Page 37 of The Forbidden Wolf

“That’s it!” Max pointed at Kenzo. “From now on, Elyse gets her own plate and half of yours. She’s the opposite of chonky. Gods, do they even feed their females up there?” He clapped me on the shoulder. “No wonder you’re so hangry all the time!”

“Dad!” Sebastian fully covered his face and whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

The smile I’d been trying to hide broke free but I aimed it at Max. “Um, no, actually they don’t. Not until we’ve whelped at least three pups. Then they just throw a table cloth over us and give up.”

Max spewed bacon bits this time. “Well, there’s our first order of business! Go on, you poor thing, take some meat off Kenzo’s bones and put it on yours. No, no, I’m just kidding, we’ll get you your own.” He lifted one hand and snapped his fingers for service.

“What? Oh, no, that’s alright, I’m fine. You all are almost done.”

“Don’t be silly,” Max said, lifting Kenzo’s plate and passing it across the table. “What better way to get to know you than for all of us to sit here and stare at you while you eat?”

“You could start by introducing us,” said the male with the kind smile as he handed Kenzo his plate. “We never had the chance yesterday.”

Max smacked his own forehead. “Of course! Elyse, this is Mateo, my oldest friend and trusted Beta. He’s as good as gold, and if you ever need something from me in the middle of the night, please, go to him instead because I need my beauty sleep.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said politely, reaching past Sebastian to offer Mateo my hand. “I’m Elyse. I’m, uh, here. I guess.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” Mateo squeezed my hand tightly. “Gods, you look so much like Dinah.”

My fingers clutched the Beta’s. “You… you knew my mother?”

Mateo nodded gently. “Many moons ago. She was a lovely soul. Inside and out. I’ve missed her energy all these years, but… I see it lives on in you.”

“How?” I asked, blinking back sudden tears. “How did you know each other? You’re from Manhattan. She was from the Bronx.”

Mateo cocked his head, lips slightly parted. His eyes darted toward Max as if asking for permission to continue, but the sound of shattering glass made everyone jump. My hand slipped from Mateo’s as I spun in my seat, expecting to see Kiana and her soldiers dropping through the stained glass. Sebastian leaped to his feet, but instead of running away from the table, he charged around it. My eyes followed him past his father to his mother’s side.

Yara had slumped in her chair, back awkwardly bowed, arms jutting stiffly from her sides. The whites of her eyes practically glowed against her light brown skin. Max leaned over and caught her face in his hands, calling her name over and over and over. Sebastian knelt behind the chair, hooking his chin over her shoulder and holding onto her arms as she began to vibrate in her chair.

I halfway stood up, thinking maybe I should call for help, but Mateo motioned for me to sit back down. Neither he nor Kenzo said a word while father and son worked to steady Yara through her… seizure? I’d never seen anything like it in real life, and the closest I’d come in a movie theater was that awful scene in Pulp Fiction when Vincent jolts Mia back to life after her overdose. But I was pretty sure Yara wasn’t on drugs. Our wolves were pretty strict about what they let us put in our bodies.

Sebastian pressed his cheek against his mother’s skull, murmuring incoherent soothing words in her ear while vigorously rubbing her arms. Our eyes met briefly over the top of Max’s head, and I might have audibly gasped. It wasn’t the recognition of my fated mate, but I couldn’t have seen my reflection more clearly in that moment if I’d been looking at my sister. The guilt that tightened his forehead… the pain that twisted his perfect mouth… Whatever was happening to his mother wasn’t new. In fact, I would wager good money it was about twenty-five years old.

Yara sucked air through her teeth and sprung forward so quickly that Max fell backward into his chair. Sebastian held on for dear life, his tall body bent over the back of her chair. Yara blinked a few times, seemingly confused, and then pinned her gaze on me.

“Twins,” she said dreamily. “Leto, goddess of wolves, lay with Halo, god of the moon, and brought forth the twins. Chann and Marrak.”

Sebastian squeezed her shoulders. “Yes, we know, Mother. Let’s go for a walk. You always feel better after a walk.”

“The powers they held…” Yara tilted her head in awe, as if the first shifters had appeared before her. “So different, but so alike. Stronger together instead of apart.”

My suddenly sweaty hand pressed down on the pocket that held Kiana’s note. Did Yara know what I was hiding? Did she know I’d considered letting my psycho sister attack her unsuspecting son because it would get me out of mating with him?

“Twins,” Yara repeated, lifting both hands to stroke the air. “The world split with them. Those foolish males lost the bite… If only we could bite… Less pride, more bite…”

“Mother, please.” Sebastian knelt beside her. “Let me take you to see the ducklings.”

Yara blinked and shook her head. A childlike smile spread across her face when she looked at her son. “Oh, yes, Bastian. Mama will take you to see the ducklings now. You’ve been such a good boy.” She rose on her own and took him by the hand. “Now, what do we do before we cross the street?”

“Look both ways, Mama,” he mumbled, casting me a sheepish look… every bit of the alphahole vanished.

I had no idea what to do with the expression on my face. A strange fire was coursing through my veins, ignited by a chemical reaction beyond my control. It wasn’t the stuff of fated mates, still not even close, but… I could kinda sorta picture us going to see the ducks if he knocked all the other bullshit off.

Sebastian led his mother from the Palm Court, all the while letting her believe it was the other way around. None of the other restaurant patrons seemed to notice anything the slightest bit strange, and a quick glance at Mateo’s concentrated brow told me he had been working his mind-bending Beta magic all along.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Max said in a subdued tone. “She’s usually quite fine, but she has these episodes where she gets lost in time. Thinks Sebastian is a pup again. Tries to tell him the Old Stories. Please don’t be alarmed. They always pass, though they seem to happen more and more.”

“Thank you for telling me.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the note. “Now there’s something I need to tell you.”

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