“I didn’t say yes,” I muttered, staring at Cole’s stiff spine as he moved to do what Nyota had asked of him.
“You’re pregnant, and you just used magic. You don’t have a Van Helsing handy to protect you from the curse,” she stated, tapping her hand on my shoulder. “Now, you do.”
My gaze slid to Cole’s, finding him studying me carefully. He had avoided me for days, and he didn’t look happy to be here right now. I exhaled and swallowed.
“I didn’t know she was my mother, Cole. I murdered her today for things she said, but also for things she did in the past to you and your family. She wasn’t kind to me, not as I thought she was. My sister protected me from the truth, which Rhys unlocked when he entered my dreams and took control of them. The same one I pushed you out of.” Cole snorted, searching my face briefly. Dismissing me, he stared up the road silently. “Everyone hates me now, and I can’t change my parentage.”
“It’s a big bomb that got dropped today, Remi. Think about it; Rhys let his guard down, and you and he were happy. He had never slept with the same woman twice since Roslyn, yet he did with you. He grew attached to you, allowing himself to be happy finally, and then, he comes face-to-face with the woman who destroyed him. Then, he finds out that the one woman he’s allowed himself to be happy with, well, she’s her daughter. You also made a fallen house rise, and you technically don’t have the power to do that. It has to be voted on in the sanctuary with the other alphas all present.”
“How do I go about doing it legally?” I asked, and Nyota’s hand tightened on my shoulder.
“You don’t because you have me. I’ll set it up and make Rhys give you sanctuary for it, or I’ll drive him insane until he agrees. See, you’ll like having me around. You have no idea of the gravity of what a child will do for us.”
“No, I don’t. Here’s the thing, though, I’m done with everyone keeping secrets from me, Nyota. People have lied to me and taken advantage of me because I was naïve. That’s not something I can change, but I can take control of my life from this point on. I can no longer think of only me anymore. Bullet is going to need me to make decisions that will shape the future he or she inherits. I have to do better. The only way I can do that is by surrounding myself with people who care about me, and those who will also love my child. Nyx has my back without question, but where do your loyalties land?”
“With my family,” she stated honestly, her hand tightening on my shoulder. “And my family is in your womb, growing. That means you’re my family now, too. You’re Rhys’s silver, whether he wants it or not. He chose to accept you, and he offered you his protection. I vow to you that I will always tell you the truth unless it endangers my brothers. If it becomes an issue, I will live in a tent outside your house.”
“Like a stalker?” Nyx asked, popping the button for the trunk. Cole dropped the bag in, and I watched him walk off without a backward glance.
“Exactly like a stalker. Rhys has many enemies, and they’ll see his child as a weakness. They don’t know that he has disowned it, and they will not stop to ask questions. The entire Beltane guest list was outside for the announcement of his child’s existence.” Cole peeled out, heading in the opposite direction of the Van Helsing Estate. “My family just broke again, Remi. That pain just became fresh for them, and even though you killed Roslyn for good, it’s going to take a few minutes for them to see you had no part of this mess. I can see it because I watched you instead of that murderous bitch during the fight. You had no idea your mother was Roslyn, and actually thought she was Elizabeth. It’s both sad and pathetic.”
“Uh, thanks,” I snorted, chewing over what she said while my chest tightened with pain from the betrayal and Rhys’s outright rejection of our child.
“I did just say I wouldn’t lie to you. I thought you wanted honesty?”
“Some white lies aren’t bad,” I admitted while counting to ten inside my head, holding on for dear life as Nyx sped us down the road. “I feel like the most unwanted, blind fool in the world.”
“You pretty much are,” Nyota stated.
“White lies, Nyota!” I snapped.
“You’re brilliant,” she corrected.
“Asshole,” I muttered.
“Bitch,” she huffed.
“I need dick,” Nyx announced, and I rolled my eyes while Nyota made a crude noise from where she sat pressed against my seat.
“This is going to be insane. A nymph, a Van Helsing, and a pregnant Silversmith,” I frowned. “What could possibly go wrong?”
“Is that the house?” Nyota asked as Nyx pulled into a driveway.
The house looked abandoned with windows covered in plywood, as if preparing for a hurricane to hit, or worse. The grass was yellow and dead, and the porch ceiling was hanging down, as if something had sat on it, crushing it beneath the weight.
“Please tell me this is a joke?” I asked, turning worried eyes on Nyx, who smirked, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.
“It just needs some elbow grease, right? I mean, you said anything would work.”
“I didn’t agree to protect you from a fucking house, Remington. It’s one strong wind away from blowing over.”
Our heads turned back as the porch creaked loudly, and the ceiling crashed to the ground, destroying the steps that led into the front door. I sat back in the seat, exhaling as I rubbed my eyes. I was exhausted, and my emotions were on edge. I’d discovered my mother was a murderous, power-hungry villain who literally hated me.
Rhys told me I had meant nothing to him and that my child meant about the same. I’d become homeless, and the shack that Nyx had purchased wasn’t even a safe place to sleep. We couldn’t even get into the door to go inside.
Headlights appeared behind our car, and I watched as Ian unfolded his lengthy frame from the driver’s seat. Conrad climbed out of the car, staring at the house before sliding his attention to me and back to the house as another board crashed onto the ground. Both paused to look at the house, and Nyota pushed the seat up to grab the door.
“They may be here to hurt you and Bullet,” she whispered, pushing the door open as she pulled out a blade. “Halt!”
“Who the hell says halt?” I asked, turning to look at Nyx.
“Scotland Yard police do,” Nyx said, shrugging when I looked in her direction. “What? They do! I watched it on Sherlock Holmes while riding Acyn reverse cowgirl.”
“I could have lived my entire life without having known that,” I said, and jumped as Nyota tapped the window.
“You know, for the person who is supposed to police the Silversmiths, you’re pretty jumpy. Rather pathetic, really,” Nyota snorted.
“White lies,” I whispered, rubbing the bridge of my nose before climbing out of the car to awkwardly hold her hand to prevent the curse from striking.
“You’re sure you wish to stay in this place, Silversmith?” Ian asked, narrowing his eyes on me with a look of pity.
“Pretty sure it’s condemned, sweetheart,” Conrad snorted, grunting as Nyota elbowed him in the ribs. He whistled, and the female shifters slipped from the shadows, clapping as they found me and gathered around me with excitement. “They’re rather smitten with you. They wouldn’t shut up about being mothers since you dropped the baby bomb on Rhys. So, until he pulls his head out of his asshole, you have us.”