12. Benjamin
12
BENJAMIN
“ H appy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Phoebe, happy birthday to you,” I sing, looking down at my little pup. She’s asleep, so I whisper-sing, being careful not to wake her.
I don’t want her angry mama getting mad at me for disturbing our pup’s sleep. I’m considerate that way.
“We are good dads. Where are her other dads? Sleeping? Pathetic. It’s our baby’s birthday!” Fluffy snaps, and I nod my head in agreement.
“That’s why Maia likes us the best. We’re sentimental, and she likes that. Did you hear about her ex’s stupid birthday cards from Alex? I’m going to write the best birthday cards to ever exist,” I say, deciding here and now that I’ll do everything to make her happier than he ever did.
“And dead. I like that he’s dead.”
“My only regret is that it wasn’t us to kill our dear, worthless, cousin,” I say, cracking my knuckles. And, you know, there’s the fact that Maia has had to deal with his betrayal. If Ryan told her the truth, if he made sure she knew exactly what she was getting into, then my mate wouldn’t be suffering the way she is right now .
Ryan’s terrible life decisions have once again affected me and mine. That’s fine. I’m a big boy who can handle it.
But my mate never should’ve had to. He has hurt her in the worst way possible, and Maia doesn’t even truly understand that.
Something I hate more than Ryan is that my brothers and I are doing the same thing he did by keeping secrets from Maia. Rather than telling her the truth and trusting that she’ll make the right decision, we’re lying and keeping a pretty big thing from her.
Phoebe whines, pulling me from my thoughts, and I bend over her crib to place my hand on her chest softly so that she hopefully doesn’t wake Maia up. A blurry image of her mama appears in my mind, and I smile.
“Our mate is so beautiful when she sleeps,” Fluffy says.
“A shame I have to disturb it,” I say.
“Maia,” I coo, reaching over to tug the blankets off of her. Her eyes fly open, and I scent her fear. Oh, fuck. “It’s me. It’s Ben.”
“Ben,” she whispers, relief filling her tone. She hesitantly sits up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and based on the rapid rising and falling of her tits—I mean her chest —she’s still a little panicked. I bend down to pick the disgruntled little wolf up and eye the scary, sleep-deprived human.
“Do you need a wee or anything?” I ask like the generous man I am. Her eyes narrow. “Don’t go getting any ideas, buttercup. I do not like golden showers.”
“I’ll take one,” Fluffy says. “Although, I’d prefer to be the one to mark her that way. Nobody will ever doubt our connection when they smell me on her.”
“That’s the spirit. Do it in wolf form, though. I don’t want my body tainted with piss—hers or ours,” I negotiate.
“I… I’m sorry, what ?”
“A golden shower is where you wee on me. I do not like that,” I say, shaking my head. “Boundaries are important in a relationship, Maia, and respecting your partner’s likes and dislikes in the bedroom is a must. It?—”
“No, Ben, I’m not going to wee on you,” Maia gasps. Her eyes are wide, and her lips are parted ever so slightly.
“I think she underestimates how big we are,” Fluffy says. “There’s no way I could fit my dick in there.”
“Our dick.”
“I don’t like referring to my dick as a communal thing,” Fluffy protests.
“Then you get the wolf dick, and I get the human dick,” I argue. “It’s not like anyone other than me has touched this one anyway. You’re not missing out.”
“No, but eventually, I will be. Fine. We’ll share the dick.”
“We’ve shared worse things,” I mutter, and his amusement is felt through our shared bond.
“What are you doing in my bedroom?” Maia demands just as Phoebe starts to whine. My precious mate immediately transforms into mother mode and forgets about everything else. “Pass her here.”
“I was going to,” I mutter, handing the little bundle over. My arms feel weirdly empty without her in them, so I plop down next to Maia on the bed. My pretty little mate sighs, but I don’t think it’s in pleasure, especially not when I edge closer to her and Phoebe.
Being in her proximity is everything. Our bond isn’t very strong, not yet, but it’s building, and being close is the best way to encourage it.
“She’s so hard to please. I just want her to smile at us,” Fluffy says sadly. “Tell her how pretty her tits look. She’ll appreciate that.”
“Your breasts are magnificent in this lighting,” I murmur, and her eyes flash with anger as her head whips up. There’s a glare on her face, her rosy red lips pressed tightly together. Phoebe whines, and without breaking the stare with me, she adjusts our pup so she can feed better .
