Page 97 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

‘Grandpa wants to meet Adam. He might head your way soon. He’s getting desperate.'

‘The old man is retired. Tell him to get his butt up here. I need my grandpa hugs.’There was silence for a while and then I sighed.‘Cory?'

‘What’s going on?'

‘Would it be so bad if I adopted Adam without a mate? You think he would resent it one day?’

‘You have enough love for a whole brood of kids, Bells. Everyone over here already calls him your pup.’

‘Really?’

‘Yep.’

‘You don't think I’m too unstable in my life to give him a good life?’

‘Has he been suffering while you’ve taken all of this on?'

‘Well, no, but...’

‘Just love him, Bells. That's all he needs.’

‘What about a father figure? Who's going to teach him to shave and give him the talk?’

‘You’ve got plenty of males in your life to do that.’

‘You’re all so far, though.’

‘We visit, plus you know what I’m going to say.’

‘I can’t Cory. I can't give up.’

‘I know, but it's an option. But, it doesn’t matter, anyway. We’re always going to be here for you. We’ll make it work.'

‘Love you, Cory,’

‘Love you too, Bells.’

I was scrolling through my phone when I got a mind-link.

‘Rose, honey, I'm home.’

“Fuck,” I said out loud before I answered.‘How was your trip?’

‘Great, other than the fact that you accidentally booked me in the economy section. Don’t worry, though. I used the pack card and made them upgrade me.'

‘Martha, we’re literally scraping by right now. Everyone’s trying to save as much as we can.’

‘I’m sure we’ll figure it out. Anyway, I’m tired so I’ll be taking a nap. Can you make sure someone wakes me up for breakfast?’

‘I’ll see what I can do.’I cut off the mind-link and growled.

I was getting tired of this woman. Cory was right. I owed her nothing anymore, and I was past the point of caring. Every time I made some progress, it was another trip, another expense. It was like she was purposely sabotaging me.

I struggled to stand, the wound on my shoulder trying to mend itself. My hand slipped on the hardwood floor covered in blood, so I crawled toward my mate, pulled out the blade from his chest, and plunged it into the body of our attacker.

Once I was sure there was no threat to us anymore, I let the tears fall from my eyes, wetting my shirt as I moved to cradle my mate's head in my lap, and watched the life leave his eyes.

A sudden sharp pain rippled through my abdomen. Coyo's howl as I felt blood soaking my pants was deafening, as was the sob that tore from my throat.

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