My dad laughed. “I’ve missed you, Sophie.”
My mom smiled at me. Caeden grabbed the trolley and we followed my parents out into the parking garage.
“I told you they were cool,” I said.
Caeden smiled at me, “Yes, they are.”
two.
“I’m hungry,” my dad said, “What about you guys?” he glanced in the rearview mirror at Caeden and me.
Caeden grinned; it was much like the grin he wore when he was a wolf, all teeth. He patted his stomach. “I’m always hungry,” he said.
My dad laughed. “It never goes away,” he said. “Even when you’re my age you still have an appetite equivalent to five men.”
He pulled off the road and into the small parking lot of a family style restaurant. Lübeck was a port town, located right on the Baltic Sea. It was quaint but cute.
“Alright gang,” my dad said. It was so typical of him. “Let’s roll.”
I smiled to myself. I had missed my parents so much.
Caeden and I climbed out of the back of the car. I had been amazed that he had managed to fit his long legs in the back of the tiny car.
Archie and Murphy looked at us with round, sad, eyes.
“We’ll be right back, boys,” I tapped the window. Archie scratched the glass and whined. I gave him a sad face but there was nothing I could do so I turned to follow my parents. Caeden kept a well-respected distance between us when all I wanted was to hold his hand. Suck up.
My dad strolled inside, said hello to someone working there, and picked a table in the corner. I was surprised when he let Caeden and me sit beside each other.
My mom and dad didn’t bother picking up the menu. Obviously they had been here a lot. Neither one of my parents liked to cook so I had always been the designated kitchen person. Honestly, my mom was an excellent cook. She just didn’t enjoy it.
Caeden and I perused the menu. I had lived many places growing up and spoke many languages so I wasn’t as afraid of the cuisine as he was. He looked at the menu with panic on his face.
I placed my hand on his and said in his ear, “I’ll order for you. Do you trust me?”
He nodded his head and said, “Thanks,” with a grateful smile.
My parents ordered and then I ordered for us. I hoped he liked it. I thought by now I knew him well enough to order food. After all, he usually ate just about anything.
My dad took a sip of water and said, “Are you two ready for graduation?”
“I know I am,” I said with a smile. “I may like school but it will be a relief for it to be over.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” said Caeden. He looked down at the table. “I know that once school is over I’ll have to focus all my time on the pack.”
My dad chuckled. “It’s tough being the Alpha but I know you can do it.”
“Thanks,” said Caeden. “That means a lot coming from you.”
The waitress came with our food.
“So Sophie, are you going to play soccer this year?” my dad asked.
I nearly choked and Caeden smacked my back. I took a sip of water and waited for my coughing spell to pass.
“Uh- I’m not sure,” I mumbled.
“Soph,” said my dad. “You have to. This might be your last chance to play.”
“I don’t know if I really want to,” I shrugged. “There’s a lot going on right now.”
Dad sighed and looked between us. “This is your last chance to just be a kid, for both of you.”
I looked at Caeden and voiced what we were both thinking. “Dad, I think that ship has sailed. We have to think about the pack now.”
He sighed and looked at my mom. He shook his head. “Taking care of a pack is too big of a responsibility at your age. You’re just kids.”
Caeden’s hands clenched. I knew what he was feeling because I was feeling it too.
A challenge.
“What are you implying?” Caeden growled. “I won’t let anyone mess with my pack and I certainly won’t let anyone try and take my position.” The muscles in his arms flexed. I knew he was fighting for control. I put my hand over his trying to calm him with my touch.
My dad paled. “No- I didn’t mean- that’s not what I meant-” he bumbled. “I just- you’re both so young. I’m not asking you to give up your position. I’m so sorry, you’ve both misunderstood my meaning.”
Caeden relaxed. “I apologize for my reaction.”
My dad laughed. “It’s okay. I know how it is. Being an Alpha can be… difficult.”
Caeden nodded, “Yeah, it can.”
“Alright,” dad said, “no more wolf talk until we get back to the house. Deal?”
“Deal,” Caeden and I both said, relieved.
* * *
The house my parents were living in was a quant, idyllic, little cottage. It was white with a red door and gray shutters. The roof peaked to a point above the door. Flowers overflowed around the walkway and cast a fragrant scent. Or maybe it only seemed so fragrant because of my wolfy nose.
“Get in here baby girl,” called my dad from the steps.
I looked up with a shy smile. “Sorry daddy.”
He smiled and came down the steps to put his arms around my shoulders. “It’s nice having you home baby girl,” he said and kissed the top of my head. “Your mom and I have missed you more than you can imagine. It’s been far too quiet without you.”
