Chapter Six

The little girl, Jaime walked away from the butterfly towards her mother and then stopped abruptly to stare at me. The woman too shifted her gaze to me. I knew my time of secret observation was over so, I walked up to them both. 

“A good afternoon to you, Mrs Rhodes,” I paused and then stared at Jaime the added, “Miss Rhodes, my name is Maxwell Moon and I am Mr Rhodes’ lunch guest today.”

The woman eyes lit up in recognition as she said, “It’s nice to meet you, Mr Moon. Can I call you Max? Do come in.” The warmth and friendliness in her voice made me know that it wasn’t just John Rhodes who had his kindness. 

“Can I call you Max too?” Jaime said looking up at me. I got a good look of her upclose and immediately got nostalgia. It felt like I had seen her somewhere before. 

I bent to my knees and was able to stare at Jaime closer. I said, “Yes, you can if you allow me call you Jam-jam.”

Jaime’s face contorted in a large smile. I took in her facial features and tried to remember where I’d seen someone with similar features. “Yes you can. Does my red hair remind you of strawberry jam?” 

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Maybe a little.” We both laughed. I continued, “I got a little gift for you.” Jaime’s eyes perked up in excitement. 

I pulled out a brown coloured stuffed wolf and placed it in her small hands. She yelped with excitement and threw her hands around me, enveloping me in a hug. 

I was taken aback by this gesture yet I hugged her back. Up close, I tried to analyze her scent again. It wasn’t just because I had met John Rhodes that her scent was familiar. There was something else. I had met someone with a similar scent. Jaime pulled back from the hug to stare into my eyes. “Thank you, Max.”

I knew why her face was familiar too, I had to have met someone who shared a resemblance with her too, but who and where? 

I beamed, “You’re welcome Jamz.” 

Mrs Rhodes cleared her throat. “Oh wow. Thank you, Max. Please pardon my manners, do come in.”

I pulled out a large bouquet of flowers from the bag and handed it to Mrs Rhodes. “Here’s for you, ma’am.”

A surprised small played on her lips as she said, “This is absolutely gorgeous Max. Thank you! Please do come in and do call me Grace.” 

She swung the door wide open as Jaime slipped her little hands into mine. I smiled at her as we walked in together. 

Jaime led me into the most beautiful living rooms I’d ever been in. It was both simple and artistic. Three paintings hung on the walls and there was a beautiful combination of flowers hiding in a vase in almost every corner. The house smelt of a mix of flowers and something else, cooked meat in spice. I liked the smell. 

John sat reading on a chair. He jumped to his feet when he saw me. “Hello Max, it’s good to see you.” 

He walked up to me and gave me a very firm handshake. “I see you’ve met my wife, Grace and my daughter Jaime.”

“And he gave us such beautiful gifts too.”

“Daddy look at this little Wolfie!”

John surveyed the gifts his family members held out to him and I could see gratitude in his eyes. He stared at me with such intense kindness and said, “Thank you, Max.”

I was about to reply when Grace interjected. “Gentlemen, this way to the dinning for lunch!” I nodded at John. Jaime tugged at my hands and I followed her to the dinning table. 

Lunch was a pleasant. It was steak in a fancy sauce and some rice. It tasted brilliant. We exchanged small talk over lunch while Jaime sat at my side and kept engaging me in small talk too. 

After lunch, Grace enticed Jaime to take a nap and thus left I and John alone to talk. We sat in his study while sipping some wine. 

“I’m glad you swung by my house today Max.”

“I’m glad you invited me. You have a very beautiful house and an even more beautiful family” I retorted.

John smiled. “Thank you. You’ll have your own beautiful family soon enough. I heard you got a Chosen Mate finally, after a long time.”

I sighed and stared at the floor. For some reason, maybe it was the genuineness in John’s voice or the longing of a family that being with his has awakened in me, I found myself being vulnerable with him. 

“You know, I have been with May for sometime now. May’s my Chosen Mate but, it just doesn’t feel right. And…” I paused considering if I should go on to tell John about my mystery red-headed woman. 

John prompted, “And?”

“I- I think I met my true mate.”

“Really?” John sat up in excitement, “That’s great! Who is she?”

“That’s the thing. I don’t know her!” I said unable to add the frustration in my voice. “I met her at the last Alpha’s meeting; the disguised one and..” I paused again considering how much I wanted to know before deciding to throw caution to the wind and just be upfront with John Rhodes. I chose to trust him. 

“We had a one night stand but I can’t remember much. All I remember is her hair and that’s pretty much it.”

“You can’t remember?” John asked, puzzled. 

“Yes, I can’t. No matter how hard I have tried. I have just been unable to remember her, her face or anything else.”

