“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just I just remembered something I’d completely forgotten about!”
“What?” He laughed. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was so excited or because she looked like a maniac.
She started bouncing on his lap.
“Ginny’s trunk!” She stopped bouncing when his cock thickened. He became rock-hard inside her again. Well, damn. Her whimpers spoke for her. They would check out Ginny’s trunk…in a minute, after she had her mate one more time.
Chapter Nine
Riel carried Sam up to their bed. His house was her house now, so there was no need for her to go anywhere. His mate belonged with him. They reached the bedroom, and he put her down. She ran to the bathroom and came out wearing a towel over her hair in a turban style, coupled with a different robe around her body. Her other robe had gotten wet on their two attempts to leave the yard.
She blew him a kiss. Taking quick strides, she headed for the dresser where he’d placed the small trunk for her. Once he’d put on some boxers, he met her on the bed. She’d already opened the trunk and flipped it, emptying its contents on the blue comforter. Papers, letters, official documents, and pictures were spread before them.
“Oh wow. Look at this, Ry! There’s pictures. I thought all the photos had burned in the fire, but Ginny had some in here.” Her excitement was palpable.
He picked up a handful of photos. His attention was caught by one of a woman that had a duplicate of Sam’s face. Her mother. He didn’t need for her to tell him. It was obvious from the physical similarities that they shared. He saw the back of the next photo first. It read “Susana and Korr.” Riel flipped it to the image of the couple. Susana was clearly very young, possibly a teenager. The man in the shot appeared to be older, and Riel knew he was the shifter. He knew of a Korr that had been an enforcer to Chase’s father when they were kids.
His mate was going through photos of other family members. Her gaze darted up to his face. “What’s wrong? What did you find?”
It wasn’t his right to hold anything from her, so he passed her the photo. His focus never strayed from her face. His gut clenched, watching the play of emotions rushing over her features. Her eyes widened while she stared at the woman in the photograph.
“Oh my god. That’s my mother.”
She sounded surprised.
“Hadn’t you seen her before? Don’t you remember your mother?”
A look of pure desolation passed over her face, and she shook her head. “No. Ginny showed me one shot of her, but she told me it hurt her to look. I didn’t ask because she’d given me so much, but I always wanted to see more pictures of her.” She nibbled her lip. “Maybe that’s my father.”
“You didn’t know your father?”
“No. Ginny only said he’d died and that she didn’t want to discuss my parents because it was too painful. Just the mention of my mother had her in tears for days. Do you think this man is my father?”
He nodded. “Yes. I also think he’s your shifter link.”
“But how can you know?”
“Korr was an enforcer for Chase’s father before our time.” He continued to watch her stare at the photo.
Her finger trailed over the images as if wishing to touch the people on the paper. “What happened to him?”
“He was killed during a fight with some puma shifters. They ambushed the town, and it was a bloody war. Everyone heard about it. We were little kids. Chase was ten, and I was around five. We were protected to ensure the survival of the pack.” He lifted a hand to her cheek and wiped away the tears running down her face. “I’m sorry.”
She sniffed. “Why? Don’t worry. It’s just sad to see a photo of them together and know I never got to know either of them.”
He frowned, remembering her earlier words. “What do you mean you didn’t get to know her?”
She shook her head, put the photo to the side, and started searching through documents. “No. She died right after I was born. Something happened and…” She stared at the paper in her hand, her face frozen, eyes wide, and mouth agape.
“What is it?” He moved closer to glance at the paper in her hand.
“It’s a document stating my mother was hospitalized for a mental breakdown six months before my birth.” She scanned the document and gasped. “She was pregnant at the time and was suffering from mental illness and severe depression from loss.”
“That’s so sad.”
Sam’s gaze met his. “What would make her lose her mind with grief?”