I’d expected to see only Aiden and his parents, but instead, I was greeted by a tableful of all my closest female friends and family members.
My mom, Selene, Jocelyn, Michelle, Mia… Even Erica was there.
“Well, don’t just stand there like a deer in the headlights, darling.” Charlotte stood and waved me over. “Come take your seat as our guest of honor.”
I started walking toward the table. “What are you all doing here?”
“Now that we’re family,” Charlotte answered, “I thought it would be good for us gals to get better acquainted. After all, we know who ~really~ runs things in the pack house.” She smiled playfully and pulled out my chair.
I sat, making a “what the hell is going on” face at Michelle, but she just shrugged.
“She said it was a surprise, hon,” my mom whispered.
“Now, I’d like to make a toast to my daughter-in-law.” Charlotte raised her glass. “Sienna, dear, you’ve been through so much this past week, and I admit that the arrival of Daniel and me was…a bit jarring.
“I would like to apologize for that. I think we all could have comported ourselves better, which is why I organized this get-together. I think it’s time we start off on a new foot, Sienna. To new beginnings and the future of this family.”
Everyone cheered and clinked glasses.
Maybe Aiden had been right and his mother had a sincere side after all.
“Selene, honey, when are you due?” Charlotte asked. “You have that expectant-mother glow about you.”
Selene blushed. “Oh, thank you, Charlotte. I’m due in about seven weeks. Then we’ll have one more little lady to join us at the table.”
“I’m sure you’re eager as well, Melissa.”
“That’s an understatement,” Selene muttered.
“Hey now!” my mom said, laughing. “I’ve been very good about not sticking my nose in things.”
“Mom, you get lunch with my obstetrician three times a week!”
“We’re pals, Selene. Not everything is about you. But to answer your question, Charlotte, I can’t wait for my first grandchild to arrive.”
Charlotte smiled. “The first of many, I’m sure.”
As the servers came out with the first course, Charlotte continued to lead the conversation.
“And, Mia, you already have a little pup, don’t you?”
“Yes, twins actually. They’re four months old now.”
“You should have brought them,” Michelle piped up. “They’re literally the cutest damn babies I’ve ever seen.”
“They’re with their father for the afternoon, so if you see me checking my phone a lot, that’s why.”
Michelle laughed and stabbed a baby tomato with her fork. “That’s a bold move, leaving Kyler and Emmett alone with Harry.”
“I know, that’s why I’m heading back in two hours. Baby steps.”
“And what about you, Michelle?” Charlotte said. “Are children on your horizon?”
“We’ll see. Josh and I definitely want them, and now that the haze is here, I wouldn’t be surprised if I had an announcement to make before the new year.”
“My goodness, it sounds like there might be a whole pack of little ones scampering around here soon. Erica, what are your plans?”
“I’m not mated,” Erica replied, a bit defensively.
“I see,” Charlotte said. “Well, the season is upon us, my dear. Perhaps this is your lucky year. Jocelyn, sweetheart, what was it you were telling me the other day about how the health of a pack is predicated on the stock of its posterity?”
I shot Jocelyn a questioning look. When had she been talking to Aiden’s mother? And why?
“I think you’re taking my words a little out of context, Charlotte,” Jocelyn answered calmly. “What I said was, the collective consciousness of a pack is improved when they know that the future is stable, and part of that stability involves rearing a healthy stock of pups.”
“Yes, yes, but if you boil it all down, having babies is good for the pack. That much I think everyone at this table can agree on. Don’t you think, Sienna?”
I set down my salad fork and wiped my mouth. This whole lunch was starting to feel less about getting to know each other and more about how everyone around me in my life was having babies.
“Sure,” I replied cautiously. “I’m happy that my friends and sister have chosen to have children. It’s not something to take lightly.”
“I couldn’t agree more. A lot can change when you decide to have children.” Charlotte smiled smugly. “Or not have them.”
She paused to make sure she had my full attention, and I suddenly felt like we were the only two people in the room.
“Other areas of your life that you might not even think are related can be impacted. Your job, your hobbies…your mate. No, starting a family is not something to be taken lightly ~at all~.”
This was the final straw. I could see right through her sheep’s clothing to the wolf underneath.
There would never be a world where she and I were reconciled. Even if I got pregnant tomorrow, she wouldn’t give a damn about me. She just wanted to hold a grandchild, a ~Norwood~ grandchild.
