Page 22 of Pack to the Wall

I suppose… it didn’t. He saw me as beautiful now and that’s all that really mattered.

“What is this fated bond?” I’d been meaning to ask since that morning.

“You’d have to ask my mom,” Tyson said with a grimace. “In truth, I only found out about it just before you did. I know very little, other than I feel compelled to be with you, close to you, to protect you and support you and?—”

“Fuck me?” I supplied, feeling more heat rise to my cheeks. In the mirror, I watched a visceral shudder roll through his body, and his hands came up to capture the tops of my arms in a possessive grip.

“Yes,” he breathed. “The urge to mate with you is… very strong.”

I had avery strongurge tomatewith him as well.

Heat flooded me, then seemed to sink and pool in my core. God, I hadn’t been this aroused since… well, since my kiss with Bronn that morning.

But before that, it had been a very,verylong time. My ex had loved having sex… up until I’d had Izzy. After that, it had been like pulling teeth to get him to be close. I’d thought another kid would help our relationship. I’d been wrong. He’d walked out, leaving me for some girl from his gym — who was half my age — when Milo had been three.

“But I can’t,” Tyson said, breaking the moment. I could see the iron bands of restraint holding him back, his body shaking with the effort. “You’re not a wolf yet.”

“And when I am?” I asked, my curiosity fueled by this raging storm of wet heat pulsing through me.

“You’ll need to be training to fight, not mating with me. Once Brick is out of the picture, then…” He trailed off.

For some reason, that seemed likewaytoo long. Yesterday, I would have thought sleeping with a guy I’d only known for aweek waswaytoo soon. But that had been before magical fated mating bonds had been a thing, so…

“I understand,” I said. I certainly wasn’t going to force him. But it was kind of nice to have this brooding, sexy, kind-hearted man literally shaking with desire for me.

The moment passed and he stepped back as I rose.

“Okay, let’s get things started,” I said.

Tyson nodded, opening the door to my room to speak to Colt, who gathered my kids from their rooms and brought them to my bedroom. Colt stayed outside as I got my kids settled so we could talk.

The three of us sat cross-legged on my bed while Tyson stood, leaning against the wall by the door. Milo was smiling and bright-eyed, practically bouncing, but poor Isabella looked a wreck, trembling, eyes red-rimmed from crying.

I had no clue how the three of us were going to get through this, but that was one of the reasons I’d called them in. As much as I wanted them to be kids forever, at sixteen and thirteen, they were old enough to act like adults if the situation called for it. And I agreed with Tyson who’d suggested we bring them in on our plans to make sure the whole family was together on this. I was touched that he’d thought of them.

Yet now that they were here, I had no clue how to even begin this discussion. I looked over at Tyson, all calm, easy strength, confident. Nothing like me.

“Just talk,” he said. “They’re old enough to understand all of this.”

I nodded and turned back to my kids.

“I think you both have a good idea what’s going on, but just in case, I’m going to clarify a few things.” I looked from one to the other and they nodded. “First, I… I…” God, it was hard to say. My throat closed up and I got all cold and hot at the same time. “I killed a man.”

There, I’d said it.

After that, things came out in a rush. “I did it to protect you both. I didn’t have a choice. It was my life or his and if he won, he was going to claim you both, take you away, and I couldn’t allow that. I hope you can understand though I don’t expect you to wave it off. I certainly can’t. It was horrid and… the worse thing I’ve ever done in my life and I’ll have to live with that. I’m sorry if that traumatized you.”

“You’re such a badass mom!” Milo said, excited.

I really didn’t understand teen boys.

Then he calmed a little. “But I know it’s bad.” He swallowed heavily. “I… I’m sorry I caused all this trouble.”

I nodded. We’d come back to that in a moment.

I looked at Izzy, tears welling in her eyes. She tried to speak a few times before, finally, voice strained and tears on her cheek, she squeaked, “You were protecting us. I know. It was?—”

She shook, unable to speak. I slid over the bed to her and gathered her up in my arms. She melted into me, crying fully. I smoothed her hair and held her, like Tyson had done for me not that long ago.

---