“I don’t want this to break Hadley.” She drew her legs to her chest then wrapped her arms around them. “I don’t want you to hate me if it does.”
“I could have paid a tithe of forgiveness and sent Natisha home.” He started to work tossing the noodles. “I’m the one who chose to bargain with her.”
“And Hadley chose to bargain for you.”
Her inflection, the gentle cadence of her voice, sent his gaze seeking hers. “What do you mean?”
“She made this choice, the same as you.” She dug her toes in the dirt. “Don’t blame yourself.”
“She saved me, and Ford.” Left with only thin broth and chicken, he spooned up the salty cubes of meat. “Natisha didn’t want anything I had to offer.”
“Yes, she did, and she got it too.” Mom leaned her head against the cabin. “There’s something about Hadley.”
Midas put the bowl down and gave her his full attention.
“Linus trusts her, and I trust Linus, but I get the same feeling around her as I do around him.”
“They’re both necromancers,” he reminded her. “They’re both bonded to...”
“Exactly,” she murmured. “Bonded to what, exactly?”
The taunting Hadley received every now and again made him think his mother wasn’t the only curious one. He didn’t have to reach far back in his memory for the most recent incident.
“Why did she call you shadow child?”
“All potentates have wraiths.”
“You’re not Potentate yet, and that’s not an answer.” He spun it around on her. “Have you bonded?”
“Yes.”
Unsure what he expected, her candor surprised him. “You have a wraith?”
“Remember when you told me there were things about your past you couldn’t share with me?”
“Yes.”
“Remember when I said I’m in the same boat?” She clenched her fists at her sides. “This falls under that heading.”
A sudden chill raised gooseflesh down his arms, but he still argued on Hadley’s and Linus’s behalf. “You’ve met Cletus.”
“I’ve met a few wraiths in my time, and they’re nothing but smoke without orders.” She pursed her lips. “Either Cletus is self-aware, or Linus is the best damn wraith pilot to ever walk the earth.” She cut him a sharp look. “Have you seen Hadley’s wraith?”
“No.”
“You need to figure out her secret, and quick.”
“It won’t change anything.”
“As you might recall, I was mated to your father.” She patted his hand where it rested on the bowl. “I am familiar with the unbreakable bond our kind feels with their mate.” The bowl fell from his hands and splashed its contents onto the dirt. “I’m your mother. Did you think you could hide it from me?”
Midas piled dirt over the mess he made. “No?”
“You’re protecting her.” She hummed. “It’s good to see both your halves in sync again.”
Because she was also his alpha, and her warning could be construed as a threat, he had to admit, “I’m not sure what I would do if you threatened her.”
“Silly boy.” She rose gracefully and didn’t bother dusting her pants. “She’s your mate. That makes her pack.” She bent down and kissed his cheek. “What should worry you is what I would do if someone else threatened her.”
“I love you.” He dragged her into a hug. “I don’t tell you often enough.”
“No, you don’t.” She laughed in his ear. “Children never do.”
“We need to talk about what happened tonight.”
“Yes, we do.” She started down the path toward the den. “But first, I need to speak to Krista’s parents.”
Rising, Midas took a hesitant step after her. “I can go with you.”
“Stay with Hadley.” She kept walking. “You can give Krista’s parents the details when they’re ready.”
The dueling urges to perform his duty to his pack or to perform his duty to his mate left him jittery in his skin.
“Stay with Hadley,” Mom called back. “That’s an order.”
The release of his obligation sagged through his shoulders, and his instincts roared for him to return to Hadley.
Entering the cabin, he placed his dishes in the sink then crawled into bed.
He fell asleep with his nose pressed into Hadley’s nape, but still the nightmares found him.
Six
Mumbling woke me from a dead sleep, and I jerked upright in a strange bed in a strange place.
No, no, no. This can’t be happening. Not again.
I clutched the fabric covering my chest with a shaking hand, puzzled by its nubby texture.
A towel.
I was wearing a towel, the material damp along the edges from the shower I had taken…at a cabin.
The owner of that voice finally pierced the panic clouding my brain, and I almost sobbed with relief.