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Claiming The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 2 67
“Night told me you didn’t have an easy time when you were pregnant with him,” I said. “Was this soup something you ate a lot back then?”“Oh, yes. That boy was an even bigger pain back then, and he wasn’t even born yet.” She chuckled to herself. “Those were some of the hardest months of my life, and this soup was pretty much the only thing I ate besides bananas, peanut butter, and pickles.”“I see.” I made mental notes as she cooked the soup. When it was bubbling on the stove, she had me taste it. I found the broth rich and filling, with the peanut butter adding an interesting complexity to the flavor.She fixed us each a bowl, and we ate at the table. The cabin felt warm and happy and full of potential. While Violet entertained me with stories of Night’s childhood, I thought again about the ritual and my baby. I was so close to learning more about my birth parents, and I couldn’t wait.Chapter 21NightI caught the savory scent of dinner even before stepping into the cabin. As delici
Claiming The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 2 68
Instead of responding to that, I asked, “What did you mean when you said you were getting things ready for tonight?”“I’m sure Bryn will tell you. It’s not anything you didn’t already know.” She patted my cheek. “See you then, son.”I closed the door behind her and returned to Bryn. “What are you and Mom doing tonight?”She smiled brightly at me. “There’s a ritual that will help me learn more about my birth mother. We’re doing it tonight!”Her smile was so sweet that it took me a few seconds to comprehend what she’d just told me. “Wait, you’re doing that tonight?”She nodded. “Isn’t that awesome?” But her smile slowly disappeared when she saw me frowning. “You don’t seem happy.”“Mom told me about that ritual. She said she needed to make sure it would be safe.”“Well, I guess she made sure it was safe. She wouldn’t have suggested it to me otherwise, would she?”She was right, but frustration swarmed my chest. “How could you make that decision without talking to me about it first?”Whe
Claiming The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 2 69
“Elder Sage is right,” Mom said. “Bryn, step into the circle when you’re ready.”“Right.” Bryn started walking toward it, but I pulled her back.“Just a minute,” I said. Elder Sage seemed displeased but didn’t say anything as I pulled Bryn aside.“Are you nervous?” she asked.“Aren’t you?” I pushed her hair behind her ear and bent so I could talk to her at eye level. “Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?”She kissed the corner of my mouth, then looked up at me with love blazing in her eyes. “I haven’t been this sure about something since the first time we made love,” she whispered.The kiss, followed by the memory of that first night, seared through me. Yet, it still seemed so unsafe. “Everything in me is screaming at me not to let you go in that circle,” I told her.“I know you want to protect us,” she said, her hand on her belly. “But Night, you can’t protect me from this. This will answer so many of my questions about who I am. I need to do this.”I let out a long breath. I
Claiming The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 2 70
My hands rubbed my stomach in slow circles. I didn’t have control over this body, so my mother was moving on her own. It was almost like she knew I was here somehow and was trying to show me as much as she could.Suddenly, the sound of footsteps running toward me permeated my mind. A little boy, maybe six or seven years old, sprint my way. One hand stayed on my belly as the boy got close. I hadn’t expected to hear my mother’s voice, but I felt her mouth open. I would have felt a shiver of anticipation had I been able to shiver.“My, you’re in a hurry, aren’t you?” she said as a smile spread across my face. She had a slow, smooth voice, like a fresh honeycomb pulled from the hive. It was easy to listen to, which made me wonder if she had been a good singer.The boy nodded. He couldn’t immediately answer her because he was still panting from his sprint. His black hair was an adorable mess. She chuckled and tried to pat the unruly locks into a more presentable style, but it didn’t work.
Claiming The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 2 71
My mother accepted his hand and shook it. “A deal is a deal,” she said with a smile. “She’ll be by your side the entire time, and I can’t wait to watch the two of you grow up.”The scene shifted suddenly. The membrane I was looking through began to shift and shimmer, obscuring my view of Night. When it cleared again, I was standing in a kitchen. My mother was holding a warm mug of ginger mint tea as she stared out of the window above the sink. It was impossible to tell the true color of the sky through the gray haze, but given the sun’s position, it looked like it was approaching dusk.Heavy footsteps entered the kitchen, and a pair of strong, muscular arms wrapped around my mother from behind. She leaned back against the man’s chest, and he kissed the side of her neck, his hands on her belly.My heartbeat quickened. Was this my father?“How are my sweet girls doing?” he asked. His voice was even deeper than Night’s, almost just a growl.“We’re happy and healthy,” she said. “How is my
Claiming The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 2 72
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, pulling her into his arms before leaping through the window into the cool night air. He hit the ground and started sprinting with her clutched in his arms.As he ran, my vision finally cleared of that staticky haze, but he was moving so fast, I couldn’t tell where exactly we were. The most I could tell was that the land smelled like King territory.The minute I realized this, I understood that this was the night my mother died. I wasn’t expecting to see it so soon, and I didn’t know if I was ready to see what had happened. At the same time, I knew I couldn’t look away. I needed to know what had happened to them. I owed them that much.My father sprinted into the woods, with King wolves not far behind. My mother cried out as pain rammed into her, her muscles contracting. Her water had broken, and her body throbbed as the baby—me—started to push through. I wished I could tell myself to hold off. This was the worst time to go into labor, but the stress of the si
Claiming The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 2 73
I shook my head. It was a good suggestion, but neither of those options worked for me because they involved me leaving Bryn. I wasn’t about to let her out of my sight for a second. I ran my hands through my hair and tried to think of something else I could do to stop obsessing so much over Bryn’s well-being.And then a thought occurred to me. I hadn’t talked to the Kings’ elders about the children who’d disappeared. Now was the perfect opportunity to ask them what they remembered. It wasn’t the happiest of topics to bring up, but the questions I had about the disappearances were relevant enough to hold my interest.I took a few calming breaths, then walked over to them. They were talking to Elder Woods about something. Whatever it was had their full attention, but when they noticed me nearing them, they stopped talking. I might have found that suspicious under different circumstances, but I didn’t care.“I have a few questions for you three,” I said.“Yes?” Elder Queene asked.“Do you
Claiming The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 2 74
“The air was heavy with sadness ten years ago,” Elder Woods murmured. “The other elders and I…we suspected something had happened with the King pack, but we weren’t sure what.” She looked at the Kings’ elders with tears shimmering in her eyes. “Such a great loss as that…I cannot even fathom the toll it must have taken on these wolves.”“We appreciate that you can empathize with our tragedy, Elder Woods,” Elder Queene said. “Likewise, I hope you can understand that we had little to do with Gregor and Troy’s distaste for you and your people.”“Of course.”Elder Forsythe inclined his head in thanks. In response, Elder Woods patted his shoulder.I hadn’t planned for there to be any interaction between the Warg and King elders, but it warmed me to see them get along—not just from an emotional standpoint but from a political one as well. This connection could help bond the two packs.“Night,” Elder Sage’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “It is honorable for you to look into this, but od
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