“Do you think that’s an appropriate thing to say?” Maia demands. She’s using her angry tone of voice, and I hunch in on myself. I didn’t know what I said was wrong, but she’s clearly unhappy, so I slowly shake my head, but I can feel my own frown, and that seems to agitate her further.
“I’m feeding my child, and you think now is the time to make crude comments about my body?” Maia hisses.
“Crude?” Fluffy demands, pushing forth to take control and battle it out with our mate. “You’d say complimenting my mate is crude ? Your tits are magnificent. They’re full of milk, of goodness, as you feed our daughter. You would dare tell me I am crude ?”
“That’s not a compliment,” Maia says, staring at my wolf with a sneer on her lips. “Or at the very least—it’s not a compliment I’m interested in hearing.”
“Oh,” I say. “I didn’t realise her boobs were a sore topic for her. We messed up. Should we have complimented her eyes? Her smile?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Do we apologise? Beg for forgiveness?” Fluffy asks me.
“I’m not sure who you’ve had in your bed,” she says quietly, “and I have no doubt those women would lavish?—”
“What the fuck?” My jaw would’ve dropped if it were me in the body. Does she really think that way about us? Does she think that in the years we’ve been apart that my brothers and I have been fucking around with other women? Honing our skills or getting our dicks wet with someone that isn’t her?
Is that truly how she thinks of us?
She’s our soulmate. Our lifeline.
Without her, I’d rather be dead.
“There have been no women,” Fluffy roars, completely losing his cool. His chest heaves with each breath, and our legs are trembling as we try to control our hurt. Maia’s lips part, and Fluffy regains control of himself.
I whine across our shared bond at the look on Maia’s face. Our mate does think that lowly of us .
She thinks we’re disloyal. No wonder she can’t trust us with our pup. How she can’t trust us with her love.
“I would never, ever treat you that way. I’ve never been with another person—man or woman. You are it for me—for all of us.” Fluffy sits back on his heels, and gives her a look of true sadness. “It would be a dishonour for any werewolf to bed another whilst knowing their mate is out there for them. None of us would ever taint our connection like that.”
“Oh. So…” Maia looks over at Phoebe, and I can see the hesitance in her eyes.
“You are the only one that will come to our bed impure, yes,” Fluffy says gently.
“Impure?” My gorgeous mate scoffs and shakes her head. “Not only is virginity a social construct, the amount of men I’ve fucked is none of your damn business.”
“Don’t argue with her,” I suggest, recognising the angry tone once more. “Just thank her and move on.”
“Everything you do, little mate, is my business. The day our bond snapped into place is the day you became my everything,” Fluffy says. It would be sweet if he wasn’t so angry with her. “Every breath you take, every move you make, every thought you have—it’s mine to be aware of.”
“That’s not going to work for me,” Maia says, shaking her head. Her curls bounce around her face, and I so badly want to run my fingers through them, to touch her and have it be appreciated. “I never thought you’d be this… over-controlling.”
Fluffy frowns. “I’m being over-controlling?”
“You just said that you want to be aware of every single breath I take.”
“Well, not literally,” my wolf says before directing his words to me silently. “Did you think I meant I was going to sit and watch her breathe, Ben?”
“No, of course, not. She breathes all day long. We’ve got jobs.” My confusion grows, and Fluffy looks at my mate with narrowed eyes. “You meant if she was sick, we’d be there to help her and support her. Right? That if she wanted to go somewhere but couldn’t, we’d make it possible. That if she was anxious, we’d help reassure her. We’re not over-controlling. We’re supportive .”
“Why didn’t she see that?” he whispers, eyeing the woman opposite us.
“What are you two talking about?” Maia asks softly.
“You’re an idiot,” Fluffy says.
A small smile tugs at her lips, but she smothers it back down. I wish she wouldn’t—she’s beautiful when she’s so carefree. “I see. Could you elaborate a little more?”
“Clearly, we’re not going to sit and watch you breathe. That’s tiresome, and even if your tits would look good, we have work to do,” Fluffy says.
“I see. So, you didn’t mean that literally.”
“No,” Fluffy says, shaking his head. “If you wanted me to quit my job and watch you breathe, I could. I’d be bored, but I’ll give you what you need. But I really would be bored all day.”
She smiles once more, and both Fluffy and I grin. “I don’t think that’s necessary, but I do appreciate it.”
Fluffy fakes wiping sweat from our brow, and she laughs.
“So, we never got around to discussing why you are here at… one in the morning?” she asks, reading the time off her watch.
