My car slowed in front of the rustic blend of brick, wood, and glass. I felt my eyes begin to water again, but I hastily rubbed the dampness away with my sleeves. The last thing my parents needed to see were my tears. I drove up their driveway and parked behind my brother's black Jeep. He really needed to wash that thing.
I took out the compact from my center console and dabbed the powder over my puffy red eyes. For whatever annoying reason, I had begun crying after Angelica released me from work. It had something to do with Tandan breaking my heart, but the idea hurt too much to think about. I couldn't think about him or I would fall apart.
Once I was back in one piece, I got out of the car and grabbed my duffle from the trunk. I froze before shutting the trunk as a familiar odor hit my nose.
"Big sis," called my one and only sibling. "I wondered when you'd come running back."
This time I turned around and rolled my eyes. "What did I tell you about common courtesy, Braden?"
"I knew you missed me!" The burly man-boy wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me off the ground in a death grip. My duffel was squeezed from my hands, earning an irritated grunt from me.
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, patting his shoulder until he placed me back on my feet. "How's Alpha training going?"
"It's...going," he grumbled before scooping up my duffel and tossing it over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. His gentleness needed a little work; he often forgot how big he was.
The massive expanse of his chest and the length of his legs were, as we found out a year ago, not simply mutant genetics but the result of inherent Alpha. Even though our family was not in a pack and were considered domestic wolves, he had been chosen by the pack of our town to be their next in line. It was odd, considering he wasn't in their lineage, but Braden had always been more in tune with his wolf side than us. This was clearly what he was made for.
We chatted about my job as we strolled towards the house. I avoided mentioning the incident of finding my mate. If I trusted anyone in my family enough to confide in them about such a tragedy, it would be my puppy-like brother, who was overly eager to please. Even the trust I had in him, however, wasn't great enough to withstand something like this. He would tell our parents, and I would feel utter shame explaining to them that my own mate was in love with someone else.
My parents were standing in the kitchen when I walked in. Braden had taken the liberty of carrying my duffel up to my old bedroom, probably to give me a moment alone with them.
"Rylee!" crowed my mom as she spun around from her place by the island. She must have smelled me because I snuck in quietly.
While she squeezed me up in a hug, my dad turned away from the pot he was stirring on the stove. I heard my stomach rumble and they both laughed. His cooking never failed to taste divine.
"Happy Birthday, Dad." I leaned onto my tiptoes to kiss his cheek and wrap my arms around his neck. "I missed you."
"We missed you too, sweetie."
We caught up on the affairs of our hometown, of my dad's auto shop and my mom's nurse station at the pediatric office in town, and, lastly, my new life in Bloomberg. I had dreaded this conversation most, but I knew it would be better to get it out of the way sooner than later.
"Met anyone special?" asked my mom with a sly grin.
"Mom," I groaned.
"It's only been two weeks, love," my dad reminded her. Looking at me, he added, "But if you have, I need his full name, social security, and driver's license number."
Chuckling, I rolled my eyes. Braden smirked at me over his plate of spaghetti squash and mashed potatoes. He hadn't met his mate yet, but we all knew she would probably be in his new pack. I used to be so hopeful, so dreamy and naive about discovering my own mate.
"Well?" my mom pressed.
"Oh," I stalled nervously, "well...I met a guy, but it's nothing romantic. We're just friends."
She perked up. "Is he human or wolf?"
"Vampire," chimed Braden through a mouthful of food.
"No," my mom gasped.
"Shut up, Braden," I growled teasingly with an eye roll. "No, Mom, he's a human."
"What's his name?" My dad thought he was being discreet with his pen and napkin.
Narrowing my eyes, I said, "His name is Matt, and no, you cannot run a background check on him. We are just friends."
"Mhm." He jotted Matt's name down anyway.
"Well, Rylee," my mom purred, "I just know you're going to meet your mate soon. I feel it!"
My face heated up, so I looked down at my plate to hide it. "Is that so?"
"Yes!"
"I'll have to let you know how that goes," I mumbled.
After a moment of quiet chewing, Braden shifted in his seat across the table from me. I lifted my head to study him curiously. When his eyes flickered between me and our parents, who pretended to be blissfully unaware, I finally cleared my throat.
"Have something you would like to share, Bub?" I asked him.
"Uh...well..." He licked his lips and twirled the fork in his massive hand.
"Braden met his mate!" our mother shrieked with a beam. "And she is the most lovely girl, Rylee. You will love her. She's so sweet and lovable. They are a match made in Heaven."
My throat constricted painfully, but I forced a smile. It really was great news, and I hated that my issues with my own mate were keeping me from feeling unadulterated happiness for my brother.
"That's awesome, Braden," I said, forcing my lips to stretch farther. "I'm so happy for you, bro."
"Thanks, Ry. You gonna get all weepy on me?"
Tears were pooling in my eyes, though not for the reason he thought. I played it off as they would want me to anyway. Nodding, I choked back a sob. "What's her name?"
"Beth," he answered.
"Is she beautiful?"
"The most beautiful. Like an angel."
My smile was genuine this time. Braden seemed to be visibly glowing, and his happiness was contagious. The tears reached their end, and I excused myself to dry my face. Since I had already put my dishes away, I went ahead and cleaned up for the night. A knock sounded on the door while I finished pulling my nightgown on over my head.
"One sec," I said.
A moment later, I pulled the door open to find Braden lingering on the other side. He didn't return my smile, so my guard instantly went up.
"What's up?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Wanna go for a drive?" He nibbles on his bottom lip, a nervous habit he'd never been able to quit.
Brows furrowing in concern, I gestured to my getup. "Uh, I'm kind of in my pajamas."
"Come on, Ry. It'll be like old times," he said. "No one's gonna see you in your pajamas."
As much as I wanted to crawl into bed, I could tell something was up. Considering he didn't want to just come into my room and tell me, he didn't want my parents to know.
So I sighed and nodded. "Okay, just let me put some pants on."
We went down to his Jeep and I slid into the passenger seat. Neither of us spoke until we were out of the neighborhood. I fiddled with the radio for a minute, unable to take the silence. Braden finally slapped my hand away and turned it off. My wide eyes traveled up to his.
"Braden..." I drawled. "Tell me what's wrong."
"You tell me what's wrong," he snapped.
I blanched at his sharp tone. "What?"
"Mom and Dad might be totally oblivious, but I can tell something's wrong. We promised to tell each other things, Rylee. Don't lie to me."
"I only just found out you met your met," I shot back. "This goes both ways."
"I just met her two days ago. We knew you were coming home, so I decided to wait to tell you in person."
My silence was filled with shame. I had no excuse, just embarrassment. Biting my lip, I stared out the window.
"I can smell you," he said. "It's faint, but Beth smelled like that a day or so after we met. I know, I just want to hear you say it."
"You smell what?" I demanded.
A guttural noise rattled his body. "You know what I'm talking about."
"No, I don't think I do."
"Your heat!" he barked. "I can smell it! Why didn't you tell us you met your mate?"
"I...I don't want to talk about it."
"Why not? Can't you tell how desperate Mom is?"
My bottom lip quivered, tears pricking my eyes. "You wouldn't understand."
"I wouldn't understand what? What's hard to get?"
"He doesn't want me."