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“I’m going to get Star on it as soon as possible,” I said.
“She’s got all that blood magic to deal with first,” he said.
“I’ll find out if she has any friends. Maybe it’s time for us to repair the wounds between us and the witches.”
“You are going to be one hell of a queen,” he said.
I stood on my tip toes and threw my arms around his shoulders, pulling him into an embrace. “You’re going to be one hell of an alpha.”
He hugged me back. “Be careful, okay?”
“You, too.” I stepped away. “I’ll be in touch soon.”
He nodded. “I’ll be okay.”
“I know you will,” I said.
“So will you, you know. You were born for this.”
I smiled at my friend. We’d been through a lot together in a short time and I knew the bond we’d forged would keep us as friends for the rest of our lives. You don’t go through what we did and not connect on a deeper level.
Kyle returned to his pack, and I walked over to my waiting entourage. “Malcom, would you be willing to stay with Kyle a few days? Just so he has someone loyal here.”
“Of course,” he said. “Now, go. See your mom. Kyle’s got this but just in case, he’s got me.”
The drive back to the house felt like an eternity. After a few failed attempts at conversation we all settled into silence. The hours ticked by, most of us too exhausted or too overwhelmed to say anything.
“She’s going to be fine,” Alec said, squeezing my hand.
I looked over at him. The two of us were in the back seat while Spencer sat in the front next to James, who was driving. I was glad we didn’t have council members or other guards in the car with us.
“Star got all that toxin out of me,” Alec reminded me.
“She said she was awake.” It was hard to imagine what I might be walking into. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to say when I see her.”
“You’ll know when we get there,” he assured me.
When we arrived, Alec went to find Sheila and I followed Spencer back to the room where my mom was waiting for us. My footsteps felt heavy as we neared the doorway.
“I’ll wait here,” Spencer said when we arrived.
“You sure? You can come in with me if you want,” I said.
“She asked for you,” he said. “I haven’t been around the last nineteen years.”
“Alright.” I took a deep breath before turning the doorknob. When I entered the room, I was met by a person I had only seen in fleeting memories. My mother didn’t look the way she had when I last saw her in Wolf Creek. There wasn’t a cloud of smoke curling from her lips, her hair wasn’t tangled and in a frizzy bun. Even the dark circles under her eyes were gone.
I hardly recognized the stunning woman with bright red hair and sparkling green eyes staring at me. “Mom?”
She smiled, and her eyes filled with tears. “Lola, I’m so sorry.”
My eyes burned and I swallowed against a lump in my throat. It took everything I had not to break down right there. I couldn’t speak for fear of losing it completely.
My mom took a step forward and extended her arms. I hesitated for a moment. This was the woman who had given up on raising me, or so I thought. She’d shut me out when I needed her the most. Yet, the very thing that had caused her madness was the way she’d tried to protect me.
She lowered her arms. “I should have done more to help you. I thought I could handle small doses of the toxin.”
“I know,” I said. “I know why you did it and I know why you fled and I know you meant well.”
