Forever (Book 1) (Editing)

Chapter Forty Nine

I was annoyed. Pure and simple. Lacey was sitting in a chair on the front porch, a warm cup of tea held in her hands, with her legs curled up underneath her. The fact that she was out of my bed and here was the part that was annoying me. Sure I could have fought her on it, but, what would I have gained by doing so? She was right. I always allowed my emotions and pride to rule my judgement. I never just gave up and moved on. It always had to go my way. It's funny that it took me thinking that I'd lost her forever to realize it. Thank god her mother had shown up when she did and saved me from a life without her.

She was smiling, happy to be getting her own way. She was happy not to be stuck in a room to recover. Exactly where she should be. I wasn’t the least bit happy about it and I knew she was aware of it. I was almost positive that it had something to do with the smile on her face. My wolf was screaming inside of me to just pick her up and put her back in my room. He was fuming that she went against what we wanted. But I was holding him off, making a compromise with him by sending her glares that told her I wasn’t happy about this. Every time she looked at me her smile grew just a little bigger.

I needed to control myself though. I needed her to know that I could. If I wanted her to stay as a solid fixture in my life, then I needed her to be comforted that I would try and change. That I could learn to give in on occasion and accept what she wanted, or needed, even if I didn’t agree with it.

“So where have you been all these years?” Her hoarse voice asked her mother. Her eyes left me to look at her and wait for an answer.

“Anywhere I could be safe. I had to move a lot. I had to keep a low profile. I was never in one place for longer than a few months. But I checked in often with my sister, your aunt. She was the only one who knew I was still alive.” Erica answered.

“So the woman, who, for all intents and purposes, was my mother, knew you were still alive?” Lacey asked wanting to be sure.

Erica nodded her head. “She did. When you went to see her a few summers back she wanted to tell you then. She was almost begging me to let her tell you. But she couldn’t. I already knew, even then, that you were going to see your father again. I couldn’t risk him knowing that I was still alive. That I hadn’t died all those years ago. If you knew then it could have easily slipped. It would have slipped when you spoke with him in the realm of darkness. When he told you about me, about my death, you would have told him I was still alive. You wouldn’t have known any better. Twice we ran into each other though. Both times were purely by accident while you were and Sally were running. And I was able to keep the demons off your backs for some time. We even spoke twice but I know you don’t remember either. I shouldn’t have even attempted to talk to you, but I just couldn’t help it.”

“You’re right. I don’t remember ever seeing you before today.” Lacey answered with a frown on her face.

“Everything’s different now. Your father’s gone now and I’m safe for the most part. There’s no reason for me to stay away anymore and I can finally be a part of your life. It makes me so happy to be here. To be able to look at the beautiful girl that you’ve grown into. Watching you through my mind all these years was nothing compared to actually being able to see you, sitting here with you, actually being able to have a conversation with you.” Erica continued.

Lacey frowned a little more as she listened and took in her mother’s words. Her eyes were wide with questions and I knew that there were many. She’d been alive for close to eighteen years without knowing that her biological mother was still alive. She hadn’t even known for long that the woman she’d thought was her mother wasn’t.

Thinking of it from her angle it was only just beginning to hit home how confusing everything was for her. Every time she was beginning to become comfortable with something, finally accepting something new in her life, something else was thrown in just to shake it up again. My mate had to always deal with things causing chaos in her life and I had never helped her much with any of it.