Page 38 of Holiday Surprise

“You’re doing great,” she whispered.

“I’m not sure I was ever truly meant to be a Pack Mother. This is hard. How does Lily make it look so easy?” I asked her. I was beyond exhausted and a little overwhelmed despite the nice reception I’d been given by the pack and the fun in the festivities of the day.

“Trust me, it’s not easy on her either. Make plans to meet her for lunch. I’ll even let you use my back kitchen for privacy.

“Thanks. It’s really just nice to see a familiar face,” I confessed.

A few minutes later I excused myself as my phone rang. I looked down and saw my mother’s face on the screen. I frowned. Luke must have sensed my emotions because he suddenly appeared at my side.

“What is it?” he asked.

I shrugged having chosen to ignore it, but the phone rang again. “Mom,” I whispered.

“Go to the bedroom for some privacy. I’ll turn on the dampener for you.”

I nodded, grateful for his understanding. He followed me to the bedroom as I apologized to a few people trying to get our attention as we walked by. As we reached the door, my phone rang for a third time and my stomach rose up into the back of my throat. Something had to be wrong.

Luke turned on the dampener, then smiled reassuringly as he gave me privacy and closed the door behind him.

“Mom,” I asked as I answered it on the last ring before rolling to voicemail again.

“Sydney, darling, I’m so glad I caught you.”

“Mom, is everything okay? Did something happen to daddy?”

“No, of course not. Everything’s fine. Why do you ask?”

“Mom, you called me three times in a row. That usually signals something is very wrong,” I tried to explain, feeling exasperated as I’d immediately been thinking the worse.

“Everything’s fine. Stop worrying so much. I know we always do Christmas Eve as a family, but you were in such a hurry to leave last night that I forgot there were a few presents I hadn’t put under the tree yet and I was wondering if you had time to come by and open them.”

“Mom, dad was rude and disrespected my mate,” I reminded her.

“I know, baby, but you have to understand things from his point of view.”

“Oh, I do. I almost left and gave up on my chance for happiness because I fully understand how he feels.”

“You’re leaving?” she asked.

“No, of course not.”

“Please Sydney, just a few minutes of your time?”

“Mom, believe it or not, I’m actually very busy today. I can’t just drop everything and come over there.”

Luke had snuck back into the room just in time to hear that last line. He frowned. “Go,” he mouthed. I shook my head. “Go,” he insisted. I didn’t feel the sting of rejection that should have caused. I knew he only wanted what was best for me.

I rolled my eyes. “Fine. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I finally conceded.

“Are you bringinghim?” mom asked.

I wanted to growl at her disrespect. “No, we’re in the middle of a party. We can’t both just drop everything and come over.”

“Oh good. We’ll see you in a few minutes then.” She hung up before I could change my mind.

“I can’t believe you made me agree to that,” I whined.

Luke hugged me. “They’re important to you, Sydney. Go make amends with your father. I’ll hold down the fort here. Besides most have moved on since I refused to serve alcohol.”

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