“He has taken on the role of my personal snack dispenser. He always has fruit or a tasty snack in his pocket,” I told her. She smiled but turned the apple down.

“Did you get ahold of Tamara?” I asked Matilda, and then took a bite out of the apple.

“I did. From what she told me, the pack didn’t take the news of what happened at the Alpha meeting well. Apparently, the council warriors arrived the same day everything went down. She didn’t say, but I think it saved the few women left. She and Sarah, Ryan’s mate, have been detained for now to answer questions about his plans. Tamara swears she had no idea what he was planning. I believe her,” Matilda said. I nodded and took her hand in mine.

“Does she know what happened? Everything?” Finlay asked.

“She does,” Matilda told him. He nodded and looked down at his hands. I put the half-eaten apple down and placed my free hand on top of his.

“What did she say?” he hesitantly asked.

“Ryan was her son; she is heartbroken,” Matilda told him. He nodded, but I knew that wasn’t what he had asked about. I squeezed Matilda’s hand, and she looked at me. I nodded. “She is upset we ended up where she has fought so many years not to end up: with one of her sons killing the other. All of this pack business and the animosity in the family started because she tried to avoid this.”

“She is angry,” he said. He was breaking my heart, and I wished he wouldn’t care what his mother thought or felt, but I also knew that parental approval was deeply rooted. I let go of Matilda’s hand and stood up next to Finlay. I cradled his head with one arm, forcing him to lean it against my stomach.

“She isn’t angry. She is just sad and upset,” Matilda said, giving me an approving smile. Then there was a pause.

“There is more,” I said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes. When the council releases Tamara and Sarah, they don’t have anywhere to go. Tamara wants to come here,” Matilda said.

“No.” Finlay was trying his best to shake his head as I held it.

“Finn,” I gently said.

“No. I don’t trust them. I almost lost you both a couple of days ago, and I’m not planning on going through that again,” he said.

“Do we know when they will be released?” I asked.

“Probably later today,” Matilda said.

“That doesn’t give us much time to arrange for something else, especially with the alphas still in the alpha meeting,” I said.

“Fine. They can stay, but only for a week. It will take them a day to get here, and then they can stay a week while we arrange for a permanent placement,” Finlay said.

“Are you sure? We can always book a hotel room in the closest city for them,” I suggested, relaxing against him.

He sighed and put his arms around me. “I’m sure. I don’t trust them, but for a week, I can deal with it.” I hoped the week would give him a chance to resolve some of the lingering issues with his mother. Maybe now that his brother was gone, they could create some bond or relationship. Or maybe just talk it through to give them both closure.

“Okay, let’s do that then,” I agreed and kissed the top of his head. It was a rare treat for me to be taller than him.

“I will arrange it,” Matilda told us and got up.

“Get Jake to help with booking the travel and arrange for someone to pick them up from the airport,” Finlay said. Matilda hummed, gave Finlay a kiss on his head and me an awkward hug as Finlay was already embracing me, and left.

“What’s next?” Finlay asked. He was still leaning on me, and I didn’t mind. I ran my fingers through his hair.

“We can take a break and do nothing,” I said. He chuckled.

“Your mom is a liar,” he told my belly. “She has never been able to do nothing.” I laughed. It was mostly true. The only time I was content with just doing nothing and enjoying the moment was when Finlay and I took time for ourselves.

“Well, if you insist we do something, it might be a good time to ask the ones we have taken in to have a talk. They have some decisions they need to make,” I told him. He kissed my bump and stood up.

“Good idea,” he said.