“I’ve missed you guys too,” I wrapped my arms around him and for just a moment pretended that I was five again and my dad could scare all the monsters away. “So much has happened in the last few months.”
“I know,” he said and kissed the top of my head again. “You’re a strong girl Sophie. I know you can handle it. I have all the faith in the world in you.”
“I’m glad one of us does,” I said and let him lead me inside. He closed the door behind me. My mom and Caeden were already sitting in the living room and she had a tray on the coffee table with four glasses of water. I guess I had dawdled longer than I thought. Murphy and Archie were already snoozing on the floor.
I sat down on the couch beside Caeden and my dad took the seat across from us on the opposite couch. His standard recliner sat in the corner of the room. He put his arm around my mom and tenderly kissed her cheek. Even all these years later you could see the aura of love around them. Did Caeden and I look that gooey?
I looked over at Caeden who had taken my hand. He was staring at me with a crooked smile on his lips.
I gulped.
We looked worse than they did. It was almost comical. Almost.
“You need to shave,” I said to wipe that gooey love struck look off his face. I didn’t need my dad to kill him.
Caeden grinned and rubbed his stubbly chin. “But you love my scruff,” he said and rubbed his jaw against my face to drive home the point.
For the moment he seemed to have forgotten my parents.
My face went red and I swallowed thickly. That plan had backfired.
I turned to find my parents watching us but instead of looking irritated they looked happy.
“So,” my dad said and spread his arms wide, “questions?”
I looked at Caeden and back at my dad. “Lots.”
“Fire away,” he said. “I just hope we can answer them.”
I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Well…” I said and my mind went blank.
“Why do you think mates are coming back?” Caeden intervened.
My dad shrugged. “No idea. My theory is that it has always been around but people just don’t realize what is happening. In our case,” he motioned to my mom, “we were from different packs. We met by chance and it was like… wow,” he shook his head. “Had we been in the same pack, and grown up together, those feelings would’ve been dulled and easily mistaken for infatuation.”
I looked at Caeden and wondered if he was thinking the same thing that I was. Bentley and Chris.
“That makes sense,” said Caeden.
I looked down at our entwined hands. Caeden and Sophie said the elegant script.
“Do you have the tattoos?” I asked, holding up my wrist. “I don’t ever remember seeing you have them.”
“We have them,” dad took mom’s hand. “But only we can see them. Only you and Caeden can see yours.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yeah,” mom began to trace lines on her wrist, what I assumed was my dad’s name. “It’s not meant for anybody but the two of you.”
“Can you guys do the mind reading thing?” Caeden asked.
“We can,” my mom answered and then took a delicate sip of water. “It’s very useful,” she said.
Caeden grinned and shook his head. “It’s odd being able to speak in our minds when we’re not in wolf form.”
“What’s not odd about all of this?” my dad asked rhetorically. “We turn into wolves. I think that’s odder than the mind reading.”
Caeden chuckled. “You’ve got that right.”
“What about the others? The other shifters, I mean. Do they have mates?” I asked.
Dad cleared his throat. “In the legends it was all shifters but I don’t know if their mates are ‘reappearing’ so to speak. When your mother and I left… We said goodbye to that life Sophie. It was safer for you if we cut off all ties so I know nothing about the others.”
“You kept in touch with Gram,” I accused.
“That’s different,” he said. “She didn’t want to kill us.”
Travis. Travis and his dad wanted Caeden and me dead. They wanted to destroy our pack and they’d destroy my parents too if they found out who my mom was. Christine Grimm. Peter Grimm’s sister.
Caeden swallowed thickly. “I…we,” he amended, “need your advice on how to handle the Grimm’s.” Unconsciously, Caeden began to trace the scar on my arm. The scar that Travis had cut into my skin to spell Liar.
My mom and dad exchanged a look. Dad shrugged and sighed. “I don’t know what to tell you. They’ve always been a little strange-” my mom hit his arm. “Except for your mother of course,” he amended. “She’s perfectly sane.”
My mom turned to me and tears filled her eyes. “I’m so sorry for what my brother did to you,” she said and then the dam broke. Tears soaked her face faster than she could wipe them away. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed as she stood up and left the room.
I looked at my dad and then Caeden. I patted him on the knee and said, “I should go talk to her.”
He nodded. “That’s okay. I’d… uh… actually like to talk to your father in private.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”
Caeden wouldn’t meet my gaze. “Nothing important.”
“Uh-huh. Sure,” I said and went after my mom. I could hear her sobs coming from a bedroom upstairs. Caeden and my dad disappeared into his office. If Caeden thought I wasn’t going to question him about this later then he was sadly mistaken. If he knew something about the Grimm’s and was hiding it from me, he’d never hear the end of it.
