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Mom breaks free of Dad the second we circle around the last group. Practically sprinting to me as if she’s missed me as much as I realized I missed her. Her arms wrap around me, the smell of her patchouli and lavender soap surround me, I can feel a small piece of me settling again. There’s nothing like a mother’s hug to make the world feel right again.

“I’ve missed you Mom,” I whisper into her long, golden locks as my fingers twist them around like I’ve always done.

“I’ve missed you too sweetie. My Moondrop has grown up and found her mate. I’m so proud of you, even if I miss having you in my home.” She breathes into the side of my neck as she squeezes me even more into her before leaning back and holding me by the shoulders.

Her face is warm with love as her eyes scan all over me. Almost as if she's seeing me differently than before. “You’ve changed.” She says it like it’s so matter-of-fact.

I brush the hair back behind my ear as a blush creeps across my face. “I have not.”

“Yes, you have. It suits you.” She lets go of my shoulders before wrapping her arms around Caelon and kissing both of his cheeks.

“How is my handsome son-in-law doing?” She squishes his cheeks between her hands, making his lips pucker like a fish.

His eyes glance to mine with wild panic.

Thankfully Dad saves Cal when he comes over. “Now, June Bug don’t scare the poor man. You’ve only been around him once. He isn’t quite ready for your weird behavior just yet.” He taps Mom on the shoulder as she chuckles and drops her hands before stepping back into Dad’s embrace.

Dad smiles to both of us, with a knowing look in his eyes before he looks to Mom with a fondness. It’s almost like seeing us, freshly mated and young, reminds him of when they found each other. You can almost see the stories flashing behind his eyes. I can only hope that when we are their age we will still be as madly in love with each other.

Dad turns back to us. “Son, I hear…”

He’s cut off by the most obnoxious laugh that sounds borderline like a hyena on helium. We all turn towards the sound. If I thought Caelon was anxious before, it has nothing on the feelings flooding me. I’m overwhelmed trying to cypherthrough them myself. Between outright fear, he’s feeling anxious, worried, and guarded.

Mr. and Mrs. Blackwell come walking towards us with I’m assuming Asher behind them. I don’t really remember much about him, he is seven years older than me and I only have vague memories of him taunting Caelon in their backyard. Often he was so loud about it that it would disturb my twirling causing my feet to falter to a stop.

Mr. Blackwell is a tall, stout man with that rugged masculine look to him. Everything about him screams “I drink beer, scream at my football team, and there won’t be no sissy talk around here.” How a man like that produced someone as brilliant as Cal, I’ll never know. His mother, on the other hand, is exactly who he took after, at least in the looks. With her soft, brown curls touching just above her shoulders and her petite frame. I can easily see where he got his softer features and more gentle nature. She is far more timid than I would have thought, the way her eyes flick to his as if she’s expecting him to explode at any second.

Asher, he can already get fucked. The scowl on his face as he sneers at Caleon already has my hackles up. My wolf rises up ready to defend our mate against the threat clearly walking our way. He looks just like his father and that same shitty attitude is seeping off of him. After what Cal told me he did, I already have a few choice words for him.

The three of them come to a stop in front of Cal and I, my parents taking a step behind us in a show of support. I haven’t even told my parents what his parents did to him, but they can tell by the atmosphere, and I’m sure what they already know of his parents, that this isn’t going to be friendly or pleasant.What have they fucking done to him?

“Seems you found your mate, pity,” his dad sneers as his lip curls in disgust and looks at me. “I almost feel sorry for you, butyou seem happy about it, so maybe you are just as pathetic as he is.”

“Hey now,” my dad pipes up.

“Oh, it makes so much sense now. Of course you’re Rowan’s kid,” he sneers again, his face morphing into a look of disgust. As if he just stepped in something sticky and foreign.

A growl rips out of my throat as I step forward. I move between Cal and his father. My chest heaves as my hands ball up at my sides. People surrounding us take a step back, some even covering their mouths in shock.

He doesn’t even flinch, only looks down his nose at me. “If you knew what was best for you, then you would reject your mate. He’ll never defend or protect you. He won’t even protect himself, how could you possibly want to…”

I cut him off, tired of his bashing of his own child.

“Let me make one thing perfectly, fucking, clear. I’ll be sure to speak slow since I’m sure your pig head can’t understand simple English. You will never speak about my mate like that again.” I can feel my arms slowly sprouting my black fur as my nails sharpen.

Someone yells about someone needing to stop this. There’s a scuffle of feet, but I’m too pissed to stop now.

“Another thing, don’t ever ask me again to reject my mate because of some stupid, misguided judgement on your part.” I take a step closer, directly into his space.

“While you may think there is something wrong with Caelon because he isn’t some meathead jock who only thinks about football and fast cars, you couldn’t be more wrong. You’ve clearly never seen the intelligent, kind, compassionate man that somehow came from someone like you.” I take another step forward, forcing myself to tilt my head back and look up at him as his eyes widen slightly.

I lower my voice as I deliver my final line, “You lay one more fucking finger, claw, or part of your body on him again, I’ll be sure it isn’t connected to you any longer. Do you understand? Nod your head like a good boy.”

Someone says “Oh shit” from the crowd around us. I hear another person saying, “Damn son, she is scary.”

Cal’s father nods his head slowly as I move to his mother. She might not have directly done anything to him, but she failed as a mother to protect her child when he needed her the most. I come to a stop in front of her.

“You.” I glare at her.