Page 132 of The Beta's Heart

Why didn’t my mom ever say anything? Especially when Dad, I mean, Seymour, started acting so erratically and violently toward us? I was twelve! That was old enough to hear that they were chosen mates and he wasn’t my real dad!

Maybe she didn’t think so. Maybe she couldn’t talk about it because it was too painful,I suggested.There’s no way to know why she kept it a secret, but I do agree that she should have said or done something as Seymour declined into madness.

While we were linking, Ash was chewing Mrs. Merriweather a new one.

“Why did you keep this secret? Especially when you knew Seymour killed Bekah and nearly killed Ty? And don’t tell me you didn’t know either of those facts because everyone in Five Fangs does!”

“I didn’t keep it a secret!” she defended herself. “I didn’t know Bekah never told the boy that she was chosen mates with Seymour! I didn’t know that she never spoke to him about Beta Hunter! Why don’t you go scold Roger Poe instead of me? He knows all of this, too! He could have opened his mouth!”

“Don’t throw this back on Roger!” I spat. “Hewas a family friend.Youwere family. If you would have been the caring aunt you weresupposedto be, you would have been a part of Ty’s life and known if Bekah had told him or not. But since you can’t even care for yourown son, I’m glad you kept your distance, you bitter ol’ bitch!”

Mrs. Merriweather got to her feet with her eyes blazing, and I did the same, standing in front of my mate with my hands balled up, but Ty wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me down on his lap before I could go nose-to-nose with her.

That’s when Ash stood up.

“Your wolf, Covey. Is she a baby wolf or a mature one?”

“Shewasa mature wolf.”

“What do you mean,was?”

“After Rob died, she was never the same. She knows nothing more than I do. Even if she did, she couldn’t give you any answers. Now if we’re through here, I have things to do.”

“I’d like to hear fromherthat she knows nothing,” Ash told her with a bite in his voice.

“You don’t understand.” Mrs. Merriweather’s eyes flashed with fear, making me very curious. “Covey… She’s not strong. She’s… broken… She can’t...”

“Covey, ascend!” Ash commanded with Sid in his eyes and his voice, and she no longer had a choice in the matter. A wolf obeys its alpha, and Covey ascended in one of the most haunting transformations I’d ever seen.

Mrs. Merriweather’s cheeks hollowed, skin stretching taut over bones that looked too fragile to hold any weight. Her eyes, usually sharp with bitterness, now seemed distant, as though she was looking at something far away. Her posture, always rigid, collapsed inward as if she was being crushed by an invisible weight.

She’s suffering so much, Peri,Dove whispered.It’s like she’s trapped in a cage of her own grief.

I could see and feel that much and knew Ash and Ty could, too. Covey’s spirit was shattered, the sorrow for her lost mate a poison that had seeped into every part of her being.

“It’s time to rest, Covey,” Ash murmured.

Her eyes—those sad, broken eyes—looked at him. A spark, faint but undeniable, flickered in their depths as she sent out a wave of love, pure and unyielding, for her pup, and we all realized that Bram was the only thing that had kept her holding on for so long. Staying was a torment she clearly could no longer endure, however, and Ash gave her the mercy she deserved.

The mercyher humanshould have given her long ago.

“We’ll watch over your pup, Covey,” Ash reassured her before rolling out his alpha and moon power. “I release you from this pain. Return to the Goddess, and be at peace.”

As the words left his mouth, she exhaled a long, shuddering breath that carried with it all the sorrow she had been clinging to. A shimmer appeared around her body for a moment, and then it was as if a shadow lifted from the room.

It’s better this way,Dove sighed in my mind, a sound of relief mixed with sadness for her packmate.She’s free now.

As Mrs. Merriweather came back to herself with a gasp, Ash’s eyes glinted green with Sid, and his dark grin was not something I ever wanted directed atme.

“Ty, Peri, why don’t you two take off? I’m going to spend a little time here with Brenda. I’ll swing by your place later and share what I learn.”

“You sure you don’t want us to stay?” Ty asked.

“I’ve got it, bro, and you need time to think. If you’re up for it, though, Bram could probably use your support right now. After all, his mother might not survive this, and his birthday is on Friday.”

“Rather than spoiling his special day, I think it’ll give him something else to celebrate,” I muttered as I spun on my heel and tugged Ty along with me. “Come on, baby, let’s take your new cousin somewhere fun and tell him the good news!”

“He’s not exactly mynewcousin,” Ty rolled his eyes, but followed me out the door.

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