Page 19 of His Place in the World (Legendary Shifters #9)

Del was by Angus’s side in seconds. He took off his sweater and draped it over Angus’s shoulders, for which Angus was grateful. He already regretted shifting because it meant he had one less change of clothes, but he’d needed to be in his Pegasus form to defend himself and Del.

“Let me grab you some clothes from the car,” Del murmured.

He was moving before Angus could say thank you. He grabbed one of the backpacks Angus had filled with his things and came back, wrapping an arm around Angus’s shoulders. He started pulling Angus toward the house, but Angus shook his head. He didn’t need to be inside to get dressed.

It was going to take a while for Del to learn that. He wasn’t used to people going around naked, which was what happened when you lived with a bunch of shifters. Angus wondered for a moment if it was odd, but in any case he’d never understand it.

Angus quickly got dressed, and by the time he was done, Angela was finished tearing Mike and Leonard a new one. They looked like kicked puppies, which shouldn’t have made Angus as happy as it did.

“Thank you,” he told Angela as he climbed into the passenger seat of Del’s car.

She stared at him for a moment before nodding. “I’ll see you soon,” she promised.

She was probably right. They had work to do and shifters to save, and none of this was going to stop them.

Angus didn’t realize he was holding his breath until Del’s car reached the edge of the Wakefield pack territory. When it did, he relaxed, and this time, it was for real. His shoulders slumped and he felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest.

He was free, and he was headed home with his mate.

“Can I ask about your shifted form?” Del asked.

“You just have,” Angus teased.

Del rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“Ask away.”

There wasn’t much Angus could tell Del, but he was happy to answer any question his mate might have. It made the drive back to Rosewood pass faster, and Angus was surprised when they saw the first signs that they were headed into town.

With the Wakefield pack problem behind him now, he could focus on the hurdles still waiting for him. “I’m going to have to spend so much money on furniture and renovations,” he said with a groan.

“Didn’t Cam offer to pay for part of that?” Del asked.

“He did, but if this is my home, I should be the one paying for it, right?” That was how things had worked in Wakefield.

Del shrugged. “I don’t know. I’d never lived with a pack before. Cam seems to take his position very seriously, though. He wants to take care of his people, and now you’re one of them. Maybe you should allow him to do that.”

Angus couldn’t say he’d be sorry. He had some money put away, but he wasn’t sure it would be enough for him to do everything he wanted with the house.

This was his forever home, though. He could feel it in his bones, and he wanted to make it into the home he and Del would share eventually.

He wanted Del to have input on how the house would look and what it would become, even though he’d be the only one living there for now.

They hadn’t talked about moving in together, and Angus was fine with that.

Del was young, still going to college and trying to find his way in life.

Angus could give him the time he needed to figure things out.

“I’m going to need groceries, at the very least,” Angus said.

“Are you already moving in, then?”

“I think so. I’m grateful for Toby and Cam welcoming me into their home, but I need my own space. I checked the house, and while it’s mostly empty, it has running water and electricity. I’m not saying it’ll be comfortable, especially until the furniture comes, but I’ll make do.”

“Why don’t we grab some lunch, then? We can get whatever you think you need afterward.”

“Let’s go eat,” Angus said.

He’d expected his mate to take him into Rosewood, but instead, he headed straight for pack territory. Angus didn’t understand until Del parked in front of the house he shared with his sister, his father, and now, Tyler. “You meant you were taking me to lunch with your family?” he asked.

“Yeah. Unless you had something else in mind?”

Angus shook his head. He loved the relationship between Del and his family. Matt would be happy to see Del and even Angus.

Angus got out of the car, wrinkling his nose at the two others already parked in front of the house.

One car made sense, since Matt needed to get around, but who did the other car belong to?

Was someone visiting Tyler? Angus hoped they weren’t scaring him.

He needed time to get over what had happened to him, and he might never fully get over it.

At the very least, he needed rest and not be forced to think about all of that for a few days.

