Tracking the Wolves (Madison Joshi and the Wolves series- Book 3)

Chapter 17

Tristan was present in the airport when the plane landed.

"You've come just in time. I was getting tired of hiding from your mother," Tristan said jokingly.

"Why were you hiding from her?" Xander asked, frowning.

"If I am back in New York, then you and Leia are supposed to be in New York too since we are in a vacation together. We all forgot that tiny detail."

Tristan helped them pile their luggage. They all only had one backpack each. They would be staying for a day or two if everything went according to plan.

Once the five of them got seated in the car, Tristan got into the driver's seat and started driving. It was a little squishy because Maddy was sitting with three of other werewolves, but she had gotten used to it. Leia was the lucky one. She got to sit in the front seat and watch the others struggle.

The car ride took about an hour because her house was situated a little far away from the city. Tristan slowed the car down when they reached her house and then turned his head to talk to Maddy.

"Now, listen up. When you are telling her about werewolves, make sure that she is sitting. You don't want her to faint from the shock."

Maddy snorted. "Wait till mom hears that. I am sure she would love to hear that you just compared her to a damsel in distress."

"Another thing. Do not, at any cost, mention what I just said."

"I still don't understand why they are here," Maddy said as she pointedly looked at Xander, Alexa, and Jeremy.

"I am sure that your mom would want to talk to a representative of the Amalthea Pack. That is Xander. I am sure that Alexa wouldn't want to be left out and would try to sneak into the plane. I am also sure that she would somehow convince Jeremy to tag along with her. Instead of all that drama, I just asked dad to get five tickets for us," Leia explained.

Maddy slowly got out of the car. Leia followed her, but the others stayed behind. It would be better to introduce the others to her mom later. Maddy didn't want her mom to mistake them for her kidnappers and go all ninja on them.

Maddy opened the gate to her house. She was hit with a sense of familiarity which made her relax. For the past two months, Maddy had visited so many new places that she was sure that she would need at least month after the rogue drama was over just to process all the things she had done. She had just stuffed all her adventures into a box and stuffed that box in a faraway corner in her brain. That box was the problem of future Maddy, not present Maddy.

Leia rang the doorbell, and in two seconds, the door opened. On seeing her mom's face, Maddy couldn't help herself. She burst forward and hugged her mother tightly. Her mother stumbled back with a surprised expression on her face. Maddy pulled back and grinned at her mother's shocked Pikachu expression.

Her mother's eyebrows were furrowed and she tilted her head slightly to look at Maddy. Maddy was two inches taller than her mother, something that Maddy was very proud of. Her mother's blonde hair was pulled into a bun that was held together with a clip. Half of her hair was out of the bun because it was straight and silky and practically impossible to keep tied down. Her hazel eyes, a duplicate of Maddy's, swept over Maddy and then Leia.

"The two of you arrived at the perfect timing. I was about to book a ticket and see for myself what was exciting about California that you wanted to stay there for two whole months," her mother said dryly as she stepped aside to let Maddy and Leia inside the house.

Maddy almost blurted out that the werewolves were the exciting thing that made them stay in California for two months, but she stopped herself in time. She had to make sure that her mom was sitting before Maddy turned her mother's world upside down.

"Maddy wants to say something to you," Leia said slyly. "I'll be waiting outside in the car with Tristan. You can call me once your mother-daughter talk is over."

Maddy opened her mouth to protest. Leia wasn't supposed to desert her when she needed her the most! Before Maddy could say anything, Leia was out of the door. Maddy glared at the door as though it was the door's fault that Leia was a backstabber.

"What was that about?" her mom asked from behind Maddy. "I didn't know that Leia knew the concept of personal space."

Maddy laughed at her mom's remark. Maddy's house was practically Leia's house as well. She had the key to the house and barged in whenever she wanted. Maddy still remembered the day Leia strode in when her mom was giving Maddy the birds and bees talk. Leia froze for two seconds before snickering and leaving.

"So, what did you have to tell me?" her mom asked.

"Maybe we should sit down before I start speaking," Maddy suggested.

Maddy's mom shot her a weird look before going into the kitchen. She came out with a cup of coffee. She sat down on the sofa in the living room and stirred the coffee with a spoon as she waited for Maddy to sit down.

"Maybe you should keep the cup on the table."

The last thing that Maddy needed was for her mother to drop the cup in shock and cause a huge mess.

"Okay, what is going on? You all have been acting extremely weird," her mother said as she kept the cup down.

"Werewolves are real," Maddy uttered without thinking.

"What?"

Maddy started reciting the entire incident. She started out with her kidnapping and ended it with the Beta's interrogation. She left out many parts that she had a feeling her mom would totally freak out about if she heard it like the fact that she participated in a war.

After finishing her twenty-minute monologue, Maddy expectantly looked at her mom. She still hadn't fainted so that was a good sign.

After a few seconds of staring at Maddy, her mom picked up the cup of coffee and once again started stirring it. "So, you are telling me that werewolves are real?"