Alpha's One Night Bride
Alpha’s One Night Bride – Chapter 86

Ronnie paced back and forth; her nerves were beginning to get the best of her. Erick was by her side as he always was, and she was beyond thankful for him. When she got the call from Boris that Melissa wanted to speak with her, she wasn’t sure what to expect. She didn’t want to see her mother, but there was still a part of her that was curious as to what more she had to say.

Initially, she had said no. She couldn’t imagine what Melissa had to say was important enough to disrupt her peace. But as the night went on, curiosity began to haunt her. She could hardly sleep and when she did sleep, she dreamt of her mother. She couldn’t help but remember all the good times she had with her mother growing up. Yes, her mother was manipulative and toxic, but she was still there to raise Ronnie.

It’s because of Melissa that Ronnie grew to be who she is. It’s because of Melissa that Ronnie was there in the first place.

“If you feel the need to see her, we can go in the morning,” Erick said, reading her features as they stayed up in bed.

Ronnie stayed silent for a moment, allowing that to weigh on her mind.

“Arina would never allow that,” Ronnie said softly, tugging at her fingers nervously.

“It’s not up to Arina,” Erick told her. “Melissa is your mother.”

Erick was right; it wasn’t up to Arina to decide this. Ronnie was becoming her own person and she didn’t need to rely on Arina for anything anymore.

“I don’t want her to hate me again,” Ronnie admitted.

Erick wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him.

“Then she won’t know,” Erick told her gently. “We can keep this between us. We will be in and out.”

She smiled her thanks to him.

…

As she stood inside the waiting room of the Grey Howler Prison of Silverside, her body began trembling as her nerves rose in her stomach. Erick stood beside her with his fingers entwined between hers and Boris stood at the entrance to the prison cells.

It was a plain room that reminded Ronnie of a doctor’s office; they had a television hung on the wall and it was playing some sort of daytime gameshow, loudly. The dispatch officer was pretending to work on his computer as he yelled out the answers to some of the questions on the show.

The office itself smelled of mildew and unwashed fur, making Ronnie’s stomach feel even more queasy.

This was Ronnie’s first time in Silverside; Erick drove them there because Ronnie needed some time to reflect on everything before actually seeing her mother. She spent the car ride playing everything over in her head. Such as what more she was going to say to her mother that hasn’t already been said and preparing for what her mother had to say to her.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Boris asked, dangling the keys to the cell room.

Ronnie wasn’t sure about anything, but she knew she needed to do this. She nodded and took in a deep breath as Boris shrugged and unlocked the door to the women’s cell room.

The unwashed fur scent grew stronger as the door opened; it was a dimly lit room with metal cells. Each cell was closed with doors that had small windows equipped to them; they were soundproof so Ronnie couldn’t hear what was going on in each cell and vice versa. The hallway narrowed as they made their way to the end of the row and turned the corner into a wider room.

As the room expanded, so did the cells; there had to be hundreds of cells in just the women’s wing alone. Ronnie couldn’t help but wonder what every woman did to land themselves in prison as she passed by them. She wondered what the cells on the inside looked like.

Once again, the room began to narrow as they made their way to the end of the second row of cells. Then, Boris stopped in front of a door. He turned to face Ronnie and then glanced at the door.

“Neither of us is going to leave your side as you speak with her,” Boris told her. She nodded her thanks to him as he turned to the door and used one of the keys to unlock it.

There were so many keys on the ring he held, she wondered how he knew right away which key was the right one.

Boris stepped inside first, then Ronnie, and then Erick. Melissa sat on a twin bed, it was neatly made with white comforter and blankets as though it was a small doctor’s office bed. The cell was concrete all around and there wasn’t much to look at. There was a small, barred window on the wall that seemed to be overlooking the Silverside Harbor.

Ronnie noticed a gross-looking toilet on the far side of the room as well and she nearly gagged at the thought of her mother using that toilet.

Melissa’s dark red hair had grown in length it seemed; it fell around her backside and landed almost near her waist. It was curly and looked a bit oily from being unwashed. She wore cuffs on her arms which Ronnie knew they were so she couldn’t turn into her werewolf self. The blue scrubs she wore looked to be smudged in dirt from the unwashed concrete walls and floors the cell was made of.

It’s been a long time since Ronnie had seen Melissa without makeup on; her features looked washed out and she looked as though she had aged a million years in such a short time. She had wrinkles under her thinned-out cheekbones and her lips were pale and blended in with the rest of her pale skin. She had dark circles under her eyes as though she hasn’t slept since she arrived.

Her eyes were bloodshot from the number of times she’s probably cried, and her face was still a bit tear-stained and reddened. Jonathan had mentioned that she hasn’t stopped crying since she arrived at Silverside.

