Chapter 28
Tracey
The food on my plate smelled good. It was my favorite, after all. My mom had gone through the trouble of cooking up an entire southern comfort meal for me. They had hoped it would help bring me back to myself. But as I stared down at the food, I didn’t feel like myself. I could still see the magic around us shimmering softly. Granny had confirmed that this was how the witches saw the world. Everything was interconnected by the strands of magic. The first few hours had given me a headache and Granny had insisted that I would get used to it. Eventually, I would be able to block it out completely and see the world normally again. But it would take years of concentration and practice. Years I didn’t have.
“How long have you known Jade was Rafe’s mate?” My father scooped up a massive serving of mashed potatoes and plopped it onto his plate before he moved onto the gravy beside it.
I looked down at my own untouched potatoes. “I have known since Rafe knew.”
The fork in my mother’s fingers clattered to her plate. “Really?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know why it’s such a big deal. I don’t know why you’re surprised. Rafe and I have been best friends since we were children. He is the only one that accepted the dominant wolf under my skin. He’s the one that invited me into his band of misfits and trouble.”
My dad smiled as he cut into his chicken. "We absolutely shouldn’t be surprised, you’re right. But I wish you would have told me. I could have helped.”
I pushed the potatoes around my plate. “I will not betray my Alpha or his trust.”
“Yes, but I could have accepted the fallout from everyone else. I could have helped the pack accept it, rather than fuel the raging fire it became.”
“You’re perfectly happy with the way things are now, now that he told you she’s his mate?” I set my fork down carefully beside my plate.
“Why wouldn’t I be? We should be celebrating.” He grabbed my mother’s hand and tucked it inside of his massive one.
“He changed her against her will, did everyone forget about that?” I was on Rafe’s side until that had happened. I had agreed that he needed to get to know her. I had agreed that I would find out everything there was to know about Jade, but he had still violated her. He acted against her and didn’t care about her consent. I understood why but I doubted my father did.
My father sighed. “What is done, is done. That is his mate, he has every right to do what he did.”
I leaned back in my chair and barked out a laugh. “Are you still living in the dark ages? He doesn’t own her.”
This was why I never wanted a mate. I would never be owned by anyone, regardless of whatfatesaid.
My father chewed his food for a minute while my mom looked at her plate submissively. They had a good, healthy relationship. I had adored learning from their example as I grew up but something wasn’t right about this. Wasn’t my mom going to stand up to him? I had seen her do it before. Unless she agreed with him…
“Mom?”
She sighed this time. “What do you want me to say? I don’t agree with the part that he didn’t ask for her consent. But I’m sure he had his reasons to do it, he didn’t have the madness in him. I have seen that first hand with…” She stopped what she was saying and shook her head.
“I know the reasons why he did it but that still doesn’t make it okay for either of you to blindly accept the fact that her choice was taken from her!”
My father was done with the conversation. He slammed his palms on the table as he stood up. I didn’t bother to flinch. His show of dominance didn’t frighten me. It hadn’t since I was a child. I rose from my chair and stared right back at him. “You will respect your Alpha. What he says is law. Don’t forget where he will sit in a few years. Our pack won’t be the only one he dictates.”
I snarled as my wolf fought to get to the surface. She wasn’t going to let him talk to me this way. The magical strands around us intensified. “You have questioned his rule for years but now that you find out that he has a mate, everything has changed?”
My mother planted a hand on my father’s chest and shook her head. “A man calms down when he finds the one. He isn’t so reckless. When an Alpha finds his mate, it means he is ready to lead. Why do you think she was taken from him? Someone doesn’t want him taking his rightful place with Pack Law.”
I closed my eyes and took a step back, my food was still untouched. “Thanks for dinner, Mom.” I didn’t usually back down from a challenge but I knew this wasn’t the kind of challenge that any of us were prepared for. I could have stayed with my parents but what good would that have done? I had been staying at the Crimson Manor since everything had happened with Jade. I closed the door behind me and was surprised when no one followed me out. They knew how I felt and that was all that mattered. Maybe one day my dad would stop living with such archaic thoughts. My eyes roved the wooded property behind my parent’s home. Maybe it was time I started to build my own.
I shook my head. Maybe not. Maybe when we got Jade back, I would just live with her. That would be better than hopping back and forth. We were both the black sheep out of all of this. I hoped she still wanted something to do with me when she got back.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and scrolled through the contact list. My finger hovered over the one person I hadn’t spoken to in ages. The one person I wished would just come home. I clicked the name and listened as it went immediately to voicemail. My heart felt like it was ripped out of my chest.
“It’s Lucas, sorry I couldn’t get to the phone right now, leave a message.”
Just hearing his voice did something to my insides. It made me not feel as angry at our parents anymore but it didn’t make me feel less sad. I grasped onto the nearest tree for support as my legs buckled beneath me. I gritted my teeth till it was painful but still the tears spilled from my eyes.
Would I ever get better? Would the pain ever stop?
