“I mean, who thefuckblames the problems of an entire country on a handful of refugees fleeing a literal war zone? Someone who’s made of nothing more than hot air and an enlarged prostate that makes him piss seventeen times a night. Maybe I’ll get lucky and it’ll happen mid-speech at his next party conference. Everyone’ll see then that he’d be better off in a nursing home than leading a political party.”
From the bottom of the stairs, I could see her. While she appeared in her mid-thirties, I knew she had to be much older. Her beautiful copper hair was in a French plait that hung halfway down her back. Long multicoloured skirts swished as she spun away from the radio to stir the contents of the pot on the hob, muttering under her breath as she did so.
I liked her instantly. “Sadly, I don’t think he’s old enough to qualify for a nursing home just yet. We can keep our fingers crossed for Belmarsh though.”
Her head whipped around, eyes the same as Evan’s crinkling at the corners. “Reid! Gosh, sorry. I was sofocused on trying to communicate with this fuck-knuckle through the radio that I didn’t hear ye come down.” She flicked the switch, and the droning, onerous voice I hadn’t been able to hear upstairs fell silent. “That’s enough of him. I’d much rather talk to someone with more than two brain cells.”
“Not sure I’ll be able to help you there,” I said weakly as I shuffled through into the kitchen. “But I can help you come up with more insults if ye like.”
She chuckled. “If ye do that, ye might end up my new favourite person.”
I knew it was just a turn of phrase, but it warmed something inside me. I hadn’t been anyone’s favourite person before. Was it bad that I wanted that?
“I’m June, Evan’s mother. You’ll meet my other half, Jameson, when he’s done with his rounds.” She wiped her fingers on her apron. “Now, come here and let me look at you.”
Confused, I took a couple of steps closer. Why did she want to look at me? Was it because I was a human? I knew shifters kept to their own kind as a rule, but she must’ve been around Chester? Or even Danny’s mate?
“Oh, you’re beautiful,” June said softly, her hands gently cupping my face as she studied me closely. “Your bone structure is divine.”
My confusion grew. “Um, thanks?”
She laughed lightly. “Don’t thank me, duck, it’s your face. I can see why my Evan’s so obsessed with ye.”
Shame flooded me. Of course she hadn’t wanted to peer at me like an animal in a zoo. She wanted a closer look at the man her son had brought home.
Not wanting to give her the wrong impression, I cleared my throat. “It’s not…um, it’s not like that. I needed a safe place to stay and Evan was kind enough to offer to bring me here.”
June patted my cheek once before lowering her hands. “Aye, I’m sure he was just acting out of the goodness of his heart and nothing more.”
I was fluent enough in sarcasm to detect it. It was the reason behind it that had me uncertain. “I can leave though, if you’d like?”
“Leave?” The glare she’d been giving the radio was now levelled my way. I won’t lie, I cowered a little. Okay, a lot. “Why on earth would ye leave?”
I shuffled on my feet. “Well, I don’t want to be an imposition. This is your house and I want ye to be comfortable.”
June hauled a chair out at the table and pointed at it with her wooden spoon. Menacingly. “I’ll be comfortable as soon as ye sit your arse down in this chair and let me feed ye.”
My eyes widened. “Oh, you don’t need to do that. I can take care of myself.”
“Can ye really?” Her lips pursed as she scrutinised my frame. “Because, from where I’m standing, it looks like you’ve skipped a meal or ten.”
I lowered my head. There was more truth in that than I was prepared to admit.
“Reid, it’s okay. Let me fuss over you for a few minutes. It’ll make me happy,” she said softly. I lifted my head to see her smiling at me sadly. “I know it’s hard to let others help you. The hand that offers you treats might turn around and hit you, so you have to be careful.”
My ears burned red. God, did everyone here know what I’d been through? Did they all think I was weak?
I rubbed at my upper arm. “I’m guessing you know that because Evan told you about my past.”
“Aye, he did. But that’s not how I know what it’s like.” She placed a bowl of porridge on the table, her beautiful eyes shining as they met mine. “I learned that lesson in my own past.”
I sucked in a breath, pressing my hand against my stomach in shock. Shifters abusing a human wasn’t surprising to me.
Abusing one of their own? That was incomprehensible.
“I understand how hard it is,” she whispered, reaching out to me with a shaky hand. I took it automatically, squeezing it with my own. “To accept that help and care can be given unconditionally. To learn that sometimes the only motive is love. It’s so damned hard, Reid. But it’s worth it.”
I wanted to believe her. I did. Desperately. “It is?”
