by V. Vaughn
"You're welcome. Doing nice things for you is easy, Jayden. You're my baby—" She glances down at her plate. "You're my daughter and the person I love most in the world."
She always gets me when she's contrite, and I lean down so she can see me smile at her. "I love you too, Rosemary."
After breakfast, I do laundry and other household chores while I digest my food, and then I get ready for my run. There's a lovely path in the woods where Alex and Byron like to go, and when I walk through the kitchen to head out the back door, I pass by my mother, who is reading a book. She looks up from it. "My hair appointment is at eleven, so I should be home in time to help you around one."
"Perfect. Thanks."
The gears of my mind start working the moment I'm outside. It's ten now, which means she'll be leaving in just under an hour. Chances are good she's going to make a phone call or two before she goes, and I want to eavesdrop on one. I decide I'll take a quick jog and sneak back in the house from the front undetected.
The temperature drops once I enter tree cover, giving me relief from the warm summer sun. I run slowly to warm up my muscles and work out the kinks. Exercise is not necessarily my thing the way it is for Alisha, but I do know that it's something I need to do to stay healthy. According to Alex, once I become a werewolf, I'm going to want to run as a wolf because it's as vital to life as breathing. I think about what it must be like to do this as a sleek animal. Being faster and more agile with heightened senses must be amazing. As my breathing gets heavier, I also imagine that it will be nice to enjoy this like a kid instead of having to talk myself into not walking instead. After about a mile, I turn around to head home.
When I get to where I started, I stay on the main trail in the forest for a little longer so that I end up exiting in the neighbor's yard, so my mother won't see me by accident. I walk along the edge of their lawn behind tree cover and to the street. Sweat is trickling down my face when I reach my front walkway, and I swipe it away as I tug the door open slowly. I slip inside as quietly as I can, and a grin covers my face when I hear my mother's voice. She's agitated.
"I'm telling you the truth!” She pauses and then adds, “I already told you. I don’t have pictures. I don’t know what else I can do to make you believe me."
I inhale sharply and hold my breath. There's only one thing I can think of that would make her say what she did. She's figured out this town is full of werewolves!
My mother continues, "I may not be a doctor like you are, but I know it's worth more than what I'm asking. Don't make me find another buyer."
Oh my god! She's selling the information too. My stomach drops as I recall what Juliet told me about the government going after werewolves. Ice runs through my veins as I imagine Alex, Juliet, and all the members of the Smokey Falls pack I’ve become close to in cages in a research lab. My hands clench into fists as I picture Alex fighting men trying to hold him down for some invasive procedure.
Every protective instinct I’ve got rushes forward, and panic grips my heart. My chest heaves as rage fills me. My mom has done a few things that come close to crossing the line when she's in need of money, but this is going too far. Her betrayal slices through me, and I reach over and slam the door shut so hard a picture falls to the floor. Glass shatters. I ignore it to stomp into the kitchen.
Rosemary's wide eyes tell me all I need to know. I caught her.
“Put. The. Phone. Down,” I spit out.
Rosemary’s voice shakes as she says, "Ted, I'm going to have to get back to you.” Her phone clicks off. “Jayden. What’s going on?”
"That was an interesting call." My hands ball into fists at my side. "You know, I had a feeling you were up to something, and I really wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt like Alex suggested.” I think about how he's completely snowed by her charm, and I shake my head as the humiliation of being deceived by my mother clouds my thinking. I lash out to hurt her back. “Too bad what you're planning is going to put your future son-in-law in danger and his hot friends in a place of hiding so you'll never see them again."
My mother frowns as if she's confused. "What the devil are you talking about?"
"I heard you just now. You're trying to sell the secret of Smokey Falls to the highest bidder."
She blinks as if she’s confused. "I don't know what you think you just heard, but I'm not selling any secrets."
