Page 98 of More Than I Can Bear

“Pies?”

Freya came from behind me, tucking the towel around her tighter.

“Oh hello…” Mum’s face lit up and I shot a desperate look to my dads, who were bringing yet more desserts behind them. Small bakeries wouldn’t have been able to offer the selection we had right now. They just smirked and plonked the plates down on the bench as Mum moved closer. “I’m River’s mother, Janice.”

“Freya.” But when I watched my mate awkwardly try to shake Mum’s hand and keep her towel on, I stepped in.

“And she needs a minute to put some clothes on,” I told Mum, stepping between them. “We didn’t know you were coming.”

“You asked me to make pies.” Mum’s voice started to rise in tone, getting that shaky edge to it. “And I texted you to confirm which ones and then you didn’t get back to me…”

Run, I told Freya inside my head.My mum is a bit… intense. You can hide out in the room, put it down to not being able to find the right outfit. I’ll cover for you.

But she’s your mother. Her voice was like a cool hand on the back of my neck.She’s important to you.I heard her chuckle.And I need to put something on now. Flashing the in-laws might not get the relationship off on the right foot.

“I’ll be back in a tick,” Freya said, beating a hasty retreat.

“Oh my godddd…” Adam moaned, dropping his head down to suck in the scent of the closest pie. “Damn, Janice, you know how to make good pie. You sure we can’t eat one now? There’s like twenty of them.”

There were eight, but still.

“Don’t you dare.” Adam had been coming around our house since he was a little bloke, so Mum was as firm with him as she was me. “I was up all of yesterday stewing the fruit up and then spent the morning making the pastry.”

“All day…” Freya emerged out of the room in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. “Oh wow, Janice, you didn’t need to do that.”

“Well, River wanted to bring something special…”

I thought I had to win you over, I told her.Figured maybe the way to a girl’s heart was through her dad’s stomach.

You asked your mum to make eight pies?!she shot back.

I asked her to make one and then she went freaking overboard, as per usual.I looked down at Freya.Mum’s freaking out. She’s not my fathers’ fated mate and that means they don’t get accepted as readily by the shifter community.

What!? Why the hell not?

I sighed.Because it’s supposed to be like this. I reached out and grabbed her hand and when I did, Mum stopped talking to the others. They all did. She put two and two together, eyes widening as she watched my thumb rub across the back of Freya’s hand.

“River…” I hated the hope and the fear and the desperation in her voice and I knew exactly what had put it there. I loved being a part of a community of other shifters and I hated it in turn. I rarely went to the big events, sticking mostly to Adam and Kaine and the Farrellys, avoiding the rest but… “River, is this…? Did you…?”

“Freya accepted the mating bond, Mum,” I said, and that’s when I was forced to pull away from my mate.

Mum’s hand fluttered like a wounded bird through the air and her eyes blinked, blinked, then a tear fell free.

“Jan…” One of my dads swooped in, the rest clustering around her before tucking her into his chest. “Riv, you might’ve let us know. Your mother, you know what she’s like. She was worried sick.”

“Don’t put that on him!” Mum fought her way free, a determined look on her face as she moved to take my hand, then Freya’s. She beamed down at my mate with tears still in her eyes, but she smiled, gods, how she smiled. “I’m just so, so happy. My son is a good boy. He lets himself get a bit of a mess.” She shot a dark look at my hair. “And he spends too much time drawing—”

“I do too,” Freya said with a smile.

“Of course, you do.”

Mum just gazed at the two of us and then Kaine decided it was time to put the kettle on, which Adam thought was an excellent time to taste test the pies, which is how we were late to the first time meeting Freya’s parents as a sleuth.

“Fuck…” Adam hissed as we pulled up the front of Freya’s parents’ place. “Do I look alright? I didn’t want to dress too fancy, but I don’t want your dad thinking I look like a lout.” He tugged at his shirt collar.

“Leave that alone,” Kaine snapped. “You look fine. I picked those clothes out myself.”

“Just like Mum does. Aw…” Adam fluttered his eyelashes at his brother before the other man gave him a shove.

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