Chapter 7 : Little May

*Simon's POV*

I walked around the corner of the hall, away from Alice, and toward the two boys that were arguing. And that's what they were: boys.

James and William stood relatively close to each other, but I wasn't worried about it turning into a physical fight as of yet. William was more soft-hearted and didn't turn to violence at every opportunity, and James was just simply drunk. I could already tell.

"You are crazy! How can Alice be your mate?" James was practically yelling at William. I could hear the echo of his voice reverberating off the walls. "Does your wolf really sense that Alice is your mate?"

William now stood in silence.

"She's seducing you!" James continued to yell. "Trust me, dude, I get it, she is a gorgeous girl. But she is smarter than she looks. I'm not saying that you shouldn't play with her a bit and get what you want, but I am just saying I don't want you to be used by her. She's a b*tch, but I've heard she's great in the sack."

"That's your sister!" William finally cut in with what sounded like disgust.

"So what? The Alpha King never acknowledged her as his daughter," James shrugged. "That makes her inferior even to those weak humans. And everyone treats her as such. I don't see what is wrong with using her as we see fit. It is by our grace that she even still lives."

I didn't want to care about what they were saying. I never cared usually, but for some reason, it ticked me off more than I cared to admit. The words that came out of James' mouth were too harsh.

I cleared my throat, making myself known to interrupt their bashing of Alice. Both men looked at me, and I saw James' face switch to irritation.

"Hello, gentlemen. I assume that since you two are standing around gossiping that you have already finished your training exercises for the day."

"Oh, Mr. Simon, no, we were just on our way," William quickly answered. James, on the other hand, continued to look at me in open disgust.

"Not like I can do much still since you put me on restrictions," James snapped.

"Well, you seem to be feeling just fine today," I said as I looked him up from head to toe. "I have some free time right now. Why don't I assist you in your exercises? Follow me."

They both looked like they really didn't want to, but they knew better than to stand up to me. I turned and walked out to the courtyard where we had been conducting training for the past couple of weeks. William and James followed behind me.

Once I came to a stop, they instantly attacked me. I had been training them both for long enough now that they knew that I didn't like to waste time. A smile crossed my face as they charged me. I was excited to put them in their place.

Within seconds, both boys lay on the ground, groaning in pain. I still hadn't even had to transform. These shifters needed more help than I had anticipated.

I brushed my hands off against each other, not wanting to dirty my suit, and gestured for two of the guards that surrounded me to approach. The guards took one look at them on the ground and knew what I needed. They each picked up one boy and threw them over their shoulders, then headed into the building, taking them to their respective rooms.

For the first time, I had enjoyed hurting them and, therefore, enjoyed watching them being carried away. I specifically kept an eye on William. He had claimed that Alice was his mate, and I had to admit that my curiosity was piqued.

Was he lying?

I pulled down the sleeves of my suit to make sure it still looked presentable and turned to walk out of the large gates. William's father, Alpha Alex of the Opal Moon Pack, had invited me to come to his territory. At the time, I had told him I was too busy, but now I had a reason to go.

It wasn't far to the Opal Moon Pack from the Alpha King's palace, and I made it there without any interruptions. I began to walk up to the large building and was warmly greeted by Alex. Within minutes, he inquired about his son's progress.

"Has he improved much since I saw you last at the banquet?" Alex asked.

"I am sure you heard about what happened to Prince James," I began. "That has put a halt on most of the training sessions. However, I did personally train with him this morning, and he does seem to be learning my training style. I am sure he will excel soon."

"Ah, good. That's good to hear," Alex said, seemingly relieved.

"There was an interesting development this morning, though." I wondered how much information I would be able to pull from him.

"Oh, really? What happened?"

"William declared that he has found his mate."

"His mate? How is that possible?" Alex looked genuinely shocked. "We threw him a ball on his eighteenth birthday to try and find him his mate and invited every shifter in the surrounding areas. He didn't find her then, how did he find her now? Who is it? Who is William's mate?"

"It is Alice, the eldest daughter of the Alpha King." I watched as his face changed as I told him who it was.

"You're joking," he said in disbelief.

"No, why?" What was it with these shifters and Alice?

"I watched that girl grow up. She doesn't even have a wolf." At this, his eyes dodged around, telling me that he had more information that he wasn't willing to give up. "I'll have to speak with William about this."

I simply nodded. I didn't want to press the issue and raise suspicion, though the more I learned about Alice, the more curious I became. After a small meal and more training conversation, I got up to leave, excusing myself from the table.

Alex didn't need to ask where I was headed; he already knew.

The graveyard looked the same as the last time I had been there, so I walked over to the familiar gravestone carrying the flowers I had picked in my hands. I stood silently as I looked over the name 'May' carved into the stone.

May was a young girl that I had found lost in the forest last year. Her child-like playfulness and innocence instantly reminded me of my nephew, and I found myself drawn to her. When I was around her, the loneliness didn't feel as strong.

We had bonded over me returning her to her parents at the Opal Moon Pack, and I had stuck around ever since. The more time I spent with the kind girl, the more she became like family.

Then, when I was away with another pack, the abnormal rogues attacked the Opal Moon Pack, and May was killed. By the time I had heard the news and rushed back, it was too late. It had felt like losing my family all over again.

I stared over her burial, placing one small white flower on top of it. As I stared at her headstone, I was reminded of times gone by.

***

*Flashback*

I heard a small noise coming from the windowsill and, curiously, made my way over to it.