“Fluffy celebrates his pup’s birthday,” he says, leaning in closer to her and Phoebe. I get a small whiff of her orange and vanilla scent, and I can’t wait until the day Phoebe’s scent comes in.
“It’s not her birthday,” my mate stubbornly protests.
“No, but she’s a week old now.”
Her eyes fill with tears, and she looks down at our little girl. Phoebe’s eyes are closed as she suckles, and Maia softly runs her finger down Phoebe’s cheek.
“She’s a week old,” Maia repeats, not moving her eyes away from Phoebe .
“She is,” I whisper, taking control from Fluffy. I press my face close to hers to get a better view of Phoebe. “Well done, Mama, you’ve helped our pup survive for a whole week.”
“My baby,” Maia hisses, her eyes brimming with pride, despite the annoyance she directs my way.
Phoebe’s tummy gurgles just before she lets out a very loud fart. And, of course, she follows through. The stench burns my nose, but Maia doesn’t seem to care.
Maia pushes away from me to tend to Phoebe, and I love the way our mating sparks dance across my skin. She reaches over to turn on the lamp, which is far too bright for Phoebe’s eyes. I wait for a second to let Maia fix it herself, but she doesn’t. She seems at ease in the bright lighting.
Is she seriously going to leave Phoebe to struggle?
“Don’t be cruel. She’s not aware of our superior eyesight.”
“Lack of awareness on her mother’s behalf doesn’t mean our pup should suffer.”
“Reach over and turn the brightness of that light down, please,” I say, and when Maia doesn’t, I reach over and do it myself. Her jaw locks, and I know she’s getting annoyed at me again. Time and time again, I’ve ruined this night. We were meant to be celebrating Phoebe’s birthday, and all I’ve done is upset her mother.
“Look, I know your eyesight is dreadful, but don’t make Phoebe suffer because of it.”
“I have perfect vis—wait, what?” Her head snaps up to look at me, and I can see the fear in her baby blues. “How is Phoebe suffering?”
“ Our pup has much better eyesight than you do—even with the limited vision she currently possesses—and the light being this bright will be straining her eyes.”
“Oh,” Maia whispers, and her voice is husky with emotion. “Thank you for letting me know. Is this a good setting?”
“Mate sad. Fix it. Fix it. Make my mate happy!” Fluffy roars in my mind .
“How the fuck do I do that without making this situation worse? I didn’t want to hurt her… I just wanted to help Phoebe,” I say quietly.
Fluffy sighs and takes control once more. “It’s perfect. You did good, little mate.”
As a tear drips down Maia’s cheek, he reaches over and brushes it away with his thumb. He then sucks his thumb, and we taste the bitter saltiness of our mate’s despair.
Her hair covers her face from me, but she whispers, “I’m truly not cut out to be her mum, am I?” I don’t think we were meant to hear it, but we did, and we can’t ignore something of this magnitude.
“You’re a wonderful mother, and you are more than capable of parenting her the way she deserves,” Fluffy says, gently tucking her hair behind her ears. Maia freezes, but since she doesn’t move away, Fluffy keeps in contact with her. Sparks fly between us in a soothing way, and I wonder what Maia feels when we touch.
“But, little mama, you need to stop shutting us out and let us be the wonderful fathers we’re capable of being, too. We’re here to help you with Phoebe, not sit back and watch you struggle. That’s not fair to you or Phoebe.”
“Or us,” I mutter miserably.
“You’re not her fathers, though, and I won’t entertain the thought of allowing you to take his place,” Maia says, reaching down the side of the bed to grab the nappy box thing. I don’t really know what’s the purpose of it, but she pulls out a clean nappy and some wipes.
“He’s dead. You can’t take the place of a dead man,” Fluffy says, twisting his face up. “But believe me, I’m more than willing to show you how much better I can be.”
“Fucking hell!” I roar, across the bond. “Those are inside thoughts! There’s nobody to fight, Fluffy. There’s no need to defend our place! Ryan is dead .”
“Get out,” Maia hisses as tears fill her eyes. She rifles through the nappy bag, pulling out a small grey pot and sets it down with the rest of her things. When neither Fluffy or I move, she glares at us.
I can see the depth of her unhappiness, the pain she’s feeling etched into her face, and it hits me right in the gut. We did this. We hurt our mate.
“I don’t understand,” Fluffy says.
“Get out. You don’t… Get out. ” Maia starts to sob, and the sound only digs that knife further into me.
