Page 53 of To Keep A Wolf
Her words ring out into the silence, and the potency in them, the certainty in her, stops me from calling bullshit.
Her eyes are hard and knowing. More secrets, then.
“What does it mean?” I ask.
She sighs. “Before you lose your shit, you should know I didn’t learn this part until after you left.” She glances at Tripp and frowns. “Escaped,” she amends.
“What exactly does it mean, Vicki?” my father’s voice is like steel; enough so that she flinches as she drags her gaze to his.
“She and Levi are fated,” my mother tells him.
He nods. “Yes, I can sense that. But they’re not mated yet. Not claimed.”
“No. Jadick manipulated Mac into rejecting Levi. Again,” my mother adds and then gives him a pointed look that suggests he should know the significance of her explanation.
“Reject, accept, reject,” he repeats.
She nods, the hardness in her expression dissolving into what looks like sorrow.
The bathroom door opens, and Levi emerges amid a cloud of steam that escapes with him. Dressed in only a pair of low-slung gym shorts, he runs a hand through his wet hair. My eyes dart to his bared chest. Even in a charged moment such as this one, I can’t ignore the attraction I feel.
Reject, accept, reject.
She’s right. That’s what I’ve done to him. My heart pangs as I realize it.
When I look back at my father, his brows are knitted as he attempts to work through the layers of whatever my mother is trying to tell him. Finally, he says, “Does this have to do with my parents?”
My mother nods. “And us, I’m afraid.”
My father doesn’t say a word. Instead, he simply raises his glass and empties it. When he sets it down again, he says, “Shit, Vicki.”
“What?” I ask. Something about his reaction has unsettled me. The anger I felt is gone, replaced by wariness. Whatever my mother’s claiming, it’s real; his stunned reaction leaves no doubt about that.
My mom looks back at me again. “When I first met your father and realized we were fated, I tried to resist. I don’t need to explain to any of you how hard the pack would make our lives if we tried to be together. So, I rejected him. But he persisted.” Her lips twitched toward a fond smile. “He convinced me, and when I finally accepted him, we ran away together.”
I take a step toward the table. “And you had me.”
Her honesty is enough to bring me back to the table, but it’s my father’s face as he watches her tell it that has me taking my seat again. This is the most vulnerable moment I’ve ever shared with either of them. If they care about the fact that Tripp and Levi are witnessing it, they don’t show it.
Neither of the guys say a word, though.
“And then Crigger sent people to hunt us,” my mom says. “To find me and bring me back so I could hunt down all his enemies. Just like my father did before me. Apparently, the price of being the best is job security—whether you want it or not.”
Her attempt at humor is too dark and horrible to be funny.
She goes on, “When they found us, your father and I did what we had to do to protect you. I considered leaving you here with him, but by then, Crigger knew you existed.”
“Why does that matter?” I ask. “I was a baby. Nothing to him.”
“You were mine,” she says. “And I knew he’d use you to control me if he could.”
“You were safer with her,” my father says.
“Safer among the violence and abuse of our pack?” I ask, unconvinced.
“Safer where Crigger could see Vicki’s loyalty to him went deeper than her devotion to you,” Levi says quietly.
I turn to look at him, surprised. And more surprised when my mother doesn’t disagree.
