Page 117 of Shrouded in the Dark

I glanced warily at Mom and Gary. He nodded.

“It’s true.” I squatted in front of the twins. “I’m a shifter.”

Mom gave a small gasp, but otherwise stayed quiet as the twins kept firing off questions.

“Dad said that you have five mates.” Milly placed her hands on her hips. “You can’t have five mates without our approval.” She lifted her chin up as I fought back a laugh. “We don’t even know if they’re good enough for our sister.”

“I want to see you shift,” Steve interrupted his sister. He tugged on my hair. “Will you show us?”

“Kids,” Mom stepped forward. “Give your sister a chance to breathe. She just got home. Why don’t you go get some sodas for everyone? Give us a few minutes?”

It actually wasn’t a suggestion and they knew my mom well enough by now, so they went without complaining. I straightened and looked between my parents. There was some strain, even if Mom tried to hide it.

“You can’t really be mad at Gary for this, Mom.” I held out my hands as she started to say something. “He didn’t know that the rogue would be there. If it wasn’t for the way he set up the cabin, I’d probably be dead. Plus, it’s not like he really hid everything. We did know he believed in this stuff.”

The safe room in the bathroom saved me. I owed it to my stepdad to at least try to save him a little of Mom’s wrath.

Mom sighed as she stepped away from Gary. She started to pace in the room. “Not the point, Rebecca.”

Oh. Full name. She was really pissed. Uh oh.

“The point is that you were hurt and I didn’t know of it until just yesterday?” Her voice went up an octave. “That’s unacceptable!” I winced a little as she got louder.

“Hunny.” Gary stepped in front of her to stop her pacing. “She’s okay now. Better. Stronger than she was. Look at her.” He turned her to look at me. “What would she normally be doing at this point when you’re angry at anyone?”

He was right. Usually by now, I’d have a full blown anxiety attack. I didn’t do well with anger, or at least, I didn’t used to. I was kind of proud of myself. I was calm and had no hints of anxiety.

Mom narrowed her eyes on me. Whatever she saw gave her pause. She stepped away from Gary to move in front of me. She hugged me again. I could feel a small tremor.

“I was just so scared to hear what happened to you. I didn’t believe it at first.”

I hugged her back. “I’m okay. I promise, Mom. I’ve actually never been happier. You’re going to love the guys.”

Gary came over to us. “I’m going to go introduce myself to your men and catch up with Wyn. Why don’t we give you two a little bit more time?” He waited until Mom looked at him with a nod.

When he left the room, Mom pulled away from the hug and moved to sit on the couch, patting the seat next to her.

“Tell me everything. Don’t hold back.” She straightened her spine as she gestured at me.

The story took a while. I hadn’t realized how much had really happened until it spilled from my lips. Mom only interrupted to ask a few questions. When I told her about the girl at the pizza place, her lips thinned and I knew that someone was going to get an angry phone call. She laughed at some of Cody’s antics. When I told her about Felicity, she held my hand. We both cried as I got to the part where I realized that I could see the stars. That took a few minutes to get through.

“And now we’re all mated. Something happened when I marked Axel. It was just this big rush of euphoria. It was intense, but now, it feels like we’re all tied together.” I looked down at my free hand. “Even now, I feel them.” I placed the hand over my heart. “Are you mad, Mom?”

She shifted, squeezing my hand. “No. I was more frustrated with Gary than anything. I was worried how you’d handle this, but it looks like I don’t have anything to worry about.” She tilted her head slightly to the right. “Your dad would be proud of you.”

Tears pricked at my eyes again. “I thought he’d find this whole thing pretty cool.”

She laughed. “Oh, your father would be the first in line to pull your tail, that’s for sure.”

There was a crash from the kitchen that had us both jumping out of the couch. A shout from Milly about Steve being a clutz made me sigh in relief. Mom touched my arm.

“Let me go meet your boys for real this time.” She squeezed my bicep and we went down the hallway to where everyone else had gathered in the kitchen and dining area.

Seth, Wyn, and Axel were leaning against the far wall. Jasper was kneeling next to Steve, helping him wipe up what looked like a spilled glass of milk. Cody was next to Milly. They were whispering something to each other. I’d have to make sure they didn’t try any pranks later. Gary was pulling some food out of the fridge.

“So,” Mom crossed her arms as she looked at my mates. “You’re my daughters, er, mates?” She stumbled a little over the word. “How do I know you’re worthy to be hers?”

“Mom!” My mouth dropped. “You can’t ask that!”