Chapter 24
Chapter
Twenty-Four
Brie’s phone buzzed in her pocket, and she jumped. Everything made her jump lately. She pulled out the phone, and her heart squeezed when she saw it was a video call from her mom and dad.
Relief flooded through her first. She’d been trying to reach them for weeks, leaving messages that went unanswered, sending texts into the void of spotty international cell service.
Then panic followed immediately after, because now she’d actually have to talk to them.
She’d have to look them in the eyes and lie.
Hunter noticed her face change. He was across the room unpacking their overnight bags, but his wolf senses missed nothing.
“What is it?” He crossed to her in three strides.
“My parents. They want to video call.” Brie accepted the call, and her parents’ faces filled the screen.
They looked incredible. Tanned and glowing, her mother’s hair sun-lightened to a color that would have cost a fortune in a salon, her father’s ice-blue eyes sparkling with his eternal optimism.
Behind them, she could see a beach café, palm trees swaying in the tropical breeze, the sun painting everything gold.
“Sweetheart!” Her mother’s voice was bright with joy.
“Baby girl!” Her father leaned closer to his screen. “We’ve been trying to call you back!”
Brie forced a smile. “How’s New Zealand?”
“Absolutely magical,” her mother said. “But never mind that. We got your messages. You sounded worried. What’s going on?”
Brie’s prepared deflections died in her throat. Her mother knew her too well. A month of carefully crafted voice messages couldn’t hide the truth that would show on her face.
“I...” She stopped, swallowed. “Actually, something big happened.”
Both parents leaned closer to their screen, concern replacing the vacation glow.
“What is it?” Her father’s protective instinct was already firing. “Are you okay?”
The words came out in a rush before she could overthink them. “I found my mate.”
Silence for exactly two heartbeats. Then her mother’s hands flew to her mouth, and her father let out a whoop of happiness loud enough to make other café patrons turn and stare.
“Oh my god, Brie!” Her mother was crying and laughing at the same time. “When? How? Tell us everything!”
“This is incredible!” Her father’s grin threatened to split his face. “Our baby girl found her mate!”
Their pure joy hit Brie like a physical force. “His name is Hunter,” she managed around the lump in her throat. “Hunter Cruz.”
“Can we meet him? Please let us meet him!”
Brie glanced at Hunter, who’d been sitting just out of frame. He raised an eyebrow, silently asking if she was ready for this. She nodded and gestured him closer.
“He’s actually here.” He moved into view beside her on the couch, and Brie angled the phone so they were both visible. “Mom, Dad, this is Hunter Cruz.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Rayner.” Hunter’s voice was respectful but warm. “It’s an honor to meet you.”
“Call us Zach and Maisie,” her father said immediately, though his ice-blue eyes were doing a thorough assessment.
“How did you two meet?” her mother asked, her romantic heart fully engaged now.
Brie and Hunter exchanged a quick glance. The edited version formed between them without words.
“We matched on ,” Brie said carefully. “But we actually met in person at the bakery.”
Not mentioning the murder, the cartel, the kidnapping attempt. Just the simple truth underneath all the danger.
“The moment I walked through her door, my wolf knew.” Hunter’s voice carried absolute certainty. “She was covered in flour, had her hair falling out of a ponytail, and she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.”
Heat crept up Brie’s neck at the intensity in his voice, at the truth of it despite everything else that had been happening.
“That’s so romantic,” her mother breathed, one hand over her heart.
“Exactly how it happened with us,” her father added, smiling at her mother through their screen. “One look and I knew.”
Tears pricked Brie’s eyes in response to their easy acceptance, and their joy for her. This was what she’d grown up seeing, this kind of love. And now she had it too.
“When are you coming home?” Brie asked, though she already knew the answer.
“Not until next spring,” her father said. “We’re heading to Australia next, then Southeast Asia. We’ve got the whole route planned.”
“But we’ll meet Hunter properly when we get back!” her mother added quickly. “We’ll have a big family dinner. Make it special.”
Brie’s chest tightened. Months. They’d be gone for months more.
Part of her felt relief that they were safely on the other side of the world, far from the threat of the cartel.
But the rest of her just wanted her mother’s arms around her, wanted her father’s steady presence, wanted to stop pretending everything was fine.
Her mother leaned closer to the screen, her keen eyes studying Brie’s face. “Honey, are you sure everything’s okay? You look tired.”
“More than tired,” her father added. “You look stressed, sweetheart.”
The words were right there, desperate to escape. I witnessed a murder. I’m being hunted by a cartel. I’ve been so scared I can barely sleep. I need you.
But she couldn’t say them. Couldn’t ruin their dream trip, couldn’t drag them home early, couldn’t burden them with fear when there was nothing they could do from New Zealand except worry.
“I’m fine,” she said, forcing brightness back into her voice. “Just busy season at the bakery. Winter Festival prep is intense. And I’ve been missing you guys.”
Her voice cracked slightly on the last word, and Hunter’s thumb stroked across her knuckles in silent support.
Her parents didn’t look entirely convinced, but her father nodded slowly. “Well, you’ve got Hunter now. You’re not alone anymore.”
“Hunter.” Her mother’s voice took on that particular tone that meant business. “You’ll take care of our girl?”
“With my life, ma’am.” Hunter’s response was immediate, absolute. Not a promise but a statement of fact.
Something passed between her father and Hunter then, some wordless understanding that made her father’s expression soften.
“Good,” he said simply.
They talked for a few more minutes about New Zealand, about the bakery, about Hunter’s work with Steel Protection in vague, non-specific terms. Her mother made them promise to video call more regularly now that they’d found a good cell signal. Her father gave Hunter his number directly.
“Just in case,” he said, and Brie knew he meant in case something happened to her.
If only he knew how likely that was.
Finally, the goodbyes came. More I-love-yous than seemed possible in a two-minute span. Her mother blowing kisses through the screen. Her father calling her “polar bear cub” like he had since she was small, the childhood nickname making her eyes burn.
“We’re so happy for you, sweetheart,” her mother said, her eyes misty.
“Love you, baby girl,” her father added. “Stay safe.”
The screen went dark, and sudden silence filled the apartment.
Brie sat very still, phone in her lap, staring at the blank screen. Hunter’s arm was still around her shoulders, solid and warm, but it wasn’t enough to hold back what was coming.
“I didn’t tell them,” she whispered.
“You protected them,” Hunter said quietly.
She turned to look at him, tears already spilling down her cheeks. “They were so happy. So happy for me. Making plans to meet you, talking about family dinners…”
The image of Brennan convulsing on the lakeshore was too fresh, his destroyed transformation ability a reminder of exactly what they were dealing with.
Hunter pulled her against his chest, and she buried her face in his shirt as the tears came in earnest. All the stress of the last month, all the fear she’d been holding back, all the weight of lying to the people she loved most poured out of her in broken sobs.
“I’ve never lied to them,” she gasped between tears. “Not about anything important. And now I just looked them in the eyes and pretended everything was fine when I’m being hunted by a cartel.”