Chapter 2
TWO
PHELAN
How did I fix this?
It was my fault, all of it. From the first time Rawling and I made love to a few days ago when he left Sombertooth.
My beast was clawing at my insides, demanding we go find our mate.
And that was the problem right there. Not that he was my mate. Nope, that was a given, though it’d taken me most of the semester to realize it. But I’d marked Rawling in the manner my alpha ancestors had. Without his permission, I’d sunk my teeth into his flesh, and he was understandably furious.
My beast couldn’t see the problem because we loved one another.
But Rawling hadn’t consented to us bonding, and that was my mistake.
My brothers, Lovell and Randolf, yelled if I wanted to shift.
“You’re starting the internship tomorrow and the boss will be riding your ass, so there’ll be no time to take your fur.”
“I’m busy.” I needed to be left alone as I messaged Rawling for the fifty-fifth time. I’d given up calling because that was a one and done, whereas my messages would stay on his phone, unless he’d blocked me or deleted them.
What I wanted was to see my mate, tell him how sorry I was that I did what I did and ask him if he was still nauseous.
But my folks had twisted a lot of arms and called in favors to get me this internship, and I couldn’t let them down.
Besides, Rawling wanted nothing to do with me, so perhaps it was better to give him space.
My wolf disagreed and whined about how much he missed our mate.
Me too.
The front door slammed. My brothers could never close a door quietly or walk up the stairs without their footsteps mimicking thunder.
But now that they were gone, they wouldn’t be back until after nightfall.
They'd run and stalk a deer, sometimes for hours, before killing it and allowing their wolves to devour the flesh.
But I had to tell my folks what I’d done because they’d hear it from Atticus’s parents.
My roommate had passed Rawling as my mate was leaving college and the mating mate was red and raw on Rawling’s neck.
Atticus had busted into the room, ranting about me being a fool and bonding with that filthy latent.
Even if I’d been able to contain my anger, my wolf’s fury spilled over and my fist connected with Atticus’s jaw. He went down, and I stood over him as he struggled to shift and retaliate. But I told him if he said one more word about my mate, I’d shift and go for the jugular.
It was one of the only times I’d seen fear in his eyes.
After bundling my stuff into a suitcase, I told him no matter what happened next semester, I wasn’t rooming with him.
When Atticus wanted to spread salacious gossip about other people, he made sure everyone knew about it. Whereas whatever he’d done to Rawling last semester to almost get kicked out of SU, he kept to himself.
After poking my head out of the room and making sure my brothers were gone, I strolled into the living room. My dad, Rob, was reading, and my alpha father, Laird, was listening to a podcast.
Dad would be more sympathetic to my story, but I was wary of Father’s reaction. He didn’t show his emotions as often, preferring to hide them behind his alpha exterior.
My father removed an earbud. “Are you hungry, Phelan? There are leftovers in the fridge.”
I hadn’t had much of an appetite since arriving home and blamed it on exhaustion.
“Can I talk to you?”
They both sat up, putting the book down and pulling out the remaining ear pod. Their behavior had me wondering if they were aware of what I was going to tell them.
“Sit.” Dad tapped the sofa beside him. “What’s up?”
“A lot, and I hope you won’t be disappointed in me.”
“Never.” My father reached over and patted my knee.
He hadn’t heard what I was about to say, though.
My folks were always supportive, though they were friendly with Atticus’s family who were much like Atticus himself.
But shifter hierarchy being what it was and with the wolves at the top of the ladder, my folks did what they had to in order to conform to shifter society norms. And Father had one thing in common with Atticus’s parents, and that was the love of making money.
“You’re not quitting school, are you?” Dad asked.
“No.” Though if Rawling didn’t return, I’d have to finagle an arrangement where I could see the baby regularly. I held back tears because I refused to imagine a future that might not eventuate.
“And you are starting your internship tomorrow, right?” My father removed his glasses. He’d used his contacts to get me the internship.
