"Ugh, where the hell is this damn kitchen?" Isaldora huffed in frustration, running a hand through her hair. She'd been trying to find it for, like, twenty minutes now. She looked back at the map in her hand and squinted.
"Wait, am I not in the right spot already?" She tilted the map, but it looked the same no matter which way she turned it. "I can't believe I'm lost. Again."
"Ugghhhh," she groaned, scrunching the poor map in her fist. "I should've taken that Omega up on her offer to show me around when I had the chance."
She'd asked one of the Omega she-wolves for a detailed map of the palace in the afternoon. The timid omega had generously offered to be her tour guide but Isaldora had declined right off in a heart beat dismissing her, saying that she was perfectly capable enough to explore on her own. But now? Now she was damn sure that she was the absolute worst with directions.
"Seriously Isaldora? You can't even work with a map?" She muttered to herself. The map was too easy to navigate, she was sure even kids could read it much better and shove their capability in her face.
"Are you looking for something, dear?" making her yelp in surprise. She spun around to see a woman who looked to be in her thirties, standing a little ways down the hall in a nightgown.
"Uh, yeah. I was trying to find the kitchen," Isaldora replied, trying to play it cool. The woman's eyes curiously drifted to the crumpled map in her hand, and Isaldora felt a tinsy bit embarrassed though she didn't let it show.
"Honestly, this map is useless," she said quickly, trying to cover for herself. "It's totally tampered with. All the markings just seem to point in one direction."
And to her relief, the woman didn't seem to judge her. She just gave a slight, understanding nod.
"Well, it's right there after taking two turns from the left," the woman said, gesturing down the hallway. "By the way, I was heading there myself. You can join me if you'd like." The woman added politely.
Isaldora nodded and fell into step beside her, walking in silence for a moment. She sneaked a glance at the woman. and squinted her eyes, I've seen her somewhere. She could just tell by her presence that she was not an ordinary wolf.
"When Lira told me that Kaelith's mate was gorgeous and beautiful, I didn't expect you to be so much more than how she described you," The woman said breaking the silence.
Startled, Isaldora's eyes snapped toward her, full of questions. Why would Lira be talking about me to her? Who was she?
"I've been waiting impatiently to meet you ever since they told me about you but according to what Lira said you seem to have quite the temper." The woman added, chuckling lightly in amusement, as if remembering something.
"Who are you, by the way?" Isaldora asked. And the words just tumbled out before she could even think about how weird or rude they might sound.
The woman stopped walking, and so did Isaldora, who looked at her expectantly with an arched brow.
The woman turned to face her fully. "Oh, forgive me. I got so excited I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Lysendra Duskbane. Kaelith's mother."
She'd seen her in the family portrait hanging in Kaelith's office. Lysendra had the same eyes as Kaelith—or rather, he had her eyes.
"We're here. This is the kitchen," Lysendra said, her tone still warm. "Were you looking for something to eat, sweetie?"
Isaldora looked around. The kitchen was huge, Huge. She'd gotten a weird craving for something hot and spicy. Usually, she just ate in her room, or she should say that she ate after teleporting to her favorite restaurants. And this was the first time she was to eat here.
"Yeah, I was just craving for something." Isaldora replied after a generous pause. She took a look around and saw no snacks that were to her liking other than some left overs from dinner maybe. Now, call her picky, but she never ate leftovers. It just seemed unhealthy, like all the nutrients died when the food turned cold.
"But I guess there isn't anything I can have from here so I'll just head back to my room."
"Why, dear? Even if you want to eat something specific, I'm sure you can find it here." Lysendra added squinting her eyes.
"I don't particularly eat left overs. I prefer my food fresh," Isaldora stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. To some she might sound like a bitch but no offense, she was a bitch.
"No, silly, who said anything about leftovers? I meant you can just whip something up yourself!" Lysendra said with a smile but Isaldora now just shifted slightly in her place, feeling awkward. Well, there was the problem. She didn't know how to cook in the first place—not even a simple sandwich to start with—
and for the first time, she felt genuinely embarrassed by it.
"Um, I don't actually know how to cook," She muttered lightly and she heard Lysendra just say a simple Oh in response. Yeah, a real bummer, I know, Isaldora thought.
"Well, that's okay. I'll make something for you. What do you feel like having?" Lysendra said, already switching on the stove and pulling a frying pan from a drawer. Isaldora just stared at her, surprised.
"You really don't have to trouble yourself. Honestly, it's just a craving. I won't die without it," Isaldora said, trying her best to be polite, though it came out a bit like she being an ungrateful brat. Hoenstly at Isaldora's level it was the best she could do.
"No need to be so formal, dear. I cook for my kids all the time. Especially the twins, they won't eat anything other than my food." Lysendra said, giving Isaldora a kind smile that only a loving mother could pull off. And that smile stirred a little something in Isaldora's chest.
