It was all too much, and it was clear I needed to take Artemis away. Being so close to Beth but so far away was making both me and Artemis depressed. She wouldn’t take my calls and when she saw me in town, she looked the other way. Then, she turned around and walked right out of the supermarket and to her car. It was clear she’d made up her mind.
And I had made up mine.
I sent out a group text to my family and asked everyone to meet me at the manor for dinner. Even Stefan. My grandmother replied and said she’d make shredded barbecue pork. Everyone else started replying with side dishes they’d bring. As if it was just another dinner with the family.
It wasn’t.
I was off work and everyone’s yards were mowed. I’d gone for a run, then let Artemis do some flying. And still, it was barely past lunch. I headed on up to the manor and got my truck, then drove it until I had to fill up with gas, then drove more. Finally, it was time to head back. I pulled in to find a bunch of cars and trucks already there. Good.
As I slammed the truck door shut, my grandfather walked out onto the front porch. I trudged up the stairs and met his eyes. They crinkled as he gave me a sympathetic smile. “Is this what I think it’s about?”
I nodded.
“You made up your mind?” He put his hand on my shoulder.
“I did.”
“Then I support you. But, son, I sure hope you’re making this decision based on logic and not emotion.”
I thought about what he said. I know there were a lot of emotions that went into my decision, but in the end, I didn’t see how I could stay here in Black Claw when my mate was here—here without me. “I think this is best for me and Artemis.”
Artemis made a pitiful sound in my mind. He was beyond sad. I had to do something to lift his spirits.
We walked into the living room where Hailey had the babies, playing with them. My grandmother kept lots of toys here at the manor and had them all pulled out for the kids. All the parents always slipped Hailey some money when she babysat the various babies that were in the family now, so she especially loved doing it. Though, if I knew my sister, she would’ve done it for free.
We continued into the kitchen where the chatter I’d heard while walking through the house died off instantly. My entire family looked at me with anxiety and sympathy.
“Come on in.” My mom jumped up from the table. “Come on, honey, I’ll load you up a plate.”
It normally bugged me when she tried to baby me like that, but I just sat down and let her do it today. In a few minutes, I had a plate loaded down with a barbecue sandwich and lots of side dishes.
I dug in, ignoring everyone’s curious glances. I knew they were dying to find out why I’d asked them here, but I wasn’t ready to answer them. Instead, I ate.
When I was so stuffed that I couldn’t cram one more bite in, I set down my fork and sighed. Nobody else was still eating. And it was an understatement to say they looked about ready to jump out of their skin.
I felt like I was going to vomit up all the food I’d just eaten, but I sucked in a deep breath and got it over with. “You all know I’ve been accepted to law school.”
“No,” Mom whispered. “Don’t tell me you’ve decided not to go.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “I’m still going. But I was accepted to a prestigious school in California. And I think I’m going to accept it. No, I know I am.” I sucked in a deep breath while they stared at me in stunned silence. “I’ve decided to go to law school in California,” I said firmly.
Nobody said anything. I glanced at my mom to find tears in her eyes. “How long have you known?”
This was the question I had hoped she wouldn’t ask. I sighed and met her eyes. “A few weeks.” More like several weeks, but no need to clarify, really.
“Why didn’t you tell us? We don’t keep secrets in this family.” She looked more upset than I’d seen her since we left her ex-husband.
Her pain hit me in the heart and guilt washed over me. “It’s hard to keep anything to myself these days,” I muttered, feeling defensive. “I didn’t know what I was going to do. I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure.”
She glared at me, and the rest of the family watched me with a mixture of sympathy and sorrow.
“Lately, I feel like I have no privacy. It can be overwhelming sometimes when I really just want to work on things on my own. I love you.” I looked around the huge dining table. “I love you all. But I have to do this.”
My announcement hurt their feelings. That much was obvious. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Don’t be sorry, son.” My dad, sitting beside me, put his hand on my shoulder. “I didn’t think about how much your life was going to change after finding out you were a shifter. You had no time to prepare for it. You found out just a few short months before your first shift. We all had our entire lives to get there.”
He gripped the back of my neck as my eyes prickled with tears. I was so relieved that he understood.
“Do what you need to do to have peace of mind. You have all my support. We’ll
