Chapter 47
Riley
Eventually, somebody knocks on the door. I groan against Reid’s lips. I can feel his smile against my lips. “Can you tell them to go away?” I ask as he moves to kiss my neck.
“I have. Multiple times.” I think back to the voices I heard off and on during the night.
“Reid. Riley.” The sound of my dad’s voice sobers both of us really fast. “I made breakfast.” He pauses. “I’d love to have you join us, so we can talk.”
“We’ll be right out,” I tell him. Once I hear his footsteps fade, I look up at Reid. “Why is my dad here?”
“I don’t know. He came here during the night to check on you; I assume he went home after that.”
I ponder that. “I wonder if my mom is here too.”
He pats my sides. “There’s one way to find out.” He’s off me a moment later and puts out a hand to me.
I eye his hand but don’t take it. “I’d rather stay in bed with you.” I watch as his eyes darken.
“Don’t tempt me.”
I open my mouth to try to persuade him to give me just five more minutes of snuggling, but somebody knocks on our door again. “Family meeting.” I scowl at Zane’s voice and throw a pillow at the door. I hear Reid’s chuckle and turn to him.
He puts out a hand again. “Come on. Let’s get through all this, and then you and I are going away for a few days.”
“Really?” I ask hopefully. He pulls me out of bed and into his arms.
“Really. Just you and me in a cabin for three days. What do you think?”
I melt into him. “It sounds amazing.” He pulls me close and kisses me again, but my annoying brother knocks. Again.
“Come on, you two.”
It’s my turn to growl, but Reid kisses me out of my foul mood. “Come on.” I start towards the door and glance down at myself and the t-shirt of Reid’s I’m wearing.
“I should probably put on something else.”
His eyes scan the length of me, and his eyes heat once again. I notice his eyes linger on my legs a moment longer than necessary. “I don’t see a problem with it.”
I roll my eyes. “Of course, you don’t; but I’m not sitting in front of my dad and brother in just your shirt and boxers.”
He opens his drawer and pulls out a pair of sweatpants. They’re long, but I roll them up. “Thanks.” Right before I open the door, he pulls me into his arms.
“Have I told you how much I enjoy seeing you in my clothes?”
I grin up at him. “What about not in your clothes?”
His eyes flash, and I laugh and reach for the door.
I start to pull it open, but he closes it and braces his hands against the door, trapping me against it.
He moves closer, so that our bodies are mere centimeters from each other.
“This weekend, we will fulfill every one of the fantasies I've had about you in my clothes and out of them.”
A delicious heat works its way through my body. “Is that a promise?” I challenge.
He steps closer. “You are dangerous.” He drops his head to my neck and kisses his bite mark on my neck, causing me to groan.
“Riley!” Zane shouts from the living room.
“I hate my family.”
Reid just laughs and opens the door, taking my hand in his. “No, you don’t.”
We start out to the living room hand in hand. “You’d think I’d get a little more sympathy after what I’ve been through the last few days,” I say, knowing my brother can hear me.
“If you’re well enough to be making out with Reid, you’re well enough to come to the family meeting,” Zane all but growls at me.
“Oh please,” I tell him, dropping onto the couch. “As if you wouldn’t be doing the same thing if Evie were here.” I catch the look on his face, and realization dawns. “That’s why you’re cranky; Evie’s not here.”
He crosses his arms over his chest, looking less than pleased. “If you two are finished, do you think we could talk?”
I look over at my dad. “Sure.”
“Where’s mom?” I ask.
“Right here,” my mom says, coming into the living room.
I let my senses out and surmise that we’re alone. “Where’s everybody else?”
“Slate and Tessa left this morning for a trip,” my father says.
“Evie’s at the coffee shop,” my brother says in a less than pleasant voice.
“And Quint decided to go for a run,” my father finishes. I figure he probably did that to give us privacy.
“Why are you and mom here?” I ask, looking between the two of them. They’re standing on opposite sides of the living room, and something about it doesn’t sit well with me.
“We thought we’d have a little more privacy here,” my father says after a moment. “Everybody’s been worried about you and your mom,” he adds a moment later, and I get what he’s saying. Pack members must keep showing up at the house to check on my mom and me.
I think about the subject matter, and I feel myself tense up.
I glance at my mom, but she’s not looking at me.
Her head is down, and I have a feeling she hasn’t told my dad or brother anything yet.
I’m suddenly not looking forward to this conversation.
Reid must feel my discomfort because he takes my hand in his and squeezes gently.
I’m grateful for his strong presence; he keeps me stabilized.
“Mom said she wanted to talk, and she wanted all of us present,” my dad says after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
Reid stiffens next to me. “I don’t have to be here for this.”
“No, please stay,” I say at the same time my dad motions for him to stay.
“Evie would be here if she weren’t working,” my father adds, and I feel Reid relax next to me.
My dad looks over at my mom, and I can feel his frustration.
I can tell he’s at a loss, and he’s not used to that.
