My mom blushed at her thoughts, but a more frantic howl ripped through the air and I watched him deflate. “We should go.” She put out the fire and quickly put everything away. “Morgan will go berserk if we don’t show up soon.” She lifted her lip in disgust.
“Can you handle the next four years?”
“Yeah. Baby, I have to.” She waved me to the front door and sprayed us both down with descenting spray.
“Won’t he notice?”
She shook her head. “We will wash it off in the stream. It only protects our cabin.” I nodded as we walked out of the cabin and froze when we heard a howl close. Too close. “We have to hurry. We will have to cut down away from the pack and then wrap back around. I refused to allow him here.”
I just nodded and we both shifted. She ran off behind the cabin and I followed. Morgan’s howls came more often until we were almost too far to hear it. Then my mother stopped and howled back. A quick response, just a quick, we are on our way. Even I could tell that my mother’s wolf was annoyed with that howl and Morgan would know it, too.
He kept howling, but my mom never answered again. I could see her wolf bristle with each howl, and her annoyance was slowly burning away to her anger. “How dare he?”
“Mom? What’s wrong?”
“He knew this was our first run, and yet he is acting like this.” His wolf bristled again as his longing howl cut through the air. “I didn’t bother him all night when he took Shannon for her first run, but today he is acting like this.” If her wolf could spit I think she would have. She was foaming at the mouth with anger.
We crashed through the stream and our scents came back. When her scent hit me, I stumbled. I knew she was angry, but her scent hit me like a truck. We ran almost twice as long as the first time around and when we ran from the trees to the backyard; we found Morgan mid howl. My mother’s wolf bristled, and her hackles rose to their full height. Morgan the wolf trotted over and tried to rub down my mother’s side, scenting her, but she snapped at him and growled. His wolf danced away and looked hurt. But she turned to me and scented me with her smell.
Morgan sulked away and shifted, then came back over to where we were. My mother was still trying to calm herself as she ran herself down my side. It was almost like I was her worry stone. Every pass, she calmed down a little more. Every intake of our combined scent soothed her wolf in a way that only mothers understood.
I watched Morgan with hostile eyes as he came over. “Where were you two?” His question was accusing, and once again my mother bristled. She looked at me and me her, and then we both shifted. And she turned on Morgan.
“How fucking dare you.” She was pissed.
“Amy, go to your room. I will talk to you later.” Morgan tried to sound stern, but there was a quiver in his voice.
“Like hell you will.” My mother grabbed my arm, and I almost yelped. Not in pain, but in surprise. “Amy is my daughter, not yours. And don’t for a second think that an Alpha wolf would take a command from a Beta.” My mom’s word cut into Morgan. I could see the hurt behind his eyes. “Amy listens to you because I ask her to, but tonight, tonight, you crossed the line.”
Morgan raised his hands in surrender. “What exactly did I do?”
“Do not play dumb Morgan. It doesn’t suit you. You know exactly what you did tonight.” My mom walked up to him andpushed her finger into his chest. “The first run with your child is the most important. It allows our wolves to bond, as they should their first time meeting one another. BUT YOU.” She slammed her finger into his chest so hard that he flinched. I always forget that my mother is an Alpha because she always defers to her partner as a Luna should, in public anyway. I think Morgan forgot, too. “You had to come out here and start howling. Demanding we come back.”
Chapter Sixty-One
M
organ backed up a little as he raised his hands up in surrender. “I was worried about you.”
“Bullshit.” My mother spit back. “You wanted to control our run, or come with us, but you are not Amy’s father. You don’t get that right. You are her stepfather, and after today, that is even up in the air.”
“Hey.” Morgan tried to push back, but my mother was having none of it.
“Hey nothing. When Shannon shifted, what did you say to me?”
“I can’t remember it was so long ago.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes, but I saw the anger there.
“Don’t lie to me. It was less than three months ago. You were so proud, don’t you remember? You rubbed it in thatShannon shifted earlier than Amy. ‘Look at how fast and strong my daughter is. I wonder when Amy will get here.’ Yeah, that bullshit like we all don’t know that stronger wolves take longer to shift. Amy surprised all of us by shifting as early as she did.” My mom tossed out.
“Well, maybe she isn’t as strong as you think she is.” Shannon’s voice came from the door. Even now, she was still healing from the beating she got.
“Or maybe I can just prove how strong I am again? How is your neck doing by the way?” I offered and Morgan glared at me, and Shannon whimpered, then went back inside.
“Amy!” Morgan started, but my mother raised her finger.
“Amy nothing.” She pointed at him. “What did you say on the day of Shannon’s first shift, Morgan?”
“I can’t… I can’t remember.”