I swung my eyes wearily around the room and they landed on the beautiful photo on John’s desk. It was of Jaime. It was an upclose photo and she was beaming beautifully at the camera. 

Something clicked in my memory and I visualized my mystery woman. I saw her red hair which was similar to that of Jaime’s and then her pink lips and I saw her nose and her brows. I saw her turn and smile at me. It hit me then! I just remembered, her face. 

“Pencil! Could you get me a pencil and a paper, please John? I think I just remembered the mysterious head’s face.”

John stared at me quizzically for a moment before moving in such speed and agility to get the pencil and paper. He handed it over to me and sat beside me as he watched me. 

I began to draw that which I had seen in the eyes of my mind. Her hair had been flowing around her face, it was long, she had a small slant the corner of her eyes, some laugh lines around them, a small nose shaped perfectly and the right pert little mouth to go with it. 

“There!” I exclaimed, “I think she looks somewhat like this.”

John stared at the paper and then said, “Why don’t you hire a private investigator to help you search for her? You could even get a professional sketch artist as well.”

I thought about this for a moment. John continued, “I do have someone that I could recommend to you. He’s smart and would be able to help you.”

“But, what about May? I mean, if I find this mystery true mate of mine… I-“ I scratched my head as I thought about my current ordeal.

John placed his hand on my shoulder and said, “You’re a great wolf, Max. a wonderful Alpha and more than anything, you need your true mate by your side. You and May would have to work things out someway. You’ll be fine. Let’s focus on locating your true mate for now. No stressing about the future. Okay?”

I couldn’t help the small smile that stretched over my lips. “Thank you, John. Thanks man.”

John took out his cellphone and pressed a few buttons. “I just shared the Private Investigator’s number with you.”

I nodded. “I really appreciate this man. You inviting me here, lunch with your very beautiful family in your gorgeous house and the rock solid advice you just gave me.”

John smiled at me. “Alpha’s have to have one another’s backs bro. “

I returned my gaze to the paper in front of me with new determination in my heart. I was going to locate this beautiful mysterious red headed woman at any costred 

Alexis POV 

I pushed off the covers from my body and ran to my bathroom, bent over the toilet bowl and heaved what was left of my dinner down the drain. I tried to push my hair away from my face. I flushed, stood in front of my bathroom mirror and splashed some cold water on my face while fighting another wave of dizziness. I stared at my reflection and noted the dark circles slowly gathering around my eyes and my skin looking paler than usual. Yes, I was a bit paler than the regular average person however; the pallor my skin was taking on was rather sickly. 

I sighed and rested on hands on my bathroom sink. This was the fifth time I was throwing up in one night. I tried to analyze the cause of this. Was it the delicious pasta I had for dinner? Have I developed some food poisoning? Since I had ordered the meal from a new restaurant that I haven’t previously eaten in? Or was I allergic to something in their meal? 

I walked out of the bathroom into my bedroom. I saw Hannah, my bestfriend and roommate sitting on my bed with a concerned look on her face. I grabbed an hair tie from my counter top and gathered my hair in a ponytail, pilling it all on top of my head. 

“You’re alright?”

I nodded and climbed into the bed. Hannah pulled the covers over me and then touched my forehead. She yelped. “Lexi, you’re burning up!” 

I sighed, “I don’t know. I just feel really, really tired.”

“And this is the 100th time you’re throwing up!”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Stop being such a crisis actor Han. It’s probably some food poisoning. I think I already threw up all of the pasta. I just need some sleep and I’m sure I’ll be fine.” 

“Are you sure about that, girlfriend?” Hannah said with a worried look on her face. She was always one to look out for the smallest of things and sometimes, exaggerate too. 

“I’ll be fine in the morning after some good sleep. Goodnight Han.”

I knew she wouldn’t let the matter slide and I wasn’t interested in welcoming her antics so, I turned off my bed side lamp and rolled the other way, facing the wall, away from her. 

She sighed and then walked away. I heard her hesitate before climbing into her own bed. We shared the same tiny apartment that had one large bedroom fit for two people, a small living room and an even smaller kitchen. Hannah and I had been friends since the very first day in Grade One. 

She had been the, tall, strong, exceptionally pretty, extroverted brunette everyone had gravitated towards. Yet, she had taken an unlikely interest in me; the smallest, skinnest and most introverted kid in the class. With her urging, I had come out of my shell a bit more and began to interact with other children in class. Yet, she was always my preferred hangout buddy and it wasn’t surprising how we have become inseparable ever since.  

Now, I can't even call Hannah a friend, she is my sister. Always looking out for me. She claims I am one careless girl and she wouldn't let me ruin my life. I could see the look of fear on her face. She has a lot of questions to ask but wouldn't know how to let them all out. 

My mind was filled with warm thoughts of our friendships and Hannah’s goodwill towards me as I drifted into sleep.