Chapter 112

“It was magic, not how I truly felt,” my dad tried to comfort her.

“What happened? What necklace, and who is the she-wolf?” My mother listed off the questions in quick succession, and I wanted to laugh.

“Ainsley... are you jealous?” My dad smirked, but she just backhanded his arm and turned back to me.

“After I noticed something was wrong, I worked to get my power under control. Great-grandma helped me. And–”

“Wait, the dead woman?” My poor mother was trying her best to understand everything, but she was lost when it came to powers. “I’m used to Carl and his gifts, so I’m a little lost, but people coming back from the dead should be off the table, right?”

I laughed with my dad. “Think more like spirit. Her spirit helped Amy.”

“You got help from a fucking ghost?” She came over and sat next to me.

“Mom. We are werewolves, and you’re surprised by ghosts?” I patted her hand, and she shot me a glare.

“Listen, that isn’t really fair here. I’m out of my depth.” She almost pouted, but my dad hugged her to his side.

“We know.”

“Anyway, Grandma helped me understand my power more, and once I could connect with it, well, then the Goddess blessed me.”

My mother choked. “The Goddess, the Goddess! You met the moon goddess?”

“Yeah, another side to our gifts. We have to be blessed by the goddess.” I smiled as she slowly shook her head.

“I don’t recognize you anymore, baby,” she whispered, and I chuckled.

“I’m still me. Anyway, once I had my power under control, Grandma guided me to her Book of Shadows, and I found spells that could have been used to make Dad act the way he was, but I had to be sure. If I was wrong, I could royally fuck everything up. But after some digging, I realized Aurora, the she-wolf who tried to steal Dad, had to be the one doing the spell. So I called the King. I thought it was the council, to ask permission.”

“Permission for what?”

I really had hoped she wasn’t going to ask that question. I wasn’t ashamed that I did it, just that I didn’t want my mom to see me as a monster. “To torture her,” I squeezed out while looking at the floor.

“Amy!” My mother gasped.

“I had to, so I could be certain.”

“I’m just happy you asked for permission, is all, baby.” My mom gathered herself and clutched at my hand. “If it was me, I would have just done it and begged for forgiveness later.”

Now it was my turn to gasp.

“Mom?”

“What? You think I am just going to allow some she-wolf to steal my mate? Absolutely the fuck not.” My mother was riled up again, I could see.

I laughed and dove back into the story. “Anyway, while torturing her, I figured it out – the spell she had on him. She made a mistake choosing your necklace, the one with your birthstone and your wolf.” I pulled mine out of my shirt. “I recognized it immediately.”

Chapter 112

She reached over and trailed her finger over my necklace. “All this time, and you had it?”

My dad nodded. “I took it to get it engraved, but then everything happened. I kept it in your office. I had everything of yours moved there, except your clothes.”

“Why?”

“Seeing your stuff hurt me. A lot. But I could never part with it. So I left everything in your office so I could sit in there and remember you.”

“What did you do with my clothes?” My mother met his eyes, and I saw the blush form on his cheeks.

“I left them in our closet. On terrible days, I would sit in there, breathing in your scent. It calmed Loki and eased the ache a little.” I felt my eyes water as my dad admitted something even I didn’t know he did.

“Gavin…”

“I love you, Ainsley, and nothing would ever change that. Not one thing.”

This right here was the love I wanted in my life: the all-consuming, absolute devotion of my parents. Even being apart for so long, my father is still so head over heels in love with my mother. He just gets her, totally understands exactly what she did and why she did it, and he doesn’t blame her.

He blames himself.

But they both should blame the cruddy circumstances they had to live through. I wanted them to forgive themselves and grow into the couple they should have always been. “Goddess, I love you, Gav. I’m sorry for everything.”

“I am too, love. I am too.” They kissed again, but then a howl cut through the air – a familiar howl.

I felt my face drop, and my mother hid her face. My dad looked at me and just asked for one word. “Morgan?” I could only nod.

Chapter 113