Page 38 of Truth or Pack

The sound of tires coming to a screeching halt had all three men moving in front of me. I shoved them aside enough to see a woman stepping out of a shiny, red sports car.

“Mom? What are you doing here?”

My mother put on her best pout as she hurried forward, pulling me close and giving my cheeks air kisses like some sort of queen.

“Oh, Taryn, I was so worried when I got your messages this morning. I guess cell towers must have been down; it all came through today,” she gushed, lying right through her overly-white veneers.

Yes, because most mothers made sure they looked completely put together in an emergency. Why rush to your kid’s side when you could put on a full face of makeup first?

Her bottle-blond hair was in a high pony, her outfit a name-brand tennis set like she was on the way to a country club. Knowing her, she’d probably swindled some sort of invite from one of my sister’s packs.

“I’m fine.”

I didn’t hide my irritation. Of course, here I was excited and feeling great and then she just had to pop up and ruin it all.

“We’ve kept her safe. We’re just helping out a bit in town. The storms wrecked the area.”

“How is the lake house?” my father’s gruff voice joined the mix. Of course, all he cared about were his investments. Like he ever put a dime of his own into that place.

“It’s fine. Our cars were the problem,” I said, keeping my voice devoid of emotion as per usual when talking to this particular alpha. He’d use any sign of weakness as a weapon to get you to comply.

“Good,” he said, not even asking about the cars. Before I could cast a glance at my mates, Mathias’s fingers found mine, holding on tight for comfort, while Ash put his arm around my shoulder. It was a show of support, one they didn’t bother to hide from my parents.

“Oh!” Mom gasped dramatically, her smile wide. “I see my hard work finally paid off.”

“About that. I’m not pleased you set us up with her without her consent,” Holt said, voice hard and unrelenting as he faced off with my parents.

Even if he didn’t know it, he held something over their head they could never not be jealous of. Actual status.

My mother let out a fake, musical laugh. “Oh, you should know how stubborn she is by now. Sometimes, an omega just needs a push in the right direction.”

“Do—” Holt started but I reached over and touched his arm, shaking my head. I didn’t want my mother to know anything about our past. She didn’t care then, she sure didn’t now, and she’d just use it as another ‘I told you so’ moment anyway.

He nodded once and took a breath, dropping the subject.

“Actually, I wanted to know if I could buy the lakehouse from you?” Ash questioned. “We’ve grown fond of it and it’s where we met after all. I’d be happy to have my lawyer draw up terms.”

My eyes widened. I had no knowledge of this, and honestly, I had no idea how to feel. How crazy was it that they could just casually purchase something so big like it was nothing.

I’d buy a book with this level of nonchalance, not a fucking vacation home.

“Well, I, uh, it’s been in my family for generations,” my father rumbled, though I could see the dollar signs growing in his eyes. He wasn’t arguing on behalf of inheritance, but amping up the home’s supposed worth.

Ash didn’t back away, and the way Holt leaned over and whispered something, told me they were both on board, if not all three.

“It would mean a lot to us,” he repeated. “I’m willing to talk terms. Let’s take a walk, shall we?”

Ash gestured for my father to follow, and he did, mother trailing after them. She would never miss out on an opportunity to talk money.

“Let him handle it, baby,” Mathias said, placing a kiss on my temple. “Breathe.”

I sucked in a breath, my head swimming. It wasn’t intentional, I swear they just brought the worst out of me.

“They ruin everything,” I said, my voice small. “I was just feeling so happy, then here she is, snatching it away.”

“She doesn’t get that power,” Holt said. It was one of his rare moments of softness. He moved closer, his blackberry, citrus, and shortbread scent filled my senses and I let it soak in before looking up at him.

Those brown eyes were full of warmth. “I see why you react the way you do, but they don’t get to have this level of power over you. Not anymore. Ash is spontaneous, but he made the right call. He knew this place meant something to you and he’s taking it back,foryou. One less thing they get to hold over you.”

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