he didn’t choose us.”
“He loved music,” Mitchell said. “We should never have put Charlie in that position.”
“So now it’s all our fault that our son walked out and didn’t talk to us for nine years?”
“I didn’t say that.” Mitchell looked at me. His blue eyes held hopelessness.
I could easily imagine that he’d tried to talk to his mate repeatedly with no success. It had to be hard for him,
trapped between the son he wanted to reconnect with and the mate who didn’t want the same thing.
“When Charlie reached out to you and apologised, it was unconditional,” I reminded Edison. “He took all the
blame for what happened onto his shoulders.” He probably shouldn’t have done, but I understood why he had. “He
wants to be in your lives again. He’s realised how much his family means to him. Shouldn’t that be all that
matters?”
Edison turned his back on me.
“I know letting go of the past is hard,” I said. “Believe me. I spent far too long dwelling on my lost career. It took
almost losing my own son and meeting Charlie to realise that none of it actually matters. All that matters is the
man I am now and that I do the best for the people I love now. Charlie loves you, Edison, and I know you love him.
It’s time to put your bitterness aside and tell him you’re proud of the man he’s become.”
“Maybe I could forgive that in time,” Edison said. “But he keeps making questionable choices.”
“You mean falling in love with me, don’t you?” My stomach churned.
Edison nodded. He didn’t bother to turn around to face me. “And all that talk about children. You’re omegas.”
“Ed,” Mitchell began, but I shook my head.
“I think we covered that the last time we talked. Charlie and I can use a donor. We will start a family one day,
Edison. Do you really detest the thought of your son being with another omega so much that you would refuse to
have anything to do with your grandchildren?”
“No, of course he doesn’t,” Mitchell said, desperation in his voice. “Do you?”
Edison didn’t reply.
“I might not be what you wanted for Charlie, but I’m what he wants. Would you really prefer to see him mated to
an arctic fox alpha who he doesn’t love just for the sake of ensuring he gives birth to arctic fox children?”
“Deacon and Sean love each other,” Edison said.
“Which is wonderful for them. But Charlie didn’t meet or fall in love with another arctic fox, alpha or otherwise. He
fell in love with me. Whether you like it or not, I’m his mate, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Arctic foxes mate for life,” Mitchell said almost wistfully.
Edison heaved in a breath. He remained silent, stoically staring out the window. I had nothing left to say. If he still
wouldn’t bend, there wasn’t anything else I could do to help bring Charlie and his father closer together again.
Anger burnt within me at the possibility that Edison could do to Charlie what my dads had done to me.
“Perhaps I should go,” I said once I could no longer stand the silence.
“That might be best,” Mitchell said.
He stood when I did and showed me to the front door. I almost apologised to him, but I wasn’t actually sorry for
coming and telling Edison a few truths.
“Thank you for trying. I appreciate it,” Mitchell said.
“It would mean a lot to Charlie if you could join us at midwinter.”
Mitchell glanced back at the sitting room. “We’ll see.” He smiled thinly. “We have a little bit of time to decide, don
’t we?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve given Ed a lot to think about. Tell Charlie I’ll call soon to let him know.”
I nodded and walked away from the house. I hoped Edison really did think about what I’d said and about how
much Charlie meant to him.
20
Charlie
It was amazing how quickly a song could come together. I’d never been involved in the writing process before.
Throughout my entire career, Phoenix Records had provided me with pre-written songs. I’d learnt to sing them,
and then we’d recorded. The recording booth was the only place I’d had any kind of input. Even then, in the early
days, I’d done exactly what I was told.
I poured my heart and soul into putting words on paper when I didn’t get an answer from my dads about the
Northern Lights trip. They felt weird and awkward as I wrote them, but when Austin helped me set them to a tune,
they
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