Mom’s lips were pressed into a thin line. She hugged her arms around herself as she watched me, those emerald eyes eerily observant. “I think I do.”
“You do?” I echoed weakly.
Sighing, she looked down at our feet. “I messed up, baby.”
That caught my attention. “How did you mess up? Breakfast was awesome. I’m the one—”
She held up a hand. “Skye, this has nothing to do with breakfast and everything with me being a shitty mom.”
My jaw dropped. “Mom!”
Remy came around behind me, his presence at my back a grounding reassurance that I wasn’t alone. One hand rested on my hip, the light touch centering me.
Mom leaned against the wall across from my door, looking so much older than her thirty-six years. “Honey, the things you saw growing up … the things that happened to you …” She let out a long breath and looked up at the ceiling. “I should have taken you away from there long before last year.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and Remy’s hand tightened on my waist. “I thought we covered this awhile ago, Mom. I don’t blame you.”
“Maybe I still blame myself, honey,” she admitted softly. “At least you had a new environment at Granite Peak,” she went on, shaking her head, “but now it’s like being back … there. Of course you’re going to feel overwhelmed.”
“Mom, that’s not … I don’t …”
I had no idea how to explain myself without revealing the real cause of my freak out a few minutes earlier. It had nothing to do with my past or Long Mesa and everything to do with the fact that I felt like I was losing my mind.
Especially where Remy was concerned.
“I don’t blame you,” I said finally. “And I’m really okay. It’s just … nerves. But I’m going to walk into that school with Remy, Larkin, Katy, Rhodes … all of my friends. My pack. I’m not alone anymore, Mom.”
She nodded at me slowly, but I could still see the swell of tears gathering at her lashes. One blink and they would fall.
Remy shifted closer behind me, his chest brushing against my back. I leaned into the familiar, sheltering warmth of him. His hands settling on me, his strength at my back, was the calming agent I needed.
“Skye isn’t alone anymore, Addie,” he said softly but firmly. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“I know,” she replied, gratitude in her voice. “I’m glad she has you now. But it doesn’t change the fact that I failed her for most of her life.”
I opened my mouth to tell her she was wrong, but Remy cut me off.
“Maybe,” he agreed gently, “but you were as much a victim as Skye was. At least Skye had you looking out for her. You didn’t have your mom or anyone looking out for you. I think we can all agree that you did the best you could, and you got her out when it counted.”
Mom pressed a hand over her mouth, trapping a strangled sob there. The tears spilled over.
Remy’s hand slid around my hip and splayed flat against my stomach, his arm tight around me.
“Thank you for saving Skye,” he told her. “You saved my mate, and that’s a debt I’ll never be able to repay.”
“Take care of our girl,” Mom told him, her voice surprisingly fierce, “and we’ll call it even.”
“Always,” he vowed, loosening his hold on me so I could step forward and pull my mom into my arms.
Mom broke down, crying against me. Remy slipped around from behind me, briefly resting a hand on my mom’s back and meeting my eyes over her shoulder.
His eyes flickered to the front door down the hall, and I nodded in reply. I would meet him there in a minute, but right now Mom and I needed this moment alone together to heal a few of the scars that were still bleeding.
He gave me a tight smile, his dark eyes full of compassion and love as he stepped away and headed for the front door to give us privacy.
After several long minutes, her tears quieted and she pulled back. She wiped at the damp spot on my shoulder. “Dammit, you’ll need to change. I messed up your shirt.”
“It’ll dry,” I replied, not really giving a damn about my shirt.
She glanced back down the hallway before giving me a watery smile. “You’ve got a pretty amazing guy there.”
Warmth spread in my chest, but I tried to play it off with a shrug. “I guess I’ll keep him for now.”
That caused her to chuckle, which made me smile.
“I can stay home if you want,” I offered quietly. “We can hang out and talk or whatever.”
She reached up, cupping my cheek with a soft hand. “My beautiful, brave girl,” she murmured, her bright green eyes mirroring mine. “I do think we need to talk more. We haven’t really talked about what happened in Long Mesa much, and I don’t think it’s helping either of us by burying everything.”
As much as I wanted to never think about what happened back in that hellhole, I knew she was right. Remy had been telling me for a while now that suppressing things wasn’t healthy.
“I agree,” I answered.
“But for today? You need to go to school and have the best first day of your life.” She smiled at me, her petite nose wrinkling. “And then I want to hear all about it tonight.”
“Sounds great, Mom.”
She reached over and kissed my cheek. “Now go before I change my mind and decide to never let you leave my sight again.”
With a laugh, I ducked away and headed for my room. I grabbed my backpack from the floor and headed for the front door. I breezed through the kitchen where Mom was cleaning up our mostly untouched breakfast. I snagged a couple of waffles and wrapped them in a paper towel.
“Bye, Mom.”
“Have a good day, honey.”
We grinned at each other, loving this small little slice of normal.
The smile was still on my lips when I turned to see Remy waiting for me at the front door. He opened the door for me and we walked out into the hallway.
As soon as the door closed, I spun and wrapped my arms around his neck. His arms came around me in a hug that left me feeling loved and safe.
