Page 147 of One Winter Knight
“What did they do?” Her lower lip quivered.
“Mumsy was presenting a paper at a conference when she was getting her PhD. Dad, who was twenty and an undergrad in chemistry at another university, collided with Mumsy and she spilled all her shit. She told him off, then realized they were scent matches. By the end of the conference, she and Mom had decided they were keeping Dad. They drove him to his university, packed up his shit, and brought him to their place, states away,” I explained, having heard this story many times.
Fiona put her hand to her head. “Scent matches? That’s romantic.”
“Yeah, we thought so when we were little. They met, formed a pack–which included Baba and Mama. Harry came later. Anyway, Dad and the alpha moms moved quickly, and did a lot of shit wrong. Dad just sort of texted and emailed people abruptly, leaving everything, including his classes and research. Sure, he eventuallybecame a well-liked professor, but it hurt him professionally and academically, burning bridges the way he did.” I spooned more cake in my mouth,
“We won’t let that happen. You’re not dropping out,” Carlos assured.
“The biggest fuckup was that Dad left behind his live-in girlfriend, breaking it off with only a text. Mom and Mumsy had him convinced she was psycho. He never read her emails or texts, or even talked to her.” Sadness for what had happened filled me.
“Woah, how shitty,” Dusty said.
I nodded and swallowed another bite of cake. “Yeah. He did hear one voicemail–her asking him to keep something for her because she was in danger. He didn’t call back. Later he found out she was dead… and she was trying to get a hold of him because of their kid.”
Fiona sucked in a breath. “That poor woman. She wasn’t psycho, she waspregnant.”
“That almost destroyed my dad. Especially because the kid ended up lost. My dad looked for his daughter for almost thirty years.” I remembered seeing him search the internet for pictures of her, trying to find the missing sister.
“But he found her. Rich big sister, right?” Carlos added, putting his empty plate on the floor next to him.
I sighed. “Creed did. And then everything came out. Apparently, baby Grace wasbroughtto their house. Mom was the only one home. She dumped her at a baby shelter and Grace ended up with her maternal grandparents. Then, later, Grace’s aunt, who was on the run, asked Mom for money in exchange for disappearing with the baby, so that she’d never contact Dad. Mom thought that it was the best for everyone. So, she basically sold Grace. And now, she’s in jail for baby trafficking. All because she made a decision where she thought she was protecting the pack.” I looked at them. “Can’t you see that cutting me loose is the best option? What if I traffic our baby. Figuratively or literally?”
Fiona wrapped her arms around me. “Hale. Oh, honey. You’re not going to do that. You’re not like them.”
“I can see where you’re coming from, but you’re probably going to want to work on that,” Saoirse replied.
“Easy for you to say.” I frowned.
Saoirse gave me a look. “My parents are actively trying to ruin my life right now because I was in a viral video. They told me I was a selfish bitch for being outraged that my ex cheated on me with my sister. I know shitty parents and the desire to not be one.”
“Oh.” Wow.
Dusty squeezed her hand.
“I understand this is a lot. But can’t we at least try?” Carlos pleaded.
“My entire life I’ve been told to not fuck up like they did. So many things went wrong because they didn’t know each other well when they bonded,” I confessed.
“Your feelings are valid, Hale. But their experiences aren’t yours. What happened was awful, but we can learn from them and not be shitty humans,” Fiona said.
“Give it the six months? Then we’ll re-evaluate? I don’t think they can actually make us take another member. Though they could probably withhold Fiona’s money,” Carlos added.
Fiona shrugged. “I can fight that if it comes to it.”
Saoirse looked over at Fiona. “You should take them off every account of yours they’re on. Right now. All of them. Including any savings and investments in case they try to freeze them.”
“Later.” Fiona waved it off.
“Now.”
Fiona rolled her eyes and took out her phone. “Fine.”
“I need to get a phone today.” Carlos sighed.
Saoirse looked at her phone and made a face. “I need a new number. We’ll need a lawyer.”
“I have a lawyer that looks over my contracts. Dusty uses thesame one,” Carlos offered.
