Our hushed tones don’t keep the tense air from moving through the rest of the house. I quickly finish the dishes, trying to end the fight before it gets worse. I dry my hands and moveto walk out of the kitchen as if nothing happened. But I stop and stare back at my mother. Her brows furrow, and it’s almost as if she’s stuck in the moment. Her brows unfurl and she forcefully exhales.
She looks tired. Not as in sleepy, but tired as in she’s lived a long life of regrets. She leans against the counter again and twiddles a kitchen towel. “I’m—I know,” she mutters and throws her head back, exhaling with a sharp laugh. She’s laughing at herself? Or at me? I hear her exhale again, as if she’s taking calming breaths, when she suddenly swivels around away from me and into my father’s arms. My mother’s shocked gasp knocks me back into reality.
“Dear, please come with me,” my father says with his hand wrapped around her arm. He is a changed man ever since he got sick. He is now a man who walks with a cane at an age way too young for a shifter. He got sick with what a witch thinks is similar to meningitis. My mother had to call a witch to come heal him, and even then, they called me to come home in case it was time to say goodbye. I’d never seen a shifter, let alone my dad, so sick before.
He shifted back and forth from his human skin to his bear many times, trying to activate his body’s healing, but it didn’t work. The family witch couldn’t figure it out as it’s never happened before. It left us stumped and confused and praying to the Moon Goddess more times than, at least, I ever had. This is my dad. Even with everything, this man is still my dad.
Magic isn’t always reliable, and he can still get sick. He gently grabs my mother’s hand as if they were dancing in the kitchen, like they used to when we were kids. Bringing her hands up to kiss the backs, he leads her out of the kitchen. Instantly calming me down. He is the calm to my mother’s storm. He is her rock, and he had been dying.
As much as I want to be mad at my mom, and him even, for the way they spoke to me now and growing up, I can’t. Not forever.
I finally look around the room, my checks ablaze with heat. The tile floor is chipping at its corners, and the walls have grease stains. My family is falling down a deep rabbit hole none of us know how to crawl out of.
Eddie steps into the kitchen, leaning in the archway in front of me where I stand frozen. He brings his long arms out and scoops me into a warm bear hug, wrapping his arms around my back and letting me tuck my head into his neck. Gosh. I knew bringing him here would be hard. It’s hard to let others see your crumbling walls and rocky foundations, and he got a front and center view of my entire family’s crusted walls.
“I’m sorr—” He cuts me off with a hum and a squeeze. Lightly shaking his head no against mine.
He’s my rock. He’s my rock, and he’s here. I have to remember that.
“You had to ruin the dinner right before my mating ceremony, didn’t you?” Harper whispers, walking around us. Harper’s anger is much like our mother’s, and right now, I didn’t want to keep the flames going. I’m tired of these fractured relationships. I’m content in Eddie’s arms, but Eddie’s bear must not have liked the comment because he growls at Harper as she takes our mother’s place by the island.
Jason, Harper’s soon-to-be mate, doesn’t appreciate that and follows with a glare so sharp I feel it in my back, and his growls soon fill the kitchen. Eddie is a newcomer, and I honestly am shocked by the growl he let out, but now he snaps his head away from mine and pushes me to stand behind him as he bares his teeth at Jasper.
Harper keeps her distance as Jasper wraps his arms around her. Harper is smart enough not to get close, but not smartenough to stop running her mouth. “Now Dad’s going to be stressed, and it’s going to make his coughs worse. Only something you would know if you were around. Why does everything fall on me? The big sister?—”
I pull away from Eddie, keeping my eyes trained on him. I stare at him and his molten eyes with a small smile on my face.
“I think it’s time to go,” I say, turning around to face my sister with my hands tangled in Eddie’s. “I’m sorry things fall on you, but you need to stop letting them fall on you, Harper. You deserve better.” And with that, I lead Eddie out of my childhood home.
22
WILLOW
The factI’m staying in a hotel room instead of with my parents on this little trip back home is sure to make the rounds in the gossip circles. Waking up in Eddie’s arms in a safe zone makes all the gossip I’m sure is spreading worth it. Thoughts of the mating ceremony flood my mind as I turn to face Eddie, who has one arm around me and one hand holding his phone.
We hadn’t spoken about dinner last night. I haven’t worked up the nerve to mention it, and he hasn’t said anything either. I hope he knows how much I appreciated him last night. Milo never fought for me or pretended he even wanted to. He wasn’t there with cuddles or whispering sweet nothings in my ear afterward. He was always stoic, staring off into space as if nothing happened, or even worse, like whatever my mother or sister spouted off was... right.
“Ready for today, Buttercup?” he asks as he shuts his phone off and cuddles into me. His eyelashes fluttering against my skin as he tucks his face into my neck. He is well, he is alive, and at least for now, he is mine.
Was our invite revoked after the fight? Or will my family pretend it didn’t happen and go on as they normally do? I’m noteven sure how I want to proceed. To bite the bullet and enjoy the event or stand my ground? The problem with that is that Harper is my sister, and though we might be fighting now, I want to be a part of her special day. I want to be accepted.
“As ready as I can be,” I mumble, snuggling closer to his vanilla scent. “Eddie, you don’t have to go?—”
“If you’re going, I’m going. No questions asked. Now get that cute ass out of bed.”
Eddie nearly takes me with him as he moves off the bed to get ready, but I’m not nearly ready to actually get out of bed.
I watch Eddie get ready in a delicious two-piece brown suit instead. I don’t have the heart to say we might not be invited anymore. He looks too good to let this outfit go to waste. I would hate to be denied entry to my own sister’s ceremony; I couldn’t chance him feeling rejected in any capacity, which means I should call the family to make sure we’ll still be let in. Grabbing my phone, texts from the group chat come flooding in. Mostly from my mom, but a direct message comes from Harper.
I hope you’re awake and getting ready.
The smile that crosses my face makes Eddie pause while buttoning up his black shirt. He crosses the room to grab my ankle and drag me so I’m practically under him, and he’s standing over me. His brown eyes peer into mine with that shining smile he always has. “Willow.”
“Yes?”
“Go see the outfit I packed for you. Please.”
“What am I going to find?”
