Carter’s head fell forward as he sniffled, “Okay, Mama.”
She hated to do this to her son, but she was having a hard time concentrating with the smell of the perfume she constantly bathed in. It was annihilating her sense of smell and even her taste was off. She really needed to shower and put Carter to bed; maybe then her headache would go away.
After she got Carter washed up in the bath she was soaked anyway. He loved making waves and seeing how high he could get the water. Occasionally he would accidentally create a wave too big and it would inevitable find her. Oh, the joys of motherhood.
After drying Carter off Dee poured herself a glass of cold milk and warmed up some milk for Carter. She sat him in front of the television with Mr. Boo curled up in his little lap, and put on some cartoons to keep him busy while she took a quick shower. As she carried her milk with her to the bathroom she noticed Mr. Boo small tongue lapping at Carter’s milk so she sent a hiss his way, but he simply looked up briefly before continuing to eye her while he enjoyed her sons drink.
As she stood under the spray she found herself thinking about her alpha’s brother, Justin Nunn. Not only was he hot, but his presence was calming like her alphas. His healing abilities were extraordinary, and the fact that he would heal her son without knowing him or gaining anything in return was baffling. She’d watched him through the night. He’d dance with the elderly women of the pack and place his hand on the men’s shoulders in passing, always leaving them less stiff afterwards. By the end of the night he was walking a bit more hunched and the people on the dance floor were boogying away into the night. The cook had described that when they danced she had felt flushed and then her chronic arthritis pain was relieved.
She smiled when she thought of the three Nunn boys’ antics that night which had the whole pack talking. She wanted so badly to be able to loosen up and enjoy herself, but she’d been uptight for far too long. She’d worked so hard to hide her son’s birth. Now she had other secrets to hide from the pack, including the identity of Carter’s father. Their old alpha, Tidus, was the worst bastard that’d ever lived. It wasn’t until she delivered Carter that she realized how bad it was.
Shaking herself from her past she washed up, shampooing, rinsing, and repeating until the smell of her powerful perfume didn’t cling to her hair anymore. Stepping out of the shower in her fluffy towel, she panicked when she saw Carter sitting on the toilet, wearing his pajamas. “Everything okay, Carter?”
“I just love you Mama, I want you ta be happy. You don’t look happy. Should I go back to live with Gama and Papa?”
Falling heavily to her knees she clutched at the corner of her towel. “Of course not, Carter, I love you and I’m happy. We’re happy, right?”
“Okay.”
She approached her son, letting him see all the love she felt for him. Lifting him off the toilet she sat on the bath mat and held him in her arms. He felt so small. He’d been losing weight since coming to live with her, and it broke her heart. He wanted to fit in so badly and she was holding him back, but she couldn’t change things, not yet. “Maybe I’ll talk to Blake about you participating in the next moon run.”
Her son hooted and hollered jumping out of her lap and showing his excitement by doing a little victory dance. The overpowering feeling of love washed over her. He stopped his dance and crawled back into her lap.
“Mama?”
“Yes, Son.”
“I think you smell pretty right now. Will you leave that yucky stuff off tonight?”
She took a deep breath. “If that’s what you want, sure, but I have to wear it when we leave.”
He looked up at her with a slight grin easing the corner of his mouth, “I know, but I don’t like it.”
“Me either, Son, now time for bed.”
Always trying to get more than he bargained for he asked, “Can I sleep in your spot? Maybe you can read me a book.”
She chuckled at his misuse of words. “You can sleep in your bed and I’ll read you a story. Deal?”
He sighed as he responded, “Deal.”
After the story she lay in bed next to her son thinking. She loved having him around, but was becoming increasingly concerned he may not be safe. She felt like she was being followed and when she came home from work a week ago she’d smelled an unfamiliar wolf in her home. Not having any idea how they got in or what they wanted she’d let it go, until…the note.
Yesterday, while she was in the flower shop working, Carter was playing in the back and she heard the bell over the door. She never saw anyone, but on the counter was a bright white piece of paper with the words, I know, written in bold black script. Know what? Which of her secrets were they alluding to? They weren’t even bold enough to be seen, so she wasn’t sure if she should be concerned. Resigning herself to have a talk with her alpha she slipped from Carter’s bed and into her own. The sheets were cool against her skin and she was so tired she fell asleep within a few minutes of her head hitting her pillow.