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I opened my mouth, closed it.Yesterday, I’d still believed that I’d be able to live my life without Edie.Today, I’d make any sacrifice to keep her by my side.“You know how I like checking things off my to-do list.”
The corners of her mouth puckered, but she refused to give into the laugh.“Did you tell Edie yet?”
“Not yet.”When they all glanced at each other, I sighed.“Who had today in the pool?”
“Dylan,” Micah said cheerfully.
I looked around.“Where is he, anyway?”
“He texted and said he needed to deal with the horses,” Micah said, stretching as he stood.“I think I’m gonna go for seconds.Y’all want me to make you up another plate?”
I nodded, frowning.Everything had been fine in the barn when I left.Dylan hadn’t mentioned a problem.Then, he also hadn’t mentioned that he thought I’d crack immediately.And in one way, he was right: I’d already failed in my intention not to touch her.
I was so far off from where I’d planned to be, I might as well throw away the map.I’d thought that it would be better to take things slow with Edie.I’d planned on getting to know her, getting her to trust me, before I told her we were destined to be together.I hadn’t planned on ravishing her under a clear afternoon sky at the base of my clan’s sacred tree.If I’d had a condom, I probably wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from burying myself inside her and completing the connection that would lock us together for life.
Was it really so bad to give into the desire we both so obviously felt?My mother had warned me we’d be bonded closer together every time we touched.And I wanted to bond with her, to feel the sort of closeness that came with sharing our bodies and our lives and our dreams.
Why hadn’t I asked her to come to dinner?The entire time I’d been grooming the horses, I’d been fantasizing that she was with me.Sexy fantasies, sure, but also fantasies of making her laugh, of listening to her talk.What was the point of waiting?
I contemplated the change in my strategy.My heartstone burned at the idea of going to her now, telling her everything.
But no.Edie was a scientist, driven by logic and reason.And she had a life in Baltimore that she’d have to give up to be with me.I couldn’t follow her there.I was sure that there wasn’t a good place for a wolf shifter to roam in the middle of a city.I couldn’t leave my family, my clan.No, my original idea was the right one.I’d back off, give her space, and do my damndest to keep my hands off her.
“I will tell her,” I said.“I just need some time.Besides, we’re fated.We’ve got time to figure it out once you’ve got a handle on your illness.”
“You might have less time than you think,” Mom said as she sat back down.She sipped at the tea in her hand and didn’t pick up her plate again.“We all know the law.I can only pass my Alphahood to a woman of my line, by blood or by law.If there’s not a suitable choice, there will be a challenge.I know that’s not what we want, but that is the custom.”
“You’ve changed customs before,” Dominic said quietly.
“Not one as essential as this.Since my Ruby is gone, it has always been my intention to pass it to one of your daughters when the time comes.And that is still my intention, this illness be damned.I intend to see each of you sealed to your fated mate, and I intend to choose the next Alpha from amongst my many granddaughters.”
“But you don’t intend to do what it takes to get better,” Flint said, his eyes burning.“You’re waiting for fate to bring you the answers instead of taking charge of your own health.”
“I’m doing everything I can.I’m holding this clan and this family and this business together, and I’m doing it when I feel like I’m worn down to a nub.Look at me, drinking this goddamned tea.”Her voice broke, and we all sat at attention.My mother never cried.She waved her hand at our concerned expressions.“I don’t want tea.I want coffee.Or booze!I want to be back to normal.And no one has any answers about how to get me there.So, yes, Flint, if I don’t improve by the end of the season, I will go to a hospital.I will let them run any tests they want to figure out what is going on with me.But I believe, truly believe, that if fate brought Jasper’s mate here, it’s for a reason.”
Flint stood.“Mom, I love you, but don’t be a fool.We shouldn’t wait.We should go, now, before things get any worse.”
“I will not,” Mom said.“And if you can’t obey your mother’s wishes, you’ll obey your Alpha’s.”
Power practically hummed off her.Flint clapped a hand over his bracelet, then looked up with a betrayed expression on his face.“You wouldn’t.”
“I would,” Mom said softly.“I will always, always, do what is best for this clan.Even if it breaks my heart.”
Flint’s chin was covered by his thick beard, but I could swear it trembled.He stalked out without another word.
