Not my alphas,I reminded myself again.
My dads were hovering behind my mom, letting her handle this. I knew they would step in if needed, but they usually let Mom handle the conflict in our lives. She lived for it. "That is Mrs. Reed to you, Zayne. Only people Ilikeget to call me Abbie." She was pacing in front of them, gesturing wildly. "One job! I gave you one job before you left with my daughter. To take care of her! And she shows up here in tears, her heart broken. How fucking dare you?"
"We don't know what happened, Abb- Mrs. Reed! She was gone when we got back, and Samantha said Ness wanted nothing to do with us. Why is she running away again?" Silas sounds almost broken as he pleads with my mom.
"Samantha is a snake. Go ask her what she told my little girl." Mom's voice softens a tad, but she's still pissed off. "I don't believeanything your sister told Vanessa, but you still left my baby all alone after her first heat and destroyed her nest. There is no excuse for that."
"We didn't do anything to her nest! It was there when we left," Mason tells her, pulling at his hair.
"Then what happened to it? Nessie says she found parts of it in the trash!"
"Fuck! I don't know."
"We were only supposed to be gone for an hour. Two at the most. We left a note downstairs for Vanessa and told her to call us the second she saw it. Our car broke down in the middle of nowhere with no phone signal. When we got back to the cabin, Samantha said…" Zayne trails off, his shoulders dropping in defeat. "Can you please tell Vanessa we're sorry. We'll give her tonight, but we're not letting her go. Not again."
Mom huffs and storms back inside. I follow her into the kitchen. I can hear my dads talking to the guys, but I can't make out anything they're saying. I didn't care either.
Right?
"Are you okay, Nessie?"
"I don't think so, Mom. I love them, but what if what Samantha said was true? Maybe they just feel guilty. She showed me a picture of them with another omega. She's gorgeous. Perfect everything."
Mom looks at me like I'm crazy. "Have you looked in a mirror recently? Scratch that. Have you looked at me? I'm fucking gorgeous, and you're my mirror image. You even got my tits. I have amazing tits."
Snorting, I pull Mom into a tight hug, her lavender scent familiar and calming. "Thank you for always knowing exactly what to say, Mom."
"I'll remember that the next time you call me embarrassing."
A softwoofhas me pulling away from Mom. My eyes bug out when I see Papa Spencer carrying a little black puppy in his arms, looking lost. "Whose dog is that?" I ask, walking over to gently pet it.
"She's yours?" Papa Spencer hands me the puppy, and her tail starts wagging excitedly. "Mason asked that I give her to you. Said if he couldn't be here to comfort you tonight, this little lady would have to do. She doesn't have a name yet, but he said she looks like a little bat."
"She really does," I say, laughing. "Is that your name? Bat?" Her oversized ears perk up at the name. Bat it is.
"Does this mean you forgive them?" Mom asks.
Shaking my head, I place Bat down on the floor, watching her sniff everything while tripping over her too-big feet. She was perfect. "I don't know, Mom. Samantha has always hated me, even more so after what happened with the guys before I left. But that doesn't mean she's lying. I need some time to figure out what I want. I'm keeping Bat, though."
"I do not have the patience for a dog in my home, Nessie. I'm too old for this."
"But you always wanted grandbabies, Mom. Bat can be your first one."
"She is a dog, Nessie!"
"My perfect little baby Bat."
Mom eyes Bat skeptically for a couple of minutes before sighing in defeat and scooping her up. "You're not so bad," she says eventually,and Bat lets out a happy little yip. "Come, Raymond ordered some pizzas for tonight. We're gonna watch a movie and forget about everything for now. You're coming shopping with me tomorrow morning for some last-minute Christmas supplies… Unless you've changed your mind and we're spending it with those boys."
With everyone going on, I've completely forgotten that we were supposed to be having Christmas lunch with the guys. That was not happening anymore. "Sorry, Mom. I'll cook, don't worry."
"We can do it together," she tells me firmly, nudging me towards the living room. "If that dog pees inside the house, I'm disowning you both."
Chapter Nineteen
Vanessa
After an exhausting morning filled with shopping and Mom talking my ear off, I was glad to be back home. Bat greeted us when we walked through the door, her little tail wagging. If Mason tried to take her back, I might actually cut a bitch. Scent match or not.
