Page 103 of His White Moonlight
I accepted her forehead kiss and waited for the door to close before I quietly cried for the lie my childhood had been.My feelings fluctuated between anger and self-pity.
The reason why Mom and Dad had never let me come home, even when I said how much I hated school, was clearer now.A hurt part of me whispered that they’d safely locked me away until I was old enough to be Bennett’s mate.But I knew them better than that.By sending me away, they’d given me a measure of freedom from his possessiveness while I grew up.Unfortunately, I hadn’t been safe where they’d sent me.
I’d kept silent, stupidly believing I wasn’t wanted.If I’d been honest with them about what had been happening instead of thinking they’d kicked me out because Bennett and I couldn’t get along, maybe things would have gone a lot differently.
I didn’t hate them.But I wasn’t sure I could forgive them either.
As I lay there, I realized I was at one of those pivotal moments in life where I had a choice to make, and what I chose would irrevocably impact the path my life would take.I could choose to hold onto my anger and hurt indefinitely, or I could accept that the choices they’d made up until now had hurt me and move on.Accepting didn’t mean forgiving.It just meant I wouldn’t let their decisions continue to define my life.
Closing my eyes, I got to work on accepting all the bits of my past with the new understanding that their concern for me had been as Bennett’s future mate and not their daughter.I also began to come to terms with how hurt they would be when I rejected him and walked away from them all.
Grandma returned a few hours later with a light knock on the door and a bowl of ice cream in her hands.
“Double-chocolate with bits of other things that looked good,” she said.“Want a bite?”
I sat up in bed and accepted the bowl.
“Aiden and Karter are worried.Your parents, too.You should answer them.”
I glanced at my phone on the nightstand but didn’t reach for it.Grandma did.She had no problem unlocking it and opening my messages.She frowned, and I quickly ate a spoonful of ice cream.
“Their messages are missing.I see your mom and dad, but not Aiden and Karter.”
She looked at me, and I shrugged.
I watched her inhale, gauging my mood.She wouldn’t find much.I’d tucked away everything I could.A bit of sadness lingered, but that would fade in time, too, as I regrouped.
Did finding out why the Wulfs had taken me in change my perception of everything?Yes.Did it hurt?Immeasurably.But it hadn’t changed my goals; it solidified them.
“What time is it?”I asked when she said nothing.
“Almost dinner.Are you hungry for something more than ice cream?”
“Not really.”
“How about taking my old bones for a walk around the neighborhood then?I’ve been sitting too long, I think.We can walk past Duneklin’s place and bend the mailbox flag.”
I shook my head at her, amused despite myself.
“He’ll know it was you.”
“That’s what makes it even better.He won’t be able to do a damn thing about it.”
Her antagonistic attitude toward the elder Duneklin had something to do with a pack run incident when Grandpa was still alive.She never gave the details, but always said he deserved it.
“Fine, I’ll take you to terrorize the neighbors, but you take all the blame.”
“That’s a given,” she said, grinning.
I didn’t bother changing since my pajamas were just a pair of shorts and a tank top.Everything that needed covering was covered.So I followed her out of the room and down the stairs.
Bennett waited at the bottom, watching me with an intensity that had me sidestepping partially behind Grandma.He frowned at me.
Grandma turned to look at me questioningly, too.
“Don’t ever give me anything again without my permission,” I said.
He didn’t respond, just stared at me.