"No? What could you be possibly be peddling that makes people not believe you? I get that the idea that werewolves exist is hard to swallow." I let out a huff as I recall how shocked I was to discover Juliet and Alex were werewolves. "But maybe you do have photos. What have you captured with your phone?" I reach forward. “Give me that.”
She hands me her cell. "My phone camera stopped working when I dropped it months ago. But..." She scrunches up her face as if she's trying to sort out a hard math problem. "Werewolves?"
I find her camera and begin to flip through the photos. None of them are of anyone I know, and I slam the cell down on the counter. Pieces of the puzzle begin to click in place in my mind, though. "The cards! Your cards hinted at what Alex was, didn’t they? And – and the other day when you gave his friends and him cake laced with pot. You – I think you were trying to remove their filter so they'd show you their wolf side." I want to kick myself for letting my guard down, and I turn away from her to pace across the kitchen. I stop and turn to face her. Bile rises in my throat as I realize her finding out about werewolves is partly my fault. "I thought I'd managed to keep you from seeing it. Once again, I was the fool. I seem to fall into that role a lot with you."
"Hold on." My mother steps toward me and grabs my arms. Her gaze darts back and forth. "Honey, did you hit your head?" She places her hand on my forehead, and I jerk back.
I step out of her grip. "Cute. But I'm not buying what you're selling, either."
My mother's eyes fill with tears. "Jayden, honey." She reaches out toward me. "I don't know exactly what's going on here, but I swear to you I'm not selling Alex's secret. Whatever that may be."
I shake my head because she doesn’t get it. She doesn’t understand the danger she’s put the entire pack in. “They’ll hurt Alex!” Tears I wish wouldn’t come fill my eyes, because no matter what my mother's done in the past, I never thought it would come to the point I'd disown her completely. My heart aches, and I place my hand on my stomach as I imagine my unborn children growing up as a science experiment. In my mind, I hear them screaming in pain. All because my mother set something in motion we might not be able to stop. “How could you? You never think about anyone but yourself.”
Now my mother's tears are streaming down her face, and her voice cracks as she says, "You have this all wrong, baby girl. I know I wasn't the best mother, but I'm not the child I was when I had you. I came to see you so I could try to make up for all the years I did you wrong. I thought your wedding would be the perfect time for us to reconnect." She sniffs as she swipes a hand across her face to wipe off tears. "But no matter how hard I try, it seems I can't do anything right by you. I guess some wounds won't ever heal."
I can’t even fathom how she thinks revealing the existence of werewolves is somehow going to help us reconnect. My anger kicks up a notch at her selfish behavior. “You want to talk about wounds? You have no idea the kind of pain you’ll experience if you tell anyone what Alex is. Because I’ll personally make sure whatever they do to him gets done twice to you.” I point toward the door. “Get your things and leave.”
A sob escapes her before she croaks out, "I'm so sorry, Jayden." Mom pushes past me to run up the stairs to her room.
And once she's gone, my sobs escape too.
Thirteen
As soon as I can control my crying, I grab my car keys and drive to the fire station to find Alex. Fortunately, he's not out on a call, and when he sees me standing in the doorway, he rushes over. "Jayden. Babe, what's wrong?"
"Oh, Alex." I throw myself into his arms. "Everything."
He holds me tig
ht as I cry. "Hey. Is this about the wedding? Whatever it is, we can fix it."
I sniff as I pull back to look up at him, and I swallow hard and shake my head. "It's much worse. My mother knows what you are, and she's trying to sell the secret to someone."
Alex frowns, and he pushes me out the doorway to walk around behind the station. When we get there he asks, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure! I can't believe you're taking my mother's side again."
"Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. That's not what I'm doing. Why don't you tell me what happened?"
"I overheard her talking on the phone."
Alex squints at me in disapproval, and I widen my stance as I cross my arms.
"I walked in on it. I swear. Anyway, she was arguing with someone named Ted about a price, and she said they both knew it was worth more than he was offering."
