There was no point in hiding it from him. “I don’t know.” I sighed and stepped into him.
He wrapped his arms around me tight and kissed the top of my forehead. “You should be fine for a short while, but we need to figure out what we’re going to do.”
“We?” He had a pack though I hadn’t met them yet.
“Yes, I wasn’t about to join your pack with that stupid ass Dad and son team. At least now we can figure out what we want to do together.” He kissed my lips and leaned back, smiling. “Mates usually join the same pack, don’t you know.”
“Yeah, you’re right, but I don’t want to make you leave yours.” He obviously had been thinking about this for a while. “Why didn’t you say something about this earlier? Why wait until now?”
“Baby, leaving a pack should be your choice.” His eyes warmed to a deep chocolate. “There was no way in hell I would bring this up until you decided things on your own. And as far as my current pack, it’s not like I’m around them much. Still, I can introduce them to you and see if that’s something they’d be interested in, or we could find one we both like and join together.”
He was right, I had some time before the pressure of being a rogue wolf would get to me. The coldness in my chest felt like an iceberg though. I didn’t want to rush into another pack, but at the same time, the longer I went alone, the worse it could be.
Chapter Three
We climbed out of the car, and I could’ve sworn my heart stopped. It hadn’t, but I didn’t know what I was about to walk into. I was sure Greg had already called his Dad as soon as they’d left to tell him what happened even though Jerry should’ve known as soon as I left the pack.
There was no telling what my parents would say or do. I only hoped I didn’t cause problems for them.
The light was on in the living room, so I’d find out what their reaction would be soon.
“You okay?” Rage stopped and waited for me. His hands were full with the sundae and milkshake my parents had ordered.
“Yeah, just not sure what their reaction is going to be.” That was putting it mildly.
“Well, they love you, so it’ll be okay.” Rage leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Either way, I’ll be by your side.”
“I love you.” There were no other words to convey my feelings at the moment. Sometimes it felt like those words weren’t adequate enough to describe how I felt.
“Love you too.”
The door to the house swung open, and Cole stepped inside. “We’re back.”
“Don’t you think they realize that?” Jess laughed and smacked his arm.
“They could think it was some ugly bear shifter.” Cole glanced at Damien and winked.
Damien didn’t even respond. He just shook his head and rolled his eyes.
“Time to face the music.” Let’s just get this over with. The longer I took going inside, the worse I’d have it built up in my head. Dad has suggested it earlier, but I was pretty sure they hadn’t expected the news the same day.
“Honey, I promise it’ll be just fine.” He strode beside me and smiled. “They love you. Besides, if they don’t take it well, we’ll just head back tonight instead of tomorrow.”
He was right, but I’d never wanted to disappoint my parents before, and that hadn’t changed today.
Damien trekked in front of me and glanced over his shoulder. “We’ve got your back.”
I needed a minute. I took a deep breath, trying to do that meditation stuff that was supposed to calm you. It confirmed what I already knew; it doesn’t work.
When I entered the room, Mom and Dad were sitting on the loveseat. The television flickered in the background, but the noise was muted.
“Where do you want me to put these?” Rage lifted his hands.
“Can you please go put them in the freezer?” Mom forced a smile, tension evident in her eyes.
“I’ll go do it.” Damien grabbed the items and left the room.
I bet he wouldn’t come back unless he was needed. Damien hated tension, but if he was needed, he’d be right by our sides. He was loyal and not uncomfortable with confrontation. He just tried to avoid it unless it was necessary.
“Why don’t we go help Damien put them up?” Rage glanced at both Cole and Jess.
“It’s just two things.” Cole huffed and went over to sit on the large sofa. “I’m sure Damien can handle that.”
“Maybe not, the freezer could be full.” Jess grabbed Cole’s arm and dragged him out of the room.
“Then how are we supposed to help with that?” Cole tried to jerk from her hold, but she must have squeezed harder. “Ow, what kind of monster are you? You’re freakishly strong.”
Rage sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry about him.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Holler if you need me.”
Great, he was leaving me alone with my parents. “Okay.”
When the rest of them fled to the kitchen, Mom frowned. “Jerry called and informed us about what happened. Greg is beside himself.”
“Greg was who started it.” I sighed, ready for the bickering to begin.
“That’s what I figured.” Mom rubbed a hand down her face.
“So you’re leaving the pack?” Dad took in a shaky breath as if he was steadying himself for my answer.
“Yes, I’ve left it.” It wasn’t something that was easy to decide, but I didn’t need to give any excuses. I made my choice and at the end of the day, I had to do what I thought was best. “I’m sorry, but …”
“No, don’t.” Mom reached out and took my hand in hers. “You know we figured it was only a matter of time.”
“It just came faster than we had anticipated.” Dad huffed and placed his arm on the side of the couch. “But, hell, considering how Greg is acting, what else can you do.”
“Yeah, I don’t know what’s going on with him.” I hated that there was this much distance between us. We had grown up together and were friends before we dated.
“For starters, his ego was hurt when you got selected and not him.” Dad rubbed his forehead with his fingers. “Now you’ve moved on and found your true mate, so that was a blow to his pride.”
“So that makes it okay? Please don’t tell me that you’re siding with him.” I loved my parents too much to feel like they were against me.
“Of course not.” Dad startled and stood. “That’s not what I was saying at all.”
“He’s just hurting and acting out.” Mom glanced out the window as if she was searching for the right words. “He was raised believing that males were the strongest and needed to be leaders. You’re shaking his foundation.”
“I didn’t ask for this.” It was as if they all thought this was part of my grand master plan. “I was raised by the same outdated beliefs as well. If you knew that it wasn’t true, then why didn’t you enlighten everyone?”
“There’s a lot that you don’t understand.” Mom closed her eyes and shook her head.