He and my mom have never been at odds with each other, not that I can remember anyway.
I look over at my mom whose head is still down.
I decide in that moment that it’s going to fall to me.
I watch my mom carefully as I begin to speak.
“You guys already know it was the coffee. It knocked both of us out. Somewhere along the way, they gave us each a silver bracelet, which broke off our connection to the pack. I think the coffee started the process of disconnecting us, and the bracelet finished the job. When we got there, Bane came to talk to us.”
“Bane?” my father interrupts.
I meet his gaze head-on. “The guy heading this all up, their master.” His eyes harden, and he nods. I don’t really know how to do this next part, so I continue slowly. “He asked mom if she ever told the truth, and he was pretty adamant about it.” I glance over at my mom, not sure how to continue.
“I already know about their past,” my father says, his voice tight with anger.
“Yes,” I hedge carefully, still looking at my mom. “But there’s more.” It’s so quiet in the room, and I feel like everyone can hear my heart beating harder than it should be. Reid runs his thumb over the back of my hand, likely trying to calm me. “He said,” I pause. “He said,” I try again.
“I slept with him and got pregnant.”
My mom’s words are like a bombshell. There’s silence for a moment, and then Zane explodes. “What? Seriously? That’s not possible.”
But I’m not watching my brother; my eyes are focused on my dad, who hasn’t moved a muscle.
His eyes are locked on my mom. I watch him carefully, but he doesn’t look shocked.
No, he looks...resigned. I glance over at my mom, who has tears dripping down her cheeks.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers, her eyes on my father.
“I was so young...and stupid. I—” she pauses and tries to catch her breath.
“Are you kidding me?” Zane asks, anger in his voice. He stares at my mom. “What happened to the baby?” he demands.
My mom’s entire body seems to fold in on itself.
“I gave her up for adoption, but—” she swallows and braces for what’s coming next.
I squeeze Reid’s hand harder, needing an anchor in this storm.
He releases my hand and puts his arm around me, anchoring me to his side.
“Bane adopted her.” She doesn’t look up as she says the words, and I can see she has the weight of the world on her shoulders.
“He what?” my brother’s voice whips around the room. “We have a sister out there somewhere?”
His anger grates on my nerves. “Zane, calm down.”
His angry eyes settle on me. “Calm down? Are you kidding me right now?”
I feel Reid tense next to me, and I work to diffuse the situation. Of course, I’m not really sure there is any diffusing of this situation. “You can be angry, but if you’re going to take it out on Riley, we’re going to have a problem,” Reid says as he leans forward.
His words are an instant turn-on. Whatever anger I’d felt dissipates quickly, and I have a hard time focusing.
Riley, Reid growls through our bond. I turn to him, giving him my most innocent look.
His fingers flex on my waist, and I force myself to focus again.
I look over at my mom, who looks devastated.
I don’t look over at my dad; I don’t want to see his face right now. I’m scared at what I might find.
"I’m sorry.”
I look over at my mom, and she continues.
“I did wrong, and I’m owning up to my mistakes today.
I should have never slept with him. I should have waited for my mate.
” Her voice breaks on the words, and Reid’s hand tightens on my waist. “And I should have never given my little girl up for adoption. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought...” and then she breaks.
Her body curves in on itself, and she begins to sob.
Heaving sobs wrack her body. I sit absolutely still, unsure what to do.
I’ve never heard my mom cry like this; she’s always been so strong.
After a minute or two, I pull away from Reid and make my way to her side.
I sit next to her on the couch and wrap my arms around her the best I can.
“I forgive you, Mom.” I can only speak for myself, and I do. “We all make mistakes.” She cries harder, and my heart hurts. I don’t know how to make things right; I don’t know what to do.
And then my dad is there. He drops to his knees in front of my mom. He takes both of her hands in his. “Kelley, my Love.” His words and voice are gentle. “Look at me, please.”
She lifts her head, and my heart hurts at her red eyes and look of devastation. “I’m so sorry,” she whispers.
She tries to pull away, but my dad keeps her hands in his.
“I love you, Kelley.” She makes a sound and tries to pull away, but he keeps her hands in his.
“I made a pledge to love you no matter what, and this is no matter what. You’re mine, and I’m yours.
” She cries harder and tries to pull away, but he won’t let her.
He leans forward. “Do I wish you would have told me? Yes. You didn’t need to carry the guilt all these years.
I forgive you, Sweetheart. I love you.” She falls forward, and he catches her.
I blink back tears and stand. I don’t know what to do with myself, but Reid makes the choice for me.
He snags my hand and pulls me along with him.
Seconds later, we’re back in his room. He pulls me against his chest, and I can no longer hold it all in.
The tears come hard. I cry for my mom; I cry for the girl who grew up without a mom in her life.
I cry for what my mom and I endured. I cry for the guilt my mom’s carried all these years.
After I’ve cried all I can cry, Reid pulls back and wipes my eyes.