Page 120 of Pack Owned
“Mom, you’re coming with us. We have a place for you—a cabin where you’ll be safe. You’ll never have to look over your shoulder again.” The words pour out of me. “It’s beautiful there. And I can come and visit you. There’s enough room that you can set up a painting studio like you always wanted.”
My gaze drifts down to her broken arm and fury burns through me again. It’s good that my Alphas are teaching Gary a lesson cause I don’t think I could stop punching him.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to be a burden.”
“Ryker, Dane, Liam, and I—we’re your family now. And we take care of our own. You’ve taken care of me, now let me do the same for you.”
“A-And you have three Alphas?”
My blush spreads across my face, but I nod. “Yeah.”
“They’re very handsome. And I can tell they love you.”
“Wha—”
“Each of them looks at you the way your father used to look at me.” She hiccups a sob. “God, Kayla, I miss him so much.”
“I miss him too.” For a while, we just hug each other. Then I pull back, looking into her blue eyes. “Let’s go home, Mom. Our real home.”
“Yes. I-I can’t stay here any longer.”
“Let me help you pack.” There was nothing here I wanted except the mementos of my dad I had stashed away in my room. After I help Mom load up a suitcase, I take a small one and gather my things. Jewelry from Mom and Dad, a few of my favorite clothes, my pink lipstick, and my first small tool set my dad got me with I was six. Tears burn my eyes, but I brush them away. I know my dad would be proud of me and he’d love Dane, Liam, and Ryker.
“Miss you, Daddy,” my voice is hoarse, throat tightening.
I check on Mom who is brushing out her hair and I help her since she can’t use her dominant arm because of the past. Gary’s cologne clogs my throat and I choke back a gag.
“Kayla, are you all right?” Mom asks, her blue eyes widening.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” I straighten my shoulders. Gary can’t touch me ever again. “Have everything you need?”
She nods.
“Kayla?” Ryker calls out from the front of the house.
“In here,” I call out.
“We’re ready whenever you two are. No rush. We’ll be in the car.”
The sound of water running in the kitchen echoes and I know it’s Dane, Liam, and Ryker probably washing off the evidence of them beating Gary up so it doesn’t freak my mom out. So I stall,double-checking that she got Dad and her wedding pictures and then asking to see them.
When the water shuts off and the front door closes, I wait until she gets to the last picture before we add it to her suitcase.
“Everything will be better now, Mom. I promise.”
She pats my arm with her good hand and kisses my cheek. “With you back in my life, I know it will.”
As we walk out, I don’t look back. The past is done, and I’m not afraid of demons anymore.
CHAPTER 39
KAYLA
Amonth’s flown by, and here we are, my Alphas and I having dinner with Mom in her new home—Ryker’s cabin. The scent of cooking lasagna and garlic.
“Kayla, honey, set the table,” Mom says. There’s a new brightness to her like she’s shedding years with each moment spent away from Gary.
Plus Gary, after a long hospital stay, filed for divorce and paid Mom a hefty spousal one-time payment. Enough that she never has to work in the back-breaking diner ever again or anywhere else. But I know my stepdad didn’t have any money cause it all went to booze.
