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They all think about this for a second before Kit speaks up. He comes to me and wraps his arms around me, burying his nose in my neck. The touch has me instantly melting against him, molding my body to his. It feels so intimate between us now after feeling him inside me so many times. He’s mine.
“I think that’s a great idea, sweetheart. I'm not sure how it’s all going to go down once the police get there, but if you want to share that part of your life with them, I’m sure it would mean a lot to them to be able to see it. I know I’m dying to see it through your eyes, and I’ve only been angry about you living there for such a short amount of time. They’ve been missing you for your entire life; I think they deserve to know where you’ve been. Maybe it will help them heal.”
I reach for my phone before I can second guess myself, calling my father.
“D- I mean Calai? Are you well?”
“Erm, yes. I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, we’ve been sort of…in retreat.” I absolutely do not want to tell my estranged father that I couldn’t pick up my phone because I was too busy being pounded into the mattress by my pack. Somehow, I don’t think that that’s the type of relationship we’re going to have.
“Oh honey, please don’t apologize. You’re calling me now, and it’s wonderful. Parker sort of kept me in the loop, I hope you don’t mind? After everything that happened when, well,youknow. I’ve been so worried about you. It all happened so fast; I just wanted more time with you.”
Kit starts rubbing my shoulders, keeping me grounded. I have James’ hand in mine, with August and Colter close enough to nearly feel their body heat as well. They’re all lending me strength right now, making me feel like we're one unit.
“I’m sorry for worrying you. As you know, this is all really new to me. Me and my pack are still trying to understand each other’s boundaries and needs. We’ve spent the last several days getting a good handle on them though, and we’re in a much better place.”
“So you’re happy with them? It’s a good mating?”
I smile at my guys. “I’m not sure if you heard, and maybe this is awkward for you, but we accepted August into our pack recently. We're mated now, too.”
My father laughs, and he seems highly amused. “Yes, Parker told me. It will take some getting used to, but he’s been lonely for so long. Parker told me… is it OK that we’re talking about you? I’m just so desperate to know you.”
“I’m fine with it,” I tell him. “Really.”
“Well, that’s good. Your brother has always loved gossip so much.” He laughs again and it jostles some memories for me. His laugh sounds so familiar. “I will say, it definitely shocked your stepmother. Whom you still have to meet. We have lots to discuss though.”
His bright tone dims a bit at those words, and I hear what he’s not saying. My mother isn’t around, but there’s a new woman willing to fill that role in my life. I haven’t given much thought to that yet, and I sort of feel like that role is tainted for me. I have such negative connotations to just the title alone, I feel as if I almost automatically assume she’s going to be evil as well.
“Yes, we do have a lot to discuss.”
“Which is why that we decided to move back here. After your mother died, and you were gone, there was just too much heartbreak for me in that town. That’s not to say I ever stopped looking, please don’t think that. I just… it was too hard for me to be so close to everything.”
“I can understand that,” I admit. “I can’t imagine it would have been easy to stick around after everything that happened. It hurts to know I'll never know my mother properly, but perhaps… you could tell me some stories or something, so I can get a good idea of who she was?”
It sounds like he’s crying now, and my heart breaks for him. The last however many years I went through at the compound, the bad things I had to deal with… I can’t imagine what it would have been like at the other end. For a father to lose his child, and then his mate. Only to have said child to return years later as an adult, with no need of him. With no knowledge of him. A sudden desire to cling to him hits me, and I find myself crying too. For everything we both lost.
“Dad,” I choke out. “Why does it all have to be so hard? Why Us?”
“I have to believe there’s a reason for everything. Because if I don’t, I’m liable to go insane. This much loss… it’s very difficult for a man to take. Especially when Parker needed me so badly. When August needed me so badly.”
I have him on speaker at this point because I know I’ll just have to repeat everything if I don’t. Plus, I kind of like them hearing everything that's happening, because I feel so close to them right now. This is a major turning point in my life, and I want them there for every step of it. Which means that I’m also translating everything for August, and when he’s mentioned, he slides closer to me, and wraps around me from the front. He kisses my cheek, puts his forehead against mine. Solidarity.
“I would love to tell you all the stories. More than that, August’s mother, Nicole, has actually spent years making scrapbooks for you. She… also never gave up hope that we’d find you. I know that you don’t know her, nor she you, but just as August surely feels like he’s known you through the stories that lived on through Parker, she knows everything about you. She’s dying to meet you. She does not want to rush you, but whenever you’re ready, she’s there.”
“Tell her thank you for me. I think I'm looking forward to meeting her. You’ll be nearby then? You won’t have to fly back anytime soon?”
Maybe it’s embarrassing that I’m holding so much hope on the words that he’s about to tell me, because I don’t want anyone else leaving me. I'm not sure what his role in my new life is going to be, but I’m suddenly firm in the idea that he has a spot in it.
“I’m not going anywhere, Calai.Ever. Nicole has been working on packing up the house and getting it on the market, we’re looking for a new one nearby. I’m here if you need me. If you want to see me, that is.”
“I think I do.” I take a deep breath and get some more courage from my mates. They nod at me, and I know that this is the right decision.
“I will tell you more details later, but there was a situation last week. I was meant to reconcile with my alphas at a dinner, and the woman that kidnapped me made an appearance. She attempted to take me again, but my mates saved me. I can tell you more later if you really want me to, but for now that’s really what’s important. I’m safe, and they’re safe. She was arrested, as was the man she’d hired to help her.”
My father sucks in a breath, clearly wanting to know more, but he doesn’t ask. He’s respecting my boundaries, and I soften more towards him.
“Were you injured? Were any of you injured?”
“Minor injuries that we’ve all healed from. Police were involved, but they have questions. Some violence was involved because my alphas needed to defend me. In order to make sure that they don’t get arrested, the detective working the case has requested that I answer some questions pertaining to my capture. They want me to show them the compound, give them a tour, and help them figure out what’s been going on there. There are so many women there, Dad. Most of them likely taken from homes and families just like I was. Babies that were born there, that would have grown up knowing nothing else. All of them brainwashed just as I was. I’m a little nervous, but I really feel like I can do this.”