"She could be selling anything, Jayden. Is there more?"
"Well." I think about what else I heard. "No. But when I caught her, she acted very guilty, and then she pretended like she didn't know—" My stomach drops, and I lower my gaze. Rosemary seemed very much as if she had no idea Alex was a werewolf. And I'm pretty sure her tears were real.
"What?" Alex tips my chin up with his finger so he can see my eyes.
"She acted like she didn't know what I was talking about when I confronted her. She even asked me if I'd hit my head. But who knows what kinds of pictures she’s taken since she’s been here.” I let out a huff of air because I can't be wrong about this. "First, she shows up in Smokey Falls unannounced," I fling my hand out as I get worked up again, "and flirts with your friends as if they aren't young enough to be her sons."
"To be fair, Jayden, Byron could have started that. He flirts with little old ladies too."
"Yes, but she didn't have to flirt back." My anger grows as I continue to make a case against my mother. "And then there was the way she tried to take over at the caterer. She's—" I try to remember something else bad Rosemary's done. "She's constantly doing things around the house without asking."
"You mean things like the laundry and cleaning the bathroom?"
"And rearranging the fridge. You know how I hate it when I can't find things. Then there was the pot incident. And what about spilling red wine on my wedding dress!"
Alex tilts his head at me as if he's trying to find patience. "Jayden—"
"Why aren't you taking me seriously? Do you have any idea what could happen if the truth about you and the rest of the pack gets out? Alex, this is monumental!"
He holds up his hand as if that can calm me down. "It is if it's true. But I don't think you're being rational about Rosemary. Even if she did know what we are, your mother's smart enough to understand what could happen if the wrong people found out about us. She would never do anything to hurt you."
I scowl with the urge to stomp my foot so he'll get what I'm so mad about. "She would if it served her best interests. My mother is the kind of woman who looks out for number one. I'm sure right now all she sees are dollar signs."
Alex lets out a sigh as he rubs his temple. "You know what? You're so worked up right now I don't think you're seeing this for what it is."
"Really?" I put my hands on my hips. "You really think I'm too worked up about something as important as keeping our children safe? You’ve heard about what happened in Winter Valley. My god, Alex. They were transfusing blood from a werewolf to a human! Imagine how fascinating our kids would be!” I throw my hands up in the air. “For all you know, my mother plans to sell her grandchildren too! This is on her. So on her!"
"Babe,” Alex speaks in a soft voice. “Let’s go talk to Rosemary and sort out what really happened this morning."
"It's too late for that." I snarl. "I sent her packing."
"You told your mother to leave?" His expression is a mix of surprise and anger.
I nod. "I do not need a woman like that in my life, Alex, and neither do you."
"Wow." Alex studies me for a moment. "I feel like I'm seeing a side of you I didn't know was there."
I shrug. "I can get pretty fierce when it comes to the people I love."
"Cold is a better word."
"What do you mean?"
"You're basically shutting out a member of your pack, Jayden. And why? Because Rosemary doesn't do things the way you think she should?" He takes a moment to scan me with his gaze, and it’s obvious there is nothing sexy about what he's seeing. "I thought you were more accepting than that."
"I am accepting. You saw how hard I tried to make things work with my mother."
"What I saw was how hard she tried to make you happy. But nothing was good enough."
I blink in shock as I recall my mother saying the same thing. My anger deflates like a balloon, and my stomach cramps with the urge to get sick.
Alex asks, "What happens when you get upset with one of our pack mates? Are you going to shut them out too?"
"No. Of course not. The pack is a big family, and everyone works to get along."
"That's right, Jayden. The Smokey Falls wolves are a family. You say that's what you want, but I don't think you have any idea what it really means. My family loves everyone for who they are. We forgive mistakes and don't hold grudges. And I'm not sure you know how to do that considering you just turned your back on the only family you've got."