“Charlotte,” I said, looking directly into her eyes. “You don’t have to pretend to like me.”
“Whatever do you mean, dear?”
“This act isn’t going to work. You’re not going to pressure me into having a baby by surrounding me with women who want them.
“I love each of these ladies with all my heart, and respect their choices, but they would never peer pressure me into starting a family like you’re attempting to do right now.”
She let out a long-suffering sigh. “When are you going to stop seeing me as a villain, Sienna?”
“When you stop acting like one and start treating me with respect.”
“It’s hard to respect someone when they only think about themselves, darling.”
“That’s rich,” I shot back. “The only reason you came back here was to make sure your family’s legacy wasn’t tarnished by some outspoken upstart.”
My mom got to her feet. “Sienna, Charlotte, please stop this.”
“Fine,” Charlotte snapped at me, ignoring my mother. “You can think that I’m horrid, but I will always be Aiden’s mother, and I will always put him first. That’s what being mated means, missy. You make sacrifices.
“Aiden has bent over backward to accommodate your finicky sensibilities, and what have you done in return? Embarrassed him in front of the entire pack and deprived him of the greatest joy a wolf can have.
“You don’t deserve my son, and you never will.”
Charlotte’s words ate through me like acid, but I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me cry.
I rose to my feet. “Excuse me, ladies, but I don’t think I can stay.”
As soon as I was outside the dining hall, I rushed to my office and locked the door.
Tears poured out as I slid to the floor, unable to control the grief that overtook me. Because I couldn’t help but feel like there was a kernel of truth in Charlotte’s words.
Right now, I didn’t want to see anyone except Aiden. I wanted to feel him and hear him tell me that I was enough, that I was his mate and he would love me forever.
***
My phone buzzed non-stop over the next hour. Everyone was trying to get a hold of me after I ran out of Charlotte’s luncheon.
I’d thought I wanted to be alone, but it turned out I was wrong. I needed to talk to someone.
I thought about Jocelyn, but I wasn’t sure what her connection to Charlotte was, and Michelle and Mia wouldn’t understand what I was going through.
I needed my mom.
Hey mom, are you home right now?
Yes!
Are you available to talk?
Of course! I’m home the rest of the day.
Thanks. See you in 20
Sounds good!
I love you, Si. 💕
I called my security detail and then turned off my phone.
***
Before I could even reach the front door. my mom and Selene were outside with their arms around me.
“Oh, Si, I’m so sorry. We had no idea that was going to happen. We really thought it was going to be a normal lunch.”
“I started to tell her off after you left,” Selene added, “but Mom made me stop.”
“That’s okay. I know you were just as surprised as I was.”
“Let’s go inside and get out of the cold. I have a big mug of cocoa waiting for you.”
I curled up onto the couch, and my mom brought me the cocoa and a plate of gingersnaps while Selene tucked me in with a blanket.
“There you are, sis. Snug as a bug.”
“Is there anything else I can get you?” my mom asked.
“No, this is perfect. I just need to know that you both don’t hate me.”
“Oh my goodness, Sienna, why would we hate you?”
“I don’t know.” I shook my head sadly. “It’s just, I see how excited you are for Selene’s baby, and I feel like it would be perfect if we both had kids around the same time so they could grow up together and—”
“Si,” Selene interrupted. “You’re talking like a crazy person. You shouldn’t have kids because you think it would be cute for our babies to be around the same age. There’s a reason Jeremy and I waited until we did. We had other things we wanted to do before we settled down.”
My mom nodded. “Yes, and don’t think I love you less because you’re not giving me a grandchild right now. Or ever. All I care about is that you’re happy with whatever path you take in life.”
“Yeah, don’t let that beat-up handbag of a mother-in-law get to you, Si. It’s your life. It’s your womb.”
I was so thankful to have both of them in my life.
We spent the rest of the afternoon watching movies and not talking at all about children or the pack.
My dad came home and Jeremy came over, and we all ate dinner together, and when it was time to get ready for bed, I turned on my phone.
There were a bunch of missed texts from Aiden.
Jocelyn told me what happened at the lunch
Sry little girl
BTW, my parents just moved out. I asked them to yesterday
Sienna?
Jst saw this
Omw, Mr. Wolf