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“Mom, if you truly want to save me, then take me home and let me show you.” She gave me a wary glance and I pushed harder. “You took me from my room. Or Bruce did,” I fought a shudder at the thought, deciding I wouldn’t mention it to Dom unless I wanted to watch Bruce die. “I wasn’t locked in. There were no bars on the window. I could come and go as I pleased.”
“You haven’t been going to school,” she pointed out, her expression triumphant. I was taken aback by her knowledge, and more than a little creeped out by the fact that she must have been watching me to know that.
“No, I graduated. Remember, I told you I graduated early. They just sent me my diploma,” I explained, choosing to overlook the stalking since she seemed to have had good, if misguided, intentions. Her expression hardened stubbornly and she shook her head. I cast around for something else that might sway her. “Look, no bruises,” I cried, stretching out my arms. “No cuts, scrapes, or wounds of any kind.”
She scoffed, “They can heal wounds. Beat the hell out of you and then heal them, to do it all over again.” I opened my mouth but there was nothing I could say to that. The only way she knew was from experience and my chest tightened as I imagined the hell she must have been through.
“I’m a virgin,” I burst out, starting to get desperate. And I was desperate if I was using my lack of sexual experience to convince my mom to take me back to the guy who really wanted to change that fact. “If he planned to use me that wouldn’t be the case right?”
My logic seemed to confuse her, but she lowered her hand from the steering column. “He said he was your mate.”
“He is, but we haven’t had sex,” I said, proud of myself for not blushing as I discussed my lack of a sex life with my mother. “We bonded emotionally,” I explained, stretching the truth just a tad. We had an emotional bond, but it had been helped along by a lot of kissing, touching, and intention. “We marked one another, an act that has saved my life.” I ducked my head, smiling a little. “He’s teaching me how to open and close the bond link so we can communicate. I can feel it now, stretched, but its still there, proof of how strong our bond is,” I declared, proud of the relationship we had together.
“That’s impossible,” Mother denied, shaking her head. “No.”
“Yes,” I stressed, emphasizing the single word. “And there’s a female shifter.” I could see the denial in her eyes and hurried forward. “Her name is Anna and she’s part of the Navarre Pack. She’s a full Pack member, protected by the others but she also protects them. They treat her as an equal.” Mom blinked rapidly, confused as I turned her world view upside down. “And they have a woman on their Council, Anna’s mom.” I pushed, finally seeing the chink in her armor. “And Leah, a human girl, saved their Alpha from a dangerous bone break.”
“They never would have allowed that,” Mom muttered, wanting to deny my words, but finding it impossible in the face of my conviction.
“The Hanleys would never allow it, but they aren’t Hanleys. They saved me from the Hanleys. Dom killed two of them when they tried to attack me,” I continued passionately. “And another wolf shifter protected me when a Hanley came after me,” I added, avoiding mentioning that Liam had been a Hanley too. “If you were watching me then you know that the motel has several women staying there.”
“I wasn’t watching the motel,” she clarified, tossing her hair. “I had Bruce keep an eye on you.” Somehow, that was worse and I was starting to rethink my decision not to tell Dom about this Bruce guy.
“Well, with the help of Dom’s sister most of the Hanley women escaped and are seeking sanctuary with us at the motel. The Navarre Pack has been protecting them.”
Her expression was impossible to read as she said, “They escaped?”
“Yeah, just like you did twenty years ago,” I told her, surprising myself when I reached for her hand. “You survived and I’m so thankful for that.”
“I left them behind,” she murmured quietly. “I couldn’t take them with me and succeed.”
“Sometimes surviving is all we can do,” I said honestly. “Everyone has to make that choice for themselves.” I hadn’t forgotten that some women had chosen to remain with the Hanley Pack, a fact that still irritated Sam.
“Doesn’t ease the guilt,” she answered, her words matter of fact, but I could see the cost in her eyes. A lifetime of my mother’s indifferent parenting was starting to make sense. Acts that had seemed callous and cold took on a new meaning.