"Alex. I've got you now. And the pack." I step toward him, and the siren for a call goes off, making me jump at the noise before I continue. "That's all the family I need."
He backs away from me. "You don't get it, and I'm not sure you ever will. Maybe it's good I didn't change you yet. Since you have the option of walking away as a human, it’s not too late. Because I may not want you in my family after all." Alex turns and starts to walk away.
"Alex!" My heart stops, and I’m afraid it might not beat again.
"I have a job, Jayden. Go home."
Home? Home! Where exactly is that? I watch the fire engine roar out of the garage and down the street, and my shoulder blades thud against the concrete wall of the station as I fall back to slither down to the ground. I hold my head in my hands as I cry.
If Alex doesn't want me, where do I go? I suppose I could move back to Winter Valley to be with Alisha and Chelsea, but that's not what I want. I want to be with my true mate for life. The thing is Alex really can't live without me either, so even though he's mad at me right now, surely he'll figure out he was wrong. Because if my mother is going to sell secrets then—my heart skips a beat as my anger turns to fear. I need to talk to her and find a way to make sure she understands what she’s planning to do is wrong.
I drive faster than I should, and when I get to my house, I find Rosemary in the front hall.
"Jayden." Rosemary hikes a duffel bag over her shoulder as we stand across from each other. Her eyes are as red as mine are, and her face is blotchy too. We're not pretty criers. "I was just about to leave."
"If you really love me as much as you say you do, you won't do this."
She lets out a sigh. "I'm not selling any secrets. I never was."
"Then what are you selling?"
"Things I own to pay off a credit card. Okay? You know how I am with money."
"Oh." I'm not sure if I should believe her, but my mother has always confessed to me when she got caught lying. "Where are you going?"
She gives me an attempt at a cheery smile. "Wherever the road takes me. I'll just drive until stopping feels right."
Part of me wants to tell her to stay and we can try again. But I think the two of us are too far gone for that. Maybe one day with enough time we can try again. The door clicks shut, and suddenly letting her go without a proper goodbye hurts too much. I rush after her. She tosses her bag on top of her other things in the back seat of her convertible.
"Rosemary."
I open my arms, and a sad smile covers her face as she steps forward to accept my hug.
"I'm sorry."
"Me too, baby girl." She squeezes me tight. "I love you so
much."
Both of us hold on for while before she lets go.
"You take good care of that man of yours. He's a keeper."
"I will." Her door slams shut, and Rosemary ties a scarf around her head before putting on a pair of sunglasses. I step back and hold up my hand in a wave. "Drive safe."
My mother blows me a kiss before she turns her head to back out of the driveway, and I watch her drive away. The relief I expected to feel doesn't come, and even after I can no longer see the red Mustang in the distance, the heavy feeling of stress that comes with Rosemary is still with me.
It makes me wonder if maybe Alex being upset with me is why. He was angry when he said changing me might be a bad idea, but even though I don't think he's serious, there's a reason for him saying it. It hit home when he told me I don't get how a pack family works. Maybe not having a normal family is why. So when I turn to go back in the house, I decide to call Juliet and sort out what I need to do to fix things with my true mate.
Fourteen
Juliet's porch swing creaks as the two of us rock back and forth, and I watch a drop of moisture roll down the side of my glass of iced tea. I told her all the things Rosemary did while she was here, and Juliet listened patiently. And then I told her about my fight with Alex, and that was when I saw her frown with disapproval.
I say, "You might as well give it to me straight. Something tells me there's no sugarcoating what you want to say."
She nods. "Do you know how werewolves have managed to survive all this time?"
I shake my head.
"By depending on each other even though most of us are the fiercely independent type. But werewolves need each other, and our existence depends on being a pack. No member gets thrown away unless they commit a crime that endangers everyone else."
The breeze from our swinging blows hair back from my face. "You think I threw away my mother too."
"You cast her out, Jayden. For what? Nothing she did was hateful. Nor did it put anyone in danger."