20. TWENTY
TWENTY
Vera
I manage to buy a super cute pair of barrel leg corduroy trousers and a new oversized sweater dress that gets Bas all flustered when I try it on with nothing underneath.
I’ve just tucked a few long sleeved tees into my basket only for Bas to take the whole thing from me and stride to the register, and then my phone buzzes in my pocket.
I’m so distracted I let him pay without protesting nearly enough.
There’s a new message from Riley: Hey, can we talk?
No veiled insults. No bad-mouthing Bas or patronizing me. I open it and stand there wondering what to reply until Bas finds me between a rack of dresses and wraps his free hand around my shoulder.
I know he’s read the message when he makes a low grunt. “That didn’t take too long.”
“You think he’s ready to be reasonable?”
“Won’t know unless we give him a chance, right?”
I’m torn. I don’t want another fight with my brother. Especially not right now when bad news about Mom could be waiting for us when we return to the hospital. But that’s just it. Surely we need to be a united front ready to help her and Dad with whatever this new phase looks like.
I sigh. “Yeah. Guess not.”
I text Riley the name of the hotel and tell him to meet us there in an hour for a drink, which sadly gives us enough time to go change into our new clothes but not to do anything about the promises Bas made this morning.
It’s early evening. Things are already winding down as the sun begins to set and shops start closing up, their Sunday hours cut even shorter for the winter season.
I choose the sweater dress over the top of my tights. My old sneakers kind of ruin the look, but I still enjoy the way Bas can’t take his eyes off my legs.
The hotel bar is empty apart from us. We find a quiet table and sit. I only realize I’m tapping my leg when Bas slides his large warm palm up my thigh beneath the table. “We don’t have to do this now,” he says quietly.
“Yeah, we do.” If I’m honest with myself, this has been on the back of my mind all day, and it will be until I resolve things with my brother.
A cough from behind us makes me turn. Riley is standing with his arms folded across his chest, looking every bit as stiff and angry as when we saw him last. “Oh sorry. Am I interrupting something?”
I narrow my eyes. “If we’re doing this, it’s going to start with you apologizing to Bastien.”
Riley’s mouth drops open. He wasn’t expecting that from me. We’ve always had a hot-and-cold relationship. We fought often as kids, but it usually ended with me crying. After finally shifting, I’m feeling a new sense of strength. “I mean it.”
His expression softens a little. “You’re really serious about this, huh?”
In answer, I pull aside my hair, which is loose on my neck, revealing the mating mark.
Riley’s eyes widen, and his face reddens. For a moment his hands fist at his sides, and I think he’s going to hit Bastien again or storm out.
Then he sighs and does something even more surprising.
He pulls up a chair and sits, folding his hands in front of him on the table, looking down at them rather than at us.
“Seeing you shift this morning made me realize maybe there’re a few things I don’t know about you, Ver.
Maybe a few things I don’t know in general.
So I’m listening, but, Bas, you’d better have a fucking good reason for doing this the way you did. ”
I’m about to tell my brother to fuck right off again when Bastien’s hand squeezes my thigh. I pause and look sideways at him.
Bas clears his throat. “I don’t. Not one that’s good enough to cover what I did. The way it happened. There’s more than one reason I didn’t hit you back this morning.”
Riley huffs a laugh. “Glad you didn’t. Not sure my ego could have taken the beating you could have given me.” Then he grows serious again, steepling his hands and looking at each of us. “Do I want to hear this?”
Bas looks at me, a question in his lifted brow.
I shrug. “His problem if it’s TMI.”
Riley winces. “I guess I deserve it.”
There’s a pause, and I realize they’re waiting for me to start.
“Well, this morning was actually the first time I ever shifted. I didn’t know I could.
Mom kept telling me it was coming, but you know what she’s like.
I thought she was telling herself as much as me.
I thought she was ashamed her daughter was born without the magic. ”
“Aw, come on, Vera. Mom loves you. She’s so proud of you. Shift or no shift. It’s me she’s disappointed in.”
I have to swallow around a thick lump in my throat, but I push on. “I mean, you make it pretty hard for her not to be sometimes. Anyway, she warned me, but I didn’t listen. But then I went into heat while Bas and I were snowed in up at Black Pines. I never saw it coming, though I should have.”
Riley’s eyes go like saucers. “Fuck.”
“In Bastien’s defense, he wasn’t going to rut me until I practically begged him—”
“Aaaand skip to the end.”
“And I guess we got carried away—”
“Are you sure this is the end?”
“I bit her.” Bastien’s low rumble cuts through the back-and-forth between me and Riley.
Riley’s growl is audible in the suddenly quiet bar. “Without asking?”
Bas looks down at the table. “Yeah. There’s no excuse. Which is what I said to Ver. I offered right away, of course, and she rightly told me to go to hell.”
Riley looks between us as if he doesn’t know which question to ask next.
“She went back to college, and it damn near killed me. That’s when I knew…”
A new look of understanding dawns on Riley. “That night at The Den?”
Bas nods. “She’d messaged to tell me she was going on a date because, like an idiot, I made her promise she would.”
Riley laughs and shakes his head. “OK, so I’m liking how you made him suffer, Ver.”
I wave off Riley’s comment with a brush of my hand.
“It wasn’t like that. I only rejected Bas because I thought he’d offered out of pity.
Because I couldn’t stand being mated to him if he didn’t feel the way I felt—feel.
