Page 30 of His White Moonlight (Dominant CEO Shifter Romance #1)

Slowly turning my head, I looked at the space beside me. The blankets were in place, but there was a slight indent in the pillow. Sliding my hand under the covers, I touched the bedding.

It radiated heat.

I struggled to come up with a reasonable explanation. Maybe Mom had come home and slept beside me.

You know she didn’t, Wren.

Maybe I moved in my sleep.

You never have before, Wren.

Maybe I…

I scrambled for something, anything other than what I’d been trying to dismiss since the welcoming party. But I’d run out of excuses. My hand was touching the truth.

Bennett had slept next to me last night. And not because I was in his bed or there were no other beds in the house. But because I was his mate. The mate he was patiently waiting for. The mate slowly driving him insane.

The carefully crafted shard of delusion that had protected me from the truth shattered. With a whimper of denial, I desperately sought to recreate it.

I had to be wrong. I couldn’t be his mate.

My chest grew tighter, and breathing became harder.

Mates never parted. I would never be able to leave.

It can’t be me. I have plans. I wanted to go to University. Why me?

How long had he known?

That thought speared through me, and I remembered how, for as far back as I could remember, he’d always denied me as his sister.

And Mom and Dad had never scolded him for it. They’d always tried smoothing it over, telling me he still loved me.

He’d known since the beginning. They all had.

A pained sob broke through as I understood what that meant.

They’d only fostered me because I was Bennett’s mate.

The door banged open suddenly, and Bennett rushed in. He was still wearing the shorts from last night, and his hair was partially flattened on one side. Worry reflected in his gaze as he crossed the room.

“Wrenly, what’s wrong?”

When he tried reaching for me, I lost it.

“Don’t touch me!” I scrambled out of the bed, wheezing for air I couldn’t quite take in.

But he was faster, catching me by my arms.

“Wrenly, baby. You’re safe.”

With a scream that sounded more like a wounded animal than human, I covered my ears and slowly crumbled into a ball on the floor.

He kept talking to me, but I didn’t hear any of it. My panic was too loud.

It was all a lie.

They didn’t fall in love with me the first time they saw me. Bennett had.

I was a child bride. They’d raised me for Bennett.

They’d locked me away for Bennett.

I screamed, all my anger and hurt that I’d endured burning through me, ripping me apart.

Bennett stopped touching me. A second later, something stung my arm, snapping me out of my downward spiral.

“I’ve got you, baby,” Bennett said. “You’re safe. You’ll be okay. I won’t let anything hurt you. I promise.”

The pain and fear melted away, and I started feeling unnaturally tired.

“What did you do?” I asked, my words slurring.

“Just gave you something to help you calm down.”

“Asshole.”

And then I was out.

* * *

When I came to again, I was in bed, and Grandma was sitting in a chair beside me, holding my hand.

She smiled at me when I looked at her.

“How are you feeling, my little Wren?”

My blink took a little too long as I considered her question.

“Tired.” Yet, even as I said it, I felt more alert.

“Are you still feeling upset?” she asked.

“Why would I?—”

The pain returned as the fogginess in my mind cleared, but it was less intense in the face of her compassionate focus.

It was all a lie.

Both her hands cradled mine.

“My sweet girl, no more tears. Tell Grandma what’s wrong. We’ll fix it together, okay?”

Grandma. She’d never treated me as anything other than the most precious person in her life. She’d scolded Aiden and Karter countless times for me. Bennett, too, though not as often because he hadn’t been around.

Maybe she was the one person who’d been real in my life. But that didn’t mean I could admit what I knew. Once I did that, they would make it impossible for me to leave.

“I remember a story you told me,” I said. “About a wolf who waited too long to claim his mate. He went insane. I think Bennett is going insane.”

Her worried expression turned to compassion and almost started me crying again.

“Is that why you were upset? He did something to upset you?”

He had. He’d picked me as his future mate. But I couldn’t tell her that. I withdrew my hand from hers.

“I think I want to sleep some more.”

“Sleep isn’t going to help whatever is provoking that intelligent mind of yours, is it?”

“No.”

“When you hide from the things bothering you, they always find a way to haunt you. Don’t hide, my little Wren. You’re too courageous for that.”

“I’m not hiding. I’m processing.”

She smiled and nodded. “Then, process. I’ll wake you again later.”

I accepted her forehead kiss and waited for the door to close before I quietly cried for the lie my childhood had been. My feelings fluctuated between anger and self-pity.

The reason why Mom and Dad had never let me come home, even when I said how much I hated school, was clearer now.

A hurt part of me whispered that they’d safely locked me away until I was old enough to be Bennett’s mate.

But I knew them better than that. By sending me away, they’d given me a measure of freedom from his possessiveness while I grew up.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t been safe where they’d sent me.

I’d kept silent, stupidly believing I wasn’t wanted. If I’d been honest with them about what had been happening instead of thinking they’d kicked me out because Bennett and I couldn’t get along, maybe things would have gone a lot differently.

I didn’t hate them. But I wasn’t sure I could forgive them either.

As I lay there, I realized I was at one of those pivotal moments in life where I had a choice to make, and what I chose would irrevocably impact the path my life would take.

I could choose to hold onto my anger and hurt indefinitely, or I could accept that the choices they’d made up until now had hurt me and move on.

Accepting didn’t mean forgiving. It just meant I wouldn’t let their decisions continue to define my life.

Closing my eyes, I got to work on accepting all the bits of my past with the new understanding that their concern for me had been as Bennett’s future mate and not their daughter. I also began to come to terms with how hurt they would be when I rejected him and walked away from them all.

Grandma returned a few hours later with a light knock on the door and a bowl of ice cream in her hands.

