“But youaren’tgetting better. Ignoring this won’t make it go away, Mom.”
“I’ll do better in the future.” Her mom’s jaw set in a stubborn line. “I can cope when it’s just Archie. It just caught me off-guard, coming to a place where there’s so many…people like his dad. I’ll be fine once we’re all home, and everything’s back to normal.”
Back to normal.
Paige had the sense of standing at the edge of a cliff. A large part of her—the sensible eldest daughter part—wanted to take a step back, onto safer ground. To reassure her mom that yes, of course, nothing would change. That thingscouldgo back to normal.
Conleth would find a way to keep their relationship separate from her family as long as necessary, if she asked. He’d spent years pretending to believe a prophecy he’d invented, after all.The slightest indication of her desires, and he’d be coming up with a dozen plans, each more ridiculous than the last.
What do you want, Paige?
Conleth had murmured those words against her mouth, his fingers trailing across her skin. Whatever she wanted, he would give her, without hesitation.
What do you want, Paige?
And she knew.
“Mom.” She took her mother’s hands in hers, feeling the fine, frail bones. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Yourco-counselor?” her mom said incredulously. “The tall man with the peculiar hair?”
Paige was glad Conleth wasn’t around to witness her mother’s reaction. “It’s not normally that color.”
Her mom was still looking as stunned as if Paige had announced she intended to marry an oak tree. “But—why didn’t you say anything about this earlier?”
“I didn’t want you to worry. And to be honest, I was worried too. About how you’d react, and how it would impact our family. But I’m serious about him, Mom. I?—”
She stopped short, realizing she’d never said the words out loud before. Not even to Conleth.
Her mom studied her face, and her own expression softened. “You love him, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.” Admitting it felt like a weight sliding off her shoulders. “I realize that must seem crazy, when we only met at the start of the summer. But I think part of me knew he was the one from the moment I first saw him.”
“I felt the same way about Archie’s father,” her mom said quietly. “Up until then, I thought love at first sight was just a fairy tale. And look how that turned out.”
“That’s one of the reasons I was worried about your reaction,” Paige admitted. “But Conleth’s different, Mom. He’s not going to leave me. He literally can’t. It’s a shifter thing.”
“If you say so,” her mom said, sounding a bit dubious. “I can’t pretend I understand this whole fated mates business. But if he makes you happy, that’s all that matters.”
“He does,” Paige said simply. “But I want you to be happy, too. I love you both. I hope that one day, you’ll be able to welcome him as part of the family.”
“If he’s part of your life, then he’s part of mine,” her mom said firmly. Then she sighed, looking down. “But…it’s going to be hard. I suppose there’s no point trying to pretend otherwise.”
“I think it’s better if we’re all a little more honest with each other, going forward. I understand why you kept your problem with shifters a secret for so long. But if you keep denying youhavea problem, it’s only going to get worse.”
“I was denying it even to myself,” her mom confessed. “I really don’t remember what happened the last time I saw Archie’s father. But I think at some level, I knew. Every time Archie turned into a bear, it felt like a scar reopening, deep inside.”
“That’s why none of the medications ever made you feel better. Even you didn’t know the root cause of your trauma. But now that you do, maybe you can finally get some help.”
“How?” Her mom didn’t sound hopeful. “Any regular doctor would think I’m flat-out crazy. And there’s an obvious problem with seeing a shifter.”
“I’m sure we can find a human therapist who knows about shifters.” She smiled. “Conleth will probably be firing up his computer and making a spreadsheet of options the moment hegets back. He doesn’t sit around when someone has a problem. Whether they want him to solve it or not.”
Her mom’s eyebrows rose a little. “I’m beginning to see why you like him.”
“I think you’ll like him, too.” She let out a wry breath. “At least, once he stops desperately trying to impress you. Which may take a while. He can be kind of a lot. Go easy on him, okay?”
“And what kind of mother would I be if I didn’t make sure my future son-in-law was worthy of my daughter?” her mom countered, a spark of her old spirit returning. “I have to check he’s the sort of man who’ll overcome any obstacle for you.”
