Page 74 of Bullied Mate

The horror of it slapped me across the face hard enough to jog a memory up from the darkness. It had been Jazmin’s birthday, and she was furious because Leo was crying. I told her babies cried to tell us what they needed, and she had complained that he didn’t need anything. He was just fed. He was just changed. What more did he need?

Tears blurred half my vision as I clenched my fists at my sides. I tried so hard to swallow, but there was a tennis ball stuck in my throat. My Adam’s apple kept bouncing against it, forcing me to cough.

Mom held out her hand. “I know how much you’ve been hurt. Can’t you tell how we can all feel it?”

“I don’t…I just…”

I knelt beside the recliner and shoved my face into her hand. It was rare for me to be reduced like this, to want my mother in the same way that Leo wanted a mother. But it happened. And when it did, Mom stroked my head and told me it was going to be okay. Even if I had been nasty to her. Even if I had been rude.

That was what families did for each other. They held space. They forgave the bad times and moved on to the good times. Desperation had shoved me to act without thinking, and I had ruined something amazing in the process.

Maybe I was the confusing one. Maybe I was the one running away instead of Galanthia.

Salt trickled into my mouth. Ugh, I hated the taste of tears. I hated crying. It was a necessary evil, yeah, but it didn’t need to happen just because things were going wrong.

Maybe I was too proud for my own good.

Mom kissed the top of my head. “I bet Galanthia would love to hear from you.”

“No, she hates me.”

“Someone who’s willing to give you that many chances doesn’t hate you. I promise.”

I hiccupped. “How do you know?”

“I’ve spent a lot of time with Galanthia. She likes you.” She huffed and then added, “I daresay she loves you.”

“There’s no way she loves me.”

She laughed. “I guess you’ll have to ask her about it. Won’t you?”

“I hate it when you’re right.”

“But you love me, right?”

I lifted my head, too dedicated to my mother to deny her a smile. Or an answer. “Of course I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too. Especially when you’re difficult. That’s when you need it most.”

“I can’t believe you turned off your show for me.”

Her gaze turned sharp. “Yeah, well, you were clogging up the air with your emotions and I couldn’t hear a damn thing, could I?”

“And you sayI’mthe stubborn one.”

“You know I like my routine the way it is.”

I chortled, wiped the snot from my face, and went back to the couch. Mom kept her hand on my arm. She kept giving me as much comfort as she could manage without hurting herself. The woman was dying of cancer and yet she had enough to spare to put up with me. I had to be more grateful to her.

I had to grant her last request—for me to get mated.

And I had to do it before I regretted everything.

***

Leo stayed with my mother and Bethany for the afternoon. I would have stayed too if I didn’t have to check on the gym. Being in a fog all week had kept me off my game, and a lot of the building and organizing had been left to Izdor. The guy deserved a huge thanks with an apology attached for being such a sport about it. Honestly, he deserved an award for being so cool about Galanthia and me.

But no one was in the gym when I arrived. The smell of new carpet was in the air along with the scent of pine that told me the locker rooms had just been cleaned. The mirrors had recently been wiped and the front desk had been installed. It was a night-and-day difference from my initial visit.

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