Page 16 of A Female Alpha for the Lycan Prince

Liam grins at me now. “Prepared for the tornado?”

“What kind of tornado?” I blink, momentarily confused by his words. Are we going to have bad weather?

Liam nods in the direction of the parking space, where a small figure is jumping around excitedly while talking to some warriors. “Is that Mom?” I ask in surprise.

Liam chuckles. “She wanted to surprise you.”

“Surprise me?” I furrow my brows. “You know I hate surprises!”

He shrugs. “She was set on surprising you, so if you want to argue, discuss it with her.”

Mom is so tiny; she’s almost completely hidden between those tall guys. But once she sees me, she squeals and laughs happily, waving at me like a complete nutcase. She is so embarrassing, but I can never manage to stay grumpy or annoyed around her. Today is no exception, as she pushes past the others and throws her arms around me in a great big hug. “I haven’t seen you in forever,” she pouts before drawing back and pointing an accusing finger at me. “Marius, you need to call more often!”

“We talked two days ago, Mom,” I defend myself.

“You called me once this week, and it’s already Friday.” She furrows her eyebrows and puts her hands on her hips. She looks more like a pouty teen than an adult woman in her fifties. My mother’s genetics have always been a mystery to me, actually, to all of us.

“What about Liam? Does he call you daily?” I try to reason with her.

“Liam has a pack to lead,” she says while tilting her head. “He has so much to do, he can’t call daily.”

What the heck? When did he actually use that cheap excuse, and how the fuck did she even accept it?

Before I can say or do something though, she turns to gang up on me with Liam. “Right, Liam? Say something!”

Liam grins shamelessly at me before he pretends to be all serious and gives me a stern look. “Mom is right. You should at least call daily. Show some respect.” Next to him, Ari snorts while Dante grins, a little too amused.

I give Liam a dirty look, which just makes him grin more. When I finally manage to peel my mother’s arms from around me, I quickly move away, seeking refuge amongst the others. “Hilarious,” I huff towards Liam. The worst thing is that I can’t even be mad at Mom. She’s always been this way with us. Mom can’t help but smother people in her emotions, and she’s always supported us unconditionally. Still, I need to try and save some of my dignity.

Liam’s lips tug up in amusement, but to my utmost relief, he manages to distract Mom. “Look Mom, here comes Annalise. Seems like she’s ready to go.”

Mom twirls around in search of Annie, who is now walking down the stairs. “Annie!” she squeals excitedly before running over and throwing her arms around her. “I’m so happy to see you.”

Annie hugs her back, smiling joyfully. “I’m happy to see you too, Flora.”

“We’ll have such a nice day today,” my mother muses.

“I hope so,” Annie nods. “It’s been a while since we had one of these luna meetings.”

“I hope we will see a few new faces,” my mother giggles. “I’m so sick of seeing the same old hags. I’m still traumatized from the last time they told me all about their sex lives. Besides,” she beams. “No one is hotter than Elden. None of their men can compare to mine. He is the tallest, and strongest, and he can go for hours and—”

“She is going to talk about Dad’s private parts any second,” I breathe out in slight panic.

“Goodness,” Dante groans.

Liam grimaces. “Mom,” he says in a matter-of-fact tone. “Your gamma is already waiting for you and Annalise.”

He looks at Annie, and she nods with a chuckle, apparently taking pity on us. “Come on, Flora, let’s go.” She hurries to Liam for a hug. He kisses her passionately, taking advantage of the moment. Liam’s never been one to show affection so openly, but with Annie, apparently he doesn’t mind.

“Have fun,” he says with a smile.

She chuckles and whispers something only he can hear. It must have been good, though, because his eyes light up.

My mother’s gamma, Aurel, is indeed already waiting for them. Aside from my father, he is the only one who can handle my mother and her crazy antics. Ella and Jun, as Annie’s beta and gamma, accompany them for increased protection.

Just before entering the car, Annie smiles once more at Liam, then waves goodbye to the rest of us. I automatically return the gesture without thinking. Shit… by the time I realize my mistake, she’s already smiled and disappeared in the car. I let my guard down. I shouldn’t do that. Annie is smart and has a sense for others’ feelings. I can’t allow her to see too much of what’s going on inside me. She has this ability to hear more than what is said, like she has a sixth sense or something. It’s scary.

As noisy as my mother is and as much as Annie’s presence always seems to disturb me, once both of them leave, my sense of calm and contentment leaves too. I’m suddenly feeling gloomy again.