Theo returned to my side with Gabriel trailing behind him. I kept my head down purposefully. Theo made a quick comment to Gabriel, and the boys started laughing.
“Oh, hey, I think Mom said she would be around here with Emily if you want to say hello,” Eli suggested casually. I groaned internally.
“Yeah, thanks, we should see her before we leave,” Theo said carelessly. The boys began moving, and with my body in the middle of them, I went along too. They stopped when they saw a brunette woman next to Emily, the woman from the bakery.
“Mom,” Reese greeted kindly. The woman smiled, put a courteous hand on Emily’s arm, and stepped forward to greet her sons.
“Hello, my boys,” she said fondly. “And I hear we have a new little lady joining our family?” Eli pushed my back gently and forced me out in front of them. Theo’s mother smiled, bringing me into a tight, warm embrace. I hugged her back, cautiously. “Margo, it is so nice to meet you finally,” she spoke compassionately, taking my face in her warm hands to look at me. Her face turned into a perplexed scowl. “Dear, why are you crying?”
I quickly tried to wipe them away. I could hear Theo move behind me, placing his hands on my back.
“I’m fine,” I tried to assure her, painting my face with a grin. She scowled at Theo and then the rest of her sons.
“What have you done to this poor girl?” she asked loudly.
“Theo may have been a touch more callous than he intended earlier,” Reese said with a pained smile.
“Theodore,” his mother scowled. “Have I not raised you better than making your mate cry?”
Theo looked down at me, and I didn’t look up at him as he harshly said, “Mother.”
“No, Theodore, listen to me. If I see that you cause this sweet girl any kind of pain, I promise you, no matter how high of a title you have, I will punish you more severely than anyone ever has. Is that clear?” She growled. I could instantly tell where Theo got his temper.
“Mom,” Reese laughed uncomfortably.
“Reese, darling, be quiet. This is between Theo and his mate,” she ordered.
Theo sighed and touched my arm affectionately. I pulled away but turned towards him. He looked down, and his eyes flashed with sadness as he placed his hands on my shoulders. “Margo,” he pleaded. “I didn’t mean to sound so angry with you earlier; I was just scared.” I didn’t say anything. “Little one, please, I’m sorry.”
I knew it was a great deal for him to apologize to me, he didn’t apologize to anyone else, and I also knew it was my fault for instigating the argument. “I know, Theo. I’m sorry, too,” I murmured.
“We can talk more about this later,” he promised, gently brushing his thumb over my cheek. “I promise I’m not angry. I know you’re still confused, but I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
His words were vague, not wanting to say too much in front of his family. I blushed a little at all the attention and the feeling of his thumb skimming the frame of my cheek. I nodded and stepped closer to him.
His mother giggled. “I never thought I would see the day my eldest son apologized for his behavior.” Theo glared at her and began pulling me towards the door.
“It was lovely to meet you,” she called, waving her delicate hand. “You can call me Sloane, or Mom, whatever you prefer! I’ll see you soon, dear.”
“You too!” I yelled, my voice fading away as Theo pulled us across the threshold of the building. “Your mother seems nice,” I noted softly.
“She has the best intentions,” he said pointedly, nearly laughing. “She’s the best, and kind of the worst at the same time. She lives for humiliating us with love. It’s like trying to hate a kitten who keeps biting your finger; it’s annoying but difficult to be mad.”
“And your dad?” I asked as the driver pulled the car around. Theo got a sad look in his eyes, and he smiled a strained smile.
“We’ll talk about him another day.”
A Chilling Effect
We sat silent for the entirety of the ride; I was still a little hurt, and he was probably still angry. We arrived home mid-afternoon, and he immediately retreated to his office. I found my solace in my new room. I hadn’t finished decorating yet, boxes of ordered belongings continued to arrive every other day. The boxes sat opened on the ground; my desk was in pieces.
I began putting it together, loudly clanking boards and dropping screws noisily on the wooden floor. I thought Theo would come upstairs to see what the noise was, but he never did. I figured out how to attach the sides, but when I stood it up, it was lopsided.
I groaned and began taking it apart, oblivious to Eli watching me from the doorway. He snorted, giving himself away, and I dropped one of the legs.
“Theo asked me to check on you. I had to drop some paperwork off from Gabriel,” he explained. I smiled invitingly, and he walked in. “What are you doing? Or trying to do?”
“Attempting to put this desk together,” I said apprehensively, holding up a metal leg. Eli chuckled and sat down on the ground next to me. He grabbed the directions and helped me attach the sides. We made small talk about my friends-or rather a friend-back home, his family, what the Valkyrie Pack was like.
“So, when you and your brothers were little, what did you do for fun?” I asked.
“Well, we all had to go through Alpha training when we were really young, I think when each of us was five, in case something happened to our parents and
