The Female Alpha’s Sanctuary

Chapter 180

Flattening out the silk over my hips, I turned to the door and awkwardly poked my head out. Sweeping

my gaze around the room, I find them settling on her small figure.Sure enough Laura was standing

outside exactly where she was before and brightened when she saw me. She perked up, pushing

herself off the wall she leaned against.

“How does it fit?”

She asks. There’s expectation in her eyes. The unmistakable excitement buried behind her awaiting

gaze. All of a sudden I feel myself getting embarrassed. I step into view, fiddling with the fabric over my

waist in anxiousness. The size was perfect. It fit like a glove. I could only hope I looked just as good as

I felt. Judging from the face Laura was making, she thought the same thing. Breathing in softly, she

motioned for me to come over to the vanity. Patting the cu shion of the seat, she shoots me a dazzling

smile,

“Let me do your hair.”

I don’t do anything but nod. Walking to where she was, I sat on the cus hion, facing myself in the mirror

and watched my reflection. Laura doesn’t mind my stiffness, nor does she mind unruly curls messily

tangled around my shoulders. She smiles to herself as she pulls open the drawer. A

beautiful, carved hairbrush hidden in the drawer is pulled out. The handle of the brush shaped into a

rose with gold lining over the petals.

“It was a gift from Stefan.”

She explains silently, noting the way my eyes took in the design. Her slim, gentle hands brush over my

neck. Gathering up all the golden locks into her palms, she smoothens the the mess on top of my head

before lifting the comb and brushing down the start of my hairline. Thankfully my hair wasn’t as tangled

as it looked. In slow, languid strokes she repeats the motion of starting from my hairline to the very tips

of my hair.

Her feathery touch so similar to Meredith’s when she brushed my hair back on the day of the Alpha

ceremony or when I would wake up from night terrors during the first few months after Duskfall’s

demise. The touch of a mother I missed out on until now.

“He calls me his little Rose.”

She muses, a breathy laugh in her tone. The love and adoration for her maté so clear in the smile

playing on her lips. A ghost of Bentley’s face flashes through my mind. The way he talked about his

Maria was so transparent to the way Laura talked about her Stefan.

“Raizel calls me his wildflower.”

I clamp my mouth shut when I realize what I said. Thoughtlessly blabbing when I was lost in thought

was something I failed to withhold. Immediately her relaxing brushing stops and she looks at me

through my reflection. Her eyes widened and her lips parted in silent surprise. A few seconds go by

without either one of us saying anything. Then her shock melts into a heartwarming smile,

“Is that so?”

She asks quietly. I could only nod in response when she clears her throat, tearing her eyes away and

sniffling. She lets out a frustrated grumble at herself and laughs, rubbing her eyes with one hand before

starting to brush my hair back once more,

“Look at me getting all emotional.”

She laughs,

“Forgive me, Darling. I know this isn’t the ideal first meeting but you could imagine the shock I felt

11-24

The Tamal.

762

Chapter 180

>when hearing that my son was smitten with someone. My little Rome who grew up far too fast.

finding someone he calls his wildflower. Goddess, if I was being honest with you, I thought this day

would never come. I was certain he’d resigned himself to a lonely life.”

Her voice broke with emotion. The pain evident in her voice as she spoke of Raizel.

“Why?”

I ask, watching as she flinched mid-brush. Laura looked up looking a little guilty as she began braiding

my hair. There’s gentle tugs of my locks twisted into a pattern before being tied at the ends. The silence

was tense. The mood tight and dreary. She frowns, red lips slightly pouting when she brushes the baby

hair out of my face. The graze of her fingertips over my temples barely there when she settles her

hands on my shoulders. Laura watched me from my reflection. Her eyes hard and set in determination.

“My Rome, he-”

she sighs,

“Since he was young we knew he was different. Special, if you will. So special that finding someone to

love him as he is, would prove to be far more difficult than anything an Alpha has to do. It was hard on

Stefan and I to convince him he was worthy of such affection. That he/deserved a chance to love and

be loved as much as the next person. To this day, I don’t think he really believes it himself. He’s a

complicated one, my boy. But Goddess is he worth it.”

She smiles to herself before lifting her eyes up to me. The transparency of my expression makes her

soften even more.

“By the look on your face, you must think he’s worth it too.”

I don’t miss a beat.

“I do.”

Before she can respond, the door c racks open to the little girl who had been perched on Raizel’s arm.

She pushes the door open, little feet carrying her into the room. I feel myself go still, my breathing a

little hard as she walks over to us. Her tiny little fist in her mouth as she chewed on her knuckles. She

watches me in wonder, those brown orbs pinning into me when she suddenly wobbles to my side. She

removes her fist from her mouth, small lips puckered and experimentally walks closer to me. There’s

hesitation in her steps. A pup’s curiosity getting the best of her. She stills at my knees, her hands fist

ing over the fabric of the dress.

11-24