Page 18 of Claiming Xan (Shifters of Greymercy #7)

XAN

I was woken up to a bombard of missed phone calls, voicemails and texts. Shay. Kace. Nevin.

And Mom.

“Fuck,” I uttered, rolling over and fumbling around in the darkness for the lamp. When I flipped it on, I began scrolling through the messages. My stomach sank with each one.

A voicemail from Shay said that Mom showed up at their place, demanding to know where I was, and she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Shay couldn’t lie to her. I couldn’t blame him.

There were endless texts from Kace and Nevin asking where I was and what was going on, because Mom was on the rampage.

Where is River? Kace asked. Please don’t have done anything stupid, Xan…

I looked down at the Alpha slumbering beside me, completely spent and covered in bite marks, hickies and scratches. Then I looked down at myself, covered in just as many, and groaned under my breath.

God, I was so fucked… And sore. So sore.

Biting my lip, I gently shook River’s shoulder. He jerked awake with a startled growl, but when his eyes landed on me, he softened. “Shit. Sorry.” He frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Um. We might have a problem,” I said. “Mom knows. Or she has a hunch. My family blew up my phone while we were asleep. Mom’s freaking out because we’re both missing. She’s put two and two together, I’m guessing.”

Which made sense. Why I thought I could get away with this without repercussion was beyond me. Stupid heat hormones.

River’s entire body went rigid as another low growl rippled low in his throat. “Fuck,” he uttered, grinding his teeth. “You should probably call her.”

“Do I have to?” I whined, but deep down, I knew he was right. It would be like ripping off a Band-Aid on a particularly-hairy part of your body. Painful, but quick. I hoped, anyway. I sucked in a deep breath and squeezed my phone. “Okay.”

I went into my missed calls and clicked Mom’s name. The phone began to ring. Almost immediately, Mom answered, her voice damn near frantic. “Xan? Where are you? Are you safe?”

My heart sunk a little deeper into the recesses of my chest. “Jesus, Mom, chill out,” I said. “I’m fine!”

“Where are you?” she asked again, this time more of a demand than a question. I felt the Alpha inflection in her tone and it had my inner-wolf going belly-up.

“A hotel.” God, I hated this… “I’m safe. Really.”

I heard her sigh hiss across the line before she said, “Xander. Please tell me that River isn’t with you.”

My heart thumped wildly in my chest. For a moment, I couldn’t find the words to answer, shame burning a hole through me. “He might be,” I said, as nonchalantly as possible. “Why?”

Mom growled. Yep. She was pissed. “Jesus. Of course he is. Xander Price! You come home, right this minute!” The phone clicked dead. I sat there for a moment, listening to the hum of the dial tone, telling me she’d hung up on me.

“Shit.” I ended the call and dropped my head into my hands. “I think we’re in trouble.”

River growled softly, but his hand on my back was a small comfort when my world had suddenly been turned on its axis.

The drive home was tense. Neither of us said anything. What was there to say? We were taking the proverbial walk of shame. I didn’t know what to expect when we got there. I didn’t know how angry Mom would be, but I knew when she saw the claiming mark on my neck? She’d flip her shit.

We didn’t have time to shower, so I knew I reeked of River and he reeked of me. One sniff and she’d know exactly what we’d spent our time together doing. Not that she didn’t already know.

She met us at the door, looking between the two of us before pointing a finger at River accusingly. “This is all your fault,” she snarled, her fangs bared and her dark eyes ablaze with fury. “Had you not come along and tempted my son?—”

“Excuse me?” I barked, stomping a foot on the ground. “Tempted me? If anything, I tempted him! Don’t put this all on River, Mom. This was my idea!”

“Your idea to let an unpredictable, half-feral Alpha breed you?” she snapped back, turning her ire on me. “You’re so damn foolish. You could’ve been hurt! Killed!”

“River isn’t like that! If you’d just get to know him—” She cut me off with a slap across the face. One that I never saw coming, and one that stunned me to silence. I stumbled back, my jaw dropping open as I stared at her in shock.

River turned on her with a snarl, his fangs sharpening in his mouth and claws tipping his fingers. “Don’t touch him!”

“Get out!” Mom roared back, placing herself between me and River. “You broke the one rule I gave you! Both of you! You are no longer welcome in my home, or in my pack. Go!”

