Page 40 of Mating Mia
“She wouldn’t say. Just kept insisting we let her out. I asked if there was somewhere safe she wanted to go instead, but she said nowhere was safe. Eventually, I convinced her we at least needed to get you to a hospital, to make sure you were healthy.”
My mind is racing, trying to piece together this narrative with what I know from my father—that Orion’s pack raided their home that night, killed my other fathers, and separated my parents.
“We arrived at Memorial Hospital,” Larissa continues. “Your mother stayed in the car. The nurses took you right away—you were so tiny, but surprisingly healthy given the circumstances. When I went back outside with a doctor...” She pauses, her expression clouding. “She was gone. Your mother had disappeared.”
“She just left?” I blurt out, unable to hide my hurt. “Without making sure I was okay?”
Kane’s arm comes around my shoulders, pulling me closer to his side.
“She was protecting you,” he says firmly. “She knew they’d be looking for both of you.”
Larissa nods. “Even though I find that night very odd. That’s what I’ve always believed. She wasn’t abandoning you.”
The thought provides little comfort. I’ve spent my whole life feeling unwanted, only to learn that my mother left me at a hospital. If she’d stayed, maybe none of this would have happened.
“What happened after that?” Finn asks, his analytical mind trying to connect all the dots.
“The hospital kept you overnight for observation. I stayed with you—couldn’t bear to leave you alone after what had happened. The next morning, we took you to an adoption agency.” Larissa’s voice breaks. “I thought you would have a better life elsewhere with a loving family. I had no idea…”
“I appreciate you for caring about me,” I say, surprised to find I mean it. She could have ignored my mother, and I would have been left in a ditch somewhere. “You were trying to help. You couldn’t have known.”
Finn clears his throat, breaking the emotional tension. “Do you remember which hospital it was, exactly? And the date? These details could help us track down Mia’s mother.”
Larissa wipes her eyes, nodding. “Memorial Hospital in Charleston.”
“Thank you,” I say, reaching across to squeeze Larissa’s wrinkled hand. “You’ve given us more than you know.”
She smiles sadly. “I’ve thought about you every day for over twenty years, wondered where you ended up, if you were happy. I’m so sorry your life wasn’t what I hoped for you.”
“It’s better now,” I tell her, glancing at my alphas, feeling a rush of gratitude for their presence. “I have a family. A real one.”
Larissa’s eyes drift to my pregnant belly. “And soon, you’ll have even more family.”
I nod, my throat tight with emotion. “And hopefully, my mother too.”
As we prepare to leave, Larissa pulls me into a gentle hug, mindful of my belly.
“I hope you find her,” she whispers. “And when you do, tell her that her courage saved you that night. Tell her that even though things went wrong after, in that moment, she did everything right.”
Outside in the fresh air, I pause on the sidewalk, overwhelmed by everything I’ve learned.
My mother didn’t abandon me.
She was running for her life, gave birth on the side of a road, and then drew danger away from me by disappearing.
“Memorial Hospital in Charleston,” Finn says, already typing on his phone. “We might find some clues around there.”
The pieces are finally starting to fit together, forming a picture that makes my heart ache for the young woman who gave birth alone on the side of a road, too afraid to even go to a hospital until her baby’s welfare forced her hand.
A different type of peace washes over me. I’m not sure what it is, but it makes me feel better.
“Let’s shop for the baby clothes first,” I say. “I don’t think we’ll find anything at the hospital, but…”
“We’re going to find her,” Jace says with determination, opening the car door for me. “We’re close now, I can feel it.”
eleven
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