Theo has a shit son, but the guy knows how to secure an asset.
“I never imagined they would come after you, Scarlett,” Eloise said in earnest, her eyes pleading with her granddaughter. “Had I known, I would have been here. But you must know I did all of this for you. I saw how torn up you were over not being able to access your magic.”
“You knew it was her werewolf side dampening her powers, didn’t you?” I ask.
Eloise nods. “I figured it out eventually.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Red asks, her voice thick. “Why didn’t you tell me I’m half werewolf?”
Eloise Rogers heaves a heavy sigh. “I didn’t want you to die the way your mother did.”
“She died in a car accident,” Red says, but her voice wavers. She already knows it’s a lie.
Jameson stalks forward a couple steps, intense concentration. “Tell us everything. You owe us that.”
Eloise blinks back a sudden glittering in her eyes. “What would you like to know?”
Chapter42
Family Reunion
RED
“Why didn’t Samantha tell me?” Jameson demands. “Why didn’t she tell me I had a daughter?"
Emotion clogs my throat. I see the resemblance, but I still can’t believe I’m in the same room as my father.
“Samantha, Sam, that’s who you named your tavern after,” Brexley comments from the couch.
Jameson doesn’t answer, but his eyes soften. He named a tavern after my mother? Instantly, I want to see it.
Gigi settles back into the chair carefully, as if her bones are so fragile she’s in danger of breaking. Her fingers clutch the arm, bracing herself. “It started when Samantha wanted to take a trip to Alaska. She always had a great interest in animals and wanted to see the grizzly bears in their habitat. There was a boat tour and she . . . ”
“She fell overboard,” Jameson finishes for her.
My grandma nods and waves her hand. “The tour guide was an idiot and hit a patch of rocks, and the boat went down. Everyone was recovered except for my Samantha.”
Jameson turns his attention to me. “I found her on the shore, half frozen and near death. I’d been out in my wolf form but changed, picked her up, and took her back to my pack. They agreed to help her, so we nursed her back to health. She was touch and go for the first several days, but I couldn’t leave her side. Especially because many of the others didn’t care for her. Not only was she an outsider, but she reeked of magic.”
“That didn’t bother you?” I ask.
Unnamed emotion fills Jameson’s eyes, making them glitter with moisture. Maybe it’s remorse, or nostalgia, or possibly love? “No, it didn’t. Several years prior there had been a forest fire. To save some of our pups, I dove into the fire, but came out with a burned snout.” He taps his nose. “After that, I couldn’t smell a thing.” His voice turns husky with the same emotion welling in his eyes. “My Samantha. When her eyes opened, the entire room lit up. She was sweet and kind, and she saw the good in everyone and everything.”
A hard lump forms in my chest as he describes my mother. It’s how I remember her, but I sometimes wondered if it wasn’t just the fantasy of a child.
His eyes close as if he’s searching the past. “She saw the good in me. We fell in love in a matter of days, no, hours.” Then he walks over to the window and runs a hand over the window frame as if needing to find something to ground himself. “But the pack said she had to get gone as soon as she was well. But after two weeks together, I knew Samantha and I had done the impossible. We had mated. Something fae can’t do with those outside their race.”
Is that why I didn’t mate with Hunter or anyone else when I was in what Brexley called the moon craze?
He continues on. “I went to the alpha and explained. She had to stay, I needed her.”
“And they were okay with that?” I ask.
A humorless laugh escapes him, as he looks out the window. “He was livid, angry, and confused. The alpha threatened to kill her, but pack law forbids anyone from killing another’s mate. Not to mention, they owed me a debt for saving the pups from the fire. There was nothing they could do. So she stayed. And despite the rumblings from some of the other pack members, I can easily say it was the best time of my life. We were happy in my little cabin. We took long walks in the mountains, went fishing. I cooked for her while she read books by the fireplace. She found every corner of my soul and cast her light on it. And I felt as if heaven had bestowed an angel upon me. It was pure bliss.” The wood window frame creaks under his crushing grip. “And then she left.”
Jameson whirls around and stalks toward Gigi who continues to sit, placid, in the chair. “I went after her. It took months of hunting, but then I found her, with you. I ended up on your doorstep, but you turned me away.”
As if he can’t bear to look at my Gigi any longer, he turns to me to explain. “The old witch, she tells me I can never go near her daughter ever again. When I refuse to leave, she offers me money. As if I could be bought. When I refuse again, she says that her daughter had to choose between me and her family, and she chose family. It was then I knew you were the one who kept her from seeing me.”
