She stepped into my room and I shut the door behind me. She sat on the edge of my bed and patted the spot next to her. Seeing her sitting there, her long beautiful blond hair in a thick braid over one shoulder, I couldn’t help but remark at how much we looked alike. But there was stress behind her eyes, something that aged her more than her forty-one years, but damn she was still gorgeous.
We sat there a moment, just being in stillness, until finally my mother took my hand and faced me. “Your grandmother’s land, the land I grew up on in Werewolf City, bordered the Paladin Wild Lands.” My body went rigid, as I had no idea the Paladin’s would factor into this story.
“The Paladins are a rival pack, absolutely hated by the alpha and expressly forbidden to have contact with,” she told me.
I nodded, indicating she go on. She had no idea I already knew who the Paladins were or that I’d met one and he’d saved my life.
“But I was just a kid, I didn’t know that. So at nine years old when my foot got stuck in the barn slats while I was feeding the chickens, I wailed for help but my mom was vacuuming and couldn’t hear me.”
I leaned closer, desperate for this story. “But another boy did. He was eleven, and he burst into the barn wearing some kind of caveman getup and holding a spear.”
She smiled at the memory, and I immediately was reminded of the nice Paladin man who’d saved me and how he’d dressed so barbaric.
“I was frightened of him at first, but when he pried my leg free I gave him some fresh eggs for the trouble. Soon after that, we met at the border flags every day and exchanged gifts and told stories. He became my best friend.”
Holy shit, this wasnotwhat I expected. Would they banish my mom for having a Paladin best friend? That’s a bit insane.
I leaned forward. “What happened?”
My mom looked away, and when she turned back to me her cheeks were red. “His name was Running Spirit, but I just called him Run.” She smiled at the memory. “We grew older and his body started to change. He went from a boy to a man.”
Ohhh, so that’s where this story is going.I braced myself.
She blushed, seemingly lost in memories.
“On my fifteenth birthday, he kissed me and I fell in love with him. He was seventeen and said he would be going away for a while. Some kind of Paladin rite. He was the son of the alpha and needed to prove himself on some type of vision quest or something. He asked me if I would wait for him and I said yes.”
My heartbeat thundered in my chest and I nodded. “What happened? How long was he gone?” The story enthralled me completely.
My mom sighed. “Too long. I waited every day by the back fence for threeyearsuntil I got my letter that Curt Hudson wanted me to attend Sterling Hill because it was his mate selection year.”
Three years? Holy crap, that was too long. Did he die?
Sadness crossed her face. “I had to choose to wait for him or go follow my dream of going to college. As you know, it was free, and this would be my only chance to get this kind of education and make a better life for your grandmother and me. I grew up poor and we had a small farm, but it wasn’t enough, even with the handouts from Wolf City … it was a hard life.”
A tear slipped out from my eye because I’d never heard this story and I couldn’t imagine having to choose between something like that. I’d never met my grandmother, but I spoke to her a few times on the phone before she passed away over a decade ago. Every picture we had of her she wore a dirty apron and was cooking or milking a cow. Now I understood why. I guess it was a lie to think every wolf inside the city borders was rich and taken care of.
“What happened, Mom? You can tell me.”
She swallowed hard and nodded. “I lied to you about not making the top twenty with Curt…”
I froze. Okay … was not expecting that. Oh Lord, please don’t tell me she had an affair with Curt and Sawyer was my half-brother or some shit.
She must have read my mind, because she laughed nervously. “I never even kissed him.”
All the air I’d been holding released from me in a rush, but she chewed her bottom lip. “I met your father the first day of class here. I liked him right away. Smart, funny, and cute. He kept his distance romantically because of the mating selection, but there was an undeniable chemistry there.”
I smiled thinking of my mom and dad falling in love.
“We started to meet in the library late at night to study. His hand would brush mine or I’d find an excuse to touch him. We quickly realized we were falling for each other, and I had somehow made it to the top five.”
Oh God, talk about awkward! “What did you do?”
Her lips puffed out as she blew air through them.
“Well, I’m not proud of this, but … on Christmas break I went home to visit my mom … and Run was waiting for me in the barn.”
I gasped. “Wait? What? He was back?”
