“Really?” I spoke, surprise coloring my tone. “You’d do that for me?”
“Sure,” Flint casually returned, taking a long pull from his soda. “With all my connections from work, it would be easy to get her info. When I do, I can poke around and see what I can find out about your background. If you want, I might even be able to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Jenny.” When Ethan sent him a death glare from across the table, Flint amended, “When it’s deemed safe for you to do so, of course.”
Chewing my bottom lip, I decided I wanted that. I wanted that a lot. “Did you know my mom?”
“I’d only ever met her once,” Flint said. “She was a reserved woman. Not one to say a lot or show her emotions freely. But it was obvious to me that she loved her family.”
Then why had she bailed? This question kept circling my brain, leaving me confused and angry in equal parts every time I pondered it.
Flint’s personal reflection only added fuel to my fire. He knew my mother better than I ever had, and he’d only ever met her once before.
“Do it, Flint. Use your connections to check into my mom. This is really important. Not only to explain why I haven’t changed yet, but to find out why she left us. I think that’swhat my father intended when he took me to Alaska. He wanted me to learn the truth about my past. Knowing what I know now, I’m not sure I’ll be able to move forward without that kind of closure.”
Though he looked like he wasn’t on board with my decision, Ethan didn’t argue with it either. At least not out loud.
Our food arrived then and we all began to dig in with gusto. “You’re right. This was an awesome choice,” Flint commented through a mouthful of spicy burger.
“Wait until you try the fries,” I returned, knowing he was going to flip.
Picking up a few at once, Flint tossed them into his open mouth. His eyes rolled back into his head dramatically as he began to moan. “I think I just came in my pants,” he spoke dreamily.
The statement was gross, but the delivery was hysterical. Laughing despite myself, I glanced over at Ethan, who didn’t seem half as amused as I was. I’m sure once we got into the car and drove back to the cabin, he was going to tell me what he really felt about everything we’d talked about at the table. But for now, I was happy he wasn’t fighting me and willing to at least consider a different approach.
Just as I’d predicted, I could tell Ethan was stewing over the idea of Flint arranging a meet up with my mother the moment the doors of his Mustang closed and we were alone
“I know Flint means well,” Ethan began as soon as we drove out of the parking lot, “but I don’t think we should be poking the bear when it comes to the Tupilaq pack.”
I was tired of this argument. While I understood Ethan’s concern, Flint had assured us he could look into the matterwithout bringing anyone’s attention to my existence. Plus, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I needed this kind of closure in my life. A girl doesn’t wake up every day to learn that the mother she’d thought she’d lost to cancer had actually been a secret shifter that had absconded to Alaska to live with her pack. Ethan was going to have to cut me a little slack here.
“You don’t trust Flint?” I posed, surprised with that fact. The two, despite all their bickering, seemed closer than most brothers. In fact, their back-and-forth bickering was a part of their combined charm.
“That’s not it,” Ethan moodily returned, clearly frustrated with my query.
“Then what is it?” If he was going to try and deny me something this important, he’d better have a good reason.
Blowing out a deep breath, Ethan confessed, “You’re my mate, Millie. I’m never going to be okay with putting you in harm’s way, even if that makes you angry with me. Until we have more information, we’re not making contact with anyone in the Tupilaq pack. Not even your mother.”
Perhaps I was being childish but beingtoldwhat to do rather than asked was really starting to get under my skin. “I know there’s a lot I need to learn about being a ware, Ethan, but I’m not just going to do whatever you tell me to because you’re my mate. Hopefully you know me better than that.”
Ethan’s nostrils flared. “I know how new you are to all of this, Millie, but let me explain to you how packs work. Each one has a leader, an alpha, who makes decisions for the whole pack. True, I’m not anyone’s official pack leader, but I feel ultimately responsible for the Cascia House boys who have come here to live with or near me. And because I am,when it comes to these tough calls, I’m the one who has the ultimate say about how we go about things, especially interactions with the Tupilaqs. It’s not just your safety on the line here, Millie. It’s all of our family who will have to protect you should something go wrong.”
My hackles rose at his heavy-handed statement. “Are you trying to tell me, just because we’re mates, you’re in charge of me now?”
I so wasn’t listening to this kind of red-pill bullshit! I was a full-grown woman. I didn’t have to ask for permission to make decisions on my own life. Good or bad, I simply made them. That wasn’t going to change just because I might be a ware with a mate now.
Angry beyond reason, I retorted, “If you’re going to start being such a caveman about things, Ethan, I’m not going to talk to you about stuff. I’m just going to make my own decisions and do it on my own.”
The fire behind Ethan’s blue-grey eyes flamed to life. “Is that so?”
Plowing through all of the red flags, I crossed my arms and huffed at his audacity. “It is. In fact, I’m not sure having Flint contact my mother is the right thing to do. I might just decide to hop a plane and visit her in Alaska in person. And you’re not going to stop me.”
Pushed to his limit, Ethan cut the wheel and drove the Mustang off onto the side of the dirt road we’d been traveling. The tension in the car was so thick it actually felt stifling as I nervously waited for him to speak.
“It seems I made some mistakes when I was teaching you about being a ware, Millie. I can see that now.” His tone wasso calm, it actually unnerved me. “It’s time you learn about how packs work. Not for a human girl, which you are not,” he spoke pointedly, “but for an omega.”
An uneasy feeling stole over me then, though I worked hard to control it. “Is that a threat?”
Ethan slowly shook his head as he unbuckled his seatbelt. “Oh, Princess. That’s not a threat. It’s a fact. Now be a good girl and take down your pants, or I’ll do it for you.”