“Why does my mate cry?” Fluffy murmurs, leaning in towards her. Maia tries to bat us away, but he doesn’t budge. “Your eyes are so puffy, but your lips look so soft when soaked with your tears.”
“Please, stop,” she whispers, shaking her head. “I need to get Phoebe dressed, and I want to do it alone.”
“I won’t ever stop. You’re my mate. Mine.”
“But I’m not.” Maia fixes Phoebe’s clothes and sits back into her mountain of pillows. “I’m not your mate. I don’t feel this connection you talk about, and honestly, I don’t want to .”
“Why you must lie to yourself, I shall never know,” Fluffy says.
“What if… what if she’s not lying?” I ask quietly. What if Maia doesn’t want us? What if she truly can’t feel the bond? What if…
“Trust me.”
“It’s not a lie.” Maia’s on the defensive now, and she purses her lips. “I’m here for the month to learn how to take care of Phoebe so I don’t hurt her with my lack of knowledge. After that, I’m gone.”
“And yet, you are unwilling to let us?—”
“I am unwilling to let you replace her dead father. I’m unwilling to let any of you be her father’s . We do not know each other, and that is not your place to be,” Maia says firmly. She hunches over, wincing in pain, but still doesn’t lose her glower.
It’s horrifying that we’ve put her in this position, but somehow, another show of her strength .
“Are you in pain?” Fluffy demands, and Maia ignores him as she lifts Phoebe over her shoulder, cuddling her in close. I can smell the sweet lavender that accompanies my tiny pup because of her clothes, but soon enough, she’ll have her own distinct scent marking her as ours.
“No.”
“Lie to me again, mate, and I’ll take you over my knee and make you regret it,” Fluffy snarls.
Her eyes widen. “I thought with you being the runt that you’d be less…”
“Less?” Fluffy asks before shrugging. “Fluffy must be more to be seen as equal.”
We’ve never been handed anything, only had things stolen from us. From the moment it became apparent that I was the weakest link, Fluffy and I have had to fight for everything that we need.
Why should Maia be any different?
We may be a runt, but we’re strong, and confident, and more than willing to work for what we need.
“Oh,” she whispers, tilting her head ever so slightly. Her hand rubs over Phoebe’s back in a soothing manner. “I suppose that makes sense.”
“Mate needs pain relief. Fluffy will get it for his mate.” He leans forward and presses a soft kiss to Maia’s forehead before striding out of the room.
Space is probably for the best.
“Mate might be reluctant, but I will convince her,” Fluffy says, retreating into my mind.
The sudden shift makes me stumble in the hall, and I stay silent, hoping I didn’t wake one of my brothers. We share a soulmate, and we’re extremely close, but sometimes it’s nice to have moments just for ourselves. This is one of those times.
“We will convince her,” Fluffy repeats.
I pour a glass of her smoothie and cut off a slice of the chocolate cake. Whilst Phoebe is too small to eat it, my mate is most definitely not. I grab two tablets for her and plate it all up.
The box of Ryan’s things is sprawled out over the counter in a bit of a mess, likely from where one of my brothers was looking into things. I clean it up, like the thoughtful mate I am, so that Maia won’t need to see it in the morning.
“You don’t see the others doing that,” Fluffy says. “No, they leave the traumatising shit out for our poor mate to find. On our baby’s birthday, at that.”
“Assholes, Fluff. They’re fucking assholes.”
Mostly.
I pack everything up neatly in the box, making sure it’s still easily accessible for whoever had it pulled out this way. His journal is missing. I go through the contents again, in case I’ve misplaced it, but I can’t see the stupid thing anywhere. It makes no sense, unless one of my brothers has taken it upstairs to continue going over things.
Oh, well.
Not my circus, not my monkey.
Although, if we were in a circus, we’d be amazing at it. Alex would be the clown, of course, and Topher would be the man getting tied up onto a dart board so that knives could be thrown at him. I think some people would pay double just to have their own turn to try and hurt him. Seb might be a mime. Or at least, he would on day one, before getting fired for not being expressive enough.
“We’d be the ringmaster,” Fluffy says. “And I’m sure we could find something for Seb.”
“We’d have no choice,” I say, carrying Maia’s plate upstairs. “We can’t leave our family behind.”
“Hey,” Maia murmurs. There’s a tired quality to her voice, and the exhaustion lines are clear to see in her face.
“Hi, little mate,” I say, closing the door behind me. “I brought you some cake. ”
“Cake?” She sighs. “I’m sorry, Ben, but it’s after one. I’m exhausted. I want to get her fed and then go back to sleep.”
