Chapter 47: Forced Intimacy

Aurora

The train ride to Buckland was uneventful ,and we arrived at our destination after five days.

Besides our encounter with Mr. Wendell, who had given us a great piece of information, there were no encounters with any other strangers on the train.

It was as if every male on it was afraid of talking to me.

I avoided Wolfgang as much as possible, keeping myself locked up in my room. When I got hungry, I’d go to the dining car and grab something to go.

But finally, we arrived. As we stepped off the train onto the platform, we were surprised to see that the Silver Bow pack’s alpha was there to receive us.

“Alpha Wolfgang!” His strong voice boomed across the platform as he hailed Wolfgang and came up to him, giving a bro hug and patting his back rather roughly.

I swear that I saw him wince.

“Alpha Magnar,” he greeted the alpha back.

Alpha Magnar was a man in his early thirties, with shoulder-length copper hair, a sharp jawline, and broad shoulders. His eyes were a similar grayish color to mine.

“And this must be your beautiful Luna, Lady Aurora.” He bowed as he addressed me. The elders did the same.

Thank Goddess they did, or they would have seen me cringe when they called me by that title.

“It’s a pleasure to meet the daughter of Rebecca,” Magnar said, raising his head. “To think that she was the gamma’s mate of one of the most powerful packs, and now her daughter has mated with the alpha of the same pack.”

He roared in laughter. “Come, come. You both must be exhausted after that long trip.” He gestured for us to follow him.

We headed outside and found a black Mercedes waiting for us. The driver quickly took our luggage and placed it in the trunk as we hopped in the back of the car.

“So, Wolfgang. Elder Neron told me you were here not long ago. He said you were looking for information about Rebecca,” he said.

“Yes. It was actually for my mate. We were looking for any living relatives of hers, and we thought that the best place to begin was where she grew up,” Wolfgang said.

“Elder Neron said she arrived here with a witch named Eleanor,” he continued. “We were hoping to find more information about this witch. Maybe she knows about Rebecca’s relatives.”

“Well, we don’t know much about this witch. She left right after Rebecca married Gamma Craton,” he said.

“But still, you’re welcome to look at her file in the records room. There could be something more.” He gave us a broad smile.

“Thank you, Alpha Magnar,” Wolfgang said.

“Thank you,” I agreed. It would be a lot of help if I could find out more about my mother and her family.”

“My pleasure. But I must admit, I’m curious to know why you are so keen to look for living relatives. Why now?” he asked.

I must have looked like a fish out of water as I opened and closed my mouth, not knowing what to tell the man.

“We would like to find any living relatives for our wedding. We were hoping her grandfather, or maybe an uncle, would give her away on the day,” Wolfgang said.

I had glared at him for using such an excuse to keep from telling the truth.

“Well if that’s the case, I’d be more than honored to be the one carrying this beautiful young lady down the aisle,” Alpha Magnar said with a laugh.

“We’ll keep that offer in mind,” Wolfgang answered.

We arrived at the pack house a while later. The place was a huge mansion, just like ours. I could smell that there were at least fifty or sixty wolves in there.

“Welcome to the Silver Bow mansion,” Magnar said.

“Don’t worry about your luggage. The driver will carry it straight to your room. I have you both accommodated in a bedroom in the east wing,” he continued as we stepped inside the massive house.

The foyer was big enough to hold at least thirty people.

“The records room and the library are both down the hall on the second floor. Your bedroom, as I said, is on the third floor on the east wing,” Magnar said.

He led us up the stairs. “The alpha’s and other leaders’ offices are on the second floor as well. The head maid will inform you when dinner is ready. For now, you can take a bath and rest.”

He opened the door to a lavish bedroom. “Here is the room,” he said, gesturing for us to enter.

It was huge, with an enormous, king-sized bed. The floor had plush, plum-colored carpet with gold trimming that went from wall to wall.

There was a little living area, with two sets of settees and a coffee table. There were adjoining doors, which I assumed led to the bathroom and a closet.

The walls were a beautiful cream color, while the covers and couches were the same plum color as the carpet.

Beyond the couches was a grand window that looked out onto the forest.

“It’s beautiful, Alpha Magnar,” I said to the copper-haired man. “Is Wolfgang’s room also situated on this corridor?” I asked, hoping he’d be far away from my room.