The door opened, and Matt stepped onto the porch. He quickly closed the door behind himself, which made both Angus and Del frown.

“Dad?” Del asked.

Something was wrong. It wasn’t only Matt’s behavior but also the way he appeared. He was pale, as if he’d seen a ghost, and he kept running his hand through his hair.

“I need you to stay calm,” Matt said.

“I don’t know if I can promise that. I don’t know what’s happening.”

Matt sucked in a breath. “Your mother is here.”

Del froze. Angus knew most of what happened between Matt and Del’s mother, so he was aware of the fact that this was a big thing.

“I need you to give her a chance and to listen to her,” Matt quickly added.

“Why would I do that?” Del’s tone was hard.

“Because she’s also Cora’s mother, and Cora is only six years old. I can’t risk losing her. I can’t risk for your mother to get custody of Cora.”

* * * *

Del had no idea what was going on. He’d heard his father’s words, and they made sense, but nothing else did.

Why was his mother here? He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her, although he suspected it was six years ago when she’d dropped off Cora and had left again.

Del had hoped she’d been there to stay when he’d seen her, but he should have known better, even at fourteen.

And now, she was back.

It didn’t make any sense.

“Has she said anything?” he asked.

He wanted to rage, to tell his mother to fuck off and never come back, but he wouldn’t risk Cora, and he could see how terrified his father was. She might not be his daughter, but he’d raised her as if she were, and he didn’t want to lose her.

Was that something Del’s mother might do? Del wouldn’t put anything past her, which meant they’d have to be careful.

“She wants to talk to you and Doyle,” Matt said. “She, well, she said she wants to fix her relationship with the two of you and Cora.”

“Why? She never cared.” Del was twenty, and he could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he’d seen his mother after she’d left home when he was five. Hell, he didn’t even need all five fingers.

His father rubbed his face again. “I don’t know why she’s here. I don’t know if she’s telling the truth or if she’s lying. Either way, it would be easy for her to get Cora. I’m not her father, which means I don’t have the same rights as her.”

“But you raised her.”

“I did, and I adopted her. It doesn’t mean your mother wouldn’t manage to get her if she tried, though.”

And that wasn’t something Del could accept.

Del straightened his back and squared his shoulders. “Fine. I’ll talk to her.”

A gentle hand touched the small of his back, stopping him from stomping inside the house. “You should probably look less like you’re about to take her on in a fight,” Angus murmured.

“You don’t know what she did to us,” Del spat out.

“Not the details, but I know enough. If she’s here to fix her relationship with you, you can’t look angry when you meet her.”

“I don’t care what she wants. I just need her to leave us alone.”

“Unfortunately, it might not be an option. Let’s just see what’s going on, all right?”

Del nodded. He’d never been so grateful for Angus’s presence. If it weren’t for him, he’d have barged into the house and yelled at his mother. He was still tempted to do just that, but he kept Cora in mind as he climbed the porch steps.

“So much for lunch,” he murmured. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to stay.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Angus promised.

Del believed him. Angus was nothing like Del’s mother, and he wouldn’t abandon him. Hell, he’d had trouble leaving the Wakefield pack, and they weren’t even his family.

The house was silent as Del walked inside.

It was unusual, and he wondered where his sister was.

Maybe with their mother. Del had a hard time believing Pamela was here for him and Doyle, but he could believe she was here for Cora.

Cora was only six and cute as a button. If Pamela wanted to be a mother, Cora would be the easiest way for her to make that happen.

“Cora is at a play date,” Matt whispered as they walked into the house. “And I asked Tyler to stay in his room.”

Del breathed easier. “That’s good to know. Are the other child’s parents aware they shouldn’t bring Cora home?”

“I texted them and Cam to let them know what was going on.”

With that out of the way, Del felt more confident as he walked into the living room. He wasn’t surprised to find Pamela there rather than in the kitchen. The kitchen in their house was where the family gathered most often, and it would have felt too intimate for Pamela to be there.

