See, my mother is a lot.
She is.
A lot of things.
A Wolf Shifter.
An unconscionable gossip.
A hurricane of opinion and unsolicited wisdom.
I love her, I do.But gods above and below, the woman does not understand boundaries.
“Mama, I don’t want a sandwich.Megan and I have work to do?—”
“Hush now and eat, son.”She drops a plate in front of me with a loud clatter.“You look like death warmed over.Food first.Ghost hunting second.”
I sit down.Begrudgingly.Because apparently being a grown-ass man and the Sheriff of a cursed town means nothing when your mama’s making your favorite meal.
Megan tries—tries—not to laugh again, but her eyes are sparkling and her lip is twitching.
I shoot her a look.
Really?This is your moment?
She lifts her mug like a toast.“Owen, your Mama’s been telling me a little bit about you.”
And just like that—panic.
Not the kind I feel when a rogue shifter breaks a treaty.Not the kind when the warding stones go dim or a vampire gets territorial.
No.This is pure fear.
Because I’ve been here before.
I’ve let exactly one woman get close to me before Megan.It was years and years ago—but still.
A man remembers.And hell, if he’s a Wolf like me?He never forgets.
So yeah, once upon a time I let my guard down.
Thought maybe—just maybe—someone might want all of me.
The man.The Wolf.The chaos.
And then Mama had tea with her.
And that woman was gone by sundown.
Vanished like smoke in the wind.
See, my mother doesn’t lie.She doesn’t sugarcoat.
She tells them the truth.
About me.About the monster I carry inside.
About what it means to love a man whose other half is half-mad and wholly possessive.