“Come on. I’m not one of those geezers that don’t expect you guys to have a bit of intimacy. This is the twenty-first century. You guys are sleeping here together.”

He laughed as he spoke, but I couldn’t help the panic that was seeping in.

Wolfgang and I…sharing a room, a bed?

“Um, actually, I’d rather…” I started to say, but Alpha Magnar cut me off.

“No need to thank me, sweetheart. Just make sure you don’t wake the entire house.” He winked, laughing once more as he walked away, leaving me to my horrible fate.

Needless to say, Rhea was happily jumping up and down, chanting, ~“We’re sleeping with our mate!”~

I turned around and saw that Wolfgang had already entered the room. I slowly came in as well, and saw him looking out the window.

This was not going how I’d planned. The last thing I wanted to do was to share a bed with my mate.

I was deep in thought, trying to figure a way out of this, when Wolfgang cleared his throat.

“I know you don’t want to share this room with me, and I completely understand. But don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you. I’ll take the couch. You can take the bed.”

He walked toward the door. “Take a shower and freshen up. I’ll be in the records room.” He walked out the door, leaving me alone.

~“That was a bit awkward.”~ Rhea said, and I couldn’t help but agree.

Still I was grateful that he’d given me a bit of privacy, so I quickly went through my duffle bag, got out a fresh set of clothes, then headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

A while later, I headed down the stairs, then down the corridor that Magnar had said led to the records room.

Wolfgang was there, already reading through some papers. He lifted his head and gave me a brief smile.

I felt my heart skip a beat when I saw him, but I forced myself to keep a straight face. I went to the table he was seated at and took the chair across from him.

“Here’s the file Elder Neron gave me the day I spoke to him.” He slid the papers over to me. I opened it and found a descriptive file.

~FIRST NAME: Eleanor E.~

~LAST NAME: Winchester~

~PLACE OF BIRTH: Unknown~

~LIVING RELATIVES: Unknown~

~AGE: 71 years old~

~MARITAL STATUS: Single~

~CHILDREN: One~

~NAME OF CHILD: Rebecca Blanc (Adopted)~

~PACK POSITION: Associated witch of the Silver Bow pack~

Under the list of information was a short paragraph.

~Eleanor E. Winchester, a witch, arrived at the Silver Bow in late May of 1976. She held in her arms a three-year-old wolf pup, which she wouldn’t let out of her sight.~

~When interrogated about her association with the pup, she claimed to have been running from hunters, who ambushed and attacked their pack.~

~The pup’s parents, who were the Alpha and Luna of the pack, entrusted their heir to the witch, who managed to escape.~

~When asked what pack they came from, she said it was the Golden Blood pack.~

Attached to the file were three pictures.

One was a photo of a woman with blue hair and gray eyes. The caption on the bottom read “Eleanor Winchester”.

The second picture was of the same blue-haired woman, hugging a chubby toddler that I assumed was my mother.

They seemed so happy together.

And then there was the last picture. It was of the same blue-haired witch. She looked older.

Standing next to her was my mother, wearing a beautiful white wedding gown.

“Eleanor Winchester was the name that Wendell guy said the bookkeeper was, right?” Wolfgang asked.

“Yes.” I nodded, remembering what the human had told us on the train. “Has Remus found out anything about her?”

“So far there is no record about a Winchester in Nome,” he answered.

“We need to go there, then.” I said.

Wolfgang nodded. I looked back down at the picture of my mother in her wedding dress, and couldn’t help the smile that crept over my face.

“She was very beautiful,” Wolfgang said out of the blue. “Just like her daughter.”

He was looking straight at me, and his eyes held the same tenderness as before. He stretched his hand over the table and took mine.

“Why didn’t I just see that before…before everything I put you through.” His brows creased, and I saw guilt reflecting in his eyes.

Right then, someone knocked at the door, and a young maid came in.

“Here you both are. Oh, sorry if I disturbed you,” she said. She blushed and giggled like a schoolgirl, her eyes locking on where our hands met.

I quickly withdrew my hand from Wolfgang’s grasp.

“No. Not at all. Did you need something?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“Dinner is ready. If you both will follow me,” she said as she gave a slight bow.

“Right. Thank you.” I followed the young maid out of the records room.

I felt Wolfgang close behind.