“I love you,” I said, pulling back so I could look into his eyes when I said it.
His gaze dropping to my lips for a second was the only warning I got before his mouth crashed down onto mine. His lips coaxed mine open, his tongue stroking into my mouth, exploring and caressing as his hands framed my face.
Breathless and dizzy, I stepped back.
“I love you, too,” he replied, lacing his fingers with mine and tugging me down the hall.
19
For the next month, normal was exactly what I got. Or at least something that was sort of like normal for me.
I went to school, did my homework, hung out with my friends, managed to steal a few moments with Remy, and even started working part time at the diner with my mom. Winter slush started to melt into little patches of green. I hung out with Larkin, and sometimes Katy. The more time that slipped by with Maren being gone, the more withdrawn Katy became, which I knew had Remy and his parents worried.
Carving out time with Remy had proven tricky, especially now that we didn’t live under the same roof. He still came and picked me up for school every morning, and we had almost every class together, but evenings and weekends usually involved him and his father prepping for the upcoming Spring Summit meeting that was scheduled in a couple weeks.
I wasn’t looking forward to Remy being in Wyoming, where the meeting was being held this year, for two weeks. Especially since my birthday fell in the middle of the event. But at least he would come home and be free for the rest of the year. We could celebrate when he got home, finish out our senior year, and focus on college for the fall.
I still couldn’t believe I had sent off my college applications the week before. What was once a completely unrealistic dream was now becoming a very definite reality.
I closed my English Lit book the same time the front door closed, signaling Mom was home from her Friday day shift, w
hich was a freaking relief, because I was more than ready to go. I shoved the book away and got to my feet, fully prepared to ignore the looming midterms until Sunday when I got back home.
The Holts had invited us for dinner at their house, and I was planning on having a sleepover with Katy tonight … which basically translated to a sleepover with Remy. There was a scheduled pack run for Saturday night, which I was looking forward to. Aside from a few shifts here and there, my wolf hadn’t gotten out much, and I definitely hadn’t been able to run with Remy.
Gabe had called a pack council meeting for today, which meant Remy wasn’t in school as he, his father and the council prepped for the upcoming Summit and their absences from the pack.
Mallory was supposed to go with them, but she wasn’t sure about leaving Katy in charge of the twins right now considering Katy wasn’t exactly in the best headspace.
“Skye, I’m home!” Mom yelled. I heard the jingle of keys hitting the kitchen counter.
I was already headed into the hallway. “Great, I’m ready to go.”
Mom stopped in the middle of the kitchen and shook her head. “Am I allowed to shower first?”
My wolf whined impatiently inside me, and I felt her exasperation on a soul deep level. We hadn’t seen or talked to Remy in almost two days now outside of a couple text messages.
I sighed. “I guess.”
“Gee, thanks,” Mom said, her voice thick with sarcasm as she walked by me. “Maybe you can keep studying while I’m getting ready?”
Now I groaned. “I’ve been studying since I got home from school.”
“And another thirty minutes won’t kill you,” she retorted over her shoulder as she headed for the bathroom between our bedrooms.
“Thirty minutes?” I whined. Yes, a full blown whine of teenage angst at being denied being with my boyfriend for another half an hour.
She paused outside the bathroom and threw me a look. “I guess I could always call Mallory and tell her that tonight isn’t a good night—”
“No, no,” I quickly interrupted, heading for my bedroom to unearth the book I had just vowed not to touch until Sunday. “I’ll wait.”
With a smirk, Mom closed the bathroom door and a few seconds later the shower started.
I managed to read exactly one paragraph in the thirty-two minutes she took to get ready. I loved English and books and reading in general. I was even considering becoming an English teacher when I went to college because I was so passionate about reading.
But I had also come to realize that the fastest way to stamp out any form of love of reading on a teenager was forcing them to read classical literature.
School had been a pretty lax term in Long Mesa. Honestly, it was more like self-learning than being taught. The teachers were untrained, worn down, or afraid of Cassian and his friends. Sometimes a combination of all three. It didn’t make for the best instructors.
I had taught myself to love books with a limited library selection at the school. I had read every book in there, and saved every tattered book that was tossed into the garbage can by Mrs. Lewis, our librarian/English teacher/History teacher. Those books I took home and tried to patch back together for my own collection.
Long Mesa didn’t have a library outside of the school, and if any shifters in the pack read books, they definitely weren’t donated to the omega house. I cobbled together my own library and hoarded them in my room, those fictional worlds often my only escape.
Blackwater had its own town library outside of the school. There were programs designed to encourage children and adults to read, plus I had the ereader that Remy had gifted me. I adored my books.
But I did not adore reading a lot of the required books for classes, even if I did relate to Hester Prynne on a lot of levels.
First thing I would change if I became a teacher was the reading curriculum.
My mate, however, was a different story. He loved the classics, as was evident by the worn copy of The Grapes of Wrath he set down on the front steps as we pulled up in front of the Alpha house.
He walked through the pickup soccer game his twin brothers, Dax and Sam, had going on and was opening my door before Mom had the car in park. A second later he reached in and pulled me from the car, tucking me into his arms before Mom could kill the ignition.
