He put a hand on top of mine in a fatherly gesture. “My pleasure. Besides, you lot look like you could use someone with some brains.”
Nico and I chuckled. This old shifter had been in our lives less than a week, and he already seemed like a part of our pack. It was uncanny. He’d probably been a very charismatic leader of his old pack. There was something about him that everyone seemed to like.
My smile faded as I realized what I needed to do next. “Oh shit.”
“What?” Nico looked worried.
I heaved a massive sigh and glanced at the stairs. “I guess I have to tell my parents I’m going back to Europe. I swear, if I almost die this time, I’m never going across that damned ocean again.”
“How do you think they’ll take it?” Nico asked.
I shook the question away. “No idea. But if I can guess, I’d say not good.”
My parents hadn’t woken yet. Nico went ahead and took mine and Tiago’s photos in front of a blank white wall, then left with Tiago to find Luis and get the ball rolling. I stayed and waited for Mom and Dad to come down for breakfast. It didn’t take long. They had always been early risers, and less than fifteen minutes after Nico and Tiago left, the two of them came downstairs.
“Morning, sweetie,” Dad said as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
Mom yawned and nodded to me, and she put some bread in the toaster. I let them get settled before I tried to break the news.
“So,” I ventured. “How’d you sleep?”
Something in my voice must have keyed Dad in that something was up. He froze with his cup halfway to his lips. “What’s wrong?”
Mom had an eyebrow raised as she looked at me. I sighed and shook my head. I’d always been crap at hiding stuff from them. “Okay… um… Nico and I have decided that we’re heading to Europe to go after the vial. We fly out before dawn.”
I could practically see the color drain from their faces. Mom leaned across the kitchen island toward me. “Maddy, no. You can’t go. We almost lost you last time. You can’t put yourself in danger again.”
“Mom, I understand you’re scared for me, but this is something we have to do. I’m the only one who can get the vial. We have to get it before the royals figure out where it is.”
“No, Maddy, we do understand, and we don’t want you going,” Dad said. He looked more terrified than I’d ever seen him in my whole life.
“Mom, Dad, this is not a discussion. I’m a grown woman, and I have a responsibility to do this.”
“What responsibility? You’ve been hounded by this… this… curse or whatever for months. It’s too much, Maddy. This isn’t something you need to do. Let someone else do it.”
We’d only just started talking, and I was already exhausted. Dad looked bad, but Mom looked worse. I was afraid she was going to start crying. “Guys, this is something I have to do. I’m not sure that you truly understand. They are trying to round up shifters and do God knows what to them. My birth mother might still be in their clutches.”
Mom winced at that, and I immediately regretted it. Ever since she’d found out that my birth mother had been my pediatrician and I’d met her, the subject had been a delicate one. She never said anything directly about it, but I could tell that it had hurt her deeply. She probably felt like she’d been betrayed or conned in some way. Neither of them had ever had an inkling that she was anything other than a very attentive and lovingdoctor. It had been a difficult truth for my parents to come to terms with.
“Maddy?” Dad’s voice had softened. “Do you really think this is something you have to do? Are yousure?If…” His shoulders slumped in defeat. “If this is something you truly feel drawn to… If it is, then we have to let you.”
“Anthony!?” Mom hissed, clearly upset that he’d given in.
Dad chopped the air with his hand. “Rochelle, she’s an adult. She isn’t our little girl anymore. We can’t command her. If this is that important, not only to her but to the entire world, how can we be that selfish?”
Mom opened her mouth for a retort but thought better of it, clamping her lips together. She looked down at her hands and sniffled like she was crying. When she finally looked up, her eyes were glossy with unshed tears. “Can you at least check in with us? Let us know you’re safe?”
“Yes,” Dad added. “Call or text. We want to know you’re okay.”
“Of course I will. There’s no way I’d go halfway across the world and not let you know how it’s going.”
They both had a nervous look in their eyes but seemed to be okay with it. I walked over and opened my arms to them. My parents didn’t hesitate to step forward and wrap me up in a hug. Mom on my left, Dad on my right. It gave me a sense of déjà vu. The last time I remembered them hugging me like this—one big, six-armed blob of love, was when I’d graduated college. My eyes stung, but I held the tears back—barely.
After we ate dinner,Mom and Dad went up to bed early. It was even earlier than usual for them. It was barely seven-thirty. Mom waved me off, saying they were tired. It had been a busy day, but I figured it was because they didn’t want to stay up andwatch us pack up and get ready to go. It would probably give them more anxiety than they already had.
Nico and I were in the living room, suitcases open, doing a final inventory when Sebastian walked through the front door. Nico glanced up in surprise. “Sebastian? What’s wrong?”
Sebastian flopped onto the couch and crossed his arms. He sat that way for several seconds, not saying a word. I looked at Nico. He was staring at Sebastian, one eyebrow raised. The expression on Nico’s face told me he knew that any second, Sebastian would spill whatever he was holding in.