” My neck and cheeks heat, and I dart a glance at Bas to see him looking at me with a strange, soft expression that gives me a little more courage.
Riley sounds uncomfortable. “At the risk of having to throw up in my mouth, can you just confirm for me exactly how you feel now so I don’t have to do something stupid and fight him again?”
I hold Bastien’s gaze across the table and my heart jumps into my throat as I speak my next words. “I’m in love with him. Always have been.”
Riley shakes his head. He’s quiet for a while. We all are.
Finally, my brother leans back in his chair and looks at us both. “I should have seen this coming.” He points at Bas. “The number of times I caught you looking at her funny or asking about her. It all makes so much sense now.”
“Wait, what?” I look between them, but neither one meets my eye.
It’s Bastien’s turn to look uncomfortable. “I’m not even sure I was aware of it myself.”
Riley rolls his eyes. “And so you’re mated. I suppose this means I have to forgive you.”
“Yes,” I say at the same time as Bas says, “Please.”
Riley sighs. “I’ll forgive you as long as I never have to hear this sort of sappy lovey dovey stuff out of the two of you again. Do we have a deal?”
We laugh.
I kick Riley under the table. “You have no such promise from me. I can’t wait until we get married and you have to be the best man.”
He points both thumbs over his shoulders toward the bar. “Geez. I need a drink. My baby sister mated and married? I’m getting the first round if I get to be there when you tell Mom.”
“Oh god. I’m surprised she didn’t notice already. I’m going to need that drink, aren’t I?”
My shit of a brother only laughs.
Mom’s eyes literally light up with glee when I break the news. She pushes herself out of her chair and insists on hugging Bas to officially welcome him to the family. Then she sits back down, folds her hands in her lap, and asks, “So when am I getting grandbabies?”
Bas flushes bright red.
I roll my eyes. “Mom, I’m still finishing college. You’ll have to wait a few years.”
She laughs; cackles would be a better word for it. “Tell that to your ovaries next time you go into heat. I was right, wasn’t I?”
I squirm. “Yeah. You were right. But now that I know, I’m on heat suppressants, so there won’t be any heats for a while.”
“Ugh, can we skip the gross details?” Riley makes a face.
Dad elbows him. “Time for you to think about finding your own mate, son.”
“Man, did I say I wanted to be here for this? I think I meant I want to be as far away as possible.” He actually gets up, looking like he’s about to walk out.
Mom glares at him. “Sit down. I have something to say, and I want you to listen to me.”
Chastened, Riley sits, and we all direct our attention toward Mom.
“We spoke with the doctor this morning. I’m afraid the news isn’t conclusive.
They want to monitor me more closely over the next three months, which means more appointments.
I’ll be back and forth to the hospital a little.
They won’t know for sure if it’s a progression or just a relapse for a while, but there’s a chance.
” She breaks off and her lips are thin as she presses them together.
“There’s a chance I’m not going to get better again.
Don’t panic. It’s still manageable. It just means making more adjustments and maybe some new meds.
But the point is, I won’t be around forever, and I won’t be well forever.
So don’t leave it too long. I want to see you both happy while I can enjoy it.
Bastien, I couldn’t be more glad that you and Vera finally figured out that you belong together.
” She holds up a shaking finger when I open my mouth to protest, and I shut it again with a snap.
“Riley, I say this with love, but you need to start taking life seriously. While you can. Because none of us knows what fate has in store.”
I expect Riley to make some smartass comment, to brush her off, but he’s surprisingly quiet. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and nods. “Yeah. I get it.”
“Now get out of here, all of you, and go live your lives. I’m going home tomorrow, and you can all visit for Sunday dinner just the same as always.” She folds her hands across her chest and nods once and it’s clear that we’ve been dismissed.
I hug her and Dad and we make our goodbyes. Bastien’s hand closes over mine and encases it in warmth as we walk out into the chilly parking lot. “Do you have class tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Not until twelve.”
“You want a lift back to the city, Vera?” asks Riley, who walked out with us.
“Are you staying overnight?” I ask Bas.
He nods. “I’ll have to get up early to get back to Black Pines in the morning, but I’ll stay if you will.”
“Of course.”
“Well. I guess now I’m the third wheel.”
I nudge him. “Now you’ll have to fight me for Bas’ attention not the other way around.”
Riley lingers. His hands are still shoved deep into the pockets of his jacket, and his gaze is on his boots. “I’m sorry,” he says gruffly.
I blink. “You are?”
“Yeah. I didn’t really say it before, did I? Sorry for being such a jerk. To both of you. I guess I’ve got some changes to make.”
I chew my lip. “Do you think Mom’s going to be alright?”
He sighs. “No. But she’ll make the best of it. She always does. She’s strong and is not a quitter. You shouldn’t worry.”
“I will, though.”
He nods. “Yeah, me too.”
I can’t stop myself from hugging him then, and for the first time in a long time, he hugs me back and doesn’t pull away until I do.
I brush a stray tear from my cheek as I do and catch him do the same. “You know you can call me if you want to talk. Or actually come see me.”
“Yeah. I know. Thanks. Maybe I will.”
Bas lifts an arm and beckons Riley into a big bear hug, and I have to look away to stop myself from really crying.
Once we’ve waved him off, we climb into Bastien’s truck and drive back to the hotel.
I thought we wouldn’t get much sleep since this will be the last night we spend together this week, but in the end, he just holds me and that feels right.
I fall asleep surrounded by his warmth and his scent, and even though all is not right in the world, it’s probably as close as things get.