Page 91 of Scars of the Sun
Last night, I’d sat, rebraiding Ramona’s hair for bed, and listened to her run through the years of animosity between she and her mother. How she’d felt under a microscope while also shoved to the side. The female had gone from the Leader’s father to living with her parents before meeting her current husband, all but renouncing her shifter nature. Even the idea of that made my fucking skin crawl, and if you asked me, that seemed like the main reason why she was so miserable.
And like Ramona, I’d grown up with money. But I had been as depressed as I’d ever been while living in a mansion with my father.
“You sure about this, Princess?” I set both of our helmets on the seat of my Ducati, and Ramona shrugged out of the jacket I insisted she wear, now that rides with me were a regular thing. Underneath, she had on another dress, apparently borrowed from her sister-in-law. The spaghetti straps weren’t somethingI’d ever seen her in before, but she looked more than beautiful. The burnished yellow color complemented her skin and hair that she unclipped now that we’d arrived.
Ramona nodded and shot a slightly nervous smile my way. She’d insisted that I not cover my tattoos or take out my piercings when I’d thrown out ideas to appease her mother, but I did have her tie my hair back in a tight braid at least. My clothes were basically the same ones I’d worn to the disastrous date with Sylvie and Orion, so hopefully that wasn’t a bad sign of what was to come.
Because her mom had demanded a dinner with everyone before Sylvie and Orion went on the pack run. To meet me and catch up with her son and grandkids.
Whether out of courage, spite, or a little bit of both, my mate had decided she wasn’t going to hide her scars from her mother, and I might’ve shed a tear or two when she told me. I locked our fingers together and kissed the back of her hand. “I’m so proud of you.” And the shy grin she aimed my way made me weak in the knees.
We went slowly up the front steps, and when Ramona turned the knob, the door was unlocked. I’d grown more used to the particular flavor of congregated Wolves, but I still preferred the unique blend of Wolf and Jaguar that filled our apartment now that Ramona was staying with me.
I kneeled to untie my boots, but went for Ramona’s sandals instead. The silver buckles were warm under my fingers, and when I freed her precious little feet, I watched her blush and bite her lip. I helped her step out of her shoes and nuzzled the curve of her calf with a smirk. A flash of desire lit her honey eyes, and her shy smile took a different edge. I wanted to run us back home and make a new nest to stay sequestered in all night.
A throat cleared, cracking the moment I was having with my mate, and, lo and behold, it was her mother. She washolding a squirming Ollie and glaring at me like I was lecher, contaminating her daughter with my touch.
But, based on all Ramona had told me, this female’s opinion about me had little to no weight in my mate’s eyes. Now that she’d grown old enough to get out from under her mother’s thumb, it really was Orion and Sylvie I needed to impress. Her father wasn’t here to smooth things over, so if my mate’s mother was determined to hate me, I was determined not to give her any ammo but strive for nothing else.
“Mrs. Wells,” I nodded and untied my boots. When I stood and toed them off, I wrapped my hand around Ramona’s waist.
The female didn’t respond aside from a purse of her lips while the Wolf pup continued to squirm and start to whine. His little hands pushed against his grandmother and stretched out toward my mate and I. “Oliver, hush,” the female chastised her grandson. Far less harsh than she’d spoken to me, but it still rubbed me the wrong way.
It probably wasn’t my place, but I brought Ramona and I closer to her and reached out for the little guy. He practically leapt out of his grandmother’s arms and into mine, this time clinging to my shoulders.
“Hey, bud. You ready to eat?” That was something he understood, and he gave a happy nod and waved to Ramona.
Ramona tickled her nephew’s belly while I bounced slightly in place, swaying with Ollie resting patiently in my arms. My mate squared her shoulders and faced her mother. “Hi, Mom.”
“Ramona. Are you ready to explain yourself?”
Instead of crumpling in the face of her mother’s intensity, my mate just sighed, years of exhaustion deepening the action. “There’s nothing really to explain. I was done with New York and needed to take care of myself. I met Río, and we fell for each other.”
My heart thudded with pride and love, but her mother just scoffed while crossing her arms. She wore an expensive looking sundress, not unlike what I saw my oldest sister wear in her downtime. My mate’s mother’s white-blonde hair was secured with a headband that matched the color of her eyes. “What the hell do you mean take care of yourself? You’ve been given everything you need your entire life. You should feelgrateful. Not blow up your life and run to your brother, disrupting him and his family.”
Ramona blinked, clearly wounded by her mother’s words. Through our time together, Ramona had once told me that she feared she was inconveniencing Sylvie and Orion by moving in, and of course her mother was able to zero right in on that insecurity.
Keeping my voice even, I cut in. “That’s enough. I’m trying to be respectful, but I won’t have you talking to my mate like that.” To Ramona, I nodded toward the kitchen where I could hear the sizzling of our dinner and Dahlia, Sylvie, and Orion lost in a conversation. “You wanna go help them out with dinner, Princess?”
“Youdon’t tell her to do anything, you degenerate.”
A light snarl, complete with a flash of her blunt teeth, erupted from Ramona and aimed toward her mother. “We will leave right now and never see you again. Keep trying me.”
Her mother blanched but tried to hide her surprise with a huff, tossing her hair over her shoulder. But I was staring at my mate. God, she was the most perfect thing in the world, and I would take on any and everyone to keep her safe and happy.
“Meredith. You know that we talked about this.” Orion came walking into the room, mouth noticeably pinched in a way I’d never seen. I turned Ollie towards his dad, and the pup went more than happily. The Leader paused for a moment before deciding on something and nodding at me in thanks. Ramona’swords from yesterday coursed through my mind. Maybe I really was making some headway with my brother-in-law.
He definitely wasn’t as cold with me yesterday as he was with his own mother.
Meredith narrowed her stare at her oldest. “You may be a Leader, but you’re still my son. And Ramona is practically still a child, someone I am supposed toprotect.”
Orion swept his eyes over all of us before a crash in the kitchen made him flinch, followed by twin yelps of, “Sorry!”
“You’ve never been mated, so you may not realize that insulting one of our mates will result in swift consequences. Should you wish to stay here and visit, you’ll act accordingly.” The female had never mated his father, either? I shook my head and grabbed Ramona’s hand as we followed Orion back toward the kitchen and dining room.
I’d never seen this part of the house before, but it was a mix of cozy wood, stainless steel appliances, and a nicely crafted dining table and chairs.
“Auntie!” We were settling at the barstools that separated the kitchen and more formal dining area when Dahlia waved from her little stool that allowed her to reach the counter and help cook. When she turned to me, she wrinkled her nose. “Mommy said I could call you Uncle Río now.”