Page 64 of Cage Me

I move quickly through the house and use my wolf senses to scent for Peter. When I open the door to his temporary room, he’s lying on his side, holding a pillow in front of him and the blankets kicked down to the end of the bed.

I grin. Some things never change.

His coloring is normal, and when I press the back of my hand over his forehead, his skin is warm, not cold and clammy like Mom’s. My shoulders relax, but I still bend closer, listening to his heart. The steady beat holds me captive for several seconds as I close my eyes and breathe him in.

Kasha was right before. The bond must be why Mom is having a bad reaction to the spell.

I cover Peter back up and quietly exit the room. Getting back to the living room, I find my mother sitting up on the couch, her eyes shining with tears, but the awareness is back in them and that’s most important to me.

“Spencer.” The hollowness in her voice slices at my chest and I go to her, wrapping my arms around her.

She cries against my shoulder, and I nod at Kasha, mouthing my thanks.

The fae-wolf exits the room, and I continue holding my mother. Now that I’ve bonded with Drake and can’t imagine living without him, I can better understand her grief.

It doesn’t matter that Samuel was our living nightmare. Her heart belonged to him the moment she accepted the bond. What hurts the most and still makes me angry on her behalf is at one point in her life, she trusted him to take care of her and he broke that trust, over and over again.

She deserves better, and I hope one day she finds her second chance at happiness. For now, I won’t fault her for grieving not only the mate she lost, but I’m sure the life she never should have been forced to live if he’d been a better partner.

We sit like that long enough for me to sense Drake return, but I assume Kasha tells him what I’m doing because he doesn’t come find me. Though, he stays close enough for me to sense his energy. The run did him good. I don’t know how long he was gone, but his essence is calmer, which we both need right now.

Mom’s tears finally dry up and she sits up, a crooked smile on her face. “I’m supposed to take care of you, but it seems our roles have reversed.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” I give her hand a squeeze. “You kept me safe, and now it’s time I return the favor.”

She sniffles and shakes her head. “It was my honor, but I’m not sure I did you any good by hiding you.”

I can’t lie and say that there haven’t been moments when I’ve resented her for my upbringing, but not any longer. I make sure she knows as much.

“I’ve become the person I was always supposed to be,” I say with confidence. “I needed to know the risks, and if you’d let me be myself, I might have trusted the wrong people and gotten hurt in the process. But because of you, I’ve figured out how to put my faith in the right people.”

She swipes at her cheeks and nods. “I hate that this hurts so much.”

“He was your mate even if he was a piece of shit.”

A sob gets caught in her throat, and she covers her face with both hands, but when she pulls them back down, her stare is stronger than I’ve seen it in maybe forever. “I let you down so many times, but I won’t anymore, Spencer. I promise.”

“Everything is going to be okay.” I offer her a smile because I don’t know what else to do. These conversations have never been my specialty, but I know we need to talk about several things. “Crossroads can be the place you start over. I’m not holding on to the past, and you shouldn’t either. It’s time for us to move forward with our lives. We deserve that. So does Peter.”

She nods, squeezing my fingers between her shaking hands. “I think you might be right.”

“I’m leaving today, and I might be gone for a day or two,” I tell her. “Kasha will take care of you here, but if you need anything, there is plenty for you to trade with in my shed. Take whatever you need.”

I can’t tell her that there’s a chance I won’t be back. She’s fragile, and I won’t put those thoughts on her when I don’t even want them myself. But there is something else I need to know before I go.

Looking away because I’m not sure I want to see her reaction, I finally ask, “Did you know an angel came to you when you were pregnant with me?”

She gasps and jerks back. “What?”

At least her shock is genuine.

“I learned yesterday that I was angel-touched,” I tell her, finally meeting her wide stare. “It’s why my wolf is the way it is.”

More tears fill her eyes, and she starts to laugh softly. “How could I have not seen that all these years? Of course you’re angel-touched.” Her hand covers her mouth, and then she freezes. “Oh.”

“Oh? Oh what?” I ask, desperate for any information she can give me.

Her body relaxes, and she falls back onto the couch. “There was a woman. She found me crying in town one day. I don’t even remember what I was out getting, but it was the morning after the first time Samuel hit me. I broke a glass and… Anyway, she hugged me and, at the time, I thought my desperation for love was just getting the better of me, but now, I understand. Her touch not only healed my physical wounds that day, but made sure my baby would have the ability to survive the hell we lived in.”

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