She was scrolling on her phone, but she looked up from where she was sitting on the couch when she heard Del. For a moment, there was no recognition in her gaze. She looked almost bored, but then her eyes widened, and she got to her feet as she put her phone away in her handbag.

“Del?” she asked.

Del stopped where he was. He wasn’t about to hug her or anything like that. He didn’t trust her, and the only thing he wanted from her was for her to leave.

“You’ve grown so much since the last time I saw you. You had to be ten or eleven.”

Del gritted his teeth. “Fourteen. It’s when you brought Cora home.”

Pamela didn’t seem offended. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?” Del asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Everything. I was never a mother to you and your siblings, and I realize now how wrong it was.”

“Is that why you’re here? To be a mother?”

“If you’ll let me. I want to atone for what I did to you. None of it was right, and I hope that eventually you’ll forgive me, but I won’t push for you to. I only ask for a chance to make you see that I’ve changed.”

Del didn’t believe one word she was saying. He didn’t care how eager she appeared. There was no way she was here just because she wanted to be a mother.

She’d had fifteen years to do so. Even when she’d still lived with them, she’d never been a real mother.

Del hadn’t really missed her after she’d left because she’d always been distant and uncaring, maybe because she’d been so young when she’d had Del and Doyle.

Del didn’t care why she’d behaved that way.

Matt had been young, too, but he’d always been a great father.

Del wanted to tell Pamela to leave and that he never wanted to see her again, but he couldn’t forget what his father had said.

Would Pamela really try to take Cora away if they didn’t go along with what she wanted?

Del had no idea. He didn’t know his mother.

He didn’t know why she was here or what she was planning.

He just knew there was something more to this than what she was saying and that he probably wouldn’t find out unless he acted as if he was giving her a chance.

He sucked in a breath. “I don’t know if I can ever forgive you,” he said slowly.

“I just need you to try. It’s a lot to ask for,” she said, her voice soft.

She moved around the coffee table and toward Del as if she was about to hug him. Del’s skin crawled at the thought, and he reached back, pulling his mate forward. He wrapped an arm around Angus’s waist and held him close, thankful that it meant Pamela couldn’t hug him.

She wrinkled her nose. “And who’s that?” she asked.

“My mate.”

Her eyes widened. “Is that why you moved here? I was surprised when I realized that you and your father left with the pack.”

“We live here because it’s home.”

“Of course.” But she seemed perturbed, which in Del’s eyes was yet another sign that suggested she was up to something.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Angus said. “I’m Angus.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, too. I can’t wait to get to know you better. What kind of shifter are you?”

Angus opened his mouth, but Del wouldn’t let him explain. He couldn’t risk it. “I think you should leave,” he told his mother.

Her eyes narrowed. “Your father said I could stay.”

“Until you talked to him,” Matt said from behind Del. “Doyle already told you he’d meet you in town, and Cora isn’t here. She won’t be coming back today because she’s having a sleepover with a friend.”

“I thought I’d see her today. I miss my little girl.”

Del almost snorted. She missed the little girl she’d abandoned at only a few weeks old without looking back? At least she’d been smart and had left Cora with Matt.

“That won’t be possible, but you can come back. You need to give all of them time to wrap their minds around what’s happening. You haven’t been in their life in a long time, Pamela. Don’t force them into something they’re not ready for.”

She looked like she wanted to protest, but eventually, she nodded. “I’ll be back,” she said.

It sounded more like a threat than a promise.

Matt walked her outside. Del stayed where he was, so tense he felt he might break.

He listened to the sounds of a door opening and closing, then a car driving off.

When his father reappeared, Del stepped away from Angus and grabbed his dad.

He pulled him into his arms, hugging him like he hadn’t in a long time.

“We’ll do everything we can to keep Cora with us,” he promised.

His father nodded against his shoulder. “I know.”

“I don’t know why she’s here, but we’ll find out and make sure she can’t hurt us.”

There was no doubt in Del’s mind that whatever his mother wanted, it wasn’t genuine. The problem was that he didn’t know if they could find out what it was without putting Cora in danger.