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My voice trails off when Mom looks away. “I don’t need to speak to a therapist, Everleigh. I appreciate you for caring, but—”
“I didn’t leave the folder in the office, Mom.”
She lifts her head, peering at me blankly. “Those alphas?”
I nod.
Mom gazes at me for several seconds. “Everleigh, more than twenty years ago, I was just an art student. I didn’t have much, but I was happy. I had a life, and I didn’t want it to change. One visit to a free heat clinic was enough for an alpha to ruin my life. My home is gone now, and my parents would be too. Everything is gone.”
I look away. “I’m sorry, I—”
She takes my hand. “I’m not sorry I had you, and I’m not sorry that you’re in my life again. But alphas… they have a lot to be sorry about. More than they can ever make amends for.”
She gives me a gentle smile, squeezes my hand reassuringly, and returns to her sketching.
I watch her with a fist around my heart, wanting to cry for the men who saved me, and who I might never see again.
Chapter61
Everleigh
It takes three days before I discover all the little—and big things—Pack Ashe has thought about when they built a new life for me.
They didn’t stop at buying me a house.
Just as Rune said, I found the deed for the house in the office. He—or they—had set up a million-dollar trust for me. With the house fully paid for, and electricity, gas, internet, and trash all taken care of, I have no idea what I’d even do with that much money.
And then an envelope arrives addressed to me, and I learn they’ve created another million-dollar trust to pay out thousands of dollars a month. This one in Mom’s name.
It’s not the only thing in the package. I find credit cards for both of us as well. Since we’re similar sizes, we’re sharing the clothes Pack Ashe sent Hali to buy for me until we’re feeling brave enough to venture out to the mall.
That might take a while.
I don’t know if someone will try to sit on me if they see me out in the street, thinking I still belong to Lawrence, and I’m in no hurry to find out.
I’ve thanked Hali and Nancy for everything they’ve done for me. Rune, Cian, and Kylian must have gotten Della a cell phone because she didn’t have one before. When I scroll through the numbers in my phone, I find hers as well. And I remember Rune’s comment about another important number he left for me to discover.
I spent an hour reassuring Della I was okay while she did the same.
Mom cried for hours when I started to tell her about Anna Jackson and Della, so I stopped. Della is still my sister, but Mom won’t see it that way, and I don’t want to say anything else that will hurt her.
Della is staying away for now. Her choice, since she didn’t think Mom would want a physical reminder of Anna Jackson, especially so soon after her release from the clinic.
I offered Della money, or at least the credit card Cian, Rune, and Kylian gave me. She refused, saying she found a small studio apartment downtown and is hoping to get a new job soon.
Della is and has always been stubborn as hell and determined to do things her own way, so I didn’t push. If she hasn’t found a job in a few days, I’ll send her money, whether she wants my help or not. And Iwillsee Della again soon, but not yet. Maybe when Mom’s mental health isn’t so fragile.
I’m deciding what to make for lunch for Mom and me while she’s out drawing in the garden when my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and absorb the name that pops up.
Cian.
Instantly, I’m nervous. And excited. Also, kind of scared. Okay. Alotscared.
But mostly excited.
And then disappointed when I read the message. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this.
Cian: Stay inside for the next couple of days, little omega. A storm is about to hit the city and we need you safe. If you want to see it, turn on the TV.