“Double-chocolate with bits of other things that looked good,” she said. “Want a bite?”

I sat up in bed and accepted the bowl.

“Aiden and Karter are worried. Your parents, too. You should answer them.”

I glanced at my phone on the nightstand but didn’t reach for it. Grandma did. She had no problem unlocking it and opening my messages. She frowned, and I quickly ate a spoonful of ice cream.

“Their messages are missing. I see your mom and dad, but not Aiden and Karter.”

She looked at me, and I shrugged.

I watched her inhale, gauging my mood. She wouldn’t find much. I’d tucked away everything I could. A bit of sadness lingered, but that would fade in time, too, as I regrouped.

Did finding out why the Wulfs had taken me in change my perception of everything? Yes. Did it hurt? Immeasurably. But it hadn’t changed my goals; it solidified them.

“What time is it?” I asked when she said nothing.

“Almost dinner. Are you hungry for something more than ice cream?”

“Not really.”

“How about taking my old bones for a walk around the neighborhood then? I’ve been sitting too long, I think. We can walk past Duneklin’s place and bend the mailbox flag.”

I shook my head at her, amused despite myself.

“He’ll know it was you.”

“That’s what makes it even better. He won’t be able to do a damn thing about it.”

Her antagonistic attitude toward the elder Duneklin had something to do with a pack run incident when Grandpa was still alive. She never gave the details, but always said he deserved it.

“Fine, I’ll take you to terrorize the neighbors, but you take all the blame.”

“That’s a given,” she said, grinning.

I didn’t bother changing since my pajamas were just a pair of shorts and a tank top. Everything that needed covering was covered. So I followed her out of the room and down the stairs.

Bennett waited at the bottom, watching me with an intensity that had me sidestepping partially behind Grandma. He frowned at me.

Grandma turned to look at me questioningly, too.

“Don’t ever give me anything again without my permission,” I said.

He didn’t respond, just stared at me.

“Wren, he did what he thought was best for you. You were scratching at yourself. He was worried you’d hurt yourself.”

She took my hand and led me to the mirror hanging in the entry.

“Look.”

There were minor scratches near my ears. I hadn’t realized I’d done it.

“When Bennett was out of control and throwing people into walls, did anyone think to give him a shot to control him? No. Don’t hold me to a different standard.”

Grandma shot Bennett a long look then took my hand with a kind smile and led me out the door.

We walked around the neighborhood for hours, during which time Grandma was a complete menace to everyone but me.

She bent mailbox flags. She clipped flowers to make a bouquet that would irritate Bennett’s nose—she sneezed a lot, too.

House numbers were rearranged on mailboxes.

Mail was hidden around the neighborhood like a toddler-aged easter egg hunt.

She wasn’t sneaky about anything, and whenever she was caught, her answer was, “Go tell Bennett,” while I stood behind her, shrugging and shaking my head.

Several people stormed off to do just that.

She laughed each time, and I had to admit I found it a little funny, too, as I imagined them all telling on her. Bennett wouldn’t be able to control her any more than her son-in-law and current pack leader could control her.

“Well, this was a good walk, Wrenly. Did you learn anything?”

“Yes. You’re a menace to society.”

She hummed thoughtfully. “But just the right amount of menace. Not bad enough to call the police or your father. Just bad enough to get under their skin. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I looked at Grandma with new understanding and felt my eyes start to water. She knew I was upset about something, and she was showing a way to vent my frustration without getting into trouble.

“Thank you,” I said softly.

“Anytime.”

“Can I ask you a question?” I asked as we started back.

“Of course.”

“Why didn’t you ever mate again?”

Her expression turned bittersweet and wistful. “Because no man could ever replace the mate I had. Even in death, we’re still bound. I can still feel him.”

She placed her hand over her heart, and I saw pain flash in her gaze.

“How did you survive Grandpa leaving you?”

She’d told me a long time ago that the stronger the mating bond, the more dangerous it was for the surviving mate when the other died.

“The bond is a complicated thing. Stronger for some, almost non-existent for others. Regardless of the strength, the bond between mates changes when we have children. It expands just enough to allow a connection to our young. It’s my connection to my daughter and Bennett and Aiden and Karter…

and most especially you…that keeps me here. ”

“How do you know if the bond is strong or not?”

“You feel it the moment it’s made.”

“What would have happened if you’d rejected Grandpa’s bond?”

She glanced at me, and suspicion lit her gaze. I tried to push my panic away but knew I wasn’t fully able to when she sighed and pulled me into a hug.

“If I’d rejected him, I would have missed out on the best thing that ever happened in my life. But that’s me, Wrenly. Not all mate bonds are like mine.”

When she withdrew, she cupped my face. “I hope you find someone who lights up your life like my mate lit mine. I hope all my grandkids find that level of completion. It’s not an easy road, though, searching for that person.

That’s why so many of my kind settle for good enough. Don’t settle, Wrenly.”

She kissed my cheek then patted it before releasing me.

We walked back to the house, holding hands like when I’d been little and too afraid to venture out on my own because of the neighborhood girls. It felt good to be protected, and it made me realize how exhausted I was from having to watch my own back for so long.

Bennett was in the kitchen making something that smelled good when we walked in. My stomach growled, and Grandma winked at me.

“Did you make enough for three?” Grandma asked.

“Enough for five. Mom and Dad will be here in about fifteen minutes.”

“Why?” The question popped out before I could stop it.

Both Grandma and Bennett glanced at me.

“They’re worried,” he said.

Tired of only seeing them on their terms and not ready to face them, I said, “I’ll pass on the family dinner and turn in early.”

Neither of them said anything to stop my retreat.