“About six years ago.”
“FUCK!” Glenn yelled, slamming his fist down on the table next to him. “My Mom was there…she saw it…that’s the trouble she was referring to when we argued. Holy shit, Riley! I need to know everything about the Silver Point Pack, especially about the Alpha…what did you say his name was? Josiah?”
“On it,” Riley said, nodding as he turned back to his screen. “But we still don’t know why the BlackwoodPack wolves are here in New York or what they were doing in that apartment.”
“They want her to be a witness!” growled Glenn. “We need to find my mother before they do!”
~/~/~/~/~
Standing outside Theo and Norm’s bedroom, about to knock, David heard muffled voices and loud laughter coming through the door, causing him to lower his fist. Flashbacks of his childhood flooded his mind, reminding him of the lonely times he spent in his room while the High Priestess entertained her guests. Sitting chained to his bed, music and laughter would float in every time she opened the door to bring one of them in to view him. Then he’d be forced to stand and recite from memory whatever she told him to.
Afterward, the High Priestess would ridicule him in front of her guest, embarrassing him until he could do nothing except pray for the floor to open up and send him to hell—the place he was sure he was destined for. As soon as they left, he’d collapse on the floor, tears streaking his face, his loneliness and despair threatening to break him. But just before he reached the point of no return, his mother would sneak into the room, somehow knowing he needed her to reassure him that he was loved. If it weren’t for her, he’d have perished. All those lonely nights, endless tears, hours spent hating himself for failure to meet the High Priestess’ standards—all bearable because his mother made sure he knew she loved him.
Now, once again, he was isolated from the party that had started without him and, just as before, he realized no one cared if he was there or not. Taking a step back, a lone tear escaped as he tried to swallow the sob in his throat. Turning away, he decided to leave, even though the pain of not joining them cut him deeply.It doesn’t matterbecause I have a choice now…and I can refuse to go where I’m not wanted.Reluctantly, David took a step back toward his and Zane’s bedroom.
Suddenly, the door to Theo’s bedroom flew open. “There you are!” Kieran exclaimed, giving David a hug. “C’mon, we’ve been waiting for you because you’re the tiebreaker. We’re planning the food for Theo and Norm’s wedding and they can’t make up their mind, so Theo thought we should vote on it and I thought that was a smashing idea but the problem is the vote keeps coming out two to two because either Quin is voting with Theo, and Norm is voting with me, or the other way around so nothing can be decided without you.”
Kieran smiled and took a deep breath, before continuing, “Oh good, I see you brought your pillow and blanket. Wait till you see what Norm did, he borrowed another mattress and took his mattress off the bed and put both next to each other on the floor so it’s like one big bed for all of us to sleep together. Isn’t that so cool? It’s like we’re camping in the woods but without a tent or maybe we do have a tent if we look at the room as being our tent. Oh, I know, we should leave the shades up so we can see the stars and then it will be like sleeping under the stars…”
“David,” Theo said, rushing over to hug him. “Come in! Dakota helped me make all the snacks for tonight…perfect for a sleepover. Oh, I love your pajama pants. Did Ki buy them for you?”
“No, uhm, they belong to Zane,” David said softly, embarrassed to admit he was wearing his mate’s clothes.
“Oh my god, they’re adorable,” Theo said. “I would do the same thing if Pooh bear was gone.”
“You would?” David asked, staring with surprise at Theo.
“Of course…that way I would have Pooh bear still wrapped around me,” Theo said, grabbing David’s hand and leading him into the room. “We need to settle the menu so we can get onto the fun part of the evening. Do you love rom-coms?”
“I don’t know. What are they?” David asked, frowning slightly.
“Romantic comedies…movies…Ki introduced me to them,” Theo said, flopping down next to Norm. “And I’ve been hooked ever since.”
“Hi David,” Quin called, “you’re just in time. Theo and Norm can’t agree on anything. At this rate, there won’t be any food at their wedding.”
“Hey, that’s not true,” Norm replied, “we agreed on…on…on…”
“See,” Quin giggled, “that’s exactly what I’m talking about.”
Sitting down next to Kieran, David said, “I’m not sure how much help I’ll be since I’ve never been to a wedding.”
“Look at it as a regular dinner except everyone is dressed up,” Kieran said. “But before the eating starts, Theo walks down the aisle to Norm who is waiting for him under the gazebo. Then I say some stuff, then Norm says his vows and Theo says his vows, then I have them put on rings and pronounce them as husband and husband and tell them to kiss…”
“That last part might take a while,” Quin interjected.
“True,” Kieran nodded, “Theo and Norm love to kiss…”
“Hey, he’s my Pooh bear,” Theo exclaimed. “Of course I love kissing him.”
Rolling his eyes, Kieran giggled. “Uh-huh. Well, anyway, after they finish their kiss, they walk down the aisle while everyone throws rose petals over them, then pictures are taken…oh, my gods, I need to find a photographer…mental note…Q don’t let me forget…then everyone sits down to eat but first there are some toasts, yada yada, yada…then it’s food time and that’s what we need to figure out tonight.”
“Why don’t we start with the wedding cake?” asked Quin. “We should be able to decide on that.”
“Good idea,” Kieran said. “What flavor do you want?”
“I don’t know,” Theo said, looking at Norm. “Pooh bear, any ideas?”
“Not really, honeybunch,” Norm replied.