I pout. “What if we shared it? It’s Phoebe’s birthday cake.”
Maia cracks a small smile before yawning. “Will you feed it to me?”
“Really?” I can’t tell who whispered this—Fluffy or me. “Yes. I can. Take your meds first.”
She nods and takes a gulp of the smoothie and tosses the tablets in before washing them down. I sit opposite her and spoon off a small bite of the cake. It looks delicious. I eat it and moan.
Maia’s eyes open. “You sneaky thief.”
“What? I was just… testing it wasn’t poisoned.”
“I’m sure you were,” she says with a laugh. Phoebe starts to cry, having let go of Maia’s perky nipple, and Maia sighs. She tries to get Phoebe to take it back in her mouth, but the tiny baby resists just before she shifts into her wolf.
Maia, to her credit, doesn’t scream like last time or rush away. She stills, and her breath comes out in small pants, but her reaction is notably more controlled.
“She’s still Phoebe,” I murmur. “But I’m going to let Fluffy take over again. He’ll be able to connect with her in this form better than I can.”
“Why don’t you…” Maia bites her bottom lip, and I patiently wait her out. Phoebe takes a few steps forward before laying down. She’s close to both Maia and I, recognising the connection we both share with her, and now the little wolf is content. “I thought the mother would shift.”
“She would.”
“So why haven’t any of you?” she whispers.
“Phoebe is still very, very young, and?—”
“No!” Fluffy yells. “Don’t blame her again.”
“Then what the fuck am I meant to say?” I demand.
“Fluffy prefers to be in human form to look at his pretty mate,” Fluffy says, shoving me out of the way .
“Then why hasn’t Seb ever shifted into his wolf?” Maia asks, raising an eyebrow. “I might be ignorant to the comings and goings of your world, but I’m not completely stupid.”
“I’d love you even if you were.”
“Who is talking about love?” Her breathing speeds up, and her eyes dart to the baby wolf before she looks down at her hands.
“Maia,” my wolf coos, lifting her chin up. “You are my soulmate. Love is just one expression of that. We’ll be the best of friends, the strongest of confidants, and the most passionate of partners. Our bond transcends normality, it goes beyond understanding. It’s soul-deep.”
“I’m not ready for this. Ryan’s only been gone for eight months. I’m not… I’m not ready to leave him in the past.”
Fluffy sighs. “The reason we don’t shift is that we don’t have a strong enough bond with Phoebe yet. Her wolf would be unsettled, and it would cause her distress. Make no mistake, the inner wolf completely understands who we are, but the human does not. That’s a decision you are making. So live in your ignorance and cling to the dead whilst knowing that not only are you hurting your soulmates, but you’re denying your child something she craves.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Is fair meant to be a consideration when telling the truth?” I ask Fluffy.
“And the other reason,” Fluffy says sadly. “Is that we’re too nice to scare you. Because whilst you’re only thinking about yourself, we’re doing our best to make you happy and show you how safe you’ll be with us.”
He rises from the bed, and Maia lets her tears fall. She doesn’t know how to argue, how to deny the truth we shared.
“I was excited for our meeting,” Fluffy continues, and his voice is devoid of emotion. “You’ve always been this future part of my life, always an intangible presence, but one I knew without a doubt I would love. You’ve been a someday for as long as I have lived, but now that you’re here, I don’t want to continue as a someday . I want it to be today.”
Maia nods, tears still pouring down her cheeks, but she can’t bring herself to speak. Fluffy sighs and retreats into our mind.
“I’ve said all that I can say,” Fluffy tells me. “It’s up to her to accept it or to continue pushing us away.”
“And if she chooses to continue pushing us away?”
“We show her how resilient we are.”
“Everyone always undermines me as the youngest,” I say, sitting back down. Her eyes dart up to me, and she must realise that I’m Ben again and not Fluffy. “They see the silly, goofy exterior and never really care to look deeper. You do. You did.”
“And yet, I’m hurting you.”
“Fate hurt us. She took your husband from you and then handed you four new men without even giving you the chance to grieve,” I say with a shrug. It’s not Maia’s fault she was fucking my cousin and he died. It’s not her fault her taste in men was poor before I entered her life. She had to settle for mediocrity, but now, she’ll never know the feeling of settling. “You’re following nature’s path, however it may line up.”
“I’m not sure I believe in fate.” She wipes her nose on her sleeve, and I pass her a baby wipe from the packet. She gives me a grateful look and blows her nose.
