I wasn’t stupid. I knew my parents hadn’t come to town out of a desire to reconnect. And honestly? It was a relief when they’d told me they were meeting friends for breakfast.
I knew Sienna would be relieved too. My mom had been awful to her last night. I should have stood up for her more, but I’d been in shock that my parents were here at all.
After Aaron died, they made it clear what their priorities were. And that I wasn’t one of them.
Sure, I was just as guilty as they were of not keeping in touch, but I was eighteen when they started their globetrotting. I’d just lost my brother and needed them more than ever.
But instead of making sure I was okay, they handed me the pack and—in the same breath—bid me adieu.
I may have been the alpha, but it didn’t mean I had all the answers.
After Sienna went to bed last night, I was expecting some sort of substantive conversation, hell, maybe even an apology. Instead, they just talked about their travels, and I listened to their critiques and praise of people I’d never met.
Why was I even getting worked up over this? It wasn’t like they were going to stay forever. In fact, I’d give it a week at most before they felt compelled to fly off again.
Then maybe I’d see them again in another ten years, but until that day, I was more than content to receive a random postcard or two.
I could deal with all this later tonight, though. Right now, I needed to get started on the mountain of paperwork sitting on my desk.
As I opened the first folder in the stack, I heard a gentle rapping at my chamber door.
“Yes?”
“I hope we’re not interrupting anything, dear,” my mother said, waltzing in with my father like they owned the place. “But when did you do away with secretaries? I feel so rude dropping in without someone to announce me.”
My father looked around the room. “I like what you’ve done with the office, son. Did you hire someone or do the work yourself?”
“I did it myself. Something about wallpaper and tapestries wasn’t quite for me.”
My mother gasped. “You didn’t throw the tapestries out, did you, Addy? Those were priceless pieces of pack heritage!”
Of course that was the first thing that came to her mind—she was the one who’d made sure I knew every bit of pack tradition and history.
When I was a little boy, she’d even made me recite the names of the last twenty alphas and what each of them had done to contribute to our pack before I could eat dinner.
“Where’s that young wife of yours?” my dad asked.
“I don’t know.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I’d keep a tighter leash on her if I were you. Don’t want her getting into any more trouble.”
I narrowed my eyes. My parents ~really~ needed to lay off my mate. “I’m not her keeper, Dad. She’s a grown woman.”
“~Well~, according to the news, you seem to be alone in that opinion,” my mother snapped.
“She and I are doing fine, Mom. I don’t need you here interfering.”
“On the contrary, I think that’s ~exactly~ what you need us to do. It’s clear Sienna has no concept of duty or tradition. Daniel, can you please explain to our son why he needs our help?”
He straightened and gave a curt nod. “Aiden, you have to realize that Sienna didn’t grow up like you. We know you can’t choose who you mate with, son, so we’re not saying any of this is your fault, but she’s very young.
“She simply doesn’t understand what it means to be at the head of the pack. When we left you in charge, we knew everything was in good hands because you were groomed for this life. She wasn’t.”
“So…what? Are you saying it’s not in good hands now?”
My mother shook her head. “No, frankly, it’s not, Addy. Our family has been at the head of this pack for five generations, and this nobody of a girl could tarnish our entire legacy.”
I’d had enough of their insults. They were my parents, but there was a line I wouldn’t let them cross.
“That’s my ~mate~ you’re talking about, Mother.”
“Yes, I’m quite aware. But her humble origins are common knowledge, dear. There’s no need to get testy.”
“We’re here to help you clean up this little hiccup,” my father continued. “And keep it from turning into something bigger. The Fertility Festival starts tomorrow, and your first haze together as mates is almost upon us.
“If all three of us sit down with Sienna, I know we can make her understand that how she comports herself during this important time is crucial for the cohesion of the pack.”
I gritted my teeth. “Dad, I’ve already told Sienna these things. And as I already made clear, we’re working through it together.”
My mom smirked. “And how is that working out for you?”
“Aiden…” My dad shook his head slowly. “You need to get your mate under control and start trying for a family. It’s your responsibility as the alpha.”
“You’re twenty-nine, Addy,” my mom added. “What do you think happens when a pack’s alpha reaches thirty and he still has no pups? People start to get worried. Other alphas start eyeing your territory.”
Before I could say another word, Josh walked through the door, unaware I was being tag-teamed by my parents.
He froze when he saw them, then looked at me.
“I can come back.” He started to retreat.
“No!” I said quickly. “They were just leaving.”
“Josh, is that you?” my mother asked, beaming. “Oh, what a handsome man you’ve grown into. I also heard you’ve been mated.”
“Hello, Mrs. Norwood, Mr. Norwood. Yes, it’s been a while. And that’s actually why I’m here. Aiden, I just got a call from security. Our lovely wives are at it again.”
Great, this was just what I needed right now.
But when Josh saw my facial expression, he glanced at my parents and raised his hands in a placating gesture.
“Don’t worry, they didn’t ditch security this time. But they ~are~ at the same café, and I’m concerned that another ‘boozy brunch’ so soon after being called out for being frivolous party girls isn’t the best look.”
I looked over at my mother, who was clearly on the verge of uttering some smug I-told-you-so quip. We locked eyes, and I immediately knew she wasn’t going to stay silent. The moment was too good for her not to.
“Yes, well, since you seem to have such a ~firm grip~ on that mate of yours”—she bit the end of her sunglasses—“I think we should go find somewhere to lunch. Don’t you agree, Daniel?”
“Yes. Let’s get out of Aiden’s hair. We’ll see you and Sienna tonight, son. Manhattans at eight. No excuses.”
I made sure to walk them to the door and closed it promptly upon their exit.
“I didn’t know your parents were in town,” Josh said.
“I didn’t either until last night. And I already can’t wait for them to leave.”
“Do you, uh…want to talk about it?” he asked, shifting awkwardly from one foot to another. Interpersonal communication had never been his strong suit.
“It’s okay.” I suppressed a smirk at the look of relief on my friend’s face. “Right now we need to focus on our wives. Can you go pick them up? I need to sort through some things here.”
“Yeah, no problem. I’ll have them back here pronto.”
“Send Sienna straight to my office. I need to have a talk with her.”