Shifting Boundaries

Original Chapter 22

I was surprised when I arrived at work and glanced at my phone to find two texts from Everett. The first said "My mom's coming today to visit indefinitely (sorry for the lack of notice)," which made me snort. I was excited to meet his mother, though the knowledge that it would be tonight had nerves skittering through me. The fact that she would be here indefinitely... well, that was also concerning, but I trusted Everett. Surely, he had a reason to invite his mother to stay with him and his newly-bonded mate without setting an expiration date. I couldn't imagine what that reason was, but I had faith it existed.

The second text said, "I'll be working in the daycare. Link or text if you need me."

It was impossible for me to picture Everett working in a daycare and I hoped I found the time to stop by and see him in action at some point today. He was always so upright and proper and when the number of people around us grew, he got quieter. How would he handle himself in a loud, energetic environment full of people?

Also, what would he look like with a child in his arms?

It was too soon to think about acquiring children with Everett, of course, but the image of him holding a baby in his arms held an undeniable appeal. I wanted that for our future. Hopefully Everett did, too. It was just another thing we hadn't had a chance to talk about yet.

Unfortunately, my day was too busy to make even a brief stop at the daycare, which was on the other side of our territory. Spencer stationed me and Elspeth, along with another team of wolves, to patrol the area of the RV encampment where the refugees would be staying. It was an honor to be stationed there, since this was the place most likely to either be the target or source of an attack.

Since I had spent the day running around the woods, having stopped only to eat a quick sandwich and getting all of my water from a nearby stream, I was filthy when I approached my cabin in the evening. Any hope I had of being able to clean up before meeting Everett's mother vanished when I saw an unfamiliar car parked in the driveway. I walked near enough to it that I could catch her scent off of it and was able to confirm that the owner of the car was definitely related to Everett. The scents were similar.

The front door of the cabin opened as I approached and a short woman with sleek brown hair shot through with silver and rosy cheeks appeared. Her eyes were full of excitement and she wore a big smile on her face. Something about her instantly eased my nerves – probably how honestly delighted she looked to meet me.

"Felix?" she asked.

I couldn't help smiling back at her. "Yes, ma'am."

Her smile widened and she stepped forward to wrap me in a tight motherly hug. "It's so wonderful to meet you, dear. I'm Anya, Everett's mother."

I hugged her back awkwardly, wishing I had washed up in the locker room at work before coming home. I hated using those showers – they sputtered and weren't good at temperature regulation – but now I was plastering my mate's mother with my sweat, so a bad shower would have been a big improvement. "Sorry I'm so gross, I just finished a long patrol shift."

Anya patted my back a couple of times and when she pulled away, she looked completely unperturbed. "Don't worry about it. No one expects you to come back completely fresh after a strenuous job like yours. Now, won't you come in?"

I smiled, enjoying the fact that she had just invited me into my own home. I looked around for Everett automatically once I was in the living room and Anya patted my arm. "He's in the kitchen making dinner. I tried to help, but he insisted he wanted to do it himself. My boy's a real sweetheart."

"Mom!" Everett complained from the kitchen.

I grinned and strode into the kitchen, where Everett was bent over an open oven. I admired the view for a few seconds before I remembered that Everett's mom was here. I looked down at her and found her smirking at me. "Congratulations on the mating, by the way," she said, eying the scar on my neck.