Boy, do I.
She was curled up on her sofa going through a textbook and class notes when her cellphone rang.
Without even looking at it, she grabbed it and thumbed it into speaker mode.“I’m not murdered and carved up, Mom.”
“Do you have to answer the phone like that every time I call?”
“When you call this late on a Friday night when I’m studying, yes.”She finally looked up from her book.“Proof of life given.Can I go back to studying now?”
Her mother made that familiar and annoyingtskingsound.“You don’t have to do this, you know.Law degrees from Seattle U or UofW are also respectable.You could be living at home and not working at that…place.”
This also annoyed Gillian.“Mom, will thereevercome a day you stop trying to get me to suck off the pack’s teat?”
“Well what’s the pack for if not to help out?There’s nothing wrong with that!At least let your father put in a call to Trent Bleacke to—”
“No, Mom.”Gillian felt the urge to growl and somehow choked it back.Gillian was a beta but her mom was an omega.As Gillian grew up she realized it would be far too easy to walk all over her mother and hurt her feelings.
Yet another reason she didn’t want to live with them.
Self-awareness FTW, yo.
“No,” Gillian said again, gentler this time.“Look, I’m almost finished with school.Two more semesters.Then I take the bar and I’ll go talk to him about working for the pack.But I want to be hired onmymerits, not have things handed to me because I’m part of the Targhee Pack.”
Her mother sniffled.“The latest newsletter arrived today.Still no leads.”
Ah.Gillian didn’t need to be a Prime Alpha to read her mom’s thoughts over the phone all the way from the other end of the damned state to know the true reason she’d called.
“Mom, whoever killed them is long gone.You know that.The likelihood of me ever crossing paths with them is slim to none.”
“I would feel a lot better if you’d let us at least chip in to get you an apartment in a gated complex.”
Gillian closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead.“Mom, I’mnotmoving.I like where I am.I’m close to school and to work.My neighbors are quiet.It’s small, so I don’t have a lot of chores, meaning I can focus on my studies.The A/C system is new, meaning I’m not sweating my boobs off right now.When the weather’s crappy in winter, I can walk to work and school without worrying about getting in a wreck.”
“The weather rarely gets like that overherein winter, you know.I saw the weather for Spokane today, and—”
“Mother!”Gillian took another deep breath.“Why do you insist on dragging me into this conversation when it’s going to end the same every damned time?”
“Because I love you.”She sniffled again.“Excuse me if I worry about you.”
“Oh, frak, please don’t pull out the guilt.I already told you when I go to work for the pack I will live in the pack compound.”
Although that wasn’t any guarantee of safety since Charles and Chelsea were murdered in their own home.Peyton and Trent Bleacke had beefed up security since then and the pack compound was now likely safer than Ft.Knox.
Still, the shadow remained, and likely would until the killer was apprehended and faced pack justice.
“That doesn’t help me if you get murdered before then.”
“I love you, Mom.I’m ending this call so I can study.Love to Dad and everyone.Hanging up now.”
“Love you, t—”
Gillian thumbedendand finally let loose with a frustrated groan.
Shegotit.Part of it was parental worry, but a goodly chunk of it was that her mom was an omega and while it wasn’t a natural default for all omegas…
Yeah.Her mom was a stereotypical omega who would worry about any- and everything.
Thank the Goddess I’m a beta.
