Page 41 of The Pack Next Door
I loved her, really I did. Sometimes it took a bit to remind myself of that fact, just like I did right now. Mum helped a lot of people in Glen Hallow and was always involved in our lives, supporting us as we grew up, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be a judgemental cow sometimes, because that was what was happening in this moment.
“Mum—” I growled.
“What? It’s a fair question.” She peered at Briar. “Unless she has mating marks I can’t?—”
“Nope.” Briar bit that off. “I’m unmated.”
And likely to remain so if this went on.
“Briar’s an incredibly successful businesswoman.” I looked across at Jace and smiled as he came to our mate’s defence. “Pretty sure she’s flat out building an empire.”
“A businesswoman?”
How did my mother make that sound like a crime against humanity?
“Yes.” Briar gave up all pretence of eating and that wasn’t right. Her scent soured, smelling like burnt flowers, and I did not want that at all.Fix it,my wolf demanded.Fix it, or I will.“I know it’s customary for omegas to find their mates and help run their alphas’ household. I know, because that was the way I was raised. But when it became clear I wasn’t going to find my mates, I built a whole other life instead. One I’m incredibly proud of.”
Briar was glorious. I’d seen only a few people manage to shut my mother up, but she achieved it now. I wanted, needed, to tell her that she had found her mates, that we were right here, but for once I kept my big mouth shut. She was holding her own, and she didn’t need me to rescue her.
But I wondered if she might come to like me to protect her from time to time. Just to take some of the pressure off her and let her devote her energies to what she cared about. If it was this business, I’d do whatever it took to learn about it and every single thing she sold. Right as I was entertaining fantasies of sneaking under my mate’s desk and distracting her during an important business call, Mum had to go and ruin it.
“Well, in my day, an omega knew her place was in the home?—”
“A place you have turned into a haven to come home to every day,” Adam said. “But I think we can all agree that times have changed and alphas and omegas with them.”
“Not always for the better.”
Gods, did Mum always have to have the last word? For someone who tried to put it about that she was this delicate little omega, she certainly had some opinions. I sucked in a breath, ready to shut her down, when I saw Gideon’s expression. He looked way too pale and was ignoring the deliciousness of Maggie’s cooking, staring fixedly at the table.
He was always the closest to Mum growing up. Part of me had been jealous of the attention she lavished on him when I was a kid, but not now. My love for my mother and what I needed to do were really separate things.
“Briar is doing what makes her happy, just like having kids and being at home was for you, Mum.” Her lips thinned down, making clear she didn’t like that at all, but her emotions were her problem. I turned to Briar. “So how did the work emergency go?”
Pretty sure that was an excuse to stay out of the garden, but either way, I was interested in her answer. Watching Briar take a mouthful of food helped settle me, before she replied.
“We’ve got an issue with a freight company trashing a shipment. It came from a very talented and somewhat eccentric potter who is tricky to deal with. He tends to get… fractious.” She smiled ruefully. “My team and I have been scrambling all day to try to organise insurance claims and make complaints about the delivery company so we can at least refund buyers, but…” Her shoulders drooped. “I still have to break the news to the potter, and that is not going to be fun.”
“I can do it.”
Where the hell had that come from? I didn’t know this potter from Adam, so what help would that be? I wanted to though. Taking this load off Briar’s shoulders was a very real need. She smiled then, which gave me hope, then shook her head.
“I can’t even ask my staff to make the call.” Her spoon sank back into the bowl. “I’m the one that built the relationship with him.”
“Mum, dads.” Hearing Gideon speak was weird, as he’d been conspicuously quiet during this entire exchange. “You talked about scoping out the park for the trial tomorrow?”
“So we can develop strategies?” Ned got to his feet. “Sounds like a plan.”
“But what about dinner?” Mum protested.
That stubborn look meant trouble, but my dads had it handled.
“The kids weren’t expecting us for dinner and we talked about grabbing a meal at the local Chinese restaurant. Some chow mein and a wander through the park? Been a while since we’ve had date night.”
Ned held his hand out and Mum eyed it, then allowed him to pull her after him.
“Leave the dishes,” Mum said as they walked out. “I’ll get them when we get home.” She spared Briar a sidelong look. “Lovely to meet you, Briar.”
Pretty sure none of us let a breath out until we heard the front door close.
