The Alpha's Little Witch | Completed ✔️

Chapter 35

JASLYNN

The moment Alrik's mother stepped into my line of vision, I was speechless.

Chocolate brown curls, heart-shaped face, upturned nose, and a familiar pair of gray irises that were a lot more gentle than what I was used to staring into.

"Hello, dear," she greeted softly with a pained smile on her face as her gaze traced the shackles on my arms. 

I cleared my throat, "Hello, Mrs. Kuznetsov. I know this isn't exactly an ideal–"

"I am so sorry," she choked out.

I blinked once, then twice, shocked by her tearful apology, "Pardon?"

She had a grimace on her face as she shook her head and stared at her feet, "I am ashamed of the position my son has put you in. Never in my lifetime did I expect him to treat his mate this way."

"Well, putting all of this aside for a moment, I can tell you Alrik has been a wonderful mate, and I give you full credit for it. The respect he has shown me and my job as a leader is the result of great nurturing."

I almost brought up the towel incidents as examples, but shut my mouth before the words escaped because I realized it would have been awkward to discuss with his mother.

"I'm glad he didn't fail you in that aspect," she said, smiling halfheartedly, "But you can't deny that he is failing you as an Alpha, and for that, I still feel responsible."

"Maybe he has failed me in that area, but I know that this," I shook my arms out, causing the chains to rattle loudly, "Is definitely not because of nurture. From what I've seen, this is something he came up with himself."

"She's right," Reece added from the side, "When he became Alpha, he believed that people would take him more seriously if they feared him, and that's how we ended up here. He's got it pounded in his head that strict pack laws are the reason for the pack's success and uses that as a rebuttal to anyone who tries to argue with him otherwise."

"And that's why I'm doing this," I said softly, "I need him to see that the ramifications for breaking the law are too harsh. Nothing's wrong with having strict laws, but the punishments have to be reasonable. The point is to get assurance that they won't break a law again, not scar them for life."

Alma sighed, reaching up to pull the stray pieces of hair away from my face, "You are one brave soul, my dear. I don't know how I can ever thank you for trying to change my son for the better."

I curled my lips into a small smile and nodded at the plastic container in her hands, "Well, that lasagna looks absolutely delicious, and I'm famished."

She let out a quiet chuckle and handed the container to Reece to hold as she pulled out a fork and knife, "At dawn, some of the elderly she-wolves come down here to feed the punished ones. But instead of waiting, I thought I would come down here with Reece and feed you while the food was still hot."

After peeling the lid off, she cut into the cheesy layers and lifted a forkful of the pasta up to my lips, "Once you eat, I'll braid your hair. I'm sure all of those flyaways are annoying you."

"That would be much appreciated," I mumbled, savoring the explosive flavor that gave my taste buds an orgasm.

As she continued to fuss over me like a mother hen, I couldn't help but smile. I truly had forgotten what it was like to have a motherly figure in my life. After all, I had many fathers, but not many mothers.

And after two centuries of aching from the missing bond, I think I finally found one.

***

ALRIK (finally!)