Tristan looked down at himself and shook his head. "Ma. I'm fine. I swear. I had a pack that took me in, fed me, and the alpha is still one of my best friends. You aren't the only one who can take care of me."
He watched as her eyes flashed from mom blue to wolf black and back. There's the scary mom face he knew and loved, or well maybe loved was stretching the truth. It was the scary mom face that caused him to up and leave.
"Fine, Mom. Feed me. Then I meet my nephew and later check in on sis."
She pursed her lips. "Fine. But you will stay here. Are you back for good? It surprised me to hear you want to come home at all, and the fact you came home without anyone special. On Valentine’s Day, I was certain you were bringing me someone to meet. Why else come back?"
He shuddered. Of course that's what she'd thought. Then it crossed his mind. She'd thought that and wasn't ready to tear off his head? This was a first. Maybe she could change?
"This is wonderful news though, Tristan. I found a very acceptable mate. She's a female of good breeding, first cousin to the alpha of her pack and she's looking for a handsome young male. I put a good word in once you told me you were coming."
Closing his eyes, Tristan willed his damn blood pressure to stop rising like the thermometer in the hot New Mexico desert in summer.
"Mother. Didn't you just say you expected me to bring a girlfriend or a mate? What would make you set up dates with others? What if you'd been right?"
She clucked her tongue and turned on a heel
"Well. Mother knows better, Tristan, and I had to have a back-up plan in case she wasn't good enough, now didn't I?"
There was the truth. The reason he'd left and been fucking miserable for the last two years. Mommy dearest couldn't let him make his own choices.
God, he needed to let the anger go.
Tristan hadn't been able to get rid of the last fight he and his mother had had.
He'd needed his mother's advice when his best friend, Paige had told him she loved him. Next thing he knew his mother was ranting about Paige and how she was off limits, wrong for him. What did it matter if she loved him?
Lessons learned in life. How could he get out of lunch faster? Following his mother, the house still looked the same. Quieter.
Swallowing the anger trying to surface up again as they walked past his old room, he blew out a breath. Ten minutes home and he was ready to leave again.
God. He'd asked the one person who was supposed to care about him, his mom. Back then she'd been an elder of the pack, not now though. A younger wolf had finally beaten her. Doubtful that she could separate family before pack any better now though.
His mother had broken his heart. But so had Paige. Could he handle seeing her with a family?
"Tristan, you're much too quiet. I know what you're thinking. Don't start. Paige is unavailable, and it doesn't matter what she wants. Besides, you'll mate far better than her. Things haven't changed. You need to let her go."
He paused. Right now would be a good damn time to leave. This was a huge mistake. He'd go back to his new pack and just suck up seeing everyone he was close to mated. Maybe he'd finally resign himself to being a lone wolf.
Why had he come back?
3
Clear-headed, she almost felt better. Paige needed to stop letting a dumb holiday ruin her day.
Studying the choices through the frosty glass, she contemplated each flavor like it was a magic potion. Chocolate chip cookie dough, mint chip, marble, Neapolitan. Where was the good stuff? The 'forget about Valentine’s day by drowning your sorrows in dairy and sugar.' The 'forget that you don't have the man of your dreams and never will' pint. The 'you probably dodged a bullet of getting a horrible mother-in-law.' No, none of those were flavors and now she had to figure out which one would drown her sorrows. It was this damn holiday. She'd been normal a few days ago.
"I love teaching. I love my friends."
Great, now she was talking to a freezer. Well, nothing like embracing crazy. But, seriously. She loved the fact she had a pack who allowed progressive females. Her life was great. But then the aisles of bright pink and red started to sprout up everywhere. The florists lined their windows with flowers and pretty hearts, and she wasn't ever going to get one from him.
That was it. No more pity party. Paige closed her eyes, grabbed the freezer door and yanked. The cold blast of air cooled her burning eyes. Blindly reaching out she grabbed the first cylinder of ice-cream within reach.
Peeking, she made out the label and sighed.
'Limited edition: Swirls of Love.'
Why the hell did fate hate her so much?
Fine. Whatever. She'd show this Swirls of Love who was the boss by eating it and letting it swirl around her digestive track. Screw this love thing. No one needed to get mated to be happy.
If she'd just let this all go, she actually would have had a date on her own. He was a handsome wolf shifter. Good build, nice hair, and yet the words I'm baby-sitting came out of her lips. Baby-sitting what? The loss of her waistline? Lame.
So now, she was plan-less, with a tastelessly named ice cream on the most romantic day of the year.
Walking towards the register, she flipped the bird to the nauseating aisle of love as she passed it without turning an eye. The blinding pink and red nearly glowed on
