Chapter 34: A Picture Tells a Thousand Words

“Would you like some tea?” Loriann asked her visitors. Rashida nodded.
“That would be nice, thank you.” She settled herself at the dining table tucked into the corner of the large kitchen. She motioned for her daughter and husband to wait in the living room. Loriann filled a white chipped teapot with the tea and carried it on a tray to them, adding some of her homemade scones and mugs.
When she came back into the kitchen, she laid a similar spread between her and Rashida, but she didn’t feel much like eating now. She knew there was no beating around the bush with her alpha, but she still deferred to her before speaking.
Rashida was looking down at the strong black tea in her mug, letting it warm her hands.
“I can imagine how many bad memories this brings up for you and I can understand your hesitation in taking action with Willow,” Rashida began, her dark amber eyes looking over Loriann. Loriann had seemed to age before her eyes, she looked tired and worn.
“It is only because of the immense respect that I have for you and your past that I am giving you the chance to rectify this before the council meeting. I am setting it for one week from today. I expect you to have this resolved by then,” she said back and sipped her tea. Being the alpha wasn’t an easy calling. The responsibility of so much and so many pack members was exhausting but she didn’t think she would trade it to be in Loriann’s position. Twenty-six years ago, they sat just like this, Rashida warning her about Nora’s affair with the hunter.
Loriann had been filled with rage and betrayal, threatening her daughter with exile, hoping that would change her mind. Rashida was here for that fight. Nora left, without a backward glance. Not returning for five years and by then she had had a child.
Rashida pushed away the memories. She had become alpha a year after Nora left. Loriann forfeited the mantle, choosing instead to stay the alpha of her bloodline instead of the entire clan. Rashida wondered if she would’ve had more sway over her granddaughter had she been the alpha instead. It was painful for them to disobey a direct order from their alpha.
“I tried warning her. I told her the truth about her parents. I thought she had listened, but I can smell him on her,” Loriann said, her tea sat untouched.
“Is she being coerced? He is a Red Hood,” Rashida asked. Loriann shook her head once.
“No, I wish she were. That would be so much easier to deal with. Kill him, break whatever hold it is he had over her and move on,” she said with a laugh and sipped her now tepid tea. “Why does this keep happening to me? I was mated to a shifter. We were happy. I never once even considered looking at a hunter as anything other than what they are to us,” she put her face in her hands. Rashida reached over and covered her hand with her own, dark over light.
“We will get through this. Willow isn’t Nora. We can learn from the past and work this out. She hasn’t imprinted, has she?” Rashida asked.
“Is that possible on a human?” Loriann asked, her face askew in horror.
“No idea, I just need to know what we are up against. Maybe there was a curse put on you? Did Caleb have any scorned lovers after you two were mated?” Rashida joked. Loriann laughed, the tension broken.
“I’d rather a witch than a Red Hood,” she replied and drained her tea.
“As your friend, I’m giving you a week to get it sorted. Make Willow come to her senses. We can give her a slap on the wrist, send her to stay with our pack in Alaska for a few weeks to clear her head, something. As your alpha, however, if she does not come to her senses, she will be tried in front of the council.” Rashida stood and looked at her long-time friend.
“For your sake, I hope she comes to her senses.” She squeezed her shoulder and left, her family trailing out behind her.
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It was full dark now as Loriann drove down the empty highway. She had left a plate of cookies on the counter with a note telling Willow that she would be out of town for a day or so, visiting a distant family member.
The signs for Missoula began to appear. She wasn’t far now. Only about an hour to go and then she would get to the hotel. Garin’s address was printed on a piece of paper sitting on the passenger seat beside her. She felt it pulling at her as if were a black hole in her truck instead of a simple piece of notebook paper.
The next morning, Loriann stood staring up at the unassuming townhouse. If she were here for any other reason, she would be happy that the man that Willow was involved with had such a nice place to live. She would be happy that Willow had found herself someone who was compatible and would be a partner to her. Instead, she was here to warn him away, for both of their sakes.
Armed with a box of pictures and a plate of cookies, she rang the doorbell. Garin answered a minute later, recognition flaring in his blue eyes after the initial shock of seeing a shifter on his doorstep. They had obviously never met but they were well aware of who the other was. Garin could see traces of Willow in her grandmother’s face. Loriann could see why Willow had been so taken in by him. He was very handsome and smelled rather good, for a hunter.
“Can I come in? I believe there are some things that we need to discuss.” She asked. He nodded warily and stood back, letting her in. Willow’s scent swirled around his home; it was as if it were in the very fibers of the building. It mixed with his rather pleasantly but Loriann pushed that thought away.
“Can I get you a drink? I just made coffee,” he asked, walking towards the kitchen. His thoughts raced. He wondered if she was here to kill him. He had no weapons here plus he couldn’t kill his girlfriend’s grandmother. And she brought cookies, he noticed as she set the plastic-wrapped plate down on the counter.
“Yes, thank you,” she accepted the mug. She noticed it was one of Willow’s signature dark roasts. This was more serious than she thought. He leaned against the stove opposite the counter where she said. He realized that she was sitting in the seat that Willow always chose, wrapping her hands around the mug in the exact same way. It tugged at him for some unknown reason.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but can I ask why you are here? Is Willow okay?” he asked, staring at the woman in front of him. She sighed.
“If you were anyone else, I would give my granddaughter my blessing. You seem nice enough and she is obviously besotted by you. But you can’t be together,” she said, her fingers playing with the edge of the box in front of her.
“Because I’m human?” he asked. She shook her head once.
“Pssh, we would have died out long ago if we didn’t occasionally mate with humans. It isn’t preferred to be with a human of course but it isn’t forbidden. But a hunter? A Red Hood? That is one of the greatest crimes to be committed. And not just our laws. Your laws also forbid it.” She said, her yellow eyes burning into his.
“They are silly laws. Archaic even. I’m not a Red Hood. My parents are but I’ve never even gone hunting.” He protested.
“It doesn’t matter. You are one, whether you want to be or not. Especially with your parents being who they are,”
“What do you mean?” he asked, confused. His parents were just weird fanatics, obsessed with their legacy.
“Your mother’s descended from the original Red Hoods. She is a legacy. She has killed more wolves than most hunters combined,” Loriann stated. He shook his head and set down his mug.
“This is insane. Absolutely insane. My mother doesn’t even hunt. My dad is the one who is gung-ho about the whole thing,” he ran his fingers aggressively through his curls, causing them to stand on end.
“Sadly, it’s true. But I am not here about that although I’ll be glad once your family moves. I cam about Willow. She wasn’t willing to listen to me, but I thought you might be. She doesn’t seem to care about her safety, but I’d wager you do,” she pulled the lid off of the box. His hands dropped to his sides and he walked closer.
She pushed a picture across the table to him.
“These are Willow’s parents. They were murdered by Red Hoods.”
“Why?” he asked, looking at the photo in his hand.
“Her father was a hunter, a Red Hood,”