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something. Has Alix seemed troubled at all?"
"He misses Daddy. He cries at night. And then in the morning he pretends he doesn't because he thinks he should be protecting me and not the other way around."
"Well, there you have it." She frowned. "Baz is helping Alix out with his problems. He's still mourning for your family and maybe it makes him feel weak. I'd guess Baz is just putting him on the right path."
Her eyebrows rose. "Then he shouldn't have called it a boy thing."
I nodded solemnly. "Maybe he shouldn't have. I'll have a word with him."
She nodded and gave a small smile and not for the first time I marveled at the age-old wisdom in her eyes. The poor child was so young and yet had lost so much. What was it like to be the only survivor of a massacre that killed her entire clan? Every single person in her village, everyone she'd loved, dead.
I rose and so did Mom. She whispered something to Alina who nodded and ran out of the room, giving me a little wave.
Again, I received a hug and this time it was me receiving the comfort. "How are you honey?" asked Mom.
I sighed. "How can a girl feel with one guy comatose and another guy trying to sweep her off her feet?"
I hadn't expected to blurt that out, but things like this usually happened to me when Mom was around. There seemed to be some barrier to lies when it came to her. Probably all those years we needed to make up for.
The fire spat and crackled and Mom went over to nudge the logs around with a poker. Her face was bathed in golden light as she said, "Caught between two loves, huh?"
I snorted as I drew closer to the warmth of the flames. "I'm not sure I can describe my feelings toward Justin as love."
Mom smiled. "Kai, from what I gather you were head over heels for Justin Lake from the day you first met. And neither of you ever fell for anyone else until you met Logan in Chicago. You left the Walker lifestyle. I believe the technical term is 'you broke his heart'."
"Mom," I admonished softly. "That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?"
"You did leave without a valid reason."
"I had a valid reason. I felt suffocated. Unable to make a single decision of my own. Even my relationship with Justin seemed to have been orchestrated."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Language, Mother." I laughed. "Iain generously informed me that Justin's father and Dad had arranged our marriage when we were both toddlers. He said that neither of us had a real choice in the matter. That joining the clans was of utmost importance."
Mom snorted. "Probably his way of convincing you that you had no choice but to marry his best friend."
"Well that backfired on him, didn't it?" I said, trying to keep a straight face. Had Iain only been trying to help? Had I overreacted and run off for no reason? No. "Besides. Even if you ignored the whole Justin thing, I wasn't in the right place, either to be in a relationship or to be the daughter of an Alpha."
"Kai. You and I both know you had your own demons to fight. And I think Justin knows that too."
I folded my arms. "Even when I'm in love with someone else?"
"It's not as if Justin joined a monastery after you left. You both tried to find love afterward." Mom sighed and moved away from the fire. "One of the biggest problems with Walkers is being long-lived. For each human year, a Walker suffers almost twice as much. I hadn't realized until you were born that a Walker's longevity was so prolonged. I was extremely grateful for my Mage abilities when you were babies. My longer lifespan certainly helped when a year of the terrible twos ended up lasting six months more. My only regret is that I missed your teen years. That must have been something awful."
"It wasn't so bad for me. Greer suffered the most." I hadn't meant it to sound like I was blaming her, but from her expression I knew that's how she took it.
Mom sighed. "It's okay. I know I contributed to Greer's pain. But no, I'm not taking all of the blame. She was troubled from
"He misses Daddy. He cries at night. And then in the morning he pretends he doesn't because he thinks he should be protecting me and not the other way around."
"Well, there you have it." She frowned. "Baz is helping Alix out with his problems. He's still mourning for your family and maybe it makes him feel weak. I'd guess Baz is just putting him on the right path."
Her eyebrows rose. "Then he shouldn't have called it a boy thing."
I nodded solemnly. "Maybe he shouldn't have. I'll have a word with him."
She nodded and gave a small smile and not for the first time I marveled at the age-old wisdom in her eyes. The poor child was so young and yet had lost so much. What was it like to be the only survivor of a massacre that killed her entire clan? Every single person in her village, everyone she'd loved, dead.
I rose and so did Mom. She whispered something to Alina who nodded and ran out of the room, giving me a little wave.
Again, I received a hug and this time it was me receiving the comfort. "How are you honey?" asked Mom.
I sighed. "How can a girl feel with one guy comatose and another guy trying to sweep her off her feet?"
I hadn't expected to blurt that out, but things like this usually happened to me when Mom was around. There seemed to be some barrier to lies when it came to her. Probably all those years we needed to make up for.
The fire spat and crackled and Mom went over to nudge the logs around with a poker. Her face was bathed in golden light as she said, "Caught between two loves, huh?"
I snorted as I drew closer to the warmth of the flames. "I'm not sure I can describe my feelings toward Justin as love."
Mom smiled. "Kai, from what I gather you were head over heels for Justin Lake from the day you first met. And neither of you ever fell for anyone else until you met Logan in Chicago. You left the Walker lifestyle. I believe the technical term is 'you broke his heart'."
"Mom," I admonished softly. "That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?"
"You did leave without a valid reason."
"I had a valid reason. I felt suffocated. Unable to make a single decision of my own. Even my relationship with Justin seemed to have been orchestrated."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Language, Mother." I laughed. "Iain generously informed me that Justin's father and Dad had arranged our marriage when we were both toddlers. He said that neither of us had a real choice in the matter. That joining the clans was of utmost importance."
Mom snorted. "Probably his way of convincing you that you had no choice but to marry his best friend."
"Well that backfired on him, didn't it?" I said, trying to keep a straight face. Had Iain only been trying to help? Had I overreacted and run off for no reason? No. "Besides. Even if you ignored the whole Justin thing, I wasn't in the right place, either to be in a relationship or to be the daughter of an Alpha."
"Kai. You and I both know you had your own demons to fight. And I think Justin knows that too."
I folded my arms. "Even when I'm in love with someone else?"
"It's not as if Justin joined a monastery after you left. You both tried to find love afterward." Mom sighed and moved away from the fire. "One of the biggest problems with Walkers is being long-lived. For each human year, a Walker suffers almost twice as much. I hadn't realized until you were born that a Walker's longevity was so prolonged. I was extremely grateful for my Mage abilities when you were babies. My longer lifespan certainly helped when a year of the terrible twos ended up lasting six months more. My only regret is that I missed your teen years. That must have been something awful."
"It wasn't so bad for me. Greer suffered the most." I hadn't meant it to sound like I was blaming her, but from her expression I knew that's how she took it.
Mom sighed. "It's okay. I know I contributed to Greer's pain. But no, I'm not taking all of the blame. She was troubled from
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