19. Vili #2
Gareth looked rather uncomfortable in his new clothes, not one for wearing something so buttoned up.
He kept fidgeting with his sleeve or tugging at his shirt collar, frustrated at the fit.
Bailey-Rose took pity on him and left my side to undo the top two buttons and roll up his sleeves to just below the elbow.
“There, this is a little more you,” she decided, fidgeting with the collar to get it to lay right.
“Oh, thank fuck. I seriously thought I was going to suffocate in this damn shirt,” Gareth admitted, running a hand through his curly hair, messing it up into a more natural look.
With a quick kiss on Gareth’s cheek and a command to the dogs, my kitten returned to me, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Ready?”
“With you beside me, I’m always ready,” I whispered, giving her a teasing wink.
“Stop taking lessons from Warrick. You’re cute enough as it is without using pickup lines,” she said with a laugh.
I’d hired my normal car service for the few days we’d be here, and the limo was waiting for us as we exited the hotel.
The ride over was silent as if the guys knew I would be lost in my thoughts and let me be.
Bailey-Rose offered her support as she rested her head on my shoulder and traced the outline of my hand where it rested on her thigh.
The touch was soothing and kept me from allowing my anger and frustration with my family to build.
Allowing them to have that much power over my mood was something they didn’t deserve.
We pulled up to my family’s estate, and the driver spoke to the guard stationed at the gate.
Once a phone call was put through to the main house, we were given entry.
I’d always thought the house was too big—we only ever used about half of it.
Yet it was handed down to August, my mother’s third and final Alpha, and it had been in his family for generations.
Out of the three men who were supposed to be my paternal influence, August was the lesser of evils.
The man simply didn’t care about my existence.
August had far more important things to do, like travel the world and collect antiquities to sell in his family’s auction house.
He’d been born rich to a family who had always been rich, so his interpretation of the world was skewed in many ways.
“That is where you grew up?” Warrick asked, gazing at the home which more closely resembled a castle.
“It is,” I answered, taking in the dark stone walls, peaked roofs, and wrought iron fencing. “My childhood was as warm and inviting as this home.”
A butler I didn’t know opened the car door for us and jumped back with a gasp as Waffles emerged.
Bailey-Rose decided to hold Nugget so we didn’t scare the man further, but I doubted the little dust mop would be as intimidating as Waffles.
Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself for the interaction that lay ahead of me and walked up the stone steps.
Just inside the door, Perilla was waiting for me, a smile on her wrinkled and welcoming face.
“Ah, my sweet boy has returned for me to lay eyes on once more,” Perilla greeted in Numolandian, cupping my face with her hands.
Bending down, I kissed her cheeks before pulling her frail body into a hug. “Perilla, I’m so sorry it’s been so long since we’ve talked. You know my offer to come stay with me in Preidon still stands.”
She clucked her tongue and patted my arm. “What would you do with an old woman when you have a family of your own to take care of? No, my place is here, especially with Lady Bianca not long for this world. It is good of you to come, even though they don’t deserve it.”
Loyalty, that was Perilla in a nutshell. The woman would never dream of leaving my family’s service once she’d given her word to look after them and the rest of the household. How she continued to work at her age was a mystery, but I imagine once my mother passes, that would change.
“Speaking of my family, I'd like to introduce you to them,” I said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and guiding her forward. Switching back to English, I introduced my pack to Perilla and her to them. “We’ve officially been bonded for about a week now,” I added, knowing she’d been praying for me to find the family I deserved.
Bailey-Rose stepped up and pulled Perilla into a hug. “Thank you for looking after Vili until we could find each other. Please know you’d be welcome in our home any time if you’d like to visit.”
Perilla blushed, completely flustered by my kitten’s warmth. Ignoring the fact they’d just met, Perilla gripped Bailey-Rose’s cheeks and cooed at her like a child. “Sah sott. You sweet girl, thank you.”
Bailey-Rose was a little taken aback but took it all in stride as she smiled, moving to put Waffles between them, took Nugget from Yun, and absently rubbed her cheek.
“Would you lead the way to where Mother is?” I asked, redirecting the conversation. As much as I loved seeing my old nanny, I refused to stay longer than I needed to.
“Yes, follow,” she answered, waving her hand, keeping to English for the others’ sake even though she didn’t speak it well.
The spry older woman marched up the grand staircase like it was nothing, causing us to pick up the pace.
For most of my life, our family only used the front half of the house and two of the four floors.
Growing up, my parents had a suite on the second floor while I was on the first, leaving the ground floor for entertainment, relaxation, and meals.
So when Perilla led me down the hall where my rooms had once been, I was confused.
She rapped softly on a set of double doors that used to lead to my library and study space. A woman dressed in scrubs opened one of the doors. “Yes?”
“Lady Bianca’s son is here to see her,” Perilla explained, switching back to Numolandian.
The nurse looked back into the room as if unsure. “Today hasn’t been a great day, and she just fell asleep.”
“Dina, there are no more good days, and she’s been waiting to see him,” Perilla hissed. “Let him see his mother.”
Cowed by the older woman's order, Dina stepped back and opened the door further, allowing us to see the makeshift hospital room they’d created.
“Hey, man,” Gareth whispered, placing a hand on my shoulder. “If you want us to wait out here to give you a minute alone with your mom, that’s fine. We are here for you, so whatever you need.”
“Thank you,” I said, patting his hand. “I think that might be a good idea. She might not even wake up. However, will you come with me, kitten?” I asked, holding my hand out.
Instantly, she handed Nugget back to Yun, then took my hand and nodded. “Of course I will.”
The nurse tried to close the door on Waffles, but he wasn’t having it and body-checked the door nearly knocking the woman over. Giving her a disgusted snort, Waffles trotted over to join us without any further incident.
As I came to stand next to the hospital bed, the woman lying there seemed so foreign to me.
Gone was the powerful, self-assured woman who always knew what she wanted out of life.
Her head was wrapped in a lavish silk scarf covering her hair.
There was no sign of makeup on her sunken, pale skin, her fingernails were bare of polish, and she wore loose silk pajamas that didn’t hide how skinny she’d become.
An IV was connected to the back of her hand, and she wore an oxygen cannula.
The monitors around her whirred, tracking everything there was to know about a person.
“Mother,” I said softly, reaching out to place a hand over hers resting on top of five layers of blankets. “Mother, it’s Vili.”
A groan was her only response, turning her head away from me.
Licking my lips, I spoke a little louder this time. “Mother, I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’ve come to see you. It’s your son, Vili.”