Chapter 35 All the Things that Changed #2
“And how exactly did you meet your mate?” Mom wants to know. “It’s rare for vampires to work together with any other species. How come you built this pack and coven together?”
“There were reasons,” I say. “Things I can’t just talk about.
” There is no way I will tell Silas’s secret.
He has enough issues with keeping an eye on his vampires and dealing with his brother.
He isn’t really anonymous, not like I was for while, but our story involves a lot of details others don’t need to know, or it might become dangerous for those we want to protect.
“If you ever need something, you can always confide in us,” Dad offers.
“Thank you for the offer,” I say. “But I am fine, really. Silas and I are a good team. And if I’d confide in anyone, it’d rather be Liam or his father, or Cass or my friends in my pack.”
Only when I’ve said the last words do I realize that this might have been a low blow. Like, a really low blow. I don’t really mind that it is, but I didn’t actually mean it that way. It’s just the truth.
“They know my work better,” I add.
Silence engulfs us, and it makes me realize how odd this all is.
It feels like I am a stranger here. Mom and Dad are obviously trying to open the door as much as possible, without being too overbearing and without pushing me, but I just don’t feel that sense of comfort here anymore.
I thought five years of distance wouldn’t be that much, but it feels like a lifetime.
Everything in my life has changed; I’ve changed, my position and rank have changed, my dreams, goals and hopes have changed.
It’s like I’ll need to get to know them all again.
“I should have let you go,” Mom says into the silence.
“Hm?”
“I wanted you to become Eugene’s beta to bind you to the pack,” she says. “Your father told me not to push you and to let you make your own decision.”
“You did?” I ask Dad.
He nods.
I am surprised. Usually, my parents were always a good team. I knew Dad didn’t want me as a beta, he told me I was alpha material. But he never mentioned that he talked to my mother. “I don’t know what to say or think,” I admit.
“Your mother didn’t believe I had your best interests in mind,” Dad admits.
I turn to look at Mom, and she sighs. “With how he handled everything else, I didn’t trust him to know what you wanted,” she admits.
“Not just when everything with Olive happened, even before that. I should have intervened much sooner. I always thought we were family, and things would turn out okay, because deep inside, we loved each other. But that was na?ve. Family bonds need work, too, and I feel like I should have made a much stronger stand.”
“Mom, you always had my back,” I tell her. “I didn’t forget that.”
“But at that crucial moment, I didn’t listen to you. If I had, you would have left on your terms, and we would have known where you had gone. Maybe we could have remained in contact.”
There is not much I can say to that, because it’s true. “What happened after I left?” I ask.
“Chaos,” Dad says. “We had everyone look for you and turned every stone. But there was not one single trace of you.”
“Yeah, you taught us during our camping trips how to diffuse our tracks.”
“That’s how you did it?” Dad exclaims. “I thought you didn’t even pay attention.”
“Actually, I quite liked those trips,” I admit. “Plus, I am an alpha’s heir, meaning Amos knows how to cover my scent.”
“You would have been a formidable spy,” Dad says, stunned. “I had no idea. I was too biased. But Floyd always claimed you had great talents. I hate to admit that he saw it, and I was just an ignorant asshole.”
I snort. “Did you just call yourself an asshole?”
He shrugs. “Well, it’s true.”
I am not sure what to say. It’s good that he finally admits it, but it also hurts to realize that I was right all along.
“How did the pack take it?” I ask instead.
“Not well,” Mom explains.
“They were shocked when you left, and even more shocked about the fallout with Eugene. Eugene wanted to come clean to everyone and tell the whole pack the truth, but I had to keep the details hidden,” he pauses. “I know this decision sounds cruel and like I betrayed my whole family.”
“You did it for the pack,” I say. “After it had gone that far, it was all you could do to ensure the pack would remain stable.”
He smiles at Mom. “It was just thanks to your mother that things eventually calmed down.”
“It was good to throw myself into work,” she admits. “Eugene was completely distraught for almost a year. He and Olive barely talked, although they happened to be mates, and your father and I didn’t have too much of a good time with each other, either.”
“What the fuck were you all doing?” I exclaim. “I get that it was a terrible situation, but that would have been the time to stick together and not argue even more!”
“True,” Dad says. “But without you lightening the situation like you usually did, things suddenly felt much more difficult to handle.”
Mom nods. “Good thing Floyd was there to be the voice of reason. He also built up Elliot as his successor, who happened to be another good voice of reason, despite obviously despising Eugene. I still can’t believe how lucky we were that he took the job.”
I know he did it out of loyalty to me and for the pack to remain stable. “I am glad it turned out fine in the end,” I say. “I loved this pack and would have never wanted it to suffer. For that, I am glad that Eugene pulled himself together and stepped up in his work.”
Before anyone can answer, there is a subtle knock at the door. “That’s Florence,” Mom says. “Come in, honey.”
Flo enters, smiling at Mom. It’s good to see that Mom still knows how to connect to the pack members and that she is still well-liked, even by someone like Florence, who had probably struggled with trusting her after I left.
“I hate to interrupt anything,” Flo says. “But it’s getting late, and we still need to make sure our wards can travel safely. They also still need to meet Marc. I mean, Alpha Marcellus.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I snort. “Keep calling me Marc, please.”
She smiles.
“Florence is right,” Dad says reluctantly. “It’s really getting late, especially when you want to travel back tonight?”
He looks at me almost hopefully, but that’s a kind of wish I can’t fulfill. “We will travel home tonight.”
“Everything is set,” Flo tells me.
“Alright,” I say, relief flooding me that I can finally move on with my task and stop talking about the past. I feel the usual joy and motivation flood me when I realize I can go and do the work I love so much, for the pack I love and with the mate I love.
“Are you happy?” Mom asks me before I can leave the room, her gaze serious and slightly anxious.
“I am,” I say. “I am really happy with where I am and what I am doing.”
At that, her head perks up. “Then I am happy, too,” she says. “I will never force anything on you ever again.”
“Your mother is right,” Dad says. “You’ve done a tremendous job, the last few years, and made some strong allies, all thanks to your hard work and your talents. It’s truly something to be proud of.”
I feel relieved at their words. I wouldn’t have an issue standing up against my parents and defending my decisions, but it’s so much easier to know they finally support me.
Also, Dad’s words flood me with relief. It’s the first time he has so openly praised me for something and acknowledged my work.
Are you close by? Silas links me. I am so done with talking to your brother! Come and save your damsel in distress like the white knight you are.
I have to hold back a laugh at his sultry comment. Don’t worry, I will save you anytime.