Page 22 of Big Bad Wolf: B.B.W
The tears that fell from her eyes warmed my soul. She pulled me into a tight hug. I felt her knocking at my mind’s door, so I opened myself to hear her.
“I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too, Mommy. I’m so sorry I stayed away.”
My tears soaked the shoulder of her dress. I smiled when Orion handed me and my mother a facial tissue to wipe our tears.
“Um, Mommy, this is my boyfriend, Orion Leventis.”
My mother smiled, then crossed her arms over herself. I knew she was about to ask him something that would more than likely embarrass the hell out of me.
“Are you her boyfriend or her mate, Mr. Leventis?”
Orion’s eyes met my pleading ones. There was no need because lying was not a part of this man’s forte.
“Mrs. Summerville, I’m Elodie’s mate.”
My mother clapped her hands together with a little hop. “Oh my! This is so exciting. Please come in here.”
It was not surprising that my mother cooked lunch for us. She was an amazing cook and taught me everything I knew. I had cooked a couple things for Orion, but nothing to show the real extent of how well I could cook. My deluxe meals were for my husband.
“I wanted to make us lunch before we headed to the reservation hospital to see your father,” my mother said as she ushered us to the dining room table.
We sat down and had a light conversation over the best barbeque which was my mother’s specialty. Orion was bombarded with questions, and he answered each one of them honestly. I was surprised that she didn’t ask about his beast. It would come up at some point, but the question was when. The plan was to stay in town for a week. We originally booked a hotel, but my mother told Orion to cancel it because we were staying at the house. He did as he was told.
After lunch, we rode to the hospital together in the car service that Orion hired. The reservation hospital was where most of the Native American population went whether they lived on the reservation or not. If you had a beast, it was pretty much the only place that you could go.
It took us less than ten minutes to get up to my father’s room. My mother was the first to walk through the door. She had already told me and Orion that she hadn’t told my father that I was here.
“Baby, look who came to see you,” my mother said before I stepped into the room.
My father’s face lit up at the sight of me.
“My little eagle. Come here.” His arms opened to receive me.
I rushed over to my dad like I did when I was a little girl. Before I turned twelve, I was the epitome of a daddy’s girl. If he was somewhere, so was I. When I hit my teens, I wanted to be a teenager. When I shifted for the first time, I spent a lot of time with my parents to get the basics of how to handle my beast.
“Daddy, I missed you so much. Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?”
My father rubbed my hair. “Oh, little one. I don’t want you to worry about an old man who has lived a full life. Let me look at you.”
I stepped out of his hold to stand. I took a step back and spun around just like I did when I was smaller. It always made me feel so pretty because he showered me with compliments. This was the only show that I felt my father did that told me that he loved me. I don’t recall him ever just telling me flat out that he loved me.
“You are looking more and more like your beautiful mother. Mary, you gave birth to your twin with my eyes. He tittered at his words. My eyes matched my father’s light brown ones. When those brown eyes landed on Orion, I could tell he’d opened his gift. He said nothing for a few beats before he smiled.That has to be a good sign.
“How are you doing, Mr. Summerville? My name is Orion Leventis.” Orion stepped into my personal space, wrapped his arm around my waist, then pulled me into him. “I am Elodie’s mate.”
My father’s gaze traveled between all of us in the room. “Leventis? Any kin to the owners of the marketing firm that my daughter works for?”
His head dipped quickly. “Yes, sir. I am the owner, and my father is the founder of the firm. I met Elodie when I moved to the states a while ago.”
My father just smiled. “Well, you introduced yourself as her mate. Has your beast met my daughter’s?” After he confirmed that our beasts had met, my father smiled wider. “How did she react to your centaur beast?”
Orion’s eyes bulged. I chuckled softly at his reaction. He glared at everyone with puzzlement.
“How did you know that my beast was a centaur and not a wolf?”
“Your biggest worry when we made eye contact was whether I would accept your beast. You also hope that I will accept you as my daughter’s mate. Am I correct?” My father’s voice was firm and steady.