“Yes.” Taking a deep breath, I said, “I met my mate.”
“What?”
“So soon? You’re only nineteen.” Father shared a glance with Dad.
Gods, I regretted broaching the subject and wished I could stuff my words back down my throat.
“There’s more.” My voice had risen and was now a squeak. “I mated him, he’s pregnant, and also latent.” I omitted the bit about me marking Rawling without his agreement.
I waited while my folks absorbed the news. They didn’t speak. I wasn’t sure they still could.
“But I love him with my whole heart.”
That pricked the bubble of silence.
“Awww.” Dad hugged me, and then it was my father’s turn.
“I have so many questions, like what’s his name and does he come from a good family?”
I told them and said he was Rawlins Dempsey’s godson.
That name eased the tension a tad.
“I went to school with Rawlins. He was a good man, and I was sorry to hear of his death.” Father got up and searched the bookshelves. “I’m looking for my senior Sombertooth yearbook. But Atticus’s uncle was closer to Rawlins than I was.”
“So why isn’t Rawling here with us? Please tell me he’s not working over the summer or at home by himself?” I could see Dad mentally cooking nutritious meals for my mate and smothering him with love.
Damn, he was making me spill that detail sooner than I’d anticipated. I explained where he was before adding the clincher, “I marked him without permission.”
“Phelan!” Dad stood, and his clenched fists told me he was restraining himself. “We didn’t bring you up to behave like that.”
I held my head in both hands, ashamed at what I’d snatched from Rawling and embarrassed at letting my folks down.
“Get him on the phone right now.”
“Can’t. He won’t answer me.”
Now both my parents were standing, and their horrified expressions told me they weren’t going to forgive me.
“He’s our son-in-law and he’s carrying our grandchild.” Poor Dad burst into tears. My parents hugged, and I felt like such a loser. I’d hurt everyone, and my wolf was also on Team Rawling.
Dad blew his nose. “I love you, but I don’t like what you did. You need to make this right.”
But how could I when my mate wouldn’t respond? My father suggested sending a photo of the three of us and just adding, “With love.”
Dad argued we should say, “Welcome to the family,” but I disagreed, because that might do the opposite of what we intended.
“Once again, he might feel forced into conforming to our rules.” Rawling had already been brought into a world at Sombertooth where he was inferior. “That might signal that we’re taking away his agency.”
Father grabbed me, and Dad got on the other side. I took a selfie, but deleted it and snapped another one. Twenty pics and nineteen deleted pics later, we had one that we all liked, and I added the “with love” caption and sent it.
It was delivered, but there was no reply.
Dad hugged me and suggested we send Rawling a food delivery, but I vetoed that.
If he was wary of me and my actions, having my family bombard him with fruit and vegetables might send him spinning.
He needed time to absorb what had happened and hopefully forgive me.
But that wasn’t guaranteed.
My father got his laptop and started making a list of items Rawling and I would need. Awww, he didn’t care that I’d made a mess of things, just that his son-in-law and grandchild were being looked after. When he needed to, he stepped up.
Dad asked how we were going to bring a baby up at college. I hadn’t considered any of this because my mate despised me, or at least what I’d done.
“With Rawlins as his father figure, your mate must be a good man.”
I couldn’t fight back the tears, and they spilled down my cheeks as great hacking sobs wracked my chest.
“I love him and our baby.”
We discussed what to do if Rawling didn’t reply, and Father thought maybe they could make overtures to him. But we were back where we started, pushing my mate into accepting me and my family.
But the phone dinged, and we all jumped.
I’m not ready to talk, but thanks for the photo.
It was from him, and while it wasn’t much, we all cheered.
I decided to chance one more text.
My folks would love to meet you, but I told them to wait. But they want to send you a food delivery. Would that be okay?
Yes, was his reply.
That was better than silence, and knowing my folks, they’d send enough supplies for a month.
Maybe we could overcome what I’d done and have a future together, but I’d have to be content with sending him scrumptious treats.