Cole chuckled and leaned back in his seat. “This is going to be fun.”
Jerry’s eyes flashed as he took in the vampire. “Listen, bloodsucker, we don’t need any help from you.”
“If you expect respect, dog, then you need to learn to give it, too.” Cole’s voice turned cold, and he got to his feet, narrowing his eyes.
“Stop it.” This couldn’t be happening within the first few minutes of the visit. I could have bet my parents and Jerry had planned for Greg to talk to me so we could get back to what we were before Bloodshed. They hadn’t expected four other people to be with me, let alone my mate. “Let’s just clear this all up.” No one could deny true mates. I turned and looked directly into Greg’s eyes. “We will never be getting back together.”
“Never?” Jerry huffed. “That’s a big statement.”
Rage’s jaw clenched, and his breathing increased.
I couldn’t imagine what he was feeling. If I were him, I probably would’ve lost it by now. Thinking of someone pursuing him made me crazy. It wasn’t fair to him, so I had to fix this fast. “It is, and that’s why I’m clarifying.” I took Rage’s hand in mine and squeezed it ever so lightly. “He is my true mate.”
“What?” Mom’s voice was barely a whisper. However, it wasn’t a look of surprise she was giving me. It was one of defeat.
“True mates don’t exist anymore.” Greg crossed his arms, ready to fight.
“Do you think you have a chance?” Cole stalked predatorily toward Greg as if he was prey.
“You always treated her like crap anyway.” Jess shook her head and wrinkled her nose. “It was appalling.”
“I did not.” Greg glanced at Jess. “See, this is the kind of lies she’s been fed the whole time at the academy.”
“Stop it,” Damien growled deep, and he appeared on my other side glaring at Jerry. “They are true mates, end of story. So what exactly are you trying to accomplish by being here?”
“She’s part of my pack.” Jerry lifted his head and straightened his shoulders. “We wanted to visit, and my son has been missing her.”
“You’ll find that we give zero fucks about a disillusioned asshole that’s pissed off because a girl doesn’t want to be his anymore.” Cole smirked and tilted his head.
“Alright, that’s enough.” Dad’s face had a hint of red. “You,” he pointed at Greg, “started this whole mess with your comments.”
“I told him he was out of line.” Jerry’s angry voice was clear despite the growls in it.
“My daughter wouldn’t lie.” Dad focused on Jerry. “If she says they’re true mates, then they are. End of discussion.”
“But she’s young and naïve …”
“Don’t make this worse than it needs to be.” Mom clenched her hands into fists, and there was some kind of silent exchange between her and Jerry. “It’s best if you all leave.”
To say I was stunned would be an understatement. She had just told her alpha what to do.
“Fine, but we will need to discuss this later.” Jerry turned and headed to the door.
“Dad, really?” Greg glanced at his dad then back to Rage.
“Yes, get your ass moving.” Jerry’s voice was a low growl as he opened the front door.
“This isn’t over.” Greg glanced at me with narrowed eyes before turning and following his dad out the door.
“Your mom is awesome.” Cole’s eyes lit up, and he grinned. “Telling her alpha what to do.”
“That isn’t something to be happy about.” Mom sighed, and her shoulders sagged.
So many questions were swimming in my head. Why did Jerry, her alpha, listen to her? How was she able to speak to him that way? It felt as if Mom wasn’t telling me everything, possibly even hiding something.
Chapter Two
After dinner, I offered to help Mom with the dishes, hoping to get some time alone with her. I cleared the table and brought the dishes to the sink. “That should be about everything.”
“Thanks.” She gave me a small smile and grabbed another plate, rinsing it off. “At first, I was skeptical of your friends. But after spending time with them, I’ve changed my mind. I’m relieved you have them.”
Mom and I were similar in many ways. It was the ‘convincing Dad’ part that might take a minute. “Yeah, I’m lucky to have found them.” Of course, Cole had entertained us throughout dinner. He told the many stories of our adventures and how he was the hero in every situation. Tonight though, I’d felt more complete than ever before. It was a strange feeling.
“Besides, even if I wanted to not believe you, after seeing you and Rage together, every doubt has been removed from my mind.” Mom's eyes got a little watery, but she bent down to load the dish in the dishwasher to hide them.
“It’s not something I’d ever lie about.” It burned me that she had even considered that I might be lying. I’d always been honest with her.
She huffed and grabbed another plate. “Honey, I’m sorry. It’s just that school can change someone.”
“How could you even know that?” It pissed me off that she thought I was going to change so easily.
“Remember, I’m from New Orleans.” Mom diverted her eyes away and grabbed a sponge to help remove some stuck-on food. “We see things every now and then.”
It was hard to remember where mom grew up sometimes since we had lived here my whole life. “Well, either way. I’m not going to change that drastically.”
“I’m sure you and Rage will keep each other grounded.”
“Honey?” Dad walked into the room and over to us. “How I’ve missed this sight. Both my girls are here taking care of things.”
“I’ve missed it too.” Mom bumped into my arm.
“Cole, he’s sure something.” Dad shook his head and chuckled.
“He’s definitely full of life.” Cole had always kept us on our toes, and Jess wasn’t very far behind him.
“That’s one way to put it.” Dad sighed and placed a hand on my arm. “You weren’t kidding earlier, right?”
“You’re late to that convo.” Mom laughed. “She already confirmed it was true.”
“Well, I don’t know much about him, but he sure seems to take care of you.” He sighed and glanced toward the door that led into the living room where my friends were. “I have a feeling you’ll be leaving our pack.”
To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about that yet. Rage and I could speak in our wolf forms together, but not in our human forms. That was the thing with mates, if you were members of the same pack, you could mind speak regardless of form. “I don’t think there could be any way he’d join this pack, not with Greg leading.” Now that I thought about it, I didn’t think I could either.
“No, he’d challenge him or even Jerry.” Dad leaned back against the kitchen wall.
“Alright, all done.” Mom shut the dishwasher and patted my arm. “Let’s go back and join them.”