“You’re late,” he muttered, inhaling my scent with his nose pressed to my throat.
“Mom took forever to get ready,” I lamented, loud enough for her to hear while I wrapped my arms around his neck. I leaned my head back and tossed a grin her way.
She closed her door as Remy lifted his head and gave her a smile.
“Hey, Addie,” he greeted.
“Remy,” she replied wryly, rolling her eyes. “I’m assuming your parents are inside?”
“Mom’s in the kitchen. Dad’s on the deck with the grill,” he confirmed.
I lifted my brows. “Is that safe?”
One thing Gabriel Holt and I had in common was neither of us could cook. Gabe was frequently ordered out of the kitchen by his mate.
Remy smirked at me. “I unhooked the gas. He has no idea. I told Mom I would handle the grill tonight.”
“Smart,” Mom added with a laugh. She gave us a wave and walked around the soccer game to head inside.
Remy’s arms tightened around me as he lifted me off my feet in a giant hug a second before claiming my mouth with his.
My lips fell open, helpless against his assault on my mouth until the identical sounds of his brothers gagging brought me back to the present.
He exhaled through his nose as he set me back on my feet. He anchored an arm around my waist, pinning us front to front. This close I could see the golden flecks in his dark eyes as they glittered with laughter and annoyance.
“Remind me to banish my brothers when I’m Alpha,” he told me, making his tone loud enough for them to hear.
I glanced over his shoulder to where their gagging had turned to laughter. “Nah. They’re your brothers. We can’t banish them.”
Dax smirked at us, tossing the soccer ball in the air before catching it.
“But they would make incredible deltas,” I added.
Dax’s smile dropped, his mouth going slack. Sam blinked and looked from his twin to me.
Deltas weren’t something we’d had in Long Mesa. I had learned since joining Blackwater that only larger packs had them since they were a bit of a rarity.
Deltas traditionally were higher up than regular pack members, but not at the level of a beta. Deltas usually served the Alpha family in some way either within the pack or in the Alpha house. Some were bodyguards, drivers, or staff that helped with the upkeep and running of the Alpha household or assisting betas.
“You wouldn’t,” Dax muttered, but there was uncertainty in his tone. If not for Remy, Dax would likely be Alpha after Gabe. He was definitely beta material, as was his twin. Deltas were more submissive than betas, and the Holt twins were definitely not the submissive types.
Hell, no one in the Holt family could be called submissive.
“Guess we’ll find out,” Remy shot back, glancing back at his brothers and giving them a pointed glare.
Silently fuming, the twins turned as a unit and stalked away towards the back of the house.
Remy turned to me with a wicked grin. He licked his lips slowly, the movement drawing my eyes back to his full mouth. “Now where were we?”
He lowered his head, but I turned my head at the last second so his lips landed on my cheek.
“You were about to tell me how Katy is,” I replied, ignoring the heat wave that swept my body as his mouth simply moved across my cheek to my throat.
He frowned against me, growling softly. “No, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t going to mention my sister at all for the next ten minutes.”
My brows rose. “Ten whole minutes, huh?”
His head snapped up. Something dark and seductive flashed in his eyes that had me biting my lower lip. My stomach clenched in ant
icipation, suddenly forgetting I had a best friend who I needed to check on.
“There’s parents around so ten minutes is probably all we’ll get,” he told me, his voice more husky. A hand slipped under the back of my shirt, the rough texture of his calloused hands stroking the small of my back. “But tonight …”
I shivered in his arms as his mouth kissed across my jaw. His teeth nipped lightly at my neck, scraping against my skin. After placing several hot, open mouthed kisses along my neck, he pulled back and hesitated by my lips.
With a sharp breath, I rolled to my tiptoes and pressed my mouth to his, needing to taste his lips on mine. I could feel him smiling against me for a brief second, letting me be the one to initiate contact, before he demanded control of the kiss, tangling a hand in my hair and tilting my head just where he wanted for the best access.
I moaned softly into his mouth as I completely gave in to his kiss, forgetting Katy entirely.
I was a shitty friend.
Someone coughed behind us. I opened my eyes and pulled away to see Katy standing there in torn jeans and a flannel shirt, her long red hair pulled up in a ponytail and brows arched expectantly.
Okay, I was also a busted friend.
“Hey,” I said lamely, offering a wiggle of my fingers from where they were perched on Remy’s broad shoulders. I could feel my cheeks turning red.
“Can you stop molesting my friend now?” Katy directed the question at her brother.
“Can you stop interrupting me with my girlfriend?” he countered with a grimace.
She gave him a saccharine sweet smile. “I would, but Dad asked me to come out and get you. He can’t get the grill to turn on. I guess you’ll have to unhand my best friend now.”
“You guys realize I’m standing right here, don’t you?” I finally chimed in, my voice thick with sarcasm.
Remy’s eyes turned to me. “Definitely hadn’t forgotten that.” He finished the sentence by dragging his knuckles along my spine as he pulled his hand out from under my shirt.
I bit back a groan of protest when he stepped away from me and headed for the house. Remy must have read my mind because he glanced back over his shoulder before opening the front door.
Prey (Blackwater Pack Book 2) Page 17