Chapter 53
Sonnet had pictured the first time her mates and her family would sit down all together and share a meal, but it wasn’t under these circumstances. However, the family BBQ went better than she could have expected, and she ate more than she had the past week.
Anna was proud of her assortment and joined the meal, as everyone insisted. Jude and Kai both ate more than their fair share, bickering and teasing with Summer, while Felix talked to Mom and Zayden enjoyed her father’s company.
Sitting back in the patio chair, she watched the scene unfold with a soft smile on her face and an iced tea in her hand, her plate clean and her heart at peace. Goose was snoring at her feet after a long day of playing, his puppy breath fanning her toes.
For so many years, Sonnet wondered what her future would look like.
She wasn’t picturing this: mated to a popular boy band, mourning the loss of her mother, considering a future writing a book.
In so many ways, her life was still completely foreign to her, and each day brought a new change she couldn’t expect or hardly work through before the next thing came.
So much time had come and gone, and so much was different, and yet there was an unsettling happiness Sonnet couldn’t ignore.
Was it okay to be happy when her birth mother was dead?
Yes. It’s okay.
Sonnet wasn’t as sure, but she couldn’t help but smile as she continued to watch her family.
The BBQ went on until the sun set, and dessert was devoured.
Sonnet gave her family tight hugs, surprised when Dad held her the tightest and longest. They were all welcomed back as soon as possible, and as they drove off, Sonnet could see Mom’s face in the rearview mirror.
She had a soft, warm expression, as if she finally accepted that Sonnet was safe and paired with a good pack.
When they got home, everyone went inside, including Goose, but Zayden asked Sonnet to stay behind. His expression was serious and uncertain.
He cleared his throat three times before finally speaking. “Did you have a good evening?”
Sonnet raised an eyebrow. “Yes. It was nice having everyone I love all in the same room, but Zayden,” she shifted in the passenger seat. “If you have something to tell me, just tell me.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, sorry. I just don’t know if I’ve crossed a boundary by what I’ve done and what I’m going to say. You’ve been doing a bit better, and I don’t want to ruin that.”
“How could you possibly ruin that?”
“Well,” he cleared his throat again, “I found someone who wants to meet you.”
“Who?”
“Your grandparents.”
“My…grandparents?”
Sonnet knew right away Zayden wasn’t talking about her father’s parents, who disowned him after they found out about Sonnet’s existence.
They would go to their grave hating Sonnet and being ashamed of her and Dad.
Katherine’s parents felt the same way for many years, but now they were willing to come around for Christmas and send presents, mainly for Summer.
But there was another set of grandparents Sonnet never knew.
She looked out the front window and saw the very long street lined with other large mansions, filled with famous people. She couldn’t help but wonder if inside these homes, these strangers were also going through something devastating and confusing.
“Sweetheart?” Zayden gently placed his hand on her thigh, the entire car blooming with his scent. “Talk to me.”
“What are their names?”
“Your grandmother’s name is Adalynn, and she wants to meet you.”
“Meet me?” Sonnet scoffed. “Why now? Why have you gone and found them?”
“It was by accident. I was working with Maddox to find out more about your mother. When she passed, how, and where she was buried. She’s buried at their home, Sonnet; in their backyard, under a beautiful tree, is what they told me.
I know I may have crossed a line, but I wanted to make sure you could speak to her one last time.
I didn’t know it would involve them, too. ”
Mother is buried in their backyard?
They might have answers, Sonnet. Where she’s been, how she lived.
“They agreed that if you wanted nothing to do with them, they wouldn’t bother you or introduce themselves while you visited with your mother.
However, if you’d let me, I’d like to drive you to go meet them.
Your grandfather is out of town, but your grandmother, Adalynn, would really like to meet you. ”
“Why do you want me to meet her?”
Zayden smiled softly, tucking a piece of her hair out of the frame of her face.
“You know, I don’t talk to my family. My mother, my father, my siblings, and my grandparents.
There’s a whole family tree of people who are meant to love me, and I haven’t talked to them in years.
I’ve accepted that now, and if you tell me you don’t want to talk to these people, I’ll accept that, too.
However, I think it would be good to understand a bit more about your mother, and maybe they can give you back pieces of her you’ve lost.”
Sonnet hadn’t thought of it like that, but Zayden had a point. There were people in her tree she should meet before burning away those branches. Besides, if her mother was buried in their backyard, something had to happen between them before she passed. Something good, Sonnet hoped.
We always need to hope for something good.
Sonnet puffed out some air, turning over all the choices in her mind. “I’m scared. What if they’re terrible people, and now they’ve got my mother held hostage?”
“What if they’re amazing people who want to love you?” Zayden challenged. “You are, after all, impossible not to love.”
“That so?”
Zayden smirked, leaning in and kissing her softly on the forehead. “Yes.”
“Okay. If you come with me.”
“There’s nowhere else I’d be, sweetheart.”
Sonnet held him to it because, without her alpha, she wasn’t sure she could follow through. Hoping for something good was easy until it wasn’t, and all Sonnet could do was wonder who these people were and why she hadn’t met them until now.