She didn’t stand when Ronnie arrived; for a little while, they both stayed quiet. It was awkward and Ronnie almost immediately wanted to leave. She had nothing more to say to Melissa; she said everything she needed to the moment she was taken into custody. She couldn’t even imagine what Melissa would have to say to her.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Ron Ron,” Melissa said, using her childhood nickname.

Ronnie nearly g*****d at the sound of her nickname; Melissa used to call her that when she was young, and Ronnie always hated it.

Ronnie didn’t say anything, she stared at Melissa with dismay.

“There’s so much to catch up on,” Melissa said; she sounded insane.

“I have nothing to say to you,” Ronnie heard herself saying, keeping her tone steady and low. “I said everything I had to say the day you were taken away.”

Melissa frowned.

“You did… but I didn’t,” Melissa told her.

Melissa had her entire life to say what she needed to say, it wasn’t fair to Ronnie that she would wait until now to say something. But Ronnie didn’t argue or walk away, she stood there and waited for Melissa to continue.

“I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for everything I put you through. You’ve always been the good one of the family and it wasn’t fair to keep you from having an actual family,” Melissa said softly. “But I hope you know that I love you so very much and I always have.”

Ronnie wasn’t sure what to say in response.

“I hope one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me…” she said.

Ronnie still wasn’t sure why Melissa needed her to come all the way here for something so stupid. It was aggravating.

“I wanted to give you something,” Melissa said softly as she reached into the pockets of her scrubs.

Ronnie grew nervous as she looked up at Boris; Boris only stood there, staring at Melissa with an expression that Ronnie couldn’t read. Erick tensed up from behind Ronnie. He was ready to attack if needed.

Melissa came closer to Ronnie; she was surprised that Boris still hadn’t moved. It was annoying, to say the least.

Melissa pulled out a golden bracelet with a gorgeous deep blue gemstone, outlined in black. It kind of looked familiar but Ronnie couldn’t put a pin as to where she’s seen it before. She wasn’t sure where Melissa would have hidden that here this entire time or how she received it, but Boris didn’t look surprised or alarmed that she had it.

Ronnie swallowed hard as Melissa unlatched the bracelet for Ronnie to put on, but she was hesitant at going near it.

“I was waiting for your birthday to give this to you,” Melissa told her. “But it doesn’t seem I’ll be getting out of here anytime soon. Rightfully so.”

She paused as she assessed Ronnie’s questioning face.

“I just wanted to give you something nice. Detective Conway was nice enough to allow me to keep this in here so I can give it to you,” Melissa explained. “I know you can’t forgive me right now, but I would love it if you could at least wear this bracelet.”

Ronnie stared at the bracelet; she was still perplexed.

“Please?” Melissa asked.

Ronnie sighed; it was only a bracelet after all, and it was gorgeous. Maybe she should have something to remind her of her mother. Almost everything else she owned didn’t actually belong to her anyway.

“Okay…” Ronnie finally said, in a broken whisper. “Thank you.”

It was all she could manage to say.

She reached her hand towards Melissa as Melissa latched the bracelet around her wrist. The blue gemstone dangling beautifully.

“Thank you,” Melissa said in return; her eyes twinkling something Ronnie didn’t recognize.

Boris cleared his throat and looked around a bit confused; he stared down at Ronnie frowning and blinked a few times.

“Visiting time is up,” he said, his tone hardening.

Ronnie nodded and followed Boris out of the cell, with Erick trailing cautiously behind her.

…

Ronnie and Erick went back to Conway manor to freshen up before they went home. It was going to be a long drive back to Ironclaw and she didn’t trust the bathrooms at the prison.

As she made her way through the manor to look for the bathroom, she ran into a woman wearing a black maid’s outfit. The woman looked startled at first; her dark features were radiant and bright. She was like an African queen but with gorgeous blue eyes; her hair was short in a pixy style, and it fit the shape of her face perfectly.

“I’m so sorry,” the woman said, in a panic.

“It’s okay!” Ronnie assured her, trying to give her a compassionate smile.

“I’m so clumsy,” the woman chuckled as she brushed her clothing off to smooth it out. “I’m honestly surprised I haven’t gotten fired yet. But I’ve been working here for far too long; they’d lose their heads without me.”

Ronnie chuckled with her and smoothed out her own clothing.

“Oh my!” The woman gasped, staring at Ronnie’s wrist; she was looking at the blue gemstone. “Such a beautiful bracelet.”

“Thanks,” Ronnie said sheepishly. “It was a gift from my mother.” She felt almost awkward to say that.

“Well…” the woman said as she began walking past her. “She has impeccable taste.”