“Go away!” Kade grumbled, pulling me tighter as if he sensed my instinct to flee.
A male voice spoke through the door: “It’s your mother, sir. She’s waiting downstairs.”
The word “mother” was all it took to have me ripping out of Kade’s arms and shooting out of bed like I’d been stung. “Crap, Kade, your mother’s here. Does she know about us?” I had no idea how the bear matriarch felt about her son’s relationship with a wolf shifter.
My eyes scanned the room for my bra and finally spotted it hanging on his lamp.
Kade was still sitting in bed, the sheets piled across his lower half, which was still very distracting. “She’s been on vacation. Must have come back after learning about the attack, even though I called and told her everything was okay.”
We couldn’t use cell phones, tablets, or computers without short circuiting them, but landlines were okay. That would have been the only way he could have reached her.
I was fully dressed now, feeling much more in control. “Do you think she’s angry about me being here? Do you think we should leave?”What if she’d heard about him firing his council over me and was here to straighten him out? Why hadn’t we just gone to a hotel. This was not the way to ease his people into the idea of a wolf-bear relationship.
Kade was out of bed now, the sheets falling away to give me a glorious glimpse of his body. All of a sudden I wasn’t sure we needed to leave the room yet. Maybe I could avoid meeting his mother for a few more minutes. He strode across to me, his eyes pinning me in place.
“My mother knows all about you, Ari. She’s excited to meet you.”
Okay, then.My mother would have killed Kade on sight. And let’s not even get to the Red Queen, although she’d been with a fae, so there was no room for her judgment.
I was having trouble concentrating on Kade’s words with his huge body right in front of me. “Meet us downstairs for breakfast?” he said.
I cleared my throat. “Uh … what … oh, yeah, sure.” With great difficulty I turned, ready to descend to my room. Kade stopped me, wrapping his hand around my wrist and spinning me around.
He pulled me back into his warmth, his lips gently caressing my own. My hands found their way to his hard stomach and my legs went all weightless as the kiss deepened. When he pulledaway, he said, “Even if my mother didn’t approve of us, that wouldn’t stop me. You’re mine now. No matter what.”
I might have been an heir for my entire life. Queen for a brief period too. But I was still like most women and shifters, insecure, lost, searching for pack and home. Kade’s reassurance wrapped around me, sank into the darkest recesses of my insecurities, to the place where my father disappeared and my mother was distant to me. It filled in some of the cracks in my soul. I had Kade now. Forever. He was my family, my mate, and I wasn’t going to let anyone jeopardize that.
After sneakingdownstairs into my room I quickly messed up my bed so Calista wouldn’t suspect anything, considering I hadn’t made my bed in my entire life. Heir perk. Then I showered and put on a nice dress. I was going to meet Kade’s mom. I needed to make a good impression. Luckily I was pretty well trained in etiquette and small talk. I could do this.
I knew Kade had said that she was okay with us being a couple, but sometimes men don’t see the truth. Especially sons. She might be secretly plotting my death. I would know after this first meeting. I could size someone up in about sixty seconds.
After throwing my long hair into a braid and finishing my makeup, I made my way downstairs. It was still early, just after 7 A.M, and Calista’s door was closed. That was good. I would rather not have a crowd for this meeting, I was nervous enough as it was. Damn, I missed Violet so much. I wish she were here to calm my nerves, or at least make fun of me.Three days. Three more days and I could get her back.
I heard Kade’s low voice the moment I stepped into the foyer. I was trying to walk quickly to announce my presence and not eavesdrop, but I picked up some of the conversation.
“How dare they dethrone her for this! We should march on Manhattan and make this right.” The woman’s voice was strong and deep.
Kade’s reply was low: “We have to be political, Mother. Arianna’s first priority is Violet. Then she can decide what to do about her crown when she gets her best friend back.”
“Hmpf. In my day you couldn’t just dethrone someone so easily. It took a fight to the death with just cause.” Her voice was heating up; she sounded enraged on my behalf, which of course made me instantly like her.
I turned the corner then and cleared my throat. Sitting at the table was Kade and his mother. I wasn’t prepared to see bright blondhair; she looked mid-forties, although with shifter aging who knew her real age. She had fine wrinkles around her eyes and mouth, which told me she smiled a lot, and she was wearing a dress that would make Violet swoon. Full Renaissance style.
She stood and I bowed deeply. I don’t care if you’re the pope, when you meet your king boyfriend’s mother, you bow.
She greeted me with a smile and a deep bow of her own as she crossed the room quickly and opened her arms. “It is so nice to finally meet you!”
My body froze when she pulled me in for a tight hug. Quite quickly though my shock eased, and I was able to relax into her comforting embrace. She was tall.At least a few inches taller than me.
“You too, Your Majesty,” I replied, unsure of proper protocol here.
“Oh please, call me Annette.” She waved a hand and ushered me to sit beside Kade. I did so and then she took a seat as well.
“We were just talking about your dethroning. Honey, I’m so sorry, that must have been hard.” Her tone of voice, the way she looked at me, this must have been what it was like to have a real mother. She reminded me of the softer parts ofCalista. I loved my mother, but she’d been duty first and all hard edges.
“Yes, it was very hard, but I’m not a quitter. Selene is not a fit leader for my people, and as soon as I rescue my best friend, I will take back what is mine.” I hadn’t really said it out loud to anyone yet. Weird that it was Kade’s mom I was eventually confiding in, but I had never planned on letting my dethroning stand. I was going to fight that evil hag until my dying day. I would not allow her wickedness to taint our packs.
Annette patted my hand. It was … nice. I felt more relaxed than I ever would have expected, so deciding it was time to address it straight up, I said, “So … I need you to know that I love your son. Pretty sure I have since I was fifteen. We never meant to go against our packs like this … but … are you okay with us?” Kade hadn’t said a word since I walked into the room, but his hand slipped in mine now and he squeezed.
