"It's fine. I'm used to you not showing up." I almost regret the words when they leave my lips, the look of pain that shoots through my mother's eyes causing a twinge of guilt to pop to life in the pit of my stomach... But the words are the truth. I am used to her not showing up. She had always been too focused on my Father... Either tracking him down or trying to figure out ways to get him to stay home... To the point where she hadn't had a single problem with him forcing me out of the house and nearly off the territory entirely as a teenager... And that just isn't something that a few unexpected visits and small talk is going to wash away.
"D-Silas!" My beautiful Angel looks up at me with a go over my words, the hand that had been splayed on my chest giving me a hesitant tap to get my full attention, bottom lip trembling when he releases it from the nervous chew it had been pulled into, "Please don't be mean..." The words are quiet and shy, the request familiar but not entirely unwarranted or unwanted. I should know better than to let my tongue slip into sourness in front of him. The excitement that had been boiling away so rapidly inside of me over my Sweet Pea actually being open to playing dress-up, even if it isn't in the way I had originally imagined he'd want to cooling down faster than if I jumped into a tub full of ice water as I give him a nod. I wish I could set the basket down without drawing unneeded attention to it, his cheek having to go without the gentle caress I know will make him feel a little bit better.
"No, Honey...I-I...I deserve that." As my Addy-Baby further curls into my side in his shyness I would have to agree, that yes, she does deserve a little salt in her life since no one else ever gives her any. If Adrian could be salty over Agatha having an attitude towards me I can be salty over my own Mother not showing up to welcome her new son-in-law into the family. We may never have been super close, but with Adrian picking up the mantle that my Mother never was able to quite successfully carry it was only appropriate that she show up and introduce herself as a sign of respect and to show that there is no ill will over the trade-off... But instead, she had given us radio silence, not even bothering to try and call.
...
Adrian
...
It's not hard to notice how stiff Silas feels in my arms as we stand awkwardly in a heavy silence with his Mom sniffling just a little bit at the odd jab Silas had shot at her in front of a table full of women's underwear, one pair of which all pink and ruffly and in our basket for the whole world to see including his Mom.
"You can stop by whenever you want, Ma. Just call first." The grunt has less acid in it than my mate's last response to his mother, something to be grateful for.
Silas always manages to make me feel safe and shield me from any unpleasant confrontation but if the confrontation actually involves him I don't actually know what I would do with myself. Especially not here out in public... In front of the Women's undergarment section.
"Should I get... I'm sorry I never actually asked for your name."
It takes me a moment to realize that I'm the one being spoken to this time instead of Daddy, but my protector ever vigilant giving my side a gentle squeeze to draw me out of my hiding place nestled against his chest.
It's hard to curl myself out of my safe zone, though I know that Daddy won't ever let anything bad happen to me... It just feels a little overwhelming to be faced with meeting his mother so unexpectedly and after such a long day to boot, "Adrian... My...My name is Adrian. Hi."
"I'm Bethany, Silas's- Oh..." Bethany steps forward while introducing herself, hand outstretched as if wanting to shake my hand, stopping mid-stride when her eyes dart down for just a moment in the direction of our basket.
This is one of the many terrible scenarios my mind had come up with as reasons as to why I could never ever admit out loud ever that maybe wanting just one pair is something that had crossed my mind more than once.
And yet... The frilly underwear isn't what's caught her eye... Its the "Pregnancy tests..."
The words are said so softly that I almost don't hear them, what I can see of Bethany's face without meeting her eyes draining of all color and taking on an ashen complexion before she continues, "Are...Isn't it a little soon?"
"Addy's been home for a few weeks now... We've decided to go ahead and try." It's so easy to let Silas lead the conversation, his beautiful gift of letting me recline against him in order to be present in the conversation but not have to participate in it any more extremely appreciated.
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Silas
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"Honey.. I didn't know kids were ever something you wanted." With the way my Mother lets her inflection lead her voice, it's as if she's trying to bite her tongue and keep a comment to herself.
"It's not exactly like you ever bothered to ask me what I wanted. I'll be happy to have a family." Because outside of Becky I never actually got to have one because of you and Dad.
I do my best to keep my voice even, but it's hard not to grind my teeth at the face she makes, a flinching grimace that tries to morph itself into a smile before her next words slip into our tense conversation, "Will you?"
"What do you mean, Ma?" It's hard not to notice as her eyes scan the rest of our basket, politely ignoring the panties and lingering instead on the ovulation kits and pregnancy tests and vitamins, and even harder to choke down the growl that wants to work it's way out of my chest at her tone.
"Just.. Is it wise, Silas? Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that you'd do a wonderful job raising them, Adrian, but it's hard to have to raise kids all alone. Having kids with a Timber sometimes means functioning as a single parent and that can be hard."
She thinks- "You think I'm going to end up like Dad." This time I don't suppress the growl that wants to slip out with my words, anger ripping through me with a vengeance over the assumption that I would end up being a deadbeat like my own father... That I would be able to walk away from my precious mate and listen to him cry and beg me to stay with a baby in his arms while I shift and take off, neither of us knowing when I'll eventually come back again... Nothing my mother has ever done has upset me as much as this does right at this moment... To have even her assume that I'll end up just like Dad.
YOU ARE READING
Book Smart
Werewolf**18+** COMPLETED*** Adrian is delicate... Gentle... Too sweet for his own good. All he cares about is his books and the quiet hum of life that is his small-town wolf pack. What will he do when the Alpha of a neighboring pack scents him and is fully...
