Page 161 of Wolf Roulette

“I’m not sure how to process that,” I admitted. “It’s this massive roadblock in my head. Kind of scared to crack it open.”

“I heard Murphy was a werewolf. Do you think Ragna was mated to him?”

“She was.”

“Then that explains how shitty she was growing up, right?”

I lifted a shoulder. “I’m not sure it excuses it. The gambling, perhaps. But she never had the guts to tell me I wasn’t her daughter.”

Rhona grimaced. “Your scream when Greyson hit the ground just made me think; what if Ragna was screaming like that inside after Murphy’s death? What if she was screaming until her last breath? Dad had no excuse for what he did other than hatred, and I wish so badly there was something to justify his lies. But you know your mum wasn’t in her right mind. I don’t know if that makes a difference to you, but it would for me.”

People wanted to know why I was so forgiving of Rhona.

This was why.

No one could speak to me the way she could.

“It wasn’t the gambling or finding out she had a secret family in Deception Valley.” My voice wavered. “It was finding out I wasn’t hers. I could take everything else but that.”

“Being a mother isn’t about sharing blood, it’s about the bond they share with a child. She was your mum.”

I stilled. “You think so?”

“You never cared about Dad’s part in the lie—or my mum’s. You only cared about Ragna’s because you loved—andstilllove—her so much. Let me ask you something. Your mother fought through years of cancer when death would have finally freed her from grieving Murphy. Why did she do that?”

My eyes blurred. I swallowed several times before my voice worked. “She loved me?”

“More than the escape of death, Andie. Judging from that scream I heard, managing what she did was no small feat.”

It really wasn’t. I’d tasted that consuming horror for a few seconds.

“If you have any profound revelations about Herc, you’re welcome to share them.”

I wiped my eyes, laughing slightly. “Not yet, but I’ll keep that in mind.”

She stood. “I just wanted to let you know that I came back to fix what I did and make amends. I thought I’d struggle most with you being a Luther, but you’re not all that different.”

“You were raised to hate werewolves. It takes a lot to undo that way of thinking. Recognising there’s a problem must be the first step.”

“Yeah.” Rhona sighed. “You should know from the get-go that I probably won’t forgive Sascha Greyson for what he did. Every time I look at him, Dad’s death comes rushing back.”

If someone killed Ragna, I wasn’t sure I could forgive them either. “Whatever you decide with Sascha is between you and him. As long as you can respect my feelings are different to yours, then our relationship can be a separate thing.”

Wade burst into the office. “Bitchhole, you better—” He stopped short, looking between us. “Aw, shit.”

I grabbed my jacket and bag. “Are we late?”

“Uh, we will be if we don’t leave now.”

Rhona walked around Wade to the door. “Have a good time.”

I’d have a far better time now.

Things felt right again.

Not completely, but more than before.

I rushed past my saxophone but wrenched to a halt as Rhona’s first words echoed in my mind.

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