How the fuck someone can be so cute and delicate whilst blowing their nose, I’ll never know, but it might be one of my most favourite things about her.
“I wonder if she’s going to be willing to let us give her facials,” Fluffy says, watching the way Maia cleans her face. “I mean, I’m only going to be willing to do that once she’s already around with our child. I refuse to waste my seed that way.”
“That’s smart, and a facial is far better than the golden shower we negotiated.”
“You don’t believe in much, do you?” I ask her, and she shrugs. A dark expression crosses her face, and I reach over to place my hand on her knee. “That’s okay. Not all of us can live life seeing the rainbows and expecting the leopard or whatever at the end. Some people are content to live in the dark and be nothing more than a passerby.”
“That’s not fair, either.”
“No? You’re very concerned with fairness, but only when it works in your favour.”
Maia shakes her head and jumps in surprise as Phoebe shifts from her wolf to her human form. The shift was quick, and the tiny wolf has used up most of her energy doing it.
“That was quicker than the last few,” Maia murmurs, and I’m surprised she noticed.
“Soon, you’ll not even notice until she’s stood in front of you,” I say fondly. I reach over and lift the baby into my arms and inhale the lavender scent. She’s perfect, and the wolf inside sends me an image that I won’t be sharing with Maia.
Not yet.
“Phoebe’s wolf loves me already,” I say. Oh, well. I did try to keep it a secret.
“She does?” Maia whispers.
“She does. She also wants you to stop crying. The smell of your tears is upsetting her tummy,” I continue, telling a small white lie. It’s not nice of me considering I’m the one causing these tears, but fuck, they destroy me. My pup does want her mother to stop crying, but it’s my tummy that’s upset because of it. I can’t get rid of the giant pit, and I know that’s the cause.
“I heard what you said—what you both said. I’ll try.”
“Trying is better than this denial you’re currently doing.”
“You and Seb are very similar, you know,” she says thoughtfully. I narrow my eyes. “There’s so much hidden under your layers.”
“You’ll find we’re all very similar,” I counter before smirking. “Until you see us naked, that is. There’s three mediocre cocks, and one so?—”
“Do not talk of your appendage when you’re holding the baby,” Maia says, shaking her head at me. There’s no true heat to her words, and she even gives me a small smile. “But I think that I could stand to be a little less… uptight when it comes to you all and Phoebe.”
“I’d agree.” I pat the small infant on the back gently, like her mama was doing just before, and she lets out a very large burp in my ear. Definitely has her mother’s manners. “Uptight isn’t a good look on you.”
“It’s not?”
“Don’t go fishing for compliments. Not when you don’t like the way I compliment you.”
Maia lets out a laugh. “Compliments of the mind are so much better than compliments of the body.”
“But when one’s body is as perfect as yours, surely, some leeway must be given.”
“You’re a sneak, and I’m not putting up with it,” Maia says, wagging her finger my way.
“No?” I lean forward, still holding onto Phoebe, and tuck her hair behind her ear, cradling her cheek in the palm of my hand. “That’s what you say, but I get the feeling this is just the start of our next chapter.”
“Maybe,” Maia says softly. “I promised I’d try and let you in when it comes to Phoebe, no matter how hard it is and how much it goes against my instincts. I won’t go back on that unless you make me.”
“We won’t give up until she gives us everything,” Fluffy says.
“We won’t do anything to break this trust you’ve given us,” I say softly. She nods. “And, Maia? You doubt your ability to parent, but you’re one of the strongest women I know. That might not be worth much, since I don’t know many women very well, but you’re magnificent. The intrinsic way you protect Phoebe, your willingness to explore the supernatural despite knowing nothing about it… your stubbornness, and your empathy, and your bravery are things I admire about you.”
She blinks back tears and gives me a hesitant smile. “If it weren’t for the fact that you insulted her father—repeatedly—I think you’ve started Phoebe’s birthday out in one of the best ways.”
“You love him.”
“I do,” she murmurs before shrugging. “I’m so angry at him, so, so angry, and I don’t mean to hurt you… but I do love him, yes.”
I figured as much, and honestly, if he wasn’t already our enemy, this would solidify Ryan as top of the list. He’s already taken one Wolfe from me—he won’t take away another.
“We might not be the most demanding of the Wolfes,” I reply. “But we are the most patient. We can wait out her grief.”
“And then teach her how to truly love,” Fluffy finishes.