Page 13 of Cage Me

Well, this is new.

Her eyes stop glowing a second later and instead of addressing me again, she pulls her hands back and turns back to Spencer. “You need to help him.”

“The hell I do,” she retorts. “I need to get you and Peter out of here.”

Her mom grabs both of her hands and smiles. “And you will, but he comes, too, or I’m not going anywhere.”

Spencer’s mouth pops open and closed several times before she mutters, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

Well, this just got even more interesting.

Chapter 5

SPENCER

My mother has officially gone crazy. I don’t know what she sensed, but whatever it is, it doesn’t… Damn it. Frustration boils deep inside me. I can’t keep lying to myself. It’s only been an hour since I met Drake, and I already want to touch every inch of his body.

Except that’s the exact reason why I also don’t want to. The power a mate bond has over a person terrifies me. My family needs me right now. The me who can keep them safe, not a version of me more concerned with a man than them.

“Mom, I know you’re grieving, but you can’t be serious right now. You need to listen to me. We’re leaving, and Drake has nothing to do with that,” I tell her, trying to hold back my frustration. She deserves better than that from me.

Mom’s blue eyes narrow. “I’m still your mother. Even if you haven’t always agreed with my choices, that doesn’t mean I’m worthless. My instincts have protected me, and I know they’ll continue to do so.”

The moment “protected me” leaves her mouth, I lose the light hold I have on my temper and harshly point to the bruises on her face that are darkening in color with every minute that passes. “You call that being protected? You’ve been degraded and physically abused for years. How have you been protected?”

“Because you’re still alive,” she snaps. For the first time in my life, my sweet mother doesn’t seem so sweet. “Everything I’ve done has been to keep you safe. You have no idea the sacrifices I’ve made for you and your brother. Yes, I could have run, but he would have found us. We needed all the pieces to line up, and I believe the fates were waiting for him.”

She nods toward Drake, and I throw my hands in the air. “He has nothing to do with this!”

I don’t want to yell at my mom, especially not when she talks about what she’s sacrificed, because I know she has, but there is always another option. She just chose the easier one by staying. We could have fought back. I would have done whatever it took to keep her safe, faced any of the consequences for her.

“Spencer.” Mom practically growls my name at me. “You have always seen me as the victim, believing that I had no fight in me. Maybe I was wrong in letting you see me that way, but I’m not helpless and I’ve always known what I was doing. I stayed with your father because I knew, without a doubt in my mind, that if I left, you would die. Do you hear me? I knew, and I don’t regret my choices. Not the scars I carry because of them or the time I missed with you. Because you are here and safe, and you’re no longer alone in this world.”

Each word she speaks is thrown in my face, slashing away at me, burrowing under my skin and piercing my heart. Agony builds within my chest and by the time she’s done, I want to crumble, to fall to the ground.

For years, I’ve blamed her for being weak, for being unable to do what needed to be done. Even just moments ago, I accused her of taking the easy way out by staying with her tormentor.

Except as she stands taller, speaks with a confidence I’ve rarely heard from her, and looks me right in the eyes, I can see her. For the first time in possibly my entire life, I finally see my mother.

The lines that shape her face, the faint scars from the fists she cared for after they made her bleed, every grey hair she’s gained throughout the years, outshining the previous golden blonde she used to be.

She’s a fucking warrior.

I throw my arms around her and hold her tightly against me. “I’m so sorry, Mom.”

Her hands rub over my back. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I never wanted you to know, but I think you need to know now. Especially with your mate here.”

That has me pulling away and looking back, but Drake is nowhere to be seen. He had been standing right there and now…

There is a tugging sensation in my chest, directing my attention toward the house. That’s only slightly creepy considering we haven’t even completed the bond.

“I don’t want a mate,” I tell her, keeping my voice low. All the while, I just want to scream my frustrations into the void, because the words taste like acid on my tongue. “I tried to reject him, but he didn’t accept.”

She laughs, and her palm cups my cheek. “Of course he didn’t, Spencer. Have you seen yourself? You’re an incredible woman who has only ever tried to help people.”

I scoff at that. She clearly hasn’t been following me as closely as I thought these last few years.

“You may not believe it, my daughter,” she continues, “but you’re one of the kindest souls I’ve ever encountered in all the worlds. More importantly, your fate is not mine. You are not me, and that man you brought here is not your father. You can be happy and not alone.”

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