Page 60 of Tamed Wolf

“I see,” Lark says, and then she turns to face her exes. “You two must be so damn proud of yourselves, raising up a man like that.” She hikes a thumb behind her shoulder, pointing to Camden.

“Oh, shut up,” Trevor says and then Ivan elbows him. In such close confines, they can't get away from each other and it's clear they've already been tussling, because they've both got some sort of bloody lip and black eye that's mid-heal.

“No, I don't think I will,” Lark defies. Then she turns back to her son. “Camden, we'll get in contact with her other mates. You’ve never cared for what I have to say to you, not since you've become the adult wolf you like to think you are. So let me set the record straight here.

“I'm moving in with the Storm Pack.” She holds eye contact with her exes as she says this, waiting to see every hit they take. “We're getting mated. Apparently, there's this thing that can happen when the stars align just so, so this mating is blessed by the goddess.

“But even if we were just chosen mates, it would still be a hell of a lot better than what you guys ever offered me.” Back to Camden. “If you continue down the road you're travelling on, Camden, then you can look to your fathers for what your future will look like; miserable, alone with your pack, while your mate finds something better. You guys aren't men,” she says full of ire, focusing once more on her exes. “You're pathetic and useless. You can rot in this cage for all I care. I just wanted you to know I'm finally fucking happy. No thanks to either of you. I love knowing you get to be miserable while I live my best life. I hope it hurts like hell.” And then she dismisses them and spins back to Camden.

He's not in a kennel because his transgressions were far fewer, but we still weren't quite sure what to do with him, so we thought it was best to keep him in here along with his fathers for the time being. “And you, I used to think I did wrong by you. That it was my fault that you came out the way you did. But somewhere along the way, I've realized you’re old enough to make your own decisions. I gave up every part of me I had to be a mother to you. To take care of you. When they came into our lives, you didn't want anything to do with me, did you?

“I don’t blame you for being a kid desperately trying to gain the approval of his fathers, but you outgrew that stage years ago. And don’t even think for a second I didn’t want you to have a relationship with them; you know I always encouraged that once we moved in with them; I guess I just hoped a bigger part of me would have lingered inside you when they started rolling their normal tricks. It didn’t matter how much I tried to correct your behavior or redirect your thinking; you’d always go back to them.

“I'm done trying, Camden. You can have the distance you want. It breaks my heart and you'll always be my baby, but I deserve better than this. I deserve better from you.”

Camden stands and approaches the bars, eyes leaking tears that are far from the first to seep into the cement floors down here. “You don't know what it's like, mom.”

“Whatwhat'slike, Camden? To be physically and mentally abused for years? To have to pretend like you're worth nothing just to get by day-to-day? To live with nothing and act like you're happy about it? No. What you don't understand is all the goddess damned privilege you've been given. Maybe I coddled you too much, tried too hard to make you like me when I realized my other tactics weren’t working, but that ends now.

“You've never wanted to know the truth about your fathers, never let me tell you my side. Well, now you're going to hear it. And since you're back there and I'm out here, you're going to listen.

“We moved out of the shelter and in with them because they made us. They rejected me when they found out I was pregnant with you, because they didn't want to see me get fat.

“From the day they met me, they were with other women. Even after they bit me and claimed me, they were with women daily. I had to feel every time they slept with somebody else through the bond, and it drove me mad.

“But I stayed. And you know why? Because ofyou. When they came and took you, I gave up everything to follow them because pack law didn’t grant me any parental rights to withhold you from them.

“Maybe you don't remember a whole lot about our life at the shelter, goddess knows you never went back once they gave you the big screen TV and the giant bed. But that was our home. Humble beginnings where people actually cared about us.

“I wanted you to get settled in what I knew would be your new life, and I had to wait out my contract with your fathers to even be allowed to take you back to the shelter, but at that point, you didn’t have any interest in it; you never went back to visit, and I always had to make excuses for everyone that asked after you. They were counting down with me until you turned 16, knowing how much it meant to me that we could potentially be together again without all the toxic bullshit your fathers love to bring to every relationship they sustain.

“You are better than this,” she tells Camden, “and honestly, I think you deserve to stay here for a while. You went along with every scheme they did, and how dare you not look out for me. When you turned 16 you had the power to protect me, and you didn't. instead, you started to demand things of me, just like them. So don't ask me to protect you now.

“They've done nothing but abuse me and manipulate from day one. They gaslit me, they made me feel like shit and they took everything from me.Everything. This heat I was in? They drugged me. Repeatedly. And that wasafterIvan abducted me from the shelter and kicked my ribs hard enough to break them. The wolves standing with me now are the type of men you should have been emanating. You'd do well to take note.”

“You can't actually be moving in with them, mom. That's... embarrassing.”

“Your mate is actively looking for other situations.That'sembarrassing.” She turns back to Brooklyn. “I want to say I brought you here so I could show you exactly why I deserved to have a good pack behind me, but I found so much more. I'm hoping my son comes to his senses, but in the meantime, you have a mother-in-law if you want one, okay? And you are absolutely correct; you do deserve more than they’re giving you. Don’t make the same mistakes I did, don’t you dare settle.”

“You know I was coming onto your men, right?” Brooklyn asks in disbelief, always far too honest for her own good.

Lark waves her off. “It’s always important to look beneath the surface, because you never know what somebody's going through. Empathy will get you everywhere.” And then she starts walking off, taking us with her and giving Brooklyn the option to stay and talk to Camden if she wants.

“What about us, Lark?” her exes call out.

In response she flips them off and keeps walking, asking us to give our contact info to Brooklyn if she does want to talk.

“How long do you think they’ll stay in there?” she asks when we’re climbing the stairs back to the main part of the Alpha House once more.

“Yeah, we're not going rush to figure that out,” I say as I laugh under my breath.

Because it's absolutely imperative that I do, I herd Lark into an empty office space, making sure to lock the door behind my brother.

I don't even give her time to ask what my plans are, I simply proclaim them by lifting her up, pinning her against the door, and kissing her senselessly. “Been too long since we did this, and you were so sexy down there,” I say against her perfect mouth. “I know it's not easy to face them—”

“It's easier when they're stuck in a dog kennel and I'm not,” she laughs, but I know it's still hard for her.

“Either way,” Blake says, “we're proud of you. Proud of you for standing up to Camden, for reaching out to help somebody that did nothing to earn it from you. You're incredible.”

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