Page 46 of Shifter Marked and Claimed

“Hey, what are you two doing on Sunday?”

“Nothing that I know of, why?”

I stood up to take Vada to her room stopping to steal a kiss along the way.

“I’d like to take you and Vada to my parents’ house for dinner, or really more like a really late lunch? Super early dinner? I don’t know what to call it exactly.”

While she thought about it, I disappeared down the hall and carefully laid Vada on her bed then tucked her in and kissed her sweet head.

“Sweet dreams, sweetheart.”

Experiencing something so personal as putting a child to bed, not just any child, but my mate’s daughter, did something to me inside.

I stood there a moment just staring down at her sleeping form.

Mine,my wolf whispered.

I grinned and nodded in the dark.

When I walked back into the living room, Lucy was pacing.

My heart started to pound as I looked around for any threats. Pacing was never a good sign for a shifter. It meant stress and anxiety.

“Luce, what’s wrong?” I asked, going to her and wrapping her up in my arms.

“Your parents? You want me to meet your parents?”

I laughed. “Is that all? They’re going to love you… both of you.”

“Micah, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

My heart dropped as I let go and stepped back to see her face.

“You don’t want me as a mate?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“This is my family, Lucy. What am I supposed to think?”

“I don’t do well with strangers.”

“They aren’t strangers, they’re my mom and dad.”

She sighed in frustration. “You don’t understand.”

“Then help me.”

“My own mother took one look at my daughter and said get this abomination out of my house. We were left on our own out on the street. At that point in my life, I felt I was better off back in captivity with the Raglan than my own family. So forgive me if I’m not ready to just trust yours. She was my mother. She was supposed to protect me. Vada’s her grandchild and she turned her back on us. They all did. The whole freaking pack, Micah. The Alpha apologized to us, but what the hell good was that?”

“Lucy, I am so sorry that happened to you, but my parents aren’t like that.”

“You can’t know that for sure.”

I shook my head. I couldn’t fathom any circumstance that my parents would turn their back on me like that. Not ever. And not on me, my mate, or my child and my wolf and I had already claimed Vada as ours. I couldn’t explain that to her though.

I gritted my teeth hating that she had gone through that. She had faced it all alone with an innocent baby. It wasn’t right. I was here now, and I wasn’t going away. They were mine to protect or die trying.

“You are mine, Lucy. Vada, is mine. I’m ready to claim you both and dare anyone to ever say such malicious things to you again. I’ll rip their throat out.”

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