Page 86 of Wolf Bitten

Dad huffed. “I admire his business tactics. He’s cunning and ruthless, which is why I don’t want mydaughteranywhere near that family. You’ve never had a boyfriend before, and I don’t want them to eat you up and spit you out.”

Babe, are you okay?Raffe linked, his concern wafting through.I’m on my way.

I’m fine. Don’t worry.I didn’t want him to think I was under attack, though I was. Verbally. It wasn’t the kind of danger he needed to worry about.

A chill ran down my spine.Cunning and ruthless. Two words that could describe the person who’d been attacking me without leaving a clear link back to him. But I wasn’t here to defend King Jovian. I needed to defend Raffe, my mate and the love of my life. “Raffe isn’t his father.”

“How can you know that, honey?” Mom reached across the table. “You barely know him.”

My blood jolted as my emotions became less controlled. “I know him better than you think.”

“You losing your virginity to him doesn’t mean you know him.” Dad hit the table. “This is what I’m talking about. We think you should come home.”

I laughed maniacally. “Are you serious? You two pushed me to come here! Remember? I told you it was weird to be accepted when I’d never applied, and you practically packed up my stuff and pushed me out the door. Any way to get your freaky-ass daughter away and get some distance.” I’d never told them how I felt before, but they’d never spoken to me this way either. These were whole new relationship waters we were treading.

Mom’s jaw dropped. “We’venevercalled you freaky. And we assumed you applied and didn’t want to tell us. Those accusations right there are not fair.”

“Neither is you coming here and judging me. I did come here, and I finally fit in. And yes, Raffe is part of the equation, but he’s notallof it.” I pushed my plate aside, no longer hungry. I didn’t like where this conversation was going. “I’m not leaving.”

“Now listen here—” Dad leaned over the table.

Mom touched his shoulder, holding him back. “What your father means”—she glared at him—“is that your first love feels like it will last forever, but that’s not normally how it goes.”

Everything I wanted to say would only elevate the tension between us, so I bit my tongue, trying like hell to keep my mouth shut.

Silence descended for minutes, the three of us not eating and unsure of what to say.

I had to remember that I’d never been like them; I wasn’t even human anymore. If I’d been human and didn’t have this supernatural connection with Raffe, they would have had a right to be concerned. But I couldn’t think of anything I could say to make them understand that there was no way in hell Raffe and I wouldn’t be together. Not now. Not ever.

Finally, Mom broke and said, “Honey, we never thought you were afreak. I know kids called you that, and I won’t lie and say things didn’t happen around you that neither Robert nor I understood, but we never meant to make you feel alienated, and I’m sorry if we did.”

Some of my anger ebbed. She’d never been honest like this before and had always avoided addressing the issues with my blood. “I didn’t understand it either, and I could see your fear. I felt all alone, and now … I don’t.”

“I’m glad, but Raffe—he had an entirely different childhood than you.” Mom bit her bottom lip.

“She’s right.” Dad nodded. “He’s had a life of privilege, getting what he wants and then tossing it aside. People like the Wrights … they like something shiny and new. Just like he made a show of giving you his jersey. They like to claim things, but when the newness dulls, they like to—”

Hot anger that wasn’t my own scorched through me, and that was when I felt the tingle at the base of my neck. I glanced up just as Raffe reached our table, his face a harsh scowl.

He’d heard everything.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Anger swirled off Raffe, and I placed my hands on the table.

Dad straightened and forced a smile, unaware that Raffe had heard everything despite the noise in the room.

Damn supernatural hearing.

I didn’t want to hide things from him anymore, but that didn’t mean I wanted to share something that would openly hurt and offend him.

“Raffe.” Mom placed a hand on her chest and laughed way too loudly. “You arrived faster than I expected.”

Raffe didn’t bother waiting for me to slide over. He sat next to me and threw his arm around my shoulders. Our connection sprang to life, and his freshly clean scent, along with his presence after hours of separation, made me light-headed. As my body pressed against him, I noticed he was damp and smelled more strongly of soap than usual, like he’d rushed from the shower to get here.

Of course he had. He’d felt that I was upset.

With the way my parents were acting, I should have pulled away so they wouldn’t give me more grief, but I couldn’t. Not that he would’ve let me; I could feel his wolf radiating from him.

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