Page 363 of Pucking Feral: Part Two

"What color did you say your mother likes again?" he asks me. "Purple?"

Yeah. Purple. Pink is okay too, I sign to him, settling Ivy onto her feet so I can use both hands. The water comes up to her collarbone, and she leans against my arm while I sign. It's going to be bad, you know.

He meets my eyes. "What does she usually do?"

I don't know how to answer that.

She might be okay with you. She hates me. She thinks I killed her son and stole his eyes. My hands are slower than usual, making sure he catches every word. She screams. Cries. Says things that sound fucking insane but are completely real to her.

Valek's expression doesn't change. "What do I do when she does?"

Don't react. Don't touch her unless she reaches first. I pause. Ivy knows. She's done this before.

Ivy nods against my arm, her hand finding mine underwater and squeezing.

Last time… I start, my hands hovering.

Last time, she ripped my mask off, and Ivy saw my face for the first time, and it was fucking horrible, and I dissociated and went feral and Thane had to track us through a rainstorm.

I don't sign any of that.

Last time was bad, I sign instead.

Valek studies me for a moment, then smiles pleasantly.

"It's only a flower delivery. How bad can it be?"

Chapter 75

Ivy

Delivering flowers to Wraith’s mom is, in fact, that bad.

"I hate that color."

Claire glares at the perfectly purple bouquet in Valek’s hand as if he just broke into her room and pissed on the carpet.

Valek looks down at them. "I thought you liked purple."

"They're the wrong purple," she says flatly.

"Hm." Valek's lips press together. "I suppose your son has a better idea of what you like."

I nudge his boot with my shoe in warning, but Claire's eyes are already narrowing with immediate suspicion.

"My son is dead."

"Oh. No. He looks… slightly dead, I'll give you that. With the face. A bit zombie like, perhaps." He vaguely gestures in a circle to his mouth area with his finger, ignoring my defensive glare. "But he's very much alive."

He goes to the dresser and replaces the flowers Wraith brought her last time with the fresh purple bouquet. They're almost the exact same color as Wraith's, but now that I'm thinking about it, he had looked sort of doubtfully at them when we brought them back to the SUV. The tips of the petals on the lilacs have a darker gradient on them.

She must not like that.

She doesn't like a lot of things.

The teddy bear I brought her is very much gone.

"He's a good alpha," Valek continues, turning to face her, a smile spreading across his face. "You must be proud. He's my packmate. We play on the same team, you know."