“May I say something?”Shawn’s mother intervened, as she came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on the end of her apron.
“Always,” Ryan said.
“If the Mother wants a child on this Earth, nothing will stop that from happening.You need to prepare because El will bear the chimera child.”
Everyone in the room was solemn.
“She’s right, my Luna, the powers I am given come from the Mother, and she can easily do her will.As far as I know, you are now unable to get pregnant, but she will ultimately determine that,” Willow said.
“Then we won’t touch her,” Ryan ordered.
“Too late,” Trip said, lacking his usual sheepish grin.
“Ryan, do you think you could control my lioness so that I could shift and run for a bit?”El asked.
“Of course,” he told her, his eyes looking a bit shocked that she would want to spend time with him.
“I would stay close.This isn’t necessarily Pantera land, but they’ve been known to be around,” Shawn’s mother said.
“I’ll stay on the path Shawn showed me,” El explained.
Ryan nodded his agreement and followed El outside.
“I’d wait until the wood line before we shift,” Ryan said.
“Okay,” El agreed.
Where there once hadn’t been a single ounce of awkwardness between them, El could feel it there.She wasn’t sure what to say.Things with Trip were a bit different because it was a random woman of sorts, but the woman between El and Ryan was his mother.That was no easy woman to get around.El didn’t necessarily want Ryan to completely cast his mother aside, but she wasn’t going to back down on what she had said.If El was to be punished, then Leilani needed to be punished.
She knew the reason Ryan didn’t want to fully punish his mother was because the only punishment for treason was death.His mother had tried to kill his mate, the mate to the Alpha.El didn’t want to see Leilani die.There had to be some way to make everyone happy.Ryan was the Alpha, so what he said went, and if he decided not to punish El and his mother according to laws that had been in place for centuries, then it should be as simple as saying so.
“El, you’re worrying enough for the two of us,” Ryan told her, breaking their silence.
“I can’t help it.I don’t know what to do here.She’s your mother, yet she’s come between us.I can’t ask you to cast her aside, nor should you have to, but something has to be done about this barrier between her and I.She tried to kill me.”
“I’ll be honest with you El, casting my mother aside isn’t something I’m totally against.The woman has done her fair share of shitty things over the years, but trying to kill my mate, is definitely the worst.It’s unforgivable, and I think the reason I was so mad that day, and it wasn’t at you for having defended yourself, but at her for once again putting me in an impossible situation that requires me to choose her over something else.”
“She’s done this a lot then?”El asked.
“For as long as I can remember, my mom has pushed me towards her ultimate goal, power.She couldn’t seek it for herself, so she made sure I became Alpha.I don’t want it, and I never did, but it’s mine now, and I have to see it through.”
“If your mom couldn’t seek power, doesn’t it seem strange that the Mother made me some prophecy?”
Ryan looked down at her, his amber eyes full of question.
“That’s a good question, El.We can’t question the Mother, though, for she has her reasons.If I had to guess at this one, I’d say it’s because my mother didn’t deserve to rule, but you do.”
“I don’t want to rule any more than you do, and I certainly don’t want our daughter to be brought into this mess and be hunted probably worse than me.Have you ever known a chimera?”
“No, as far as I know, a chimera hasn’t walked this Earth for centuries.Our daughter would be hunted not only for what she is to do for the Pantera and the Pride, but also forwhatshe is.Humans and other shifters will come for her.”
“I don’t like the sounds of that one bit.I’m not even pregnant, and already I’m thinking about gutting anyone who would even consider hurting our daughter.”
“I like the sounds ofourdaughter,” Ryan admitted.
“I do too.Shawn and I had the same discussion.I think we all agree that a child amongst us would be beautiful, but I can’t even fathom it for years.I can barely shift properly, let alone raise a shifter child.How could I guide her when I can’t guide myself?”
“Hopefully we won’t have to find out.I agree, as much as we’d all want itoneday, now is not the time.”