"The twins?" Isaldora asked amused, well she did saw two younger kids in the portrait. So they were twins.
"Yeah, my youngest ones. They are going to be seven now in few weeks. You didn't tell me what you want to eat." Lysendra pressed in a motherly tone.
"Umm anything that's spicy." Isaldora said as she sat on the chair by the island.
"Hmm how about I make you a spicy alfredo? Kaelith loves it. That boy loves spicy food. Guess you two have that in common." Lysendra said as she pulled out the ingredients and began to do her work.
Oh, so he likes spicy food, Interesting. Isaldora thought. Isaldora thought
"So, uh, did Lira tell you all about me?" She asked focusing on Lysedra as she cooked. She watched all her moves. Maybe I should learn to cook sometime.
"Gosh, she couldn't keep her mouth shut about you when we returned. She was so excited I thought she might pass out any minute." Lysendra chuckled and Isaldora joined, she knew very well now in few days that how much Lira could be enthusiasticly energetic.
"Then did she tell you—" Isaldora began but Lysendra cut her off beating her to it.
"That you know about our world? Yes, she did. In fact, that was the first thing that flew out of her mouth after she blurted that Kaelith had found his mate," Lysendra said, draining boiled pasta from a pot.
"It's not that much of a big deal. A few humans do know about our kind. At first, I was a bit skeptical when Lira mentioned that you were a human. But when I saw how you carried yourself, holding your head high, I had my doubts cleared."
"You saw me?" Isaldora asked slightly shocked and amused. She was sure she'd never seen this woman around before tonight.
"Are you forgetting I'm a werewolf, sweetie? And a royal on top of that? Plus, I've been watching you quite closely. Didn't I say I was excited to meet you? And I loved every minute of how you got on the council's nerves. I truly enjoyed it," Lysendra said, laughing as she dished the alfredo onto a plate.
"Well, I hadn't even started to piss them off properly, and they already looked offended, like I set their pants on fire," Isaldora said with a playful smirk, chuckling at the memory of their angry faces.
"See? I love that vibe of yours already. It's like 'don't you dare mess with me.' You clearly know how to deal with shit people give you. I knew for sure I would like you. That's the most important quality of a competent Luna." Lysendra said, gesturing with her hands as she sat beside Isaldora. Isaldora didn't react much on her calling her Luna but she rolled her eyes.
"So, didn't Lira tell you how I've been giving your son a hell of a headache by resisting the bond and not accepting him?" Isaldora asked.
"Oh, she did."
"And? You don't feel angry or hurt about that?" Now Isaldora was genuinely curious about her reaction.
"Haha, don't be silly, sweetie. Why would I be angry about that?" Lysendra chuckled saying in a 'duh' tone.
"Shouldn't you be? I'm resisting this bond, denying your son, hurting him in the proces—or more like, his pride. Any sane parent would want to throttle me right now or lash out on me," Isaldora smirked, sliding her empty plate aside.
"Oh, not at all," Lysendra snorted. "I actually enjoy the 'hard to get' thing. We females shouldn't come off as weak, easy to coax, or submissive. We should make the males—"
"Understand not to take us for granted or think they can easily dominate us to suit their needs," Isaldora finished for her.
And she gave her a bright smile that almost looked filled with... pride.
"Exactly, you know, you remind me of myself. Huhh, even I gave Klaevan, my mate a hell of a ride before I accepted him. I made him follow me like a lost puppy, stripping off all that dominance and Alpha broodiness. And I don't mind you making my stern of a son going down on his knees, keeping his huge Alpha pride aside, before you accept him." Lysendra said. "But don't tell him about that. You know I have to keep my mom act together." She added jokingly.
And both of the women laughed.
"And if I said I don't actually plan on accepting the mate bond—or your son—at all? Then what?" Isaldora asked, arching her brow, breaking a warm, playful atmosphere with a literal bomb. She watched different emotions flicker in Lysendra's eyes.
"I can't say that it won't piss me off, it would. It would break my son. But... I think I can understand where you're coming from. You were living a normal life untill you got pulled in our world being mated to my son." Lysendra said, looking Isaldora straight in the eye and she her gaze with a straight face. A mate definitely hadn't been in her plans.
"But Isla, I also believe that you two were destined for a reason. Mates in our world aren't just paired together like some matchmaking game. There's always a reason behind it. Especially in my son's case he is the future king of werewolves. He wouldn't have been mated with you if there wasn't a strong reason behind." Lysendra rubbed Isaldora's arm affectionately, and honestly, Isaldora felt a warmth she hadn't felt since her mother died—a feeling she only got from Edina now.
"And I'm not saying this for you to accept my son, it's because I know that you both were chosen to stand by each other. Just.. just think about it." Lysendra said.