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Shit. Maybe everyone, including Bailey, was right. He needed to get over his obsession with her, and quick. For now, one more week though. Then he would let her go.
Chapter 18
Saturday, November 20
2:25 p.m.
“And once again, Sunny Hunny with the Tea at PackNewsOne signing off. Thanks so much to Bailey Easton from the Aisling pack for letting us go live with her for the day. Stay tuned for an update on tonight’s festivities. We will have live interviews and new reels for your viewing pleasure.”
“See everyone tonight. Got a surprise planned for the dance floor.” Isaiah winked into the camera, and she smirked. He was going to challenge people to a dance-off. He couldn’t wait to show off his dance skills. With a few clicks of her mouse, she ended her live feed, unplugged the voice filter, and pulled off her headset, stretching and falling back on her bed.
She’d slept like shit last night, but at least she had plenty to do to get her through the day. And no schedule. She could take a nap, cuddle in her bed, lounge on the couch, or anything inside the walls of this house.
She sighed heavily. This still fucking sucked. This was supposed to be her wheelhouse. She loved sleeping all day, working all night, staying inside. But it hadn’t been a full day without Nas, and she was missing him. Or maybe just missing watching his fine ass work.
This is what she’d been worried about for months. It was one thing to long for her mate, to listen to her wolf whimper, and not know what she was missing.But now she knew, and her wolf made it clear what she wanted. Even a few hours away from him was killing her.
But she’d have to learn how to deal.If she learned anything, other than how much she wanted that man, she’d learned that everything he wanted was the opposite of what she did.It would never work, and every moment she spent with him reminded her of that.
Never before in her life was she more torn.
She stared at her computer for a few moments, trying to blank out her mind before she crawled back into her bed, surrounded by a million pillows and a big fluffy comforter.She had drifted off when she felt the bed shift, and her mom’s arms wrap around her.
“Hey, baby. Everything okay?”
She took a deep, heavy breath. She loved her mom dearly, but she usually told Ava everything. Her mom would want her to go back to her roots, be more traditional, embrace her heritage, blah blah blah. And she’d be horrified to know she was going to reject her mate. She’d really kill her for starting PackNewsOne, probably send her to live in Northern Italy with the other part of her family. She’d been threatened with that more times than she could count growing up.But for this, she’d actually do it. Her dad would shake his head and send her out to work the pasture, telling her she just needed to clear her mind.
“Things are complicated, Mom. It’s all so much.”
“You’re talking about more than your stalker, I assume.”
When she didn’t answer, her mom patted her hand. “You’re worried about your news channel then.”
She froze, then her head snapped around. “You know about that?”
“We’ve suspected you were a part of it for a while. So many hints here and there. But this past week, while we stayed with Nicholas, he filled us in on all the details.”
“Are you mad?”
“I was upset you didn’t tell us. That you put yourself in danger with this stalker.” She paused for a long time. “Then your father calmed me down. He reminded me you were smart, and you excel at everything you do. That if this is what you want to do, and you’ve been able to hide it from the world, then you must know what you’re doing.”
Something about her mom accepting her choices overwhelmed her. Maybe the secret of it all had been weighing on her, and she hadn’t realized it. So, when the tears flowed from her eyes, and she tried to hold back a sob, she turned to face her mom, burying her face in her chest.
For the longest time, she cried it out, and her mom held her tight, not saying a word, just silently letting her be.For once in her life, she felt like an adult, like no one could force her to do anything or threaten her or take away her freedom. She was finally allowed to be herself, and the irony of it all? She was stuck in her room, unable to do any of the things she was wanted to do.
“Mom. There’s so much I haven’t told you. I don’t even know where to start.”
“Tell me why you’re hurting, baby. I can feel your pain.”
“I found him. My fated mate. Months ago. But I can’t do it. I can’t give up everything.”
In the silence that filled the room, she talked for hours. Slowly, everything spilled out of her. She’d never cried so much in her life, and she kept expecting her mom to chide her, tell her what to do, or make her give it all up, but nothing.
When she finally stopped talking, she realized her dad was in the doorway listening as well. Her mom only rolled out of bed, grabbed some more tissues, and waved her hand at her dad.
“Tayon, make us some tea, and bring a bottle of vodka. Our baby needs us.”
She sat up in the bed, smiling weakly at her mom. “Really, mom. I know it’s a lot, but I can handle it. I just gotta make it through. And I have work to do tonight for the party. Otherwise, we will never catch this psycho.”
