Ch. 13: Birthday Preparations
Faustina's birthday had to be perfect, I wasn't going to accept less than that, and judging by my sister's shopping list she thought the same as me.
It was time to do the shopping, what had originally started as a simple and calm afternoon in my head turned into chaos because of Almec.
He had the great idea of talking to Faustina to tell her that I had permission to buy anything she wanted with his money. That was more than enough for my sister to prepare a giant shopping list and drag me around town to get everything she thought was necessary for the party.
"If I don't stop her now she's going to buy all the tiaras," I told Feinid who was next to me.
The poor delta followed us all morning to make sure we were safe, although he seemed to be getting used to being our personal bodyguard.
"At least she's buying the fake ones and didn't ask for real tiaras, Almec would have bought them for her anyway," he laughed.
"I know, that's what worries me."
"Let him do what he wants with his money, I can tell he's happy to have someone to use his money on. It's not like he has anything else to spend it on either." Feinid helped Faustina reach a costume from the top shelf and returned to me. "Also, I'm starting to suspect that the theme of the party is going to be princesses and I'm dying to see Almec wearing a tiara. I'll even wear a dress if that means to see him like that."
The image of the alpha dressed in his usual black clothes and wearing a pink tiara made me laugh out loud. I had to accept that he didn't look bad in my mind, although I doubted that Almec could look anything less than handsome on any occasion.
"I don't think she could convince him to do something like that," I said.
"I bet you so, he has a soft spot for you two."
"Listo," Faustina said, approaching us with the basket full. "I want to bring this. I already crossed everything off the list. Can we visit Wina? I want to give her the invitation."
I paid for everything and Feinid offered to carry the new bags as well.
Faustina confirmed the delta theory on the way to the inn; it was going to be a princess party, princess Barbie to be more precise. She couldn't stop talking about the cake that Demian promised he would make for her and about the decorations she had planned. Feinid and I played along, asking her questions about the details until we reached our destination.
"Why don't you stay with Feinid and Wina while I go buy your gift?" I asked Faustina.
"Ok, but don't take too long." My sister went in through the back door without saying goodbye.
"Are you sure you can go by yourself? Almec is going to kill me if anything happens to you," Feinid said worriedly.
"I'm just going to that toy store." I pointed out the shop in front of the inn. "You can watch me from the window."
"Send me a message if you see anything strange."
Choosing a gift was never an easy task, especially since I wanted to buy her something she would love with the little money I had. It was my gift so there was no way I was going to use Almec's money, luckily Wina gave me an advance of my salary for the occasion.
"That little doll is very popular with the girls in the pack." A familiar voice sounded behind me.
I turned to face Adira, she smiled at me and surprisingly it seemed to be a sincere smile.
"Is it for your sister?"
"Yes, tomorrow is her birthday."
Adira took the doll in her hands. "In that case, I'm going to buy her this as a gift, make sure you wish her a happy birthday for me."
I was confused by her attitude, from the first time we met in the park she kept making negative comments about us behind our backs and suddenly she started to be friendly.
"Why are you being so nice?" I asked.
"I owe you an apology." Adira looked down. "At first I thought that Almec had made the wrong decision in letting you join the pack but now I see that I was wrong."
"What made you change your mind?"
"The day you arrived was the first time in six months that I saw our alpha, before that we only saw him when the festivities began. Since you arrived he has joined the training and visited the pack several times. I don't know how you did it but the miracle I was waiting for is now a reality thanks to you."
"To be honest I don't know what I did either."
All the comments about Almec's change kept confusing me. Accepting thanks for something that in my opinion I had not done, at least intentionally, was not something that I really liked. I felt like I was taking credit for an effort I hadn't made.
"Sometimes the simple presence of a person can change our lives." Adira squeezed my shoulder. "I don't need my grandchildren to do anything to give me the strength to get up every day, all they have to do is exist."
"But they're your grandchildren, I'm just a rogue," I muttered.
"Perhaps you are more than you think to Almec, I'm sure that you continuing to be you is enough to keep our alpha happy. And you're not a rogue anymore, you have a pack now." She looked at the watch she wore on her wrist. "Oh, look at the time, I'm going to be late. Walk with me to the checkout so I can give you the gift."
Adira's words stuck with me until we returned to the mansion. I was so focused on it that if it weren't for Feinid, Faustina would have spied on the gifts without minimum effort.
Was my presence enough to make Almec happy? But I wanted to do more, I wanted to give him back everything he did for us, or at least a part of it. Owing something to anyone meant that I had a debt to them and I learned not to trust anyone enough to put myself in that type of situation.
