe he simply took over Leah's fight for himself. Or maybe the human in him was fighting for his soulmate. So for you, Kate," Marcus explained.

"I think that's very likely," I now mingled back into the conversation. Actually, I was anything but sure of that, but it might help Kate. Or maybe it really was the truth. Who knew? With us wolves some things were quite unclear. "When we first met at the lake, I asked Nanuk about you. I wanted to know what kind of relationship was threatened on his side by the imprinting, to admonish me with it that it should not be broken by me. There he told that you study astronomy, for example. He also said something about a strip poker game. But much more important than the words was his passion by this. His love, which resonated in every word. His soulful look when he spoke of you. A soft happy smile on his lips," I opined.

Kate wiped a touched tear from the corner of her eye and apparently let the conversation as a whole sink in. Namely, she didn't say anything for some time.

"Akai told me something he heard from Nanuk," I interrupted her thoughts.

She looked at me with interest.

"Live like it's your last day on earth!"

"Yeah, that's what he used to say when he had a stupid idea. Something frivolous or just plain silly with no deeper meaning," she smiled.

"And don't you think he'd be pretty mad at both of us if we hadn't stuck to it?" She just nodded and I took her hands to emphasize the following words. "There is life without Nanuk. You just have to start living it!"

"But how can I forget him?"

"You shall not forget him. Honor him by consciously experiencing and thinking about him every day. But do not give up your life."

"I want to apologize to both of you," she then said suddenly, which surprised me quite a bit. "I obviously judged you hastily without knowing everything. You're not a doormat, Marcus. And you're certainly not trampling on Nanuk's feelings either. This theory sounds quite strange to me, but I'm too little in the subject regarding wolves in general. Unlike your family or Nanuk's."

Kate rose after looking at her watch.

It was almost nine o'clock in the evening.

"I've got to get going. I have a good hour and a half drive ahead of me ... Thank you, Leah! For the answers I got from you and for your openness."

"It was nice to see you again, Kate," I hugged her goodbye.

Marcus also took her in his arms for a moment.

"I wish you both all the luck in the world," she said before walking to her car.

We waved after her until the car was out of sight.

"And does the Spirit Warrior want to go home now or is she hungry again?" it asked behind me.

"Do you want to guess?", on the other hand, I asked.

Marcus chuckled and pulled me along with him by one hand.

To 'Subway' across the street. After all, I already had McDonald's.

At dinner, I told Marcus the part of our meeting before Marcus had arrived.

That Kate had wanted the answers from me that she had been denied until now. He commented that not saying something can hurt someone just as much as telling the untruth. I agreed with that.

This was wisdom we had learned firsthand the Saturday after my birthday, when we had talked in the attic. So much had been unspoken from the past weeks, but it had been liberating to be able to talk about it now.


We drove home and I turned on the radio.

We were just getting on the interstate when I listened to a radio commercial.

"Did you catch that? A drive-in movie theater is opening soon in Scarborough," I asked the cute guy in the seat next to me..

"Yes, I heard," I was told matter-of-factly.

"And what do you think of that?"

"Will you answer a question for me first?"

I nodded.

"Why do you have to have the radio on when these commercials are on? Otherwise you'd turn on your music right away, too!"

"Why? Do you have something against drive-in movies?"

"No, but I already had our next date planned. Right there. Now the little surprise is ruined!", Marcus complained theatrically.

"I'll make it up to you," I laughed.

"How?"

"I don't want to ruin the surprise for you!", I simply replied.

So we planned a date at the drive-in.

But not on the opening weekend next week. That would be totally overcrowded.


Jake and Becky practically ran into each other in our driveway. They had arrived at the same time.

We chatted with our parents for some more time.

We told about the meeting with Kate.

Jake and Becky from their evening at her parents' house.

Marcus of the lawyer's news.

As Dad had said before, his mother was entitled to alimony. So did his little sister Jules. They - like Marcus - would now receive a monthly check from their begetter. And the marital property would be sold, and the proceeds divided equally between mother and father.

"Well, that's great news for your mom. And how is she doing otherwise? Has she gotten used to having her own life yet?" Mom said.

"Yes and no. She's doing really well and seems to be coming out of her shell more every day. But when I'm at home and I chat with her, it always sounds like she's seeking my approval for her life between the lines. For example, she's thinking about taking an evening class. She is still wavering between watercolor painting and 'computers for beginners'. She listed numerous benefits of both, as if she expected my blessing for them," Marcus told me.

"Independence is hard to learn. She has been subordinate to her husband for decades. She doesn't have him anymore, but you're the next man in line," Dad explained with a smirk. "Just encourage her to do what she wants."

"I do. Otherwise, she's really infatuated with Emma," Marcus finished, which we could all understand.

My family had gotten his mother a job in Emma's kindergarten. I don't know how, but they were happy about the help and his ma was happy that she was earning her own money.

Ced had been asleep for a long time, but the rest of us kids eventually retired as well.

Some people in this house just needed their sleep!

When I arrived in my room, however, I was taken aback. There was a note on my bed.

Voucher for babysitting once

it said.

I smiled.

These were the gift certificates we had given Dad before Christmas. For his ever-present help in our lives. Starting with coffee in the morning.

I turned the note over.

On Friday, as soon as you get out of school? Until sometime AFTER breakfast on Saturday? Bella doesn't know about it yet!

I read there.

Edward had a very elegant handwriting. So peppy and neat, but without being girly.

I smiled and sighed at the same time as there was already a knock on my door.

Jake held up the same note.

"Then we'll postpone our date?", I stated, looking at Marcus.

We actually had a date with some people from his basketball team.

"Looks like it," Marcus nodded in confirmation.

"You guys can go ahead and we'll play with the crumbs," Jake said, however.

Becky nodded in agreement.

"Oh nonsense. He's our little brother, so we'll take care of him together," I clarified.

Jake, standing in my doorway with Becky, peered down the hall and then put his finger over his mouth.

Apparently Mom and Dad went to bed, too.

We grinned when we heard Dad.

"Go ahead, dearest. I'm chasing our kids to their beds!" he sent Mom to the bedroom and then joined us.

We gathered in the middle of my room.

"I didn't know you already had plans for Friday, to that extent I'm withdrawing the coupons," he said just loud enough for those of us below to understand, reaching for the voucher in Jake's hand.

"Forget it!" however, Jake quickly pulled his hand away.

"You've had to make allowances for our schedules often enough," I affirmed.

"Just the coordination of you always being at our games," Becky added quietly.

"Not to mention everything else you guys do for us!" stubbornly faced Marcus as well.

Dad was speechless for a moment while we smirked victoriously.

"I have the best kids in the world!" he murmured, touched, placing a loving hand on the shoulders of Becky and me, standing to his left and right.

Wasn't enough for me and I slid my arm around his back. So did Becky. Dad did the same to us. It ended in a small group hug.

Afterwards, we were imperiously sent to bed.

So that Mom didn't get suspicious. After all, she didn't know yet about her good fortune to be taken out Friday night. Where to, actually?

"You don't have to know everything, do you?" Dad teased in response to my mental question.

He gave me a conciliatory kiss on the temple before he and also Jake and Becky left my room.

My dad, the romantic. I'm sure he'd come up with something nice for Mom.

Then I turned sullenly to Marcus.

"Didn't you hear! You're supposed to be in bed!" I reprimanded him sternly and pushed him against his upper body so that he fell back onto the bed.

As if arranged for me ...


Thanks for reading!