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15

LARKIN

M aggie Rhodes-DeWitt was really freaking pretty. Stupidly pretty, to be honest. It was really easy to see where Rhodes got his looks from. The dark intensity of his eyes, the shade of his dark brown hair, even that tight smile that boarded on a grimace he did whenever he was stressed and tense.

Maggie was flashing me that tight lipped smile now, shifting her weight on her feet nervously.

My wolf growled in me, pacing like a caged animal.

We both wanted to rip her apart.

She was barely inside the door and looked ready to bolt any second, her eyes skittishly moving over every surface and looking anywhere but at me.

Probably because I knew I was glaring at her.

Her expression got even more tense as I heard footsteps coming down the hall. Rhodes came in first, Remy and Skye close behind.

“Rhodes,” she breathed, taking a step towards him.

Rhodes countered her by taking a step of his own.

Towards me.

I reached out, grabbing his hand in mine, pressing my side against his arm in support.

Maggie flinched, her eyes dropping. “I guess I deserve that.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded.

She cleared her throat, her eyes skittering around like a deer who stumbled into a pack of wolves. “I... Can we talk? Please?”

His fingers tightened around mine so hard I almost winced.

But I wasn’t letting go for the world.

“What could you possibly have to say?” he asked incredulously. “My dad dies and you decide to stop by for a visit?”

She clasped her hands in front of her, twisting her fingers together anxiously. “I know. I know my timing is awful and you... I know that you just lost your father. But that’s why I had to come.”

“A little late to put in for that Mother of the Year award,” he snarked viciously, his entire body coiled for fight or flight. “You missed the cut off by a solid decade.”

She flinched back, nodding in jerky movements. Her chin trembled. “I know, honey. I know. Please, just give me a few minutes. I just... I’ll leave as soon as I’m done. I swear.”

“Fine,” he ground out. “Talk.”

“Maybe we could talk... alone?” Maggie nearly whispered the last word.

Rhodes glanced at Remy. They exchanged long looks, but Remy finally nodded. He pulled Skye towards the stairs with him. I started to go with them, but Rhodes’s grip on me turned ironclad.

“Larkin stays,” he announced firmly.

My heart slammed painfully against my ribs as I brushed my nose against his shoulder for a second.

“We can go sit in the living room,” he muttered, heading down the hallway with me. He didn’t wait to see if Maggie followed.

Rhodes sat on the couch, pulling me down flush beside him. He let go of my hand only so he could wrap a strong arm around me, anchoring me to his side.

Maggie came in slower, looking around with big eyes before sitting in the recliner his dad always used.

If Rhodes cared, he didn’t say so.

“Why are you here?” he asked, his tone even and calm.

He might have been calm; I was currently a nervous wreck. My insides were practically shaking from anxiety and anger.

Maggie crossed her legs demurely at the ankles. “Thank you for seeing me.”

“Again, why exactly am I seeing you now ?” Disdain dripped from his words.

She settled her hands in her lap. “I... I needed to make sure you were okay after I heard about your father.”

Rhodes went still. “How did you hear about that? Did Gabriel call you?”

She shook her head quickly, her dark hair swishing above her shoulders. “No, no. The facility did. You father and I spoke... yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” Rhodes repeated. “As in the day before he killed himself?”

She nodded, tears in her eyes. “Yes. One of the steps of his program was to,” she sucked in a shuddering breath, “make amends.”

“What could he possibly have to amend with you ?” he snapped. “Last time I checked you did the leaving, Mom .”

“He realized he had put unrealistic expectations on me and our marriage,” she whispered. “It was why I left. I couldn’t handle the pressure of being a wife and a mate and a...”

“Mother?” he hissed. “You couldn’t handle being a mother , right?”

“I was so young,” she said brokenly. “I made a mistake. It’s one that I deeply regret.”

“You never came back!” he roared. “Maybe you made a mistake leaving, but you never bothered coming back!”

“Your father—”

“Forget my father,” he cut her off. “What about me ?”

Swallowing, Maggie looked down at her lap. Part of me was happy to see she was miserable.

But Rhodes was also miserable. And hurt.

That I couldn’t stand.

I leaned harder against him and rested a hand on his rock-hard thigh, needing to reassure him I was still here. Still with him.

He relaxed the barest inch, but it was still there.

“I made a lot of mistakes, Rhodes. I know that. But I thought about you every day. Every day I was gone,” she told him, her voice breaking and tears falling. “Every time I had worked up the nerve to call you or get in the car to see you... I didn’t want to upset your life, baby. I knew you would be happier without me.”

“Happier without a mom? Left alone to fend for myself while my dad sat in that chair and drank his life away?” Rhodes growled at her.

Maggie stayed quiet, tears sliding down her cheeks.

Rhodes sucked in a shaky breath, his body vibrating with barely contained energy and emotion.

“Why did you come here tonight?” I asked softly, finally breaking the heavy silence. I fixed my gaze on Maggie, not letting up. “What do you want?”

“To apologize,” she whispered, wiping her eyes and looking at me like I was her last hope at getting through to her son.

I narrowed my eyes. No way was I taking her side over Rhodes ever .

“I just want Rhodes to realize I made a mistake,” she told me, leaning forward. She glanced at him. “I... I remarried a couple years ago. If you need a place to live, you would be welcome in our pack. I already spoke to our Alpha.”

“Not happening,” I answered for Rhodes. “His family is here .”

