We spoke about my aunt for a moment, but I didn't have much to go off. I didn't even know the woman's name, or what she looked like, the idea of finding her was hopeless, but I did send Quinn a text, hoping he would know. â Quinn being an I.T. worker at the pack lands, knew pretty much everything and found that I had an aunt in the first place. Once we had finished we were back on the road, The drive to Banff wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I couldn't sign to Riot as he drove but I did start using my text-to-talk more. Not too much though because he still made me feel nervous and uneasy. He didn't seem like much of a conversationalist either, we mostly stayed listening to the music that played as a lul in the truck until we hit another dirt road.
It was better off than the one we drove to get to gran and gramps, but still not paved. It was hidden away, you'd missed it from the main road. Before we got too far Riot needed to get out of the truck and unhook a handmade gate that stopped unwanted people from going into pack territory.
"Fucking stupid if you ask me," Riot mumbled as he jumped back in the truck after locking the chain again from the other side. "They have enough money, I don't see why they don't just buy a passcode gate. Would save everyone some running around. Especially in the winter. It starts snowing like August in the mountains."
'In august? That sounds criminal.'
"Fucking should be." He shifted the truck into gear before finishing the trek down the road. After about five minutes of driving the long, hidden driveway we finally made it to a clearing that broke off into a little village. The main house was huge, built like you'd expected a packhouse to be. Two stories, long, with windows lining off each end as if it was a motel. Behind it was another, smaller â but not by much, house that I assumed the Alpha lived in. There was a large six-car garage off to the other side adjacent to the smaller home, two cars parked in front of it, though I can only imagine how many were inside judging by how far back it went.
Riot didn't bother parking up the driveway, instead, it stopped a bit away and turned off the truck, he got out first, stopping at the bonnet before I got out behind him, shutting the door and sucking in my lip at all the smells that hit my nose. At first, nobody was around, the green grass that sat in front of the home was well cut short, nothing growing over. Everything about it down to the welcome mat with paws on it screamed normal, other than the size of it of course. Riot walked towards the home with me trailing behind him slowly, I was too busy taking everything in to notice the door open, or a petite woman standing in the doorway with a smile on her face. "Ry! Long time no see my dear, here for more supplies I suppose?" The woman asked, my attention finally getting caught when she started speaking. I looked at her for a moment, her blond hair in a messy bun, she was an omega, you could smell it off her. I wasn't sure if every pack was as welcoming to omegas as Autumn Falls was, but she looked well cared for.
I was thankful that Autumn Falls had a no status rule. It didn't matter your birth title, if you wanted to fight in a war but your birthright said you were only made for watching children, who were to stop you from following your dreams?
"Anette, hello," Riot greeted, stepping into the small woman's open arms, it was a quick hug, but with that hug the woman noticed me behind her, her smile falling ever so slightly. "We came to pick up cheques, and some supplies for the big girls. This is Star, Esther, and Miquel's grandson, he's helping out while Preston goes on gallivanting with his hellions."
Anette smiled again, gesturing for us to enter the house, the large foray reminding me of Charles' packhouse with the cream colours and bright lights on the walls, flowers sat on two little end tables on either side of the door. Something about it triggered my anxiety and I couldn't help the creeping hand that crawled up to my throat, it felt like it was grabbing me as I rubbed a hand on my opposite arm. My skin was crawling and I tried to itch it away. Anette was walking away speaking about something, but I couldn't move. My feet stuck to the rug under my feet.
It was only when I felt a light hand between my shoulder blades did my body jolt out of the trance that it was under. I turned my head, almost snapping my neck to see Riot, his brows pulled together with concern as he watched me. "You good?" He asked, his hand slowly leaving my back. As much as I wanted to tell him no, that I wanted to leave, my body wouldn't let me. So I just nodded my head before we both took off our shoes and followed Anette into the house.
I tried not to look around, I kept my eyes downcast trying to avoid the sight of anything that may bring me back to memories that I'd been trying hard to forget. That I didn't need to worry about remembering when my brain was in a drugged haze. We made it to a large kitchen, with an island that sat in the middle. It had two stoves, as well as fridges. Anette dug into a drawer that was closer to the back glass door. She hummed as did so before pulling out two envelopes and holding them out to Riot. "These are for you. Dakota is in the back with Maxwell, they can help you with the feed." Riot thanked her, and we walked back through the house, grabbing our shoes and following the wrap around porch to the back.
'Why is a place this big so quiet?' I asked as we walked onto the grass and towards a large barn-like shed in the back that seemed to back onto a cliff.
"During the summer most of the pack tends to leave, there are only about twenty people that live in the house, ten year-round. But a day as nice as this most of them are gone, whether for a drive, a run, Anette is a homebody, she's always home. I was looking for Eddy, but I don't think he's home."
'Why did you need to see Eddy?' I was being nosey, I knew better than to pry into people. But I didn't want Riot to stop talking just yet. I wanted to keep this conversion going for as long as I could.
"Nothing serious. I just wanted to bring up some things we'd talked about before. That and letting him know you're here. Your grandparents let him know you were visiting, but he wanted to be told when you got here. He isn't the most tech-savvy person so telling him in person is a lot easier." He started, digging his free hand into his pocket, he stopped walking just before the stairs going off the porch, I stopped with him, finally looking up to see him looking behind my shoulder. "Did you know your mother's name? Anything that could tip us off to who your aunt might be?"
Oh, 'I think it started with a P. She was from Russia. I know that. She and her sister came to Canada when they were young to find their mates.'
"And it obviously worked," He mused, turning back to the steps. I nodded my head, following him again until we reached the barn. It was empty, no animals were around it, but there was hay inside the barn that a person was raking into a pile. The person stopped as we got close, wiping a hand on their brow before giving us a toothy smile. "Eh, Ry, nice to see your mug here every once in a while. In need again are yea?"
Riot smiled, giving the man a clap on the back as they shook hands, the man's blue overalls matching well with his blonde hair and brown eyes. "Yea, still no cow feed in the silos' yet. Hopefully by the end of the summer."
"Nothing like having an empty silo. Who's yer' friend?"
"Oh," Riot said as if I was an afterthought, though the way we stood with me beside him told me it was just for show, he knew I was there the whole time, especially with the way his eyes moved to glance at me when he spoke to the blonde. "This is Star, He's helping me out at the farm."
"Means I don't need to hurt my back helping you take these to the truck. Maxy. Help Reggy and his friend take the feed to the truck bud!"
"Sure dad!" A younger voice called from in the barn. Soon a smaller version of who I assumed was Dakota came bouncing out, a bright smile that matched his dad's on his face. H must have been anywhere from twelve to fourteen years old. He lifted a big bag of feed over his shoulder, greeting us before trotting off.
'Only three bags?' I asked before my hands got busy, I hoisted a bag over my shoulder, watching Riot as he said farewells.
He nodded, taking a bag of his own, "The girls eat mostly grass in the summer, so the feed would only be for emergencies."
I couldn't reply, as frustrating as that was I just nodded, we walked to the truck, bumping the load into the back cab.
We didn't stick around very long after that, and though I felt a little sad that I never found out anything about my aunt, I was thankful that I got out of the farm, especially with Riot, because I wanted this to work. A mate was everything I had asked for.
But first, I wanted to find out who Reggy was.