As I expected, it was May. She climbed up my windowsill and carefully placed a small bouquet of white flowers on it. Even though my room was on the first floor, the windowsill was a bit high for her short body. She needed to stand on tiptoe and use her chubby little hands to pick up the windowsill to get there. Although it wasn't the first time she had done this, I frowned and pretended to be angry at her.

"You shouldn't do this, it's too dangerous, May," I criticized her.

"Sorry, Mr. Simon. I just want to give you the flowers." She blinked and looked at me mischievously.

"You can knock on the door and enter," I answered.

I looked at the flowers in her hand. They were beautiful and carried the morning dew. It looked like she had just plucked them from the garden.

Her little hand could barely hold them, but she clung tightly, afraid they would fall. Beads of sweat hung from the tip of her small nose, and short hair stuck to her face. In the sun, her little red face was like an apple. She smiled brightly at me, and my heart seemed to transform into something warm and soft.

"But I want to give you a surprise," she frowned. "However, I seem to have failed again. Mr. Simon, your hearing is too sensitive. Can't you pretend you didn't hear me?"

She supported her upper body with her arms, trying to climb into the room, her calves dangling in the air.

"Give me your hand, and I'll pull you in."

As my hand passed under her armpit and carried her in from outside the window, she giggled and wrapped her arms around my neck. She still held the bouquet in her hand. The scent of flowers and the smell of milk from her body surrounded me. She was covered in dirt and dust from the garden, which must have stained my suit. But now was not the time to think about that.

"Why do you want to give me a surprise?" I asked.

"Because I want to make you happy," she replied in her lovely voice.

"Thank you, but I'm happy. You don't need to give me flowers to cheer me up every day."

I was trying to get her to give up the innocent act—I knew her better than that.

She raised an eyebrow. "You adults are always dishonest."

May looked at me with a bulging little face, her big eyes flickering and full of disapproval.

I was struck by her sharpness. At five years old, she had quite an acute sense of awareness.

The truth was, I wasn't unhappy. I just didn't remember the last time I laughed. There were no people or things that could affect my emotions in any capacity, and I was too far away from my hometown to even think of returning. Not that I'd ever want to.

Her chubby body wriggled in my arms. Finally, she found a suitable position. She whispered in my ear in her soft, sweet voice.

"One day, someone other than me will make you laugh again. I just know it. You're a good person, Mr. Simon. But until then, I'll make you happy in the best way I know how."

Her lovely words echoed in my ears, and couldn't help the smile that crossed my face. For a shifter cub, she showed a talent for language beyond her age.

And as for her saying I'm a good person? I laughed self-deprecatingly in my heart. If she had seen me before, she wouldn't have said that so freely.

*Flashback ends*

***

As I stared into her carvings etched on the stone, I decided right then and there to devote my time to discovering the source behind the wild rogues and hopefully eliminate them. I worked on teaching the shifters in the area how to protect themselves against these rabid beasts and hoped I could somehow prevent anything like May's death from happening again.

Until May, I hadn't really cared about what these rogues had done to the world. My world had already been broken.

But she reminded me what it was to care about someone. To care about something. And I would respect her memory by protecting and preparing others. I stared at the grave again.

I hadn't returned to the Opal Moon Pack in quite a while. The source of the rogues still eluded me, and I didn't want to admit this. To May or her family. However, standing at the grave didn't bring me the guilt I expected.

Instead, I felt more determined. I was reminded of my promise and reminded of my reasoning. I set the flowers softly on the earth with a sad smile.

"Hey, May," I whispered. "How is heaven?"

I felt a cool breeze touch my cheek, and a soft smile formed on my lips as I let it take over me. I missed her more than she'd ever know.

On the way out of the graveyard, I noticed May's parents and quickly ducked behind a tree. Even from this distance, I could see that her mother was pregnant again. She smiled at her husband, and they looked genuinely happy again since May's passing. I didn't want to ruin that for them. So, instead of disturbing them, I turned around.

When I started to leave, my phone rang. Not many people called me, so it took me a second to find it. Most of the time, I even forgot I had one.

When I finally found it, I saw the picture for Alan's contact on the screen. I had forgotten he was supposed to call with more information about the abnormal rogues.

"Alan," I answered quietly.

"I did not agree to stop the training!" I heard Alice's voice scream through the phone. I looked at May's parents to see them staring at me now. "I'm at the normal place waiting for you."

Then she huffed and hung up. I looked up and saw May's parents approaching me. They looked surprised to see me, but their faces were as warm as always.

"Simon," May's dad said in greeting. "It's good to see you."

"Are you here to visit May?" her mom asked.

I simply nodded. I never did well with others.

"May has been giving us dreams lately. She says she has a new home and is happy," her dad said as he grabbed his wife's hand in comfort.

"And I am with child again," May's mother beamed. "We are happy."

"I'm glad," I said with a smile. I really was. Grief was not something I wished upon anyone.

"We're glad you are here. We wanted to ask if you would like to be our child's godfather?"

I looked at them in surprise. "Godfather?"

"Yes," the mother exclaimed. "Though we understand if you cannot do it. Based on that phone call, it sounds like you have somebody waiting for you at home too. It makes me happy to hear that you have your own family. Little May would be so happy for you."

I was going to correct her and explain that Alice was just a student, but at her last words, I couldn't help but bite my tongue. The relief in their eyes that I was not alone was too much, and I didn't want to disappoint them. I swallowed the truth.

"Yes," I said instead. "Of course, I will be their godfather. I would be honored."

May's mother beamed and hugged me tightly. She was so ecstatic, it made me feel good, even if just for a moment. All I knew was that this family didn't deserve any more reminders of the suffering they had faced, and if I was going to be a godfather to their newborn child, I needed to find answers to the rogue problem sooner rather than later.