River froze like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming semi, but it was me who grabbed a hold of Mom’s arm. “Mom! Stop!”

“Be quiet, Xander!” Her voice was ice cold when she fixed her gaze on River once more. “You defiled my son. There is no place for you here. Get out.”

River staggered backwards. “Wait, I?—”

“OUT!” She lunged at him, yanking free of my grip on her even as I cried out his name.

River snarled at her, his face twisted up in an emotion I couldn’t decipher, before he spun away mid-shift and fled into the woods. I watched him go, running away with his tail between his legs, and a cry broke free of my chest.

“Mom! How could you do that to him?”

“I did what I should’ve done two months ago,” she replied coldly. “There is no place for someone like him in Rubydawn. I should have never let him stay!”

“You’re wrong,” I growled. “He’s not a bad person. Where is he supposed to go?”

“I don’t give a damn where he goes, so long as it isn’t anywhere near you, ” she replied, turning her glare on me. Oh, she was far from done. “I can’t believe you! The one Alpha I forbade you from fooling around with, and you just couldn’t listen, could you?”

“That’s not fair! I can’t help who I like?—”

“You shouldn’t like him!” she snapped. “He’s a monster, Xander! He’s untamed! He shouldn’t even be alive.”

“Do you even hear yourself right now?” I spat at her, crossing my arms over my chest. “You’re being a fucking bitch! What kind of pack Alpha acts like this to someone in need of help? Are you going to cast Sky away, too?”

“Sky hasn’t touched my son.” She growled at me, then rubbed at her temple. “Please… Please tell me you used protection, at least.”

I huffed out a derisive snort and set my jaw. “And if I didn’t?” I retorted. “Then what? Are you going to throw me away like yesterday’s garbage too?”

“XANDER!”

“FUCK YOU!” I screamed back. “I like him, Mom! And you just fucked everything up for me! Great job, just banishing the father of your possible grandchild from its pack! You know what? If River isn’t welcome here, then apparently neither am I.”

“Xander—” she began, but I shoved past her and stormed into the house. I made a beeline for my bedroom and began angrily stuffing clothing into a bag. I heard her voice shouting after me, but I slammed the door and locked it.

Then, with my heart pounding a mile a minute, I did the only thing I could think to do—I called Shay.

“Hey, I need a favor.”

“Xan, I’m so sorry about your mom. I couldn’t lie to her.”

“It’s fine,” I told him. “I get it.”

“Is she mad?”

“She’s pissed. Just chased River out of the pack, and now I’m packing my shit.” I sucked in a sharp breath, trying to hold my emotions hostage for a little bit longer, but they beat on the doors of my heart. “Can I stay with you for a few weeks? Until I figure out what I’m going to do?”

“Oh, hell, Xan. What did you do?”

“Well, I might be pregnant, for starters.” I laughed, half-bitter and half-hysterical. “And River bit me. So…”

I lost the fight as tears slipped down my cheeks. I sank down on the edge of the bed and let them fall. “I can’t stay here. I can’t. Not after what she’s done. Just for a couple of weeks, until I save enough money for an apartment in Greymercy. Please?”

“Of course, Xan,” Shay murmured. “You know you’re always welcome here.”

“Thank you.” I wiped my face and took a few deep breaths, to try and calm myself down. Then grabbed my bag and headed out.

As I walked past the kitchen, Mom tried to stop me. “Where are you going?”

“I’m leaving,” I said. “End of discussion.”

She frowned. “Where will you go?”

“I’m staying at Shay’s until I can find an apartment.”

“Xan—”

“JUST DROP IT!” I screamed at her, my voice turning raw. “IT’S DONE!” My hands balled up into fists, I let out a broken sob and burst out the front door and got into my car, slamming the door with another pained cry.

I drove away, the road blurry with tears. I couldn’t stop replaying the torn look on River’s face before he turned and ran off, or the fury blistering in Mom’s voice when she told him he’d “defiled” me.

I cried all the way to Shay’s place.

When I got there, I collided with my friend’s chest, sobbing softly. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, again and again. “I’m a mess. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, Xanny.” Shay hugged me tightly. “It’s gonna be okay. You’ll see.”

It sure as hell didn’t feel like it.