Hade's Rose

Chapter Four: Why I Stay Silent

Tossing and turning in my little bed, it was a sleepless night. Confusion and the torment of thoughts I've already pondered a thousand times keeping me awake. But, now a new problem: what, if anything, should I do now that people are suspicious?

I remember when Charlie found her mate. It gave me hope for a few weeks. I even built up the courage to go visit her not long after she'd moved in her with mate. We'd grown up together on the same street of cheap terrace housing. She had lived only a few doors down from me. Often, we would play outside together when we were young but saw less of one another as we grew older: I wasn't able to play games anymore and grew quite clingy towards my parents for a while. Yet, I felt that I could get away with writing and asking to visit. To my pleasant surprise, I received a note asking me to come as soon as I was free.

Wandering through the luxurious streets of the Delta District, I remember finally finding and knocking on a sleepy little cottage door slightly removed from the street. A few Wolfmen and women strolled about, looking curiously at me, but the prospect of what this meeting could mean for my life managed to fortify me. Charlie had opened the door, peaking her head out and looking surprised to see me despite my note to say I'd visit this morning. "Rose? You came", her eyes looked furtively around before gesturing for me to quickly come in.

Charlie had always been a petite woman, similar to me, we were both just under five and half feet tall. Although, where I had a faintly olive complexion, she was pale as chalk, with pinkish cheeks and thick blonde hair. I'd never seen her look so healthy; she had a glow about her that I now realise was the beginning of her pregnancy.

She welcomed me in, relaxing with the front door closed, and grew excited to show me around her home. Dragging me around the house, I saw inside a Wolfman's home for the first time. The cottage was half stone, half wood: cosy, yet not claustrophobic. In each of the rooms there were little touches of Charlie: soft throws, cushions, or flowers, which warmed my heart to see. I tried not to stare at her arms as she pulled me around in her enthusiasm, where I could see the soft tan swirls peeking out of the bottom of her short sleeves. Or, even at the base of her neck where a noticeable bite mark now lay. But, what distracted me the most was the small, puckered red scar of where her implant must have been recently removed.

Eventually we came to sit in the kitchen, chatting over cups of tea. Similar to the rest of the house, the kitchen felt warm and friendly with oak furnishings and tall wooden chairs around an island. We spent a lovely half hour sharing memories and me updating her on various friends and acquaintances (not that I was a very good source of gossip, but I tried my best to share what was interesting).

In due course, the conversation naturally turned to her new way of life. "Liam is wonderful... nothing like the wolfmen we grew up with." Charlie giggled as she spoke, it made me delighted to see her so happy. "He's so thoughtful and kind, such as arranging for me to get to know some other human mates, so I won't be so lonely." Charlie sighed at the end, her eyes slightly misting over.

"Lonely?" I enquired softly.

Charlie shifted uncomfortably, "It's hard... for some of the wolf people to accept me."

"But, I thought they didn't care about that sort of thing here?" bewilderment stained my tone. When the task force, and later the King's warriors, arrived in the Bane territories, many ambassadors tried to explain to the human population the deplorability of what had been done to us. It was on their conviction alone that encouraged my parents and myself to send me here to discover more about my mate and other wolf people when the borders opened.

"They don't" Charlie was quick to reassure me... or herself, I wasn't sure. "It's not that I'm human, which is the problem. Well... it is, but" she paused, trying to find the right words to explain herself. "Mating is complicated I've learnt. Liam is delighted to be mated to me. He makes sure to tell me enough times!" she complained, without really meaning any frustration. "Wolfmen are fiercely protective; they can't help it – it is just part of their nature, especially towards their mates. But, normally the wolf part of them settles down after a while, once they realise their mate isn't in any danger. And that would be true..." Charlie paused for a moment, looking out of the window before turning back to me with tears in her eyes. "But, his wolf won't settle because I'm human. In a mating between two wolf people, their wolves relax knowing the humans within are kept safe by their greater physique and enhanced senses. But Liam can never relax when he is away from me, not knowing if I can keep myself safe. That's what the Bane pack tried to hide from us, tried to protect its own wolfmen from happening to them."