“You’re alive,” he said, his breath coming out in gasps. He pulled away and grabbed my face in his hands to look at me. Inspecting my face.
“I’m alive, Dad,” I reassured him, instantly regretting not speaking to them earlier from the devastated look on his face. I couldn’t call them when I was on Howl’s Edge since their government blocked contact with anyone outside the werewolf island.
Then he noticed the men standing around the door.
“This must be them,” he began.
“Who is that?” called my mom from the kitchen.
“This is my alpha pack,” I told him. Dad’s eyes widened, even though I remembered him clearly telling me to mate the pack.
“Oh, your mom ain’t gonna be happy,” he said. “It’s Tiana, and…we have company.”
I walked inside, the men trailing behind me.
“Tiana?” said my mom, dropping the spoon she was washing into the sink. She turned off the fire on the stove and slowly walked towards me. “So you’re back, huh?”
“Yes,” I said. I could tell she was pissed by the way her fingers were tapping on the kitchen counter. And her tone was deliberate and quiet.
“Why are you back if you wanted to leave so bad? If we were such bad parents?” she spat out.
“Bee, don’t be so hard,” my dad interjected, but she wasn’t having it.
My mom kept going. “You think it was easy, knowing you were on that stupid cruise and not knowing if you were alive? Do you know how it feels to lose a child? After all, we’ve done for you. You decide to run away and be spoiled.”
I couldn’t take it anymore.
I opened my mouth to say something smart, but my lips trembled, and tears burst out.
“I always thought of you. Always!” I said. “I wanted to come back because I missed you. I miss you guys, and I need you in my life. I know it was crazy to leave like that, but I always felt so lonely, like I was missing something important. You can’t rip something like that away from me. I felt cut off from the rest of the world taking those pills. You’ll never understand.”
My tears were flowing freely down my cheeks now. My mom’s eyes were starting to tear up.
“I’m sorry, honey,” she said. “I didn’t know you felt like that. I thought the pills made you not care about that stuff. Like dating and guys.”
“It’s okay,” I said, finally able to breathe again.
“Just don’t run away like that, okay?” she said as we hugged and she kissed my cheek.
“I won’t,” I said, the smell of onions strong in my nose as we hugged. When we pulled away, she looked at the men sitting quietly on the couch.
“And who are you guys?”
Grant shot up from his seat and shook my mom’s hand. “I’m Grant, and this is my pack. We have gotten to know your daughter and tried to keep her safe as much as possible. We hope to have your blessings for your daughter to be part of our pack. The queen of our pack.”
I could tell my mom was instantly charmed by his humble demeanor.
“I could see the marks on your neck, so I know you ain’t waiting for my blessings,” she joked, and the men laughed, unsure if she was being serious. “At least you seem like a good pack. Thank you for taking care of my daughter.”
“They are,” I said.
“Gentlemen, please sit. I’d like to get to know you and get the latest from Howl’s Edge,” announced my dad.
As the guys talked, I touched my ever-growing belly. I wore a loose pink flowing shirt over my jeans to cover it.
I was super nervous about announcing my pregnancy. I wasn’t sure how my parents would respond to the news. Or if they would be angry. As Grant droned on about police work to my dad, I felt happy and cozy sitting between Wesley and Sam on the couch. I felt a little dizzy and laid my head on Sam’s shoulder. Tony was in the kitchen talking with my mom, and I admired the effort he was putting in. My mom wasn’t too easy to talk to. But she seemed to be in good spirits as she placed the lasagna on the dining table for everyone to grab.
“Food’s ready,” she said.