Page 48 of The Pack Next Door
I eyed her cane.
“So you’re sitting in the audience?”
“Not sitting!” She squeezed my shoulder, then filled a thermos full of coffee. “The town participates in this one. A rabbit is let loose in the park and we have to stop it from running free as the alphas chase it.”
“That seems kinda rough on the rabbit?” The wolf made clear what she would do with any rabbit she caught. “How is catching a rabbit a skill alphas need?”
“They capture it and keep it safe,” she replied, “not kill it. All that power, strength, and speed of theirs has to be used to protect, not hurt.”
“And how long does this normally take?”
She shrugged.
“It can take an hour or more. Depends on how competitive the alphas are.” A sidelong look made clear what she was thinking. “The Whitlock pack will be participating.”
“Good for them.” I pulled away, ready to go upstairs and sort the issue with Tom out. “I hope they win.”
It was the best scenario. Everything I’d seen so far indicated that they would be a good ruling pack. The lack of heirs or an omega wouldn’t be an impediment. They could designate heirs based on skill, not blood.
“Briar…”
Mum wanted to talk about this, but her voice trailed away abruptly. Spinning around to discover why meant I was there when she stumbled. A white-knuckle grip on her cane was all that was keeping her upright, but as I grabbed her, I felt the shake in her muscles.
“You really want to go to this thing?” I asked, wanting, needing, her to say no, even though I was sure I knew how this would go.
“It’s going to be my last time.”
And didn’t that hit me like a punch to the gut? There would be way more cracked pottery in my life, but time with Mum? I didn’t want to admit it, but that was in limited supply.
“Give me a minute to get dressed,” I told her.
“You don’t?—”
“I do.” Her eyes held mine and then she dared a smile before I helped her over to a stool. “Just until the trial is done. The inevitable barbeque afterwards? I’ll have to leave you with Jacinta and her cronies and come back and do some work.”
“Thank you, darling.”
She patted my cheek before I took off upstairs, pulling on clothes rapidly.
That’s when I noticed my body. My nipples were still sensitive, but not on the verge of exploding if my bra brushed against them. Huh. Maybe Jace was right, or maybe, just maybe, this was it for my heat. With that pleasant thought in mind, I ran downstairs, collecting all the things Mum wanted and then carrying them out to the car.
Only to see the Whitlock pack was doing the same.
Gideon stopped still, staring over the roof of his car at me, ignoring his mother mid-conversation. His eyes found mine, and did he breathe my scent in? Didn’t matter if he did, I told myself, opening the door for my mother and making sure she got inside safely. What they wanted and what I wanted were two very different things and I was pretty sure there was no compromise to be had. For just a moment I stared at the car door, wondering how the hell I got here.
“Everything OK?” Mum asked cautiously.
“Everything’s fine.” I backed the car out onto the road, focussing on the rear-vision mirror, not my alphas. My mother was staring, I could feel that as I drove down the road, which made clear what her unspoken question was. Jace’s words came back to me abruptly, and so I shot her a rueful smile. “It’s not going work out,” I told her. “They want to be the alphas of Moon River, and me?” I flicked the indicator on. “I’ve got a whole life I need to get back to, so.” I shot her the same meaningful look she’d been giving me. “Have you looked at the brochures I gave you? Assisted living, home care?—”
“We’ll see,” she replied. “Everything’s still up in the air until my hip is better. I’ll work it out then.”
With a tiny sigh, I cut across the road, joining the many ringing the local park. Get through the trial and then discuss with Mum seriously about what to do next before I left for the city, that was the plan, and with that, I got out of the car.
Chapter 25
Gideon
I woke up early this morning and had a cold shower, knowing I needed to be as sharp as possible for the trial today. Running through some stretches and exercises, I could feel the blood pumping through my veins. For my mate, that’s what my heart pulsed as I ran downstairs, ready to organise my pack. Maddox was sleepy eyed and in yet another shitty mood, but Jace entered the kitchen looking like the cat that got the cream.
