AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When the coffee, tea, and hot chocolate were delivered, we ordered our breakfast. As soon as our food arrived, we dug in as though we were starving. Even me. My food smelled fantastic and tasted even better. I savored every bite, chewing slowly, letting the flavors linger on my tongue. A tingle of heat spread through my blood, not just from the hot food. The warmth flowing through me came from Seff. I glanced at him and found him staring, sleepy-eyed, at my mouth. A hot blush filled my cheeks. His eyebrow gave a twitch...then...he winked at me. And then it was my turn to watch him eat. If I looked even half as sexy eating breakfast as he did, I couldn’t blame him for staring.
Once we’d finished our meals, my mom and Seff took the twins outside while I waited with my dad as he paid the bill.
“Speaking of ol’ jerkface, I would’ve warned you he was coming back if Coleman had shared.”
“I know.” I sighed. “Till was still so angry.”
“Oh,hewas angry?” Dad scoffed. “It was my daughter he treated like—”
“Dad,” I hushed him before he could get wound up again. “I should’ve—”
“None of that was on you.” He leaned in and snarled under his breath. “He screwed up. He didn’t treat you the way a male should treat a female he cares for.”
I nodded, not wanting to explain all the ways Tillman was a jerkface. His treatment of me was something I'd never wanted to share with my parents. If they had known even half of the hell Tillman put me through, one of them might have killed him. Though, I didn’t have to worry about that now.
“That’s the past, Dad. I’m over it.” It had taken everything in me to move on, but I sure as hell had. I pointed out the window where Seff held up the twins, one in each arm, as my mom played a silly game of catching their noses. They were laughing, even my mom. Their happiness was like sunshine, filling me with warmth. “That worthy male there. He’s my future.”
“He’s good with the twins.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and led me toward the exit. “Neri likes him, and you know how hard it is to impress her.”
“Yep.”
“You’re still gonna have to watch her. Neri feels things so deeply. It’s hard for her to forgive.”
“Gods, yes.”
“I think she doesn’t understand why her parents abandoned her and her sister to the pack’s care. When Tillman took you away, Neri took on the responsibility of taking care of Arteisma. She kept up the routine you’d had them on, doing their lessons, running their drills, doing their chores. Your mom and I couldn’t get her tojust play. We’d take them out in the forest, and no matter how Arteisma tried to get Neri to join in, she’d busy herself tracking a rabbit, or a squirrel, or even a damned bear. At the end of the day, I’d find her crashed on the couch or on the rug. Poor little thing was exhausted from stress.”
My breath hitched. “I never meant for that to happen.”
“I know you didn’t.” He pulled me a little closer under his big arm. “She just needs to see that you and Seff are, you know...safe.” He shook his head. “Safe as in, you love each other and love them, too. Safe in that you won’t abandon them.”
“Again.” I sighed. “But what if Vera’s family tries to take them?”
“The only one with that power is Vera’s great-granddad.”
If Vera’s great-grandpa was anything like she had said he was, I had very little chance of keeping the twins. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t fight for them. Our pack had no Alpha to petition or even call a tribunal, but I’d find a way.
The moment we stepped outside, Seff wrapped his arms around me and pressed his lips to mine.
“Everything’s gonna be all right,” he whispered, then winked. “Promise.”
Dear gods, I wanted to believe him.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
