“I’m not fucking unpredictab—”
“Daryl.” Cam’s tone made Daryl’s mouth snap shut. “That wasn’t a request.”
“Fine. I’ll stay here, out of everyone’s way.”
“Thank you.”
Cam hung up, and Alec slipped his phone into his pocket. “I’ll let you know as soon as we’ve got him.”
“Thanks.” Daryl mustered up a small smile.
Alec turned to go, then paused and glanced back over his shoulder. “Phone your mum.” He stalked out before Daryl could reply, leaving him standing in the middle of the room.
He stayed in that same spot long after the click of the front door.
Fuck.
No matter how much he tried to ignore it, Alec’s words wouldn’t leave him alone.
Face set in a frown, Daryl marched into his bedroom and snatched up his phone. He stared at the blank screen for a moment before sighing and settling back on the bed as the call to his mum went through.
“OH HONEY.” His mum sounded near tears as Daryl finished telling her about Jason, the potential bond, the accident. Everything. Carole Easton could spot a lie or a half-truth a mile away.
“Fuck.” He scrubbed a hand over his eyes. “I knew this would happen. Should’ve never listened to Alec.” He let out a resigned sigh. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called and dragged all this shit up again. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Daryl, sweetheart, I’m not upset about that.” She tsked softly. “It’s been ten years since your father died. The pain will never quite go away, and I won’t forget, but it doesn’t gut me like it did in the beginning.”
“Then why are you upset?” he asked, confused.
“Because my son is prepared to miss out on the completeness and love of a mate bond all because of me.”
“It broke the two of you.” He fought back tears as he remembered. “I watched your marriage fall apart because of a fucking bond. How could I ever have that for myself knowing how much it’d hurt you? I’d never be able to look you in the eye.”
She sucked in a breath. “Oh, baby, I’m so, so sorry. If I’d known you felt this way, I would’ve said something sooner.”
“About what?”
“Daryl. My potential bond isn’t what damaged my relationship with your father. It was the catalyst, yes, but not the reason.”
“Then what was?”
She sighed. “We were married a long while, Daryl. It wasn’t the first time we’d been in that situation. Our instincts can be tricky to navigate sometimes. Our wolves think they know best, but occasionally they’re wrong. Before we had the council, there were periods of unsettled times between packs, and about four years into our marriage, your father triggered a potential bond.”
Daryl gaped at his phone. “What? You never told me about that.”
“Because it didn’t concern you. It was between your father and me. He wasn’t interested in her, nor she him, and I trusted him to tell me the truth. They let the bond fade to nothing, and that was that.”
She sighed heavily. “We’d said at the start of our marriage that no matter what, we’d always be honest. If either of us triggered a potential bond and we wanted to see it through, then we had to say
so. Even though it would hurt. Neither of us would ever want to hold the other back from that. So, when he told me he didn’t want to bond, I believed him.” Her voice softened, sadness lacing every word. “But when I told him about mine and that I didn’t want it, he couldn’t do the same. No matter that I begged and pleaded and told him time and time again it was the truth, he never fully believed me.”
“Oh.” Daryl didn’t know what else to say.
“It was your father’s lack of trust that pushed us apart, Daryl. So please, please don’t ruin your future over our failure to communicate.”
Silence settled between them.
Daryl sat there stunned, trying to take it all in.
