Page 121 of Vengeance and Vipers

I take a look around, finding couples dancing on the dance floor of the ballroom.

I see Jayce and Axel and give them a small wave, wondering if they know Maddox asked me to contract to the clan yet. Krase comes to me and gives me a small bow.

‘May I have this dance?’ he asks.

I nod, and he takes my hand, twirling me effortlessly into an old-fashioned waltz that I only know how to do from old movies. He whirls me around and around on the dance floor until I’m breathless and actually really enjoying myself. We don’t say anything to each other, but I can feel how happy he is. He knows I’m not leaving after the party. In truth, despite Maddox’s games, I’m happy I’m not leaving as well.

As soon as he stops, Jayce cuts in and swirls me around some more. By the time Axel appears, I’m laughing and a tad dizzy. We dance for a little while, and then I beg to stop for a bit to catch my breath and have a cool drink.

He goes off to get me something, and I’m standing by myself, just taking in the ambiance with a silly smile on my face.

Then I catch sight of someone, and my heart lurches in my chest.

‘It can’t be.’

I make my way through the crowd to where I saw who I think I saw, telling myself the whole way that it’s not possible and pushing away the links I have with the clan. I don’t want them to know how I’m feeling.

But then I see her … and it isher. She looks a little different, older now.

I watch her for a minute. She’s talking to a couple of older shifters who look like they might be Council members. She’s on the arm of a large shifter alpha.

She excuses herself a minute later, and I see my chance, moving to intercept her when she’s out of her date’s line of sight. I put my hand on her arm, and she turns.

‘Mom?’ I ask.

She looks shocked, her eyes widening, but covers it quickly.

‘I’m sorry,’ she says. ‘I think you have me confused with someone else.’

I shake my head, and I grip her a little tighter. ‘No, I know it’s you.’

‘Let go of me!’ she hisses, and I do, taking a step back.

My eyes fill with tears. ‘I thought you were dead. They said you were dead. They said you and Dad were killed in an accident.’

She swears under her breath, a smile still plastered to her face.

‘Don’t you know anything?’ she whispers angrily, glancing around. ‘Not here.’ She looks around again. ‘Somewhere private if you really want to do this.’

I nod, ushering her out of the ballroom and down the hall to the Parlor. I open the door, hoping it’s empty. I poke my head inside and practically push her in when I see no one there. I shut the door behind us.

I hug her tightly despite her animosity. I can’t help it.

‘It is you,’ I whisper. ‘I don’t understand. Where were you? Why did they tell me you died?’

She returns the hug for a moment but then pulls away.

‘Don’t you get it?’ She chuckles a little, looking like she can’t believe she’s having to spell it out for me. ‘I did what I had to do.’

‘But you left me. You left me with the fae, Mom,’ I whimper, tears clouding my vision. ‘I’m not your mother.’ She says it with a roll of her eyes.

I take a step back. ‘What?’

I shake my head, not comprehending. ‘Of course you are.’

‘No. I was never your bio mom. We were ordered to pretend. John, your ‘dad’ and me.’ She shakes her head. ‘We weren’t even a couple. They gave us a baby, and they told us to raise you and keep you safe until they came for you.’

I sit down heavily on the couch, feeling sick.