It was so much to take in—but there were other questions I needed to ask. “What about Jackson and Jonathan?”
My older brothers, who’d been away when the whole thing kicked off. Jackson, in the army, and Jonathan at college.
My mother nodded quickly, wiping at the tear tracks on her cheeks. “They’re both fine. Our relationship has been... strained... since you were taken. But they’ll want to see you. I held off on telling them about this trip, because I had to make sure first.” A look of exhaustion swept over her. “There have been, well, some false alarms over the years. I’d see someone from behind, or from a distance, and for a moment I’d be so sure it was you.”
My heart ached at the idea of my mom rushing toward a stranger in the middle of a crowd, only to find out it wasn’t me. I’d spent so much time trying to survive, trying to manufacture some kind of meaning for my own life, that I hadn’t thoughtmuch about what the last eight years must have been like for the rest of my family.
“I want to see them, too,” I assured her.
I hadn’t even begun to truly wrap my brain around the idea of my father being gone. Much less the idea of seeing my brothers after so long. But I also had news to share, after eight years apart.
“I don’t know how much Knox told you about us,” I began.
“Nothing about the pack,” he said. “Just that you were with us and safe.”
I nodded, taking a deep breath and stepping back to include the others. “I’m mated now, Mom. You already know Knox, or at least, you’ve spoken with him. This is Heath. This is Gage. And this is Tony, my best friend in the entire world, who is also in our pack.”
The others approached. Heath stuck his hand out as though he wasn’t sure what the proper greeting was for a long-lost mother-in-law, but my mom scoffed at him and drew him into a hug instead. From him, she went on to Gage, who wrapped her up until she practically disappeared beneath his bulk—and then to Tony, who was doing a bad job of hiding tears.
“Hi,” he told her unsteadily, “Nice to meet you. And if you’re willing to take on an honorary kid, I’m very much in the market for a parent who doesn’t suck.”
My mother let out a little noise that was half-laugh, half-sob. “Hi, Tony. I’m not so sure how well I qualify for that. But if you’re part of Jezzie’s family, you’re stuck with me now, too.”
Tony pulled back and gave her a watery smile. “Trust me on this part—you qualify. Welcome to the pack.”
She smiled back, before turning to Knox. “You. Come here.”
Knox submitted to a hug, and then to letting my mom take his face in her hands and tug him down until she could press a kiss to his forehead.
“Thank you,” she said simply.
He gathered her hands in his and straightened, smiling down at her from his ten-inch advantage in height. “You’re welcome.”
The six of us talked long into the night, while Gage plied my mom with Michelin-star leftovers.
Our plans, our hopes, our dreams... talk of the future, now that the darkness of the past no longer ruled our lives. There were still aspects of that past I wasn’t willing to tell her about—like how I’d first met Knox, for one thing. Maybe one day, I’d be ready to share that.
For now, though, it didn’t matter.
We were together.
Safe.
Loved.
“How would you feel about the idea of living overseas?” Gage asked, his elbows resting loosely on his knees as he leaned toward my mother. “Someplace like, for instance, Portugal?”
Mom blinked. “I... don’t speak Portuguese.”
“Neither do we,” Heath muttered wryly.
The conversation continued on a hundred different subjects—years’ worth of pent-up words, finally freed. Eventually, exhaustion set in—for Mom and me, at least.
“You could stay here with us tonight,” I said. “Right, Knox?”
He smiled. “She has the suite next door. If you two would rather have some privacy, that is.”
Mom raised an eyebrow. “Your new pack isrich-rich, baby. I’m pretty sure the nightly rates at this hotel are about the same as our mortgage used to be.”
