Page 125 of The Pack Next Door
“Work out a way.” This wasn’t a plea, but a command, and it felt so good to say. “Or don’t. I can’t find it in me to care either way. This…?” I flicked a finger between the lot of them and the car. “Isn’t my problem anymore.”
“We’re your parents,” Ned snapped.
That had me stepping forward, getting right into his face.
“Where was that parental bond when I found my mate?”
“She’s not your mate!” Mum fought her way past Max’s arms, trying to insert herself between us, but that would never happen. “This isn’t you, Gideon.” Her tone changed completely, becoming soft, pleading. “The boy I raised would never treat his mother like this.”
“And any mother who cared for her son would’ve been ecstatic about him finding the other half of his soul.” I meant that to come out as a growl, but instead the words were torn from me. Scars I thought long healed on my heart began to bleed freely. “She would’ve done everything she could to ensure he was happily mated, living his own life. Instead…” I shook my head. “Instead you just pushed and pushed and pushed, using me to get what you wanted.”
“Because you were the mate I was supposed to have!” There is a strange kind of pain, hearing something articulated that you knew on some subconscious level, but never actually said out loud. Mum’s grip was like iron as she clamped down on my arm. “When I carried you in my body, just below my heart, I knew. I’d have a son, a perfect son, who would be everything his fathers weren’t.”
“Bloody hell, April…” Max cursed.
“I was forced to be your mother,” she ground out. “When I was born to be your mate.”
My stomach heaved as anger gave way to a violent wave of revulsion. Hands moved on automatic, plucking her from the ground, then deposited her at the feet of Max.
“Get her out of here.” My muscles swelled as my wolf pushed forward. This was the biggest threat we’d ever faced, and he would never allow me to fight it without his aid. “Get her the fuck out of here. Get her out of here NOW!”
Everyone stumbled back, and for a heartbeat I felt the instincts they’d beaten into me rise. I would destroy them all.One shuddering breath, then another, it was all I could focus on, as my dads scrambled back. My mother screamed something incomprehensible, but Max picked her up bodily, shoving her into the backseat of the car as Ned walked stiff-legged over to the passenger side door.
“You’ll regret this, son.”
Except I wouldn’t. As my breathing evened out, as the tension slowly ratcheted down, I felt it.
Relief.
That rushed in, filling the hollow in my chest, and created fertile ground where there was only desert before. That flickering flame of hope? It roared to life as Brent moved closer. We both watched the truck pull out abruptly, then go hurtling down the road.
“Well, that was some fucked up shit.” I couldn’t help but snort at that. “Like I’ve seen some twisted shit on the force, but…” He glanced up at me. “You handled that real well, mate. Wasn’t sure if I was gonna have to call an attempted murder in there for a second, but you sorted them out.” A hand landed on my arm and gave it a squeeze. “If you ever need to talk about it, I can recommend some people.”
“Only one that matters right now,” I croaked out. “You’ve got the car park sorted?”
“Trust us to handle this.” His head tilted towards the church. “You go and handle your girl.”
That, that was what I needed.
I was in the church in a few strides, only to find Briar chatting with Emma. I wound my way through the many plinths, careful not to nudge a one, before picking my mate up and carrying her over to where the pulpit would’ve been. Coloured light bathed her face as she looked up at me.
“Everything OK, Gideon?”
“Is now,” I replied. “Briar…?” Why was pissing my parents off so much easier than this. “I… After the launch, we…”
She smiled then, holding my palm against her face.
“Been waiting for you to ask, big guy.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
The skin around her eyes creased.
“Yeah, you did.” Her other hand covered my heart. “Right here and I heard it, loud and clear.”
I lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm, treasuring the feel of her skin against mine.
“You keep doing that and my heart will answer yours every damn time.”
