Page 68 of Shifted Fate (Broken Luna #1)

Chapter Sixty-One

M

organ backed up a little as he raised his hands up in surrender. “I was worried about you.”

“Bullshit.” My mother spit back. “You wanted to control our run, or come with us, but you are not Amy’s father. You don’t get that right. You are her stepfather, and after today, that is even up in the air.”

“Hey.” Morgan tried to push back, but my mother was having none of it.

“Hey nothing. When Shannon shifted, what did you say to me?”

“I can’t remember it was so long ago.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes, but I saw the anger there.

“Don’t lie to me. It was less than three months ago.

You were so proud, don’t you remember? You rubbed it in that Shannon shifted earlier than Amy.

‘Look at how fast and strong my daughter is. I wonder when Amy will get here.’ Yeah, that bullshit like we all don’t know that stronger wolves take longer to shift.

Amy surprised all of us by shifting as early as she did. ” My mom tossed out.

“Well, maybe she isn’t as strong as you think she is.” Shannon’s voice came from the door. Even now, she was still healing from the beating she got.

“Or maybe I can just prove how strong I am again? How is your neck doing by the way?” I offered and Morgan glared at me, and Shannon whimpered, then went back inside.

“Amy!” Morgan started, but my mother raised her finger.

“Amy nothing.” She pointed at him. “What did you say on the day of Shannon’s first shift, Morgan?”

“I can’t… I can’t remember.”

“You said that Shannon and you deserved the full day to run and get acquainted with each other. That your wolf craved it. And that I should be a good dutiful wife and not expect you home, nor was I to expect to join you on the run because I wasn’t her true mother. Right?”

“Well, I guess…” He trailed off as my mom started laughing.

“You are a pathetic piece of shit.”

“Ainsley…” Morgan tried to grab her, but she let out a growl.

“Don’t you dare fucking touch me. Ever again.”

Morgan whined. “You can’t mean that.”

“But I do. I asked you that day, for the same courtesy, and you PROMISED that you would give me this day. Yet you barely gave us a fucking hour before you started howling at the top of your fucking pathetic lungs.”

“Ains.” Morgan tried again, grabbing her, but she caught his hands.

“I said don’t touch me.” Her eyes were full of fire, but I knew this served a new purpose. She was serving ties with Morgan right this second, so that he knew going forward they were going back to the original agreement. “You broke your promise.”

“I didn’t mean it.” He tried, but she shook her head.

“It’s too late. We had an agreement at the very beginning of this arrangement, didn’t we? That we would respect each other’s wishes and uphold any promise we made to each other.”

“You can’t mean…” Morgan trailed off as he truly focused on my mother’s face. “It was one promise.”

“What was the agreement, Morgan?”

“That we would keep our promises, or else we would…” His words trailed off as his head shook.

“This relationship is over.” My mother’s words cut him. I watched as he froze.

“You can’t mean that.”

“I do. We can stay married, but everything will go back to the beginning. No contact. Different rooms. You gave up your right to this relationship when you howled the first time.” My mother growled one more time before she pushed past him and into the house. Leaving me and Morgan in the backyard.

I just witnessed a death of sorts. I knew Morgan loved my mother in his own way, but when she said it was over, I watched a little sliver of his soul die. He crumpled in a way only a man can, when he faced losing the one he loved.

He looked up at me, and his eyes shifted from lost to angry instantly. I raised my eyebrow and tilted my head. “Say what you need to say, Morgan, before I lose my sympathy and decide to take what you’re about to say to heart and rip you apart.” I smiled slowly. And he lost his mind.

He tried to attack me, but I shifted to the side. “You!” He screamed as he charged again.

“I said, say what you need to say.” I held up a hand.

“But if you so much as nick me, I will kill you.” My voice shifted lower with each word.

A tiny portion of his brain that still fears the darkness must have caught the threat, even if his anger clouded his mind, because he stopped.

“Say it.” I growled out one last time, already losing my patience.

“You did this.” He crumpled to his knees, heaving. “It would have been perfect if you weren’t here.” He cried into his hands, and if he would have stopped there, I wouldn’t have suspected him. But he is Morgan, and he is an idiot. “Why couldn’t you have just died in the fucking attack?”

I froze.

How did he know about the attack? He continued to cry and scream, but I was focused on the words that seemed to flow like lava from his mouth.

It was pure hatred. Hatred of my father and me.

“If you would have just died when your dad was attacked years ago, I wouldn’t have had to raise you.

Money that your mother would have inherited would have been mine, or Vinces.

We would have been set. But no, you both survived.

It wasn’t until your father was stupid enough to cheat on her that she moved here.

” His voice tailed off as he looked up at me with hatred in his eyes and I knew in that moment that my father was right.

But I had to play stupid. “What did you say, Morgan?” I stepped closer and had a confused look on my face.

“Just go in the house, Amy.”

“Okay…” I left him there on his hands and knees, whispering about the plans they made that failed. I was floored. It was all planned out and my parents almost played directly into their hands.

Mom … I mind-linked her, but she didn’t answer. I walked to my bedroom in silence, but she pulled me into it and straight into my bathroom. She turned the water on full and pressed her lips to my ear and whispered to me. “You can’t mind-link anything to me about what is going on.”

“Why not?”

“Because part of the vow we take when we come here is that the Alpha can listen to all mind-links, and he does. Vince has his wolf listen in to people he thinks he needs to.”

“Like us?”

“You just turned down his son out of nowhere. And he has always kept an eye on me.” She pulled back and stared at me until I nodded. “Now, what is wrong?”

“Morgan, when you went inside, it was like he lost his mind. He was mumbling to himself.”

“About what?”

“About how I should have died during the attack at dad’s pack.

” My mom reared back from me. She mouthed the word attack and raised her eyebrow.

I pulled her back in and nodded. “Yes, there was an attack.” I waved her off.

“But listen. Morgan said that I should have died in the attack, the attack that no one but Dad’s pack should have known about.

And then he went on to talk about the attack back when I was younger.

The one when the King died. That Dad and I should have died then.

That way you would have inherited his money. ”

My mother reeled back again. “What the fuck?” I heard her over the water and I shushed her. “Even if that did happen, why would they care?”

“Because he said then you would have come here and no matter who you would have chosen when Vince made you get into another relationship, the money would have been theirs. They were working together the entire time. Vince, with his stupid use of the old laws and Morgan rushing in to be your saviour.”

When I finally finished explaining it to her and pulled back, the fire was back in her eyes.

My mother was once again pissed off. She stomped around my small bathroom, cursing under her breath until there was a knock on my door.

But it sounded like I was in the shower, so I wrapped my robe around myself and a towel around my hair.

I took off my socks and shoes, pulled my pant legs up, then I was ready to go.

I walked to the door when the next pounding knock came.

“Yes.” I opened my door and Morgan was there. He still looked at me with hatred and at this point, I could say the sentiment was mutual. “What do you need, Morgan?”

“Where is your mother? We need to talk this out.”

“She isn’t ready to speak to you. And I can’t blame her. She is really upset that you ruined our run.” I planted my foot behind my door, almost certain he was going to push my door open. Which he did. When the door refused to budge, I just shook my head.

“Open the fucking door, Amy.”

“Morgan, we both know that you are no match against me. I don’t want to fight with you but please just give her time. I’m sure after a night’s sleep she will be more open to talk to you.” Morgan fumed for a second, then turned away.