Page 64 of Family: Posy 4

"Um-hmm. He ordered that done the day after he became alpha." Cole snorted. "Man, Papa was so hot at him for wasting his time on what he saw as something trivial when there was so much 'important' work to be done, but my dad stepped in and shut him down. Dad told him it would help all of us to move on, and Papa reluctantly agreed and let it go."

"Maybe he didn't want his daughter's grave moved?" I suggested, trying so hard to give Royal Price the benefit of the doubt.

"Maybe. Look, I know you've only seen and heard the worst about Papa, but the truth is, he never recovered from Willow's death. Mama, either. Dad and Mom think a pup would help them move on, but Mase and I don't agree. A pup doesn't 'fix' things, and I think Papa is wise enough to know that."

I nodded my agreement. A pup should be a celebration of love and commitment between mates, not a band-aid over deeper issues.

"Anyway," Cole went on, "he's done a lot for each of us, for our families and packs, for Tyler after ... what happened to his parents, for the Breckenridge twins after Ev died. He's not evil at heart. None of that excuses how he treated Mase, of course, but I thought you should know he's not all bad."

"Hedidapologize to me and Mason, and he talked with Mason about earning his forgiveness," I reluctantly conceded.

"He's going to be the grandfather of our pups, so you'll have to build some kind of relationship with him." Cole shrugged. "I mean, I'm mad at him, too, but I recognize that he'll be a part of family events for as long as he's alive, and he's only thirty-nine."

"Oh, the same way you're tryingso hardto build a relationship with my brothers?" I raised my eyebrows, and he had the grace to blush.

"Touché, little mate."

"Two what?"

"It means you made a good point. It comes from the sport of fencing. You say it to acknowledge that your opponent scored a hit."

"Fencing? I know what a fence is. How is it involved in a sport?"

Chuckling, Cole wrapped me up in his big arms and gave me a bear hug.

"It's sword-fighting. I don't know why it's called fencing. We'll look it up online later. But yes, I need to work on building some kind of relationship with your brothers, too."

"Jayden has never said anything about his parents." Reaching up, I tugged Cole's scrunchy out and let his long, black hair fall around his face and down past his shoulders. "Not even mentioned them in a passing comment."

"It's a very deep wound for him. He lost both at once and so suddenly. No one could ever get him to talk about them, not the surviving parents or even the therapists that King Magnus sent around to packs after the sickness was eradicated. While Ash found comfort in talking about them, Jay sealed everything up inside himself."

"Not healthy," I murmured, worried about my dragon now.

"We're aware, but what can we do? Alpha command him to talk? One day, he'll open the lid on the memories, or someone will do it for him. All hell will probably break loose, but in the end, I think it would be like draining poison from a wound, you know?"

"When were you able to talk about your mom without breaking down?" I asked gently.

"Hmm. I guess about two years ago. Arch was having a tough time and we had a talk. That was the first time I could, without crying, say Mom and mean her and not Evie. It was like I knew Arch needed me, so Ihadto get up and go on, you know? Just like I did with Wyatt."

"I couldn't even think about Mom for nearly a year after she died," I admitted. "Alpha Briggs was growing crueler and crueler each day, so I was in survival mode, and thinking about her only made everything hurt worse."

"Was she—" He cut himself off and sighed. "I just told you not to ask the others and here I am asking you, but if you ever want to talk about her, I'm always ready to listen."

"I never doubted she loved me. She loved James and Aiden, too, but I was her baby and now I know that I was all she had left of her true mate." Tears pooled at the corner of my eyes, and I stuffed my face in his throat and clung to him. "She protected me all the time. Looking back now, I can see how often she stood between me and Alpha Briggs. He was so mean to her, and she was so sad. So very sad. And now I know why."

"I cannot imagine having to live with the person who killed my mate," Cole growled, and I felt his temper rising through our bond. "To have to cook for him and eat with him andsleepwith him—"

With each word, he squeezed me tighter and clenched his jaw harder.

"Calm down." I smoothed my hands up and down his arms. "Cole, calm down. That's never going to happen to us."

"Damned right it won't! My brothers and I will shred anyone who tries to take you from us!"

"Shh, my pine tree. I'm here. Shh."

It took several minutes before he relaxed against me and his fists unclenched from the back of my dress.

"Sorry, honey," he whispered. "I wanted you to feel safe enough to talk about your mom, and I ruined it with my temper."

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