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“He got himself into this mess,” Tabitha said. “Make no mistake about that. He should’ve taken your first no and gone on his way and never thought about you again. If his people are trying to throw a coup and kill him because he appears weak after all this, it’s his fault.”
Demi nodded. “Good point. I just want him to leave me alone. Leave all of us alone.”
“He will,” Rhaider said. “One way or another.”
They thanked Abbie for her help and left her home, finding her dad standing by his vehicle and all the others gone.
“I’m going to the bar to meet with Duke and Titus,” he said. “They’re going to gather males for tomorrow and apprise them of the situation.”
“We’d like to come,” Rhaider said.
“That’s why I waited,” Quentin said.
“I’ll stay with Mom,” Demi said. While she wanted to go with her mates, she didn’t want to talk about Benecio anymore. The male had taken up enough space in her brain and she needed time to decompress. She kissed her mates goodbye and watched as they climbed into the SUV they’d all come together in.
“Want us to drop you off at home?” Quentin asked.
“We’re going to go for a walk instead,” Tabitha said.
“We are?” Demi asked.
Her mom hummed and waved at her dad. Demi waved at her mates and watched as the SUV backed out of the drive and drove off.
“A walk, huh?” Demi asked. Her mom hooked her arm through Demi’s.
“It’ll be good to clear our heads and get some fresh air. You and I used to walk all the time when you were little. Do you remember?”
“I do. I used to look for something to bring home and put in my memory box.” The empty cigar box had been given to her by her grandfather and she’d used it to store pretty rocks and pinecones she found on their walks.
“It was a lot of fun for me,” Tabitha said as they started off toward home. “Even when you were a surly teenager, you’d start to open up on the walks and we’d have the most fun conversations. I learned a lot about you during those walks. I hope you learned about me too.”
“I did. I think we stopped when every walk turned into an argument about me being mate-matched.”
“Yes, I was sad when that happened. I was getting some pressure from your father for you to get mate-matched, but I also wanted that for you too. I wanted you to find the happiness that I have with your father.”
“I have that now.”
“Indeed. In spades. I’m sorry I pushed you, and I’m sorry that we lost our closeness.”
“We’ve got it back now.”
“Yes, and just in time. Now that you’re mated, I’d like to talk to you about grandbabies.”
Demi laughed, feeling some of the tension from the meeting at Abbie’s and the situation with Benecio melt away. “Geez, Mom, I’ve only been mated a few hours.”
“Still. I’ll be the best grandma, you just wait. I’ll spoil them rotten and then send them home to you all sugared up.”
“Just like Grandma Tina used to do to me and Hemi.”
“You know it.”
Their laughter echoed in the trees and Demi smiled. For the first time in perhaps years, she felt close to her mom. While she wasn’t happy to be dealing with Benecio, she was grateful for the changes that came about because of the situation. If it weren’t for Hemi and Annie mating, and her mom saving Annie’s life, then Demi would still be at odds with her parents over choosing a mate.
Now she had Rhaider and Rafe, and her parents seemed to genuinely like them and were happy for her.
She’d hoed a tough row, but if they could get past the Benecio thing without anyone getting hurt, then the future was looking pretty damn bright.
They just had to survive tomorrow.
