Page 66 of Forever Mine

“Yup,” he said, unable to wipe the grin from his face.

Despite Liam's not so subtle warning, several—mostly mated—couples came by to introduce themselves. It wasn't so bad. I really liked everyone I met and they helped put my anxiety at rest.

Halfway through eating dinner my arms started to itch. I scratched before noticing the hives beginning to pop up.Oh no, not again, I thought, quickly trying to make a mental note of everything I had eaten that day.

“Mommy, are you okay?” Oscar asked.

“I'll be alright. Looks like my allergies are kicking in again,” I told him.

“Allergies?” Lily asked. I knew it was rare for shifters, but ever since Oscar was born I'd had issues with them. Unfortunately, shifters were highly susceptible to human medicines. Our bodies required more of them due to our higher metabolisms, but we were also more sensitive to them. I knew what Benadryl did to me. It would be lights out quickly.

“Food allergies,” I said. “Though they haven't been able to determine exactly what yet.”

“Do you want me to get your medicine, Mommy?” my sweet son asked.

“It's okay. I'm done anyway and will just have to call it an early night. I'm sorry, bud.”

He nodded sadly, got up and returned our plates. When he came back I stood and said good night to Lily. Liam, as I knew he would, got up and followed us out.

“There're going to be plenty of other kids hanging out tonight. Oscar can stay with them. I promise, he'll be fine,” Liam offered.

I didn't know how I felt about that. I wasn't used to other people watching my son. I didn't know them, though I knew that was irrational. We were in pack territory and Liam was a Westin. No harm would come to Oscar under his protection. Shifters took care of their own, and by association we were now part of that.

“Jessica,” Liam called, waving over a woman who looked to be in her early thirties and very pregnant.

“Hey, Liam. How are you?” she said, looking a little confused, and I got the feeling they weren't exactly friends.

“I'm good. Really good,” he said, smiling down at me. “This is my mate, Maddie, and this is our son, Oscar.”

My heart did a little twirl in my chest when he said “our son.” I realized he wasn't just marking me tonight, but Oscar, too. It was so much more than I could have ever hoped for.

She didn't falter once at his insinuation. “Hi, I'm Jessica Moore. It's really nice to meet you,” she said, offering me her hand, which I took and shook. “Hi, Oscar. It's nice to meet you, too,” she added.

“Hello, Mrs. Moore. It's very nice to meet you.”

“How old are you, Oscar?” she asked, making the hair on my arms stand up. I had faced plenty of judgment over the last seven years. Being a teenage mom bore scars of its own. I was prepared to face whatever negative comment that was about to come our way.

“I'm seven,” he said proudly.

I held my breath, waiting for the shock and “Wow, you must have been very young when you had him,” or, “Is this your mom or your sister?” or just the glare that so many women sent my way, being a twenty-four-year-old mother of a seven-year-old. It was like you could see them calculating the years in their heads.

But there was none of that from Jessica Moore. She just smiled back and said, “I thought so. My son Bobby is just your age. Would you like to meet him? He's going to be so excited to have a new pup in town.”

Tears pricked my eyes as he glanced up at me and I nodded encouragingly for him to go on. It gave me hope that he would be accepted into the pack, that I would be accepted.

She made quick introductions and the boys appeared to hit it off immediately. It reminded me of the day I had first met Lily Westin and we became instant best friends.

Jessica returned while I watched them. “I think they're going to be fast friends,” she said, sounding pleased. “I'm obviously not going to be running tonight, and will keep an eye out on them. There're a few other kids that will be joining them tonight. We're having a sleepover at my place. They want to watch the shift and start of the run, then play for a little while before I round them up for popcorn and movies at home. Oscar is welcome to join us.”

I glanced at Liam, who smiled and nodded encouragingly at me. My skin was still crawling with hives and the itching was getting worse. I knew I would be dead to the world soon, and Oscar would have nothing to do otherwise, so I let go of my fears and I said yes.

“That would be great. Thank you so much.”

“Anytime. It was really nice to meet you. Maybe we could have coffee or something soon.”

“I would love that,” I said honestly. I sensed no judgment from her and the hope of maybe having a friend, someone with a son Oscar's age that I could discuss things with and who would actually understand, made me excited for a future here.

We said goodbye to Jessica and left Oscar in her care. Liam walked me back to the house and waited until I was dressed and in bed for the night. He wasn't pleased with the human meds I pulled out in search of the Benadryl. I could tell from the look on his face how they disgusted him, but he didn't really know what I'd been through and how they'd helped. I swallowed four Benadryl, knowing the exact amount I needed to get rid of the hives without spending the next day sleeping them off.

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