Page 67 of Shifted Fate (Broken Luna #1)

“Already done.” My mother smiled up at him. “That’s why they have been quiet. They have been spending time with each other.”

My dad smiled and leaned down once more to kiss her one last time. “He’s always smarter than me.”

“That he is.” She hugged him once more, then he was gone. A long howl sounded again, and she slammed the door and walked back to me. Tears were welling in her eyes, and she looked at me. “I don’t want to go back.”

“I know.” I grabbed her hand and smiled.

“I couldn’t say this in front of your father, not after I got him back, but Morgan has been pushing to have a pup of our own.” She looked at me. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Don’t do it.” My answer was fast.

“Obviously not.” My mother was quick with her answer. But she looked at me, really looked at me. “Why did you answer so quickly?”

“In my first life, you were pregnant with Morgan’s pup, but it was like the pup sucked the life out of you.

Every day you were pregnant, you died a little more on the inside.

Your wolf withered, and you did too. By the time it came for the baby to be born, you were so weak, you died.

I had thought you died from sadness that it was Morgan’s pup, and that fact ate away at you making you weak, too weak to give birth.

I found out as Brandon took me that he had poisoned you to make you weak.

Well, Brandon and Shannon, both. Then they had the doctor use silver on you, and in your weakened state you and the pup died on the table. ”

My mother trembled as I told her the full truth. “That bastard.”

I just nodded. “He killed my entire family. He killed dad too. This time around, I won’t be letting him anywhere near us.”

“You have dealt with so much already in your life, and you are barely eighteen.” My mom stroked my hair. “This isn’t how I pictured your life.”

I leaned into her arm, and she wrapped me in a tight hug. “I doubt my life would ever be what you and dad dreamed it would be. You made an Alpha, and a strong one at that. My life was always going to be harder than most. Plus, as a Lycan, it was doomed from the start.” I gave a small laugh.

“Don’t say that. You were supposed to have an amazing life, and you still can.”

“Mom. My mate is a bastard. He will never be deserving of me.”

“Your wolf mate will never be deserving of you. My wolf’s mate wasn’t either.” She chuckled as she shook herself. “He was and still is a disgusting rat bastard that I never allowed myself to get too close to until I was fully mated to your father.”

“Dad was your Lycan mate?” I questioned.

She nodded. “He was strong enough to catch Sigyn’s fancy, but in truth, they were destined to be together. My wolf, Leanne’s mate, is, well, pathetic.”

“Who was Leanne’s mate?” I looked up at her and she shook her head in disgust.

“Vince.” She looked down at me, disgusted.

“I caught his scent the morning of my eighteenth. I followed his scent back to his pack, and I watched as he rutted another female. I was disgusted. As I taught you, my mother hammered home the meaning of mates and how we should save ourselves for them. So, when I saw him rutting with another, it broke Leanne’s heart. ”

“Understandable.” I held her close.

“But even then, I could have tried to make it work.”

“Then what happened?” I pulled back.

“Mid-rut, the scent hit him. The she-wolf was pregnant with his pup. And he lost control. He ripped her apart. The poor girl was no more than seventeen and he ripped her to shreds. I watched as he killed a girl that he confessed his love to, and I couldn’t do anything because I was a rogue wolf on his land.

I stared at her for what felt like minutes, but it was probably only seconds. “Mom…”

She shook her head, and a new tear fell.

“I knew then I could never mate Vince. So, I left. And I spoke with my father, as you spoke with me, and he said he would never make me mate with a wolf that held females so low. Low enough to use them while they were at their weakest and then kill them when he was finished with them. So, whenever Vince came looking for his mate, my father would always send me back home.”

“How did you meet daddy?”

My mom blushed at her thoughts, but a more frantic howl ripped through the air and I watched him deflate. “We should go.” She put out the fire and quickly put everything away. “Morgan will go berserk if we don’t show up soon.” She lifted her lip in disgust.

“Can you handle the next four years?”

“Yeah. Baby, I have to.” She waved me to the front door and sprayed us both down with descenting spray.

“Won’t he notice?”

She shook her head. “We will wash it off in the stream. It only protects our cabin.” I nodded as we walked out of the cabin and froze when we heard a howl close. Too close. “We have to hurry. We will have to cut down away from the pack and then wrap back around. I refused to allow him here.”

I just nodded and we both shifted. She ran off behind the cabin and I followed.

Morgan’s howls came more often until we were almost too far to hear it.

Then my mother stopped and howled back. A quick response, just a quick, we are on our way.

Even I could tell that my mother’s wolf was annoyed with that howl and Morgan would know it, too.

He kept howling, but my mom never answered again. I could see her wolf bristle with each howl, and her annoyance was slowly burning away to her anger. “How dare he?”

“Mom? What’s wrong?”

“He knew this was our first run, and yet he is acting like this.” His wolf bristled again as his longing howl cut through the air.

“I didn’t bother him all night when he took Shannon for her first run, but today he is acting like this.

” If her wolf could spit I think she would have.

She was foaming at the mouth with anger.

We crashed through the stream and our scents came back.

When her scent hit me, I stumbled. I knew she was angry, but her scent hit me like a truck.

We ran almost twice as long as the first time around and when we ran from the trees to the backyard; we found Morgan mid howl.

My mother’s wolf bristled, and her hackles rose to their full height.

Morgan the wolf trotted over and tried to rub down my mother’s side, scenting her, but she snapped at him and growled.

His wolf danced away and looked hurt. But she turned to me and scented me with her smell.

Morgan sulked away and shifted, then came back over to where we were.

My mother was still trying to calm herself as she ran herself down my side.

It was almost like I was her worry stone.

Every pass, she calmed down a little more.

Every intake of our combined scent soothed her wolf in a way that only mothers understood.

I watched Morgan with hostile eyes as he came over. “Where were you two?” His question was accusing, and once again my mother bristled. She looked at me and me her, and then we both shifted. And she turned on Morgan.

“How fucking dare you.” She was pissed.

“Amy, go to your room. I will talk to you later.” Morgan tried to sound stern, but there was a quiver in his voice.

“Like hell you will.” My mother grabbed my arm, and I almost yelped.

Not in pain, but in surprise. “Amy is my daughter, not yours. And don’t for a second think that an Alpha wolf would take a command from a Beta.

” My mom’s word cut into Morgan. I could see the hurt behind his eyes.

“Amy listens to you because I ask her to, but tonight, tonight, you crossed the line.”

Morgan raised his hands in surrender. “What exactly did I do?”

“Do not play dumb Morgan. It doesn’t suit you.

You know exactly what you did tonight.” My mom walked up to him and pushed her finger into his chest. “The first run with your child is the most important. It allows our wolves to bond, as they should their first time meeting one another. BUT YOU.” She slammed her finger into his chest so hard that he flinched.

I always forget that my mother is an Alpha because she always defers to her partner as a Luna should, in public anyway.

I think Morgan forgot, too. “You had to come out here and start howling. Demanding we come back.”