Her lips pull back, and she nods. “Good enough. You ready to go?”
“Whenever you are,” I reply.
We get in her old, red truck, and it rumbles to life. She seems so tiny behind the big wheel as she puts it into gear. The second we move, the car bounces me all over the place. I hold onto the door handle with all my might.
“Hang on, dearie,” she laughs. “We’ve meant to get the shocks fixed.”
With all the money I know the Maheegans have, Chase’s parents live a meager life. Now Chase, on the other hand, enjoys the finer things in life. It makes me wonder if he’ll turn out like his parents when he gets older.
As soon as we’re onto the main road, the bumpiness lessens. I focus on the scenery, not knowing what to say. Finally, Maureen clears her throat, and I glance over at her. She looks at me quickly and smiles before focusing back on the road.
“I know about everything that happened.”
Inwardly, I groan and hold my breath, muscles so tense I feel frozen in place. What do you say to that?
Before I can say anything, Maureen places a hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay. We all make mistakes. No one knows what you’ve been through. After living over two hundred years, there had to be a lot of ups and downs.”
Confusion sweeping over me, I look at her. “You’re the only one to think that.”
She shakes her head but keeps her eyes on the road. “No, I’m not. My son does, too.”
I turn my attention back to the window. “I don’t understand why.”
“You’re not a bad person, Kara. Just confused and lost.”
“What makes you say that?” I ask, tearing my gaze away from the ocean.
With a sad smile, Maureen meets my eyes. “Because I can feel it.”
I helped Maureen drop all the vegetables and jams off at the farmers’ market, minus a jar of her pickled green beans. She heard my stomach’s incessant growling, so she set some aside, which I’m genuinely thankful for.
Her human friends were grateful when they saw how much she’d given them to sell. Of course, Maureen didn’t tell her friends I was a prisoner of her son’s. For the three hours we were there, I got to walk around and talk to people at my leisure while Maureen did her rounds. Everywhere she went, the people smiled and spoke to her. I’m not used to that. When I go places, I want people to stay away from me. However, not so much here. The vibe is different. Granted, most of the vendors are older humans. Maybe it’s a sign I’ve been around the wrong type of people. In all honesty, I’m sure I relate more to the older crowd. I’ve been through everything they have.
Once we’re back in the truck, I finish off the last of the green beans. Maureen’s eyes widen when she looks over and notices them all gone. “Is my son not feeding you?”
I can feel the burn of embarrassment on my cheeks. “He does. I think my body’s just trying to adjust to this new lifestyle.”
Maureen slows the truck and pulls off onto the side of the road. “Want to take a walk on the beach? There’s a perfect spot coming up.”
I haven’t felt the sand on my feet in over a decade. “Sure,” I say, glancing out at the ocean. “I’d like that.”
She gets back on the road and drives another mile or so until we see a couple of cars parked off to the right. “Here we are.”
She slides the truck into an opening beside some bushes, and we hop out. The path down to the beach is a little rocky, but luckily, I don’t fall and rip open my skin. I’ve noticed how clumsy I am without my wolf’s agility.
Once we’re off the rocky path, Maureen removes her sandals and holds them in her hand. I do the same, and my feet sink into the sand. The last time I set foot on a beach was when I took a trip to Cedar Island, North Carolina. You could only get to the beach house by driving on the sand. There was hardly anyone on the island, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Maureen and I walk side by side, the water lapping at our feet as we walk through it. “Tell me about your mother,” Maureen says. “What was she like?”
When I think back to memories of my mom, all I try to focus on are the good times we had. If she was still alive, I can only imagine the things we would’ve done together over the years. She would’ve loved the vineyards.
“She was beautiful,” I reply, trying with all my strength to keep the burn behind my eyes at bay.
A small laugh escapes Maureen’s lips. “I bet. You’re a stunning woman. I’m assuming you take after her?”
I smile, but I know the gesture doesn’t touch my eyes. “Guess you could say that.”
Maureen frowns. “You don’t have to talk about her if you don’t want to. I was just curious.”
“No, it’s okay,” I say, bending down to fold my jeans up over my calves. They’re already soaked, but I want to step farther into the water. Plus, it gives me an excuse to turn away from her. The way she looks at me is as if she can see into my soul … it’s a little unnerving, but also motherly in a sense. It makes me miss having my mother around. There are times when I try to imagine what my life would be like if I still had everyone in my family. The problem is I always come up blank. I’m the last Channon.
“Kara, are you all right?” Maureen asks, her voice soft.
Clearing my throat, I stand and keep my focus on the sea. “I’m fine. I was just thinking about my family. My mom would’ve loved it out here, but we were part of the Royal pack, so we stayed in Canada with them. Back then, we didn’t have transportation as we do now. It was hard to travel thousands of miles in a decent amount of time.”
Maureen chuckles. “I understand. When I was little, cars weren’t invented yet.”
“That’s right. You’re younger than me but still know what the world was like a hundred and fifty years ago.”
She nods. “The world has changed.”
We continue our walk down the beach. “Yes, it has. There are days I wish I could turn back time and change things.”
“Are you talking about the day of the attack?”
My body tenses. “Yes. My mom was a good woman, and so was my grandmother. They had their true mates, and everything was perfect. We were royals and part of the strongest pack in the world. I belonged there.”
“Until your father wanted power,” Maureen adds.
“Yes,” I reply, feeling the anger well back up in my chest. But now there’s more: regret and shame. “I didn’t know he was going to attack the alpha. I was too focused on other things. If I’d just paid attention, I might’ve seen the signs.” I was young and in love. Zayne was the only thing I ever thought about. That’s why it hurt when he let the pack banish me.
Maureen lays a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Sometimes those closest to us can deceive us the most.”
Her hand slides off my shoulder, and I nod. “I didn’t even know my mom wanted the power. Sometimes I wonder if it was just my father’s ambition that made her think she did.” Then, with a heavy sigh, I focus on my feet sinking into the sand. “I’ll never know for sure. What I do know is that I won’t forget that day for the rest of my life. It’s the day I lost everything.”