I feel larger hands take my wrists and arms. They pull me away from Bloom and lift me off the floor. I fight against their hold to no avail. "Calm down, Mom." Tucker tries to get through to me.
"No! NO! I tried to stop it." I scream as I squirm, trying to get out of his grasp.
"Shit! Call for my dad." Tucker rumbles as he maneuvers me so his front is to my back, and his arms wrap around me, holding me in place.
"Already done." Pike tells him. "He's almost here."
"You knew I might have gifts." Bloom says to herself but the statement has every eye in the room focused on her. "You tried to prevent it from happening?"
She stands up, moving to stand right in front of me. "What did you do? Why did you feel you had to?" She keeps asking, more to herself than to me.
"I-I-I..." I stammer through my sobs, attempting to find the words to answer her.
She truly looks at me for the first time, not as the woman who abandoned her, but as her mother, and asks. "You what? Please, tell me, Rose."
Right then Grady walks in. He pulls me out of Tucker's arms and into his. With his cheek laying against the top of my head, and his hands rubbing my back he soothes me. "It's okay, Rosie. I'm here for you."
The tears slowly go away with his comforting touch, and I start to calm down. On a shaky breath I tell him. "I have to tell her everything."
"I know. I'll be with you when you do."
I squeeze him tight, and then pull away to face the room. Directing my question to my daughter I ask. "May I take a seat? This is a long story, but it's one you need to hear."
She nods her head instead of saying yes. I take a seat in one of the arm chairs, and she takes her previous seat in the middle of the couch, diagonal from the chair. Pike and Bonnie, once again, bracket her, giving her their support. Grady stands behind my chair, and puts his hand on my shoulder in a way of offering me support, as well.
"The reason the Wright Pack wants you is because you were promised to their former Alpha's son." Several people in the room gasp, but before any of them can break in with questions I continue. "For you to get all the answers you deserve I'll have to tell you my whole story."
Chapter 23 - Rose
Kentucky (1989)
"Rose, they're here." My mother called from our living room. I tossed the copy of Tiger Beat I was reading to the night stand, and rolled off the bed. I took a quick glance in my vanity to double check my appearance before I headed out.
Dad snagged me as soon as I entered the room, putting his arms around my shoulders, and gently squeezing me closer. "Here's my girl. Didn't I tell you how beautiful she is?"
The Alpha pair, Dean and Olivia Wright, stood from their seats on my mother's floral printed couch and walked closer. Dad released me, taking a step back, so they could inspect me without obstruction. I stood straighter, smiled brightly, and prayed my hands wouldn't shake, revealing how nervous I truly was. Alpha Olivia slowly circled me, scrutinizing every little detail. She lifted a chunk of my hair and asked Dad in a bored tone. "Is she a natural blonde?"
I couldn't see his reaction, but I could hear the pride in his voice when he answered. "Yes, Alpha. Even her wolf has a blonde coat." My blonde hair didn't make me special, there were plenty of other shifter girls with blonde hair, just not in our pack. So in Dad's eyes he saw it as a point in our favor. Another way for me to stand out and catch our Alphas’ attention.
Olivia nodded in response to his answer as she dropped the tendril of hair. She continued her thorough inspection, lifting my fingers to inspect my nails. Alpha Dean took a different approach. Instead of circling and taking in every aspect of my body, he choose to stand directly in front of me taking in my face. Maybe he wanted to see if I would crumble under his glare, combined with the inspection his mate was doing. Thankfully, though, I didn't. I knew I needed to impress these two. My family needed me to impress these two.
He broke the stare by taking my chin and turning my head to the left and right. "Your eyes are stunning."
"Thank you, Alpha." I managed to say without the words getting tangled on my tongue.
"You can call me, Dean, my dear." He said releasing me, and stepping back.
"Yes, Alpha. I'm sorry. Yes, Dean."
Alpha Olivia moved into her mate’s side, weaving her arm through his. Dean looked down at his smaller mate and asked. "So, Livy, what do you think?"
Her eyes raked over me as she answered. "She's much lovelier than the other females we've inspected."
Dean chuckled. "That's probably the closest you'll get to a compliment from my mate." His hand went to her slightly rounded belly. "Carrying my pup seems to have made her moodier than normal."