"I'll take the bags to your room, with your permission," said Feinid. "I think you're going to have to keep an eye on the princess so she doesn't cheat."
Faustina watched as he walked away from us with a pout. "Don't ruin my plan." She screamed before pulling my hand and batting her eyelashes. "Can we go give Almec his invitation?"
It goes without saying that I fell for her charms. Five minutes after her request we were already in the garden watching from afar how the alpha gave directions to the gardener.
Faustina tried to run towards him but I managed to stop her in time and we waited for them to finish their conversation.
"Were you guys looking for me?" Almec asked, walking towards us.
"I was, Valen is chasing me," Faustina said and took an invitation out of her pocket. She motioned for Almec to crouch down and whispered, "Is everything ready as I asked?"
"Of course, I took it upon myself to supervise everything," he whispered at the same loud volume as my sister.
I pretended not to listen to the conversation that was everything but secret. Faustina was a character without equal, only she could think of sneaking around to demand something from the alpha.
"Here, your invitation," she said out loud, offering the pink card to Almec.
He took it in his hands very delicately and took a long time to look inside it. Almec smiled, turning the card over so we could see the drawing. Three people, a woman, a girl, and a man, were holding hands while being surrounded by a rainbow.
"You made this? It's beautiful," he asked.
"I made all the invitations myself, without help, yours is a special edition," she pointed to the three people in the drawing. "That's you, that's Valen and I'm in the middle."
"I realized right away, you made us very similar." Almec kept the card in the pocket of his jacket. "I'm going to be there without fail, I can't miss the best party of the year."
"Yeah, that would be silly of you," said Faustina with complete honesty. "Is that Geldra? I need to give her her invitation."
Before we could answer her she ran after the beta. Faustina's screams made Geldra stop walking and turn to wait for her.
"I'm starting to think she's the new owner of the mansion," Almec commented next to me. "We are all running after her requests. Demian and Khalia listen to her more than me."
"It's your fault for not telling her no," I answered, smiling at him.
"Can you blame me? You do the same thing."
"I do," I whispered.
Like a splash of cold water, the memory of my conversation with Adira shook my mind completely. I wasn't sure if it was Faustina's loud laughter or hearing Almec so carefree and comfortable talking to me that woke me up to the woman's words, not that it mattered what started it, one way or another, I had already fallen into its clutches.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw how Almec moved his mouth to speak to me, however, my mind was too busy questioning my own value to hear him.
Was it really my presence that had generated the change? The darkest part of my mind told me that anyone else could take my place, it would be arrogant to think that someone like me was the cause of other people's happiness.
I was afraid of the burden that entailed. What if I changed in the slightest or made a mistake and they stopped being happy?
I wasn't that special, once they realized that everything would fall apart.
"Hey, are you okay?" Almec's sweet voice brought me back to reality.
He took my face in his hands and raised it so that our eyes met.
"I was just thinking," I said, relaxing into his touch.
"You were lost for several minutes, are you sure nothing is wrong?" He caressed my cheeks. "I can help you if something is bothering you."
I shook my head. "It's really nothing important. I was just remembering my conversation with Adira."
Almec let go of my face and straightened his body, in seconds he went from friendly to terrifying. "Did she say something bad to you?"
"No! On the contrary, she was kind and she apologized to me for how she treated me before."
"Then why do you look so worried?" He held one of my hands. "Don't try to deny it, I can see your frown and you only bite your lips when you're nervous."
"She said I'm a good influence for you," I told him half the truth, I still wasn't ready to confess the rest. "And I can't see why."
"Why not?" Almec tilted his head to the side, he looked confused. "Your presence and Faustina's brought life back to the mansion, just you being here makes me want to leave my room."
"But it doesn't make sense," I muttered, averting my gaze to the floor.
"Do you need a reason for every one of your feelings? Some things just happen and I don't need a reason to know that your presence makes everything better."
Almec took two steps towards me, the distance between our bodies was almost non-existent. I allowed my head to rest on his chest, the sound of his heart beating away my worries.
"Thank you," I whispered.
My words were drowned out by the scream of Faustina who came running towards us. Almec gave my hand one last squeeze before separating from me.
"Looks like you're needed," he said, nodding toward my sister. "I have a meeting tonight so I won't be at dinner. See you tomorrow. Take care."
And with that Almec began his way back to the mansion.
A smile took over my face as I watched him walk away. He was right, some feelings have no explanation.
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top