He rubbed small circles in my back.

“When is the last time you saw your father?” My heart hurt for Kai. I could see that a part of him was just a boy who wanted his father, but another stronger part of him was a werewolf that needed to make his own place in the world.

“I see him once a year at the annual Alpha conference. Every year most of the Alphas and their second in commands meet for a conference to discuss pack issues and make laws. My father is on the council. It’s pretty intense and I’m glad every year when it is over.”

I jumped up from his lap. “So you are telling me that every year you put a bunch of dominant Alphas in one room and expect them to sit around politically and talk about issues?”

He laughed as he picked me up and walked me down the hallway. “For the most part, only a few fights break out. There are rules to keep things from getting out of control.”

He stopped at his bedroom door. “So, are you continuing to stay in my room?”

The fact that he asked and gave me the choice brought a smile to my lips. “Of course, as long as you behave,” I reminded him playfully.

“I make no promises.” His eyes roamed up and down my body.

Mother

In the morning, Kai and I ate breakfast hunched over his laptop looking at commercial properties in Gresham for Safe Haven. When he entered a price point of 1.5-2 million dollars my eyes bugged out of my head. “Kai, you can’t.”

He glared at me playfully. “I’m an Alpha. I can do whatever I want.”

We called a realtor on three of our favorite properties, and a few pack members went to take video of them. Kai and I reclined on the sofa. He was playing with my hair when I started thinking about Sylvia. She was a high priestess witch and I was related to her coven. My biological mother was a Matefinder wolf but I was born a human witch mix. How did that make sense? I relayed this question to Kai.

His face looked concerned. “I wondered the same but figured we shouldn’t prod into something we might not like the answer to.”

I chewed on that. “No, I want the answer. I always want the answers.”

He sat up and took a deep breath. “Well then we can ask Sylvia later today when she comes for the barbeque. I’m sure she has a spell for everything.”

I jumped up and began taking off my shirt. Kai grinned. “Now that’s my kind of morning surprise.”

I shook my finger at him. “Turn around! I want to go for a run.”

Kai let his eyes rest on my pink lace bra, and then lowered his eyes and undressed himself. We shifted incredibly fast and leapt out an open window in the living room.

We ran through the forest all the way to the edge of the mountain and back. I loved running with Kai. We were both fast, really fast, and running next to him made me feel free. After getting home, I took a shower and then we got the backyard ready for the barbeque. A light sprinkle of rain fell as we set the tables and it created a foggy mist.

I sighed. “I love this mountain.”

Kai smiled. “Now you see why werewolves can be territorial.”

I laughed. I was excited to see my mom but even more excited for her to bring me all of my stuff. I had called and explained the entire ordeal (or at least the moving in with the boyfriend version) to Lexi, my roommate, and apologized profusely for having to move out. I told her that I would pay her rent until she could find a new roommate.

A few minutes later, Sylvia drove up the driveway. I had also called her and explained the alcoholic treatment center cover up and she was happy to play along as a therapist or patient.

I greeted Sylvia and asked her if she wouldn’t mind staying after so we could talk, that I had questions for her. She agreed. While Sylvia and Emma were chatting, I saw the huge moving truck pull up with my mom at the wheel.

Kai grabbed my hand and we walked out to greet my mom.  She parked and jumped down from the truck and rubbed her hands on her pants. Now that I knew she wasn’t my biological mother I could see that we looked nothing alike. She had dark brown hair to my light blonde. She was shorter and I was tall. I didn’t care. She was my mother. I chose her as my mother now, even knowing she didn’t give birth to me. She was the one who held me when I was sick or pushed me to follow my dreams of opening Safe Haven. We had been through so much together, the death of my twin brother, the abuse of my father, and so much more.

Oh my god. My father wasn’t my real father. I had always hoped as a child, when the abuse started, that my mother would one day tell me that he wasn’t my real father. My mother and I had crawled through a disaster and made it out alive together, because we had each other.

“Mom!” I ran to her and hugged her.

She smiled and grabbed me in a tight hug.

I stepped back. “This is Kai.”

Kai shook her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ma’am.”

My mom looked at me. “Ma’am? Do I look that old?” We shared a laugh and Kai looked nervous.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Kai. You have a beautiful home. You can call me Beth,” my mom told him, looking at the large modern house that stood before us.

Kai smiled. “Thank you.”

“So you live on the grounds of the rehab center?” She mused.

Kai cleared his throat. “Yes Ma’am, umm Beth. I own over twenty homes on the mountain that have been converted to sober homes for the patients that come to stay at the facility.”

My mom smiled genuinely. “You and Aurora are one and the same, always trying to help others. You’re a good boy.” She patted his shoulder and shared a look with me.