Shadow Mate - Jen L. Grey Page 0,71

dark blue-shingled house and knocked.

Yes, I had a key, but they weren't expecting me. I didn't want Mom to know how upset I really was. It didn't take long before my Dad opened the door. A huge smile spread across his face. "Mia.” He pulled me into his arms and then stilled. “Uh..." His eyes glanced upward, and they landed on Liam. "Why is one of the heirs of The Blood Council here with you and you smell like him?"

"Well..." For the first time in my life, I was truly speechless.

"Hello, Mr. Davis. I'm Liam Hale, your daughter's mate." He held his hand out to my father.

Uh... who was this man standing by my side?

"Your mate?" Dad took a step back and shook his head as his forehead creased. "Laurrel, you need to come here."

"What is it..." Mom's eyes widened, and she hurried toward me until she saw Liam. Her whole demeanor changed. "Why the hell is he here?"

"Honey?" Dad’s eyes widened. "That's Liam Hale. The heir..."

"I know who he is, all right." She reached over and took my hand, pulling me away from him. "And he doesn't need to be sniffing..." Her voice trailed off as my scent hit her. "What have you done?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Liam's usual arrogant side was snapping back into place. "Any Mom would be ecstatic to have me as their daughter's mate."

"Mia, I told you to choose." She pointed her finger at him. "They've already taken so much from us."

"You're not making any sense, honey." Dad came to Mom's side and touched her arm. "They haven't done anything to us."

"I'm assuming this has something to do with the pendant you gave me?" For the pendant to cause such a reaction from Kai's Dad and now Mom acting crazy toward Liam, something was going on.

"So, he found your pendant." She shook her head and frowned. "No wonder he claimed you."

"What the fuck is so important about this stupid pendant?" Liam threw both hands in the air and growled. "Between your Mom and Kai, it must be a sight to behold."

"He didn't see it. That was one of the first things I asked when Kai told me my pendant somehow linked back to the original Blood Council." I had a bad feeling that I might regret learning what she knew. "One that they purposefully wiped away from our history."

"What are you talking about?" Liam's eyes narrowed. "It's four silver paw prints."

"No, the original one was four silver paw prints, and the paw print that represented the overseer sat in the middle on top of the four. It was made of rubies." Mom huffed and stared at the ground.

"How did you have it?" Dad even looked confused, and then his body sagged. "We're going to have to tell her … aren't we? This is what you were talking about that day?"

"Yes, it was." Her eyes landed on Liam, and she pointed to the door. "But he doesn't get to listen."

Like hell, I'm leaving you. He entered the room and stood beside me. Something isn't right here.

I had a feeling I'd need him. "Mom, we've claimed each other. He'll find out the truth one way or another."

"Fine." She huffed. "It doesn't matter at this point anyway. Go ahead and get comfortable." She pointed to the living room, and I grabbed Liam's hand and tugged him inside.

As we entered the room, I sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace. Liam took a seat next to me, and Dad sat in the black leather recliner.

"Okay, so there's something..." Mom took a deep breath and glanced at Dad. "No, many things we haven't told you."

Liam reached out and took my hand in his.

I had a feeling I was going to need an anchor and was so damn glad he was the one with me now.

"You see, I was young." She laughed. "Barely twenty when I decided to visit a friend who was attending Wolf Moon. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine I'd meet my fated mate there."

"I didn't realize you went to Wolf Moon." My eyes landed right on Dad. "You said you graduated from KSU."

"That's because it wasn't him." Mom took a deep breath and stared straight into my eyes.

She had to be confused. What she was saying didn't make any sense. "But you two are mates."

"Chosen, honey." Dad's words were low, and his eyes were glued to Mom.

"What? You’re not fated?" The walls began to swirl, and the