Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Shock visibly ripples through Wilde at my words. “How did you–”
I throw my hands out in exasperation. “Because I know you!” Turning back to Logan, I say, “And you should know him, too. If you’re so blind you can’t see the hero your son is, or the fact that he was suffering living halfway across the country completely apart from all wolf culture, you don’t deserve to ride his success.”
“Enough, Rayne,” my mom cuts in sharply.
“No, it’s true. That’s what he’s doing. He doesn’t care about what Wilde wants. Or his happiness.”
“Is that true?” Logan’s voice has calmed. His eyes have returned to normal.
“Of course it’s true!” I exclaim.
“Rayne.” My mom makes a move toward me, but Wilde steps in front of her, blocking her path.
Her brows shoot up, but not in an angry way. More surprise. “Huh,” she says thoughtfully then looks at me.
I’m still desperate to fix my screw-up. “I drove Wilde’s Jeep. I was pissed at him for being bossy, and I started too fast. I hit the mailbox. Wilde came running out to rescue me. He was” –I flap a hand in the air– “more worried about my safety than he was about me wrecking the Jeep.” Tears spill down my cheeks.
Wilde makes a tiny growling sound in his throat, his nostrils flaring like he’s picking up their scent. He reaches an arm out to me. I guess we’re not going to pretend there’s distance between us. I step under it and let him pull me against his side protectively.
My mom and Logan both stare at us like they’re seeing us for the first time. Rewriting in their brains whatever they thought our relationship was before.
“Can we forget about the Jeep?” Weariness threads Wilde’s voice. “It was an accident, and I’m going to take care of it.”
Logan rubs a hand across his face. “Yeah.” His gaze slides to me, and I show my throat in wolf submission. “Obviously I would’ve preferred that you both be honest with me, but I guess I have a clear picture of what happened.” He pauses, then adds, “Thank you, Wilde, for taking responsibility for it.”
Wilde swallows and nods.
“Now do you want to tell me what really went down in South Carolina?”
“Rayne,” my mom says. “Come on. Let’s give them some privacy.”
Wilde squeezes my shoulder before he releases me, and I follow my mom out of the house and into her car.
“Where are we going?”
“To get fast food for dinner. I’m too starving to wait for them to finish to make something.”
A surreal sense of reality settles around me. Some shifting and reshaping of the patterns of our lives. Like I’ve just now realized that this is our new existence. Me and my mom living with Logan and Wilde–for as long as he and I are here, that is. We really are a new family, as Logan said. A fucked-up and weird but maybe semi-functional family.
I mean, until they find out Wilde and I have been fooling around in our bedroom.
“How was your honeymoon?” I ask, my thoughts finally pulling away from the drama we just left.
My mom smiles. She looks beautiful pregnant. Part of it is that she’s taking care of herself now. She used to just look worn down and tired. Before she got pregnant, she was too thin and she smoked like a chimney because cigarettes can’t hurt a shifter. But the moment she got knocked up with Logan’s pup, she quit smoking. She started to take an interest in her appearance. All her hard edges softened along with her body.
“It was wonderful.”
“Where did you go?”
She grins. “To a resort in Scottsdale. We didn’t leave the bedroom the whole–”
“Ew, Mom. Please. No TMI.”
We both laugh.
I realize my mom and I haven’t had a conversation that was just between the two of us since Wilde got here. I’ve missed her. But I also love this new version of her.
I believed she had worked on her appearance and made herself into something she wasn’t to please Logan–to make herself worthy, but suddenly a different thought occurs to me. Maybe the changes are a result of being cared for. Being loved.
I had an intense dislike for Logan at first, but I have to admit that he’s pretty damn sweet to my mom. I’m watching her come alive with him.
I feel left out and sometimes jealous of the loss of her attention, but at least she seems happy. I can’t begrudge her that, can I?
Maybe my mom was just starved for attention and kindness by this community. All she needed was a little bit of affection to bloom.
“Rayne,” my mom says softly. “I know this has been a rough transition.”
“It’s fine, Mom.” I try to head her off.
“Let me talk, honey. It’s a big change for you. For all of us. And you’ve been an absolute trooper. I appreciate it, and I’m sorry if I haven’t been there for–”