Harriet Hewitt was standing in the lobby of my old, rundown apartment building, wearing one of the little sweater dresses she adored. I didn’t think I’d ever seen my mother in jeans.
“Flora!” she exclaimed upon seeing me, striding forwardand pulling me into her arms. “Where the hell have you been? You’ve had me worried sick.”
“I moved,” I explained simply.
She pulled away, glowering at me in that disappointed way only a mother could. “I figured that out when thisapartment manager—or whatever he is—told me you no longer lived here. You said you were living in dormitories. This isfarfrom dormitories,” she grumbled, looking around the dilapidated building in disgust.
“I’m sorry the building doesn’t meet your standards, Mother. It’s all I could afford, considering you didn’t want to help me pay for school,” I said pointedly, trying to keep the anger out of my voice, which resulted in a lot of snark.
“That was because we wanted you to attend a school closer to home, where we couldkeep an eye on you,” she huffed. “So, where exactly are you living now?”
“Who is this?” I asked, ignoring her question.
My mother turned to the side, running a quick stare over the tall alpha next to her. She faced me again, a polished smile on her face. “This is Harry,” she said, gesturing to the alpha. “His pack works with your dads. When I told him I was coming out here to check on you, he wanted to come meet you.”
I glared at my mother for a moment, trying to fully comprehend her words. Was she… setting me up with someone when she was supposed to be worried about me?
“Wait—you came out here to check on me but brought ablind date?” I asked in astonishment.
My mother looked affronted but didn’t deny it. “Harry saw your photo and thought you were pretty. I didn’t think there was any harm in bringing him along,” she said, putting a hand to her chest like she was the one who had the right to beoffended. “After all, you never even look at the dating profiles I send you.”
“Because I’m busy studying!” My head was throbbing, everything was spinning, and I was fairly certain I could vomit right then and there, right on my mother’s shoes.
Or maybe Mr. Perfect’s.
“And how can I believe that, hmm?” Mother folded her arms over her chest. “BecauseIthink you’ve deceived us. You’re not living where you said you were, and apparently, this rundown hole was what you considered permissible in the first place. You need to come home immediately. If youinsiston finishing your degree, you can do so at thelocaluniversity. You know your fathers will happily pay for that.”
It was an argument I had heardmanytimes before. Only, now, it wasn’t even an option. And we had an audience.
“I’m sorry, Mom, but I can’t do that.” I paused, collecting myself as I straightened my spine. “I have a pack.”
Harriet Hewitt, in all her motherly glory, complete with a random alpha in tow whom she wanted to foist on me stilled, staring at me in abject horror.
“You’ve… joined a pack?!” she asked in a shrill voice. “And youdidn’t tell me?”
“I was planning to, but it’s all very new.” As I spoke, her eyes finally homed in on the bite mark on my neck, widening when she realized what it was.
“You… you’re bonded,” she whispered, looking as if she might faint.
“I am,” I smiled widely, because I wouldn’t be ashamed of it, no matter what she said.
“To whom?” Mother blinked at me, almost as if she were looking for another head to sprout out of the bite mark.
I turned toward Bear.
“To Bear,” I said simply, nodding in his direction.
My mother’s astonished expression quickly shifted to horror when she took in Bear’s appearance—his large size, the scar on his face.
“Flora”—Mom shook her head, taking a step backward—“what have you done?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. I knew Bear received less-than-warm welcomes a good chunk of the time, but I’d never seen it. And now, my own mother was staring at him like he was some… monster. Her tone rubbed me up the wrong way, and I bristled, stepping up to her to give her a piece of my mind.
Leveling her with a hard glare, I crossed my arms over my chest. “I bonded with an alpha I’m in love with. Isn’tthatwhat you want for me?”
My mother leaned back, her brow pinching. “I wanted you to come home and settle down, so you could enjoy pack life with a nice,sensiblepack. Who even are you?”
She stared at Bear and the others as if they were thugs or criminals, with no evidence whatsoever to support her assumption.
