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“You tried to stop me from leaving with Dad,” I said, my fingers tapping against her hand. “You did everything you could think of short of telling me the truth.”
“God, your father,” Mom replied, pressing her lips together. “Of all the godforsaken towns in the world, he had to pick Banks, Idaho.”
“In all fairness, he was drunk and there were darts involved,” I told her and she sent me a sideways glance.
“That doesn’t help,” she said wryly. “It makes more sense now, but it doesn’t help.”
“You even tried to bribe me with Europe,” I continued, seeing the effort for what it truly had been, a last ditch effort to save me from myself. “How did you even make that happen?” Last time I remembered Brian hated foreign things, people, or places.
“A lot of convincing in the form of sexual favors,” she answered bluntly and I winced.
“That was more than I needed to know.”
“I thought you could handle sex now,” Mom retorted waspishly.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I need an account of your sex life,” I snapped back and she snorted. “Why send Monster?”
“Honestly?”
“Honesty would be preferred.”
“He missed you and some part of me thought that maybe he could protect you,” she answered simply, her shoulders lifting. “They might give into the wishes of a shifter pup if it meant he initiates into their Pack sooner.”
I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about that. On the one hand, she showed an understanding of Monster that I hadn’t thought she possessed, but on the other hand….
“You were going to sacrifice Monster like some kind of pawn?” I couldn’t filter the horror out of my voice and I wasn’t sure I wanted to by that point.
“He would have been treated like a king,” she said, dismissing the fact that I was upset. “Shifters are the prizes in their world.”
“You couldn’t have known that! They might have abused him or worse twisted him into thinking like they do,” I argued, irritated by her lack of concern. “I’ve seen the power of an Alpha, what they can do if unchecked, how they can force a shifter to do something they don’t want to do.”
“Exactly,” Mother cried in satisfaction. “You don’t want to put yourself under that kind of control. This pack may be perfectly nice from what you say, but I know you’ll be safe away from their control.”
I made a last ditch effort, “You can’t guarantee my safety away from them either. You can’t protect me from the world.”
“No,” she said. “You’re right. I can’t, but I can save you from being a breeding female,” she spat the term in disgust, “I can give you the chance to follow your dreams, to go to college, to not get stuck in a tiny town full of backwards, controlling men.”
The venom in her tone combined with the fervor in her eyes convinced me I wasn’t changing her mind.
“Son of a bit-” I bit the rest of the curse off, sighing as I resolved myself to Plan B. “Mother,” she sent me a suspicious glance at the abrupt change in her name, “I really wish it didn’t have to be this way,” I said, not giving myself time to change my mind as I threw a punch that would knock her out for the foreseeable future. She crumpled back onto the seat and I mumbled, “Sorry, not sorry,” as I climbed over her and put the car into gear.
Chapter Twelve
Jess
After driving for hours, the bond with Dom became steadily stronger, but remained silent. I poked at it constantly, but the link remained quiet, leaving me alone with my thoughts as I drove over endless road.
I replayed the conversations with my mother, her complete conviction that I was making the wrong choice, that I had no future if I stayed with Dom, and I realized a few months ago, I would have agreed with her. It was a hard thing to acknowledge that she’d shaped me more than I’d thought. My desire to go to college, to stay independent, my lack of relationships had all stemmed from her teachings. If I hadn’t come to Banks and experienced life firsthand I might have missed the whole point of life.
“What the hell?”
“Language, Mother,” I caroled over the seat, peeking in the rearview mirror to see her. “Really, you’d think you were raised in a barn.”
“I can say that, I’m the adult,” she said petulantly. “And really, was this necessary?” She held up her hands, showing where I’d tied them together with a scarf I’d found in her suitcase.
“Absolutely,” I answered. “I have no idea what you’re capable of after the whole kidnapping thing.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Also, I see you have luggage, but I have nothing. You couldn’t have packed a bag when you kidnapped me?”
“Rescued you and I still have your clothes from when you left home,” she sniffed with a shake of her head, her posture impeccable even with her hands tied. “At least you put my seatbelt on.”