“Mom,” I said and softly knocked on the door before pushing it open.
Archie scampered past my legs and into the room. He hopped up onto the bed beside my mom.
She turned to me and her brown eyes were already red and puffy. “Sophie, come here,” she said and patted the empty space next to her on the bed. When I sat down she pulled me into her arms and kissed the top of my head like she had so many times before when I was younger. She smelled like freesia. “I could’ve lost you,” she whispered.
“I’m fine mom,” I said. “Everything worked out.”
She looked down at my arm. “I don’t see how you can be fine, Sophie,” she looked at my scar.
“Maybe I’m not fine but I’m better than I could be. I have Caeden to thank for that. Without him I know I would be the biggest mess ever.”
“I’m so happy you have him,” she said. “I know as your parent I shouldn’t like him or want you to be so serious.” She laughed. “But I remember what it was like discovering that your father was my mate. It was… magical. Just don’t move too fast, take things slow, and appreciate the little moments.”
“I will mom,” I said and laid my head on her shoulder. “I am,” I added.
“I miss you… so much,” she said. “It’s hard being away from my baby girl.”
“I miss you too mommy,” I said.
“I can’t believe you’re about to graduate high school. It seems like just yesterday you were a baby.”
“Moooom,” I whined. I hated when she became nostalgic. It usually resulted in lots of tears, a box of tissues, and her pouring over old photo albums.
“One day you’ll have kids and you’ll see,” she said.
“Yeah, well that’s a long ways down the road. Like way, way, way, down the road.” I motioned with my hand just how far down the road that would take place.
She laughed and I laughed with her. It was great to be home with my parents again. Some might say this wasn’t my home since I had never lived here but it’s the people that make the place. My mom, dad, and Caeden were my home.
Mom patted my knee and smiled. “Want me to braid your hair like I used to when you were little?”
A smile broke across my face. “I’d love that.”
I situated myself on the bed while she went to grab a brush and ponytail holders. Sitting down behind me and spraying my hair with detangler she said, “I think we’ll do something a bit more sophisticated instead of pig-tails.”
“Good idea,” I laughed.
She separated my hair into sections and gently brushed it. I always enjoyed getting my hair brushed. It was relaxing and always made me sleepy.
“What do you think daddy and Caeden are talking about?” I asked tentatively.
Her brush strokes stilled.
“I don’t know. Alpha stuff I guess.” She resumed brushing my hair. Satisfied that it was smooth she began to braid the sides. “What do you think it is?” she questioned.
“No clue but Caeden seemed nervous. Do you think something’s happened and he’s keeping it from me?”
“I’m sure that’s not the case,” she said. “Don’t worry your pretty self.” She fixed the braids in place and pulled the rest of my hair back into a ponytail. “Perfect,” she said and patted my shoulder.
“Thank you,” I said and turned to hug her. I was planning to hug both of my parents as often as possible.
She patted my cheek and said, “I know we just ate lunch but between your dad and Caeden it will take me all afternoon to make enough food for dinner. Do you want to help me?”
I smiled. “I’d love to.”
I followed her into the small but clean kitchen. It hadn’t been updated for a while but at least it was functional. Mom decided to make her famous chicken recipe. Okay, maybe it was only famous in my mind.
I helped her coat the chicken in mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. After the chicken went into the oven we made homemade rolls, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese.
By the time we were finished nearly three hours had passed and I was covered in sweat. Caeden and my dad had long since come out of his office and were busy doing male bonding out on the back porch. It made me smile knowing that my dad approved of my mate.
“Go ahead and wash up,” mom motioned her head down the hall.
In the bathroom I splashed my face with water and dabbed it dry before touching up my makeup. With my mom’s amazing skills not a hair was out of place of the hairdo she had created. The woman was amazing. I washed and dried my hands before venturing back to the kitchen.
“Do you want to eat outside or in here?” she motioned to the small dining area.
“Outside!” I exclaimed. I couldn’t help my excitement it had been over six months since I had seen my parents.
Mom smiled. “I thought you’d say that.” She tapped the glass door and dad poked his head inside.
“Yeah?”
“Why don’t you two help us
set up the table?” It wasn’t really a question since she shoved outdoor placemats, utensils, and plates into his unsuspecting hands.
“Uh- okay,” he said and turned around. Caeden hopped up to help him.
Mom and I carried the various dishes out while the dogs circled our feet.
“Looks like a feast,” dad said and rubbed his hands together. I sat down beside Caeden and we faced the back yard. I gasped at the sight. I hadn’t realized the sea was just outside the door. If I had known that, there was no way I would’ve spent the last three hours in the kitchen. I guess mom knew that and neglected to tell me on purpose.
Insider (Outsider Series) Page 2
