Chapter 49


    Chapter Forty-Nine: Sweet tea and wishing for boring


    I walked into the living room, making my way to the windows and throwing them open so that the room


    could air out. It smelled of sex and sweat God, I was still so embarrassed that Scott and mom had


    walked in on me having sex with Ryan and Jason. Well, I mean we had all gotten off but the sentiment


    was the same. Ryan had still been balls deep inside of me and Jason had juste in my mouth.


    My face felt all hot still and I knew that it was going to take me forever to get over it. This wasn’t how I


    had nned for them to meet my mates. I mean, I still hadn’t known if we would ever get to the point of


    me introducing them and suddenly that choice had been taken away from me by a surprise visit.


    It felt like so many choices had been taken away from metely. Now, I knew so many secrets that I


    hadn’t been prepared to deal with. So I guess that made things a little better, or at least easier to take.


    Mom walked past me, heading into the kitchen. The door to the fridge opened and I finished getting the


    windows open. I was just trying to dy the awkward meeting that I was about to walk into and I knew


    that but I really was nervous to face Scott now that I knew about him being a shifter. I wasn’t even going


    to try to think about what he had walked into. The state that my stepdad and mom had seen me in.


    It was too much. I was ready for things to calm down and get boring. Boring was something that I would


    never scoff at again. The more ! thought about it, the more that I realized that I wanted that with Ryan,


    Jason, Travis, and Gideon. Well, after Gideon imed me and Ryan got over his feelings about it.


    I wanted to have boring moments with them sitting on the couch and watching movies. Things could turn


    steamy and that wouldn’t be something that I would be upset with. I was ready for it though, long nights


    and days with them. Years of just learning one another.


    I could hear mom moving about the kitchen and I knew that she would be fixing drinks for everyone.


    Despite the way that she and Scott had found me with my mates. Mom had been brought up Southern


    and those manners still came through whenpany was around. I headed into the kitchen as mom set


    the big ss tea pitcher onto the heavy wooden serving tray.


    Blue sses were stacked onto the tray and she had put the matching sugar bowl and honey jar onto


    the tray as well. They were the sses that mom and Scott had gotten as a wedding present from one of


    their friends whose name I couldn’t seem to remember.


    “Would you mind slicing up a lemon?” Mom asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.


    I nodded, moving over to the basket of lemons that sat on the counter. Picking up one. I rinsed it off


    before grabbing the cutting board andying it t on to the counter. The wood made a sharp p


    against the marble counter. It was harder than I had meant to do it. I looked at mom and her eyes were


    widened with, not worry, but something close to it.


    “Is the tea fresh?” I asked, looking away from her as I leaned over the counter to the big butcher block


    and pulling out a knife.


    “Yes,” Mom said and I started to slice the lemon. She paused for a long moment before speaking again.


    “We came up a few days ago for the full moon.”


    It felt like I had been punched in the gut. I knew that she hadn’t meant for her words to hurt me but they


    did.


    “Was that why he woulde up here so often for fishing trips?” I asked, sitting the knife down onto the


    cutting board and looking over at her.


    “Yes, you’lle to find that the closer it gets to a full moon, the more growly it makes him.” She said,


    before sucking her lower lip between her teeth. Her fingers traced the decorations that had been carved


    into the serving tray. I realized that it was a bear carved into the wood.


    How had never noticed it before? The small things like the serving tray it was like there were hints all


    around me. I had just been blind to them. Or thought maybe I had thought that it was a hunting thing.


    Scott had always been big on hunting and fishing so I had lumped that into his decor


    “Tillie. I really am sorry for not telling you the truth.”


    “I know.” i said, “I just wished that you guys had trusted me. I feel like no one trusts me anymore.”


    “Oh, Til, I trust you baby. If we could do it all over again, I would have told you everything. I hated lying to


    you.” Her bracelet nged together as she pulled her fingers away from the serving tray.


    “Everything?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow and her face flushed


    Còntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    “Well, not everything But you know what I mean.”


    Jason’s voice rose and I looked away from mom over towards the closed doors.


    “He sounds a little scary.” She whispered like he might hear her and for all I knew, he probably could.


    0.004


    15:26D


    Chapter Forty-Nine: Sweet tea and wishing for boring


    “He is, but just a little bit. He’s the alpha of his pack.” I said, “I think once you guys get to know him, you’ll


    like him. I hope you guys can get to know them all when things get figured out.”


    “I’d like that, baby. You know that’s all we really wanted for you? Was for you to fall in love and be


    treasured for who you are.” Mom said before putting the lemon slices onto a te and hefting it up off the


    counter. “Do you mind getting the doors?”


    Nodding, I walked over to the heavy wooden doors, gripping the iron handles and pulling them open.