“Ethan Eric, you tell me right now. What did you do?”
His mouth opened once, twice, and a third time before he spoke. “Well, would you have forgiven dad if he’d mated you before he’d actually asked?”
Her mouth dropped open.
Well shit. He’d never seen that look before.
“You don’t mean to tell me that you... Oh dear Lord. Don’t you tell me you let that little thing between your legs do the thinking. Oh God no. I can’t take another woman like Amelia’s mom. Don’t get me wrong, that little girl was the best product of your stupidity, but do not tell me I have to put up with one for life. And what of your mate? Oh God, you can’t be Alpha until you have your real mate. Oh no. No. You are not doing this to me. I swear I raised smart boys. Some packs have alphas and Betas, but this. This isn’t fated.”
He sat up straight. Well, at least this was the right mate. He hadn’t forced anything. Maybe that would settle with his mom.
“Mom.” His put his hand on her slightly wrinkled hand as she went to get up. He watched as her eyes started to flash. “Mom. Stop. Don’t ruin your favorite sweater.”
Her breathing was heavy. The rotten stench of anger stung his nose. “It’s not like that. I found her.”
She sat down from her slightly perched position. “I’m listening.”
“I found her. Like you said I would. I couldn’t help myself. I— she spoke to my soul. My wolf has been pissed at me for a while. He took over, and I wasn’t strong enough to stop him.”
“Ethan, you were out of my sight for half a day, and you were at a baby shower. I’m not stupid. I know how mating works. What did you do? Go have sex in a bathroom while your daughter played with the other kids? Goodness, what kind of man am I raising?”
“I made sure Amelia wouldn’t walk in or anything. Marci, the host of the party, told me to go help, Olivia. Said she’d watch Amelia while I helped out the baker. She’d just delivered the dessert.”
His mother’s gaze had his scrotum tightening and trying to retract. This wasn’t going well.
“The baker. She needed help throwing some stuff away. So I followed her out to the alley, making sure she was safe and everything,” Ethan added. He suddenly felt like he was ten again and being scolded.
His mother stood. “Hold on.” His mother looked around. “Amelia? Come to granny. I have a sweet surprise inside, and I bought you a new movie.”
Ethan took in the fresh mountain air, this might be his last breath. The way she glared at him wasn’t promising. His mom lived on the pack land all the time, and he would too, someday. When he finally found his mate. His wolf stirred, he needed the balance. The calm to his storm. He needed a woman strong enough to handle him and pack politics. He needed a woman that didn’t seem to exist, until now. But, fuck him. What if she couldn’t handle the pack?
A whimper caught their attention, and they turned to see Amelia in wolf form sitting on her hind legs.
“Amelia? Put the bunny down. You’re going to ruin your dinner again,” said Ethan.
“Oh shush, Ethan. The child is following instinct. Look at her. She’s a natural. Besides, that damn thing has eaten most of my carrots.” His mother smiled and held out a hand. “That’s a good girl. You’re just helping out granny, aren’t you? Not like this useless father of yours.”
“Now, let’s go inside so your daddy and I can talk.” She looked at him. “There are ears everywhere.”
Ethan got up and followed. His knees weak and his heart skittering. His mom’s wrath was not a good thing. He’d only ever been on the receiving end one other time. The day he’d been blackmailed.
“Sometimes mom, I really don’t think you love me at all,” he said, trying to lighten her mood. “And we talked about treating Amelia like a house pet. Stop petting her mom, she doesn’t need to be encouraged right now. I gave you a grandbaby, didn’t I? Hardly useless.”
They entered the house, and both disappeared around the corner while Ethan took up perch in the kitchen. His mom would come back, and he needed to be ready to hear the truth. She was his voice of reason most of the time. Ever since he had to figure out how to be an alpha.
His thoughts stopped wandering as his mother walked in.
“Alright young man. Why won’t you just embrace yourself? That wolf of yours is going to get mighty impatient if you don’t shape up. And, I meant for you to give me a whole litter of grandbabies, but I assumed you understood I wanted that with your soulmate. I failed as a mother. Now, maybe I can fix my errors with Amelia. She’ll be a good Beta someday.”
Ethan’s hackles rose. “I don’t see why she can’t be an Alpha. She comes from a long line of Alphas.”
Shaking her head, his mother tsked. “Ethan my dear, perhaps you should start by being a good role model.”
He winced. “I’m trying. Everything I’ve ever done was to help. I’m trying.”
He leaned against the counter, his hands gripping the ledge on either side of him. “You didn’t mess up. I finally know what you meant. And this time, I picked a strong woman. Even Amelia’s mom, she’s a strong wolf and how was I to know she despised her life? I hate having to go outside the pack, but now with everything going on, I’m forced to. We need to be stronger. Granted,” his voice fell. “I really screwed up this time. She wasn’t even a shifter. “
“Alright. We will straighten this all out, and by straighten, I mean you are going to go win this woman over before she realizes