I felt the shaking of his shoulders as he chuckled under his breath. His hand slid from my shoulder to the back of my neck, massaging the tense skin there.

“I’m not leaving my pack,” he affirmed. “Or Larkin.”

Maggie nodded and sat back. “Of course. I just wanted you to know... You have the option. Anytime. My husband, Lee, never had any children. He said he would love to meet you. You could come and stay with us.”

“Yeah, I’ll have to think about that.” His tone said he wouldn’t give it another thought in this lifetime.

“Okay,” she replied softly.

“So, did he make amends?” Rhodes asked suddenly.

Her expression softened. “For a while we talked about you. About how smart you are, how incredible you are, despite having us for parents. He was so proud of you, Rhodes. For being a beta. He mentioned you were a self-taught mechanic, too. Always managing to fix things. He knew he didn’t deserve you as a son.”

Maggie’s face crumpled. “But then, he... he asked me to come home. Said we could all be family again. I told him I had remarried. That it couldn’t happen. He said... he said he was happy for me. And then hung up.” She drew in a ragged breath. “The center called me this morning after Gabriel. They told me what had happened. I knew I had to come see you.”

Rhodes exhaled slowly. “Now you’ve seen me.”

“Rhodes—”

“And now you can go,” he said coldly.

She hunched her shoulders, hands shaking. “Honey, with your father dead, I wanted to invite you to come and live with me. I know you’re technically an adult, but you’re my son. My only child.”

I stiffened, my gaze snapping to Rhodes. He looked completely blank, staring at a spot above Maggie’s head.

Her desperate gaze swung to me. “Larkin, please.”

“Rhodes told you to leave,” I said softly, squaring my shoulders at the woman who had caused Rhodes so much hurt and pain and self-doubt. “But if you need me to physically show you the door, I will.”

Maggie gasped but quickly scrambled to her feet. She dug through her purse and dropped a piece of paper on the table. “This is my phone number and address. Rhodes, honey, if you need anything—”

I grabbed the paper, crumpling it in my hand for him. “If we need you, we’ll call.”

She ducked her head with one last wobbly smile and then hurried out of the room. The front door shut a moment later. Within seconds, Remy and Skye were in front of us.

“Are you okay?” Remy asked.

“Can I kick her ass?” Skye demanded at the same time.

Remy gave her a look, and she rolled her eyes.

“Fine,” she said, sitting down with a huff. “But the offer stands.”

“Get in line,” I muttered, tossing the paper back onto the table.

Rhodes got up and paced to the window, looking out at where the darkness was closing in.

“Rhodes?” Remy prompted.

“My dad killed himself after he talked to her,” he explained woodenly. “Apparently he wanted his nonexistent happy family back, but Mom already has a new husband. If he couldn’t have her... then what was the point?”

I pressed my lips together, fighting back tears at the bitter rejection in his voice.

Because he wasn’t enough to make his dad keep trying.

Remy sighed, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, man.”

“It wasn’t you, Rhodey,” Skye told him. “None of this is on you. Not your mom, not your dad—”

He whirled around, pain bright in his eyes. “But I wasn’t enough, was I, Skye? I wasn’t enough for either of them to stay.”

“That’s not on you ,” she repeated firmly. “Trust me; I’ve seen my share of shitty choices and suicide. I’ve seen that moment when people give up.”

Rhodes flinched at the reminder that Skye had grown up in the worst situation imaginable.

“When someone gets that hopeless, that lost in their own head, the only thing that can pull them out is their own will,” she kept going vehemently. “People are responsible for their own choices. Their weakness, their faults—they aren’t yours, Rhodes. People have to own their own shit.”

Rhodes slowly nodded, raking a hand through his hair. “I need…”

“What?” Remy asked after he didn’t finish the thought.

His eyes found mine and I knew. In that split second, I knew.

“I need to get out of here for a little while,” he whispered.

A piece of my heart broke off, the serrated edges scraping out my insides even as I nodded.

“Pack a bag and come to my house,” Remy said with a nod. “Get out of this house for a few days. Hell, don’t come back. You know you can stay with me as long as you like.”

“No,” Rhodes said slowly, tearing his eyes from mine to look at Remy. “I need to get out of Blackwater. Just for a few days or something. I need to clear my head.”

Remy looked ready to protest, but Skye grabbed his wrist.

“Are you sure?” she pressed.

Rhodes nodded. “Yeah. I just need to get away for a few days. Be on my own to sort shit out. Figure out what to do next.”

“You can do that here,” Remy argued. “We can leave. Give you space.”

Rhodes spread his arms wide. “Look around, Rem. Everywhere I go in this house, there’s a ghost around the corner. Every place in this town will have someone who will tell me they’re sorry. Or ask if they can help. Or give me their pity.”

Remy growled, rubbing the back of his neck viciously. “Rhodes—”

I got to my feet, walking over to Rhodes.

His dark eyes studied me, full of pain and confusion and love.

“Larkin.” He framed my face in his hands.

I pressed my fingertips against his lips. “It’s okay. Go clear your head. I’m here when you get back.”

“You’re sure?” he asked quietly, his thumb sweeping across the arch of my cheekbone.

“It’s always been you, Rhodes,” I said firmly, clearly, even as I wanted to curl up in a ball and sob my eyes out.

He leaned down, pressing his lips once, twice to mine. “It’s always been you, baby girl.”

He kissed me one last time, a deep, lingering kiss that I felt in my soul.

And then he was gone.