The Swan Who Flew After a Wolf (12 page)

regarding the problem. Aria might be a liar, but she didn’t deserve to

die, and if Alpha Marrow had tried to hurt her and her son, the

werewolf needed to be punished.

Sadly, the Tyrell issue took precedence, as they couldn’t afford to

have strife among their own ranks in already turbulent times. Through

Daniel, Soren had told them that as a temporary measure, Aria and

Paris would simply stay within Soren’s pack lands. No one was

allowed here without Soren’s permission, and Alpha Marrow was

unlikely to try anything.

Although Reed still had his doubts, he mostly allowed himself to

relax and enjoy the new addition to their little family. Paris would

never be his son, of course. They were almost the same age, with

Paris just a few months younger. But they were becoming fast friends,

and that friendship had quieted down Reed’s fears. Not only that, but

Paris was also getting very close to Anson, something that made Reed

very happy.

The truth was that, even at this age, Reed remained very close to

his family. Usually, bird-shifters distanced themselves from their

families upon reaching a certain age, but not so with Reed. He’d been

very relieved when he could finally reveal the love he had for his

mate to them. He simply couldn’t imagine what Paris had gone

through, deprived of all that. It could have easily happened to Reed.

His birth parents might have treated him the same way Alpha Marrow

had in Paris’s case. But Reed had been lucky, and he wanted to share

his good fortune with Paris.

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All that aside, there were other factors that unfortunately intruded

on their life, one of them being Aria. Her presence had fueled the

rumors that Reed wasn’t truly Anson’s mate. She was stirring up

trouble in the pack, and Reed worried about it since Paris’s presence

here was bound to hers.

“So what about your mother?” he asked Paris, knowing it would

break the comfortable mood, but needing the information. “Doesn’t

she mind you coming here to have breakfast with us?”

Since the duo’s arrival, Reed and Anson had moved back to

Anson’s small house. It wasn’t as convenient for work purposes, but

they had more privacy, and Daniel had agreed that having Reed and

Aria in the same house was simply not smart. The squirrel-shifter was

working on preparing a permanent home for her and Paris, but until

then, they were stuck.

Paris shrugged, swallowing another bite of pancakes. “Nah. She’s

not much of a homemaker. She leaves early anyway. She has it in her

head to prepare a celebration party this weekend.”

“When Soren comes back, right?” Anson offered. “Damn, the last

thing he needs is something like that.”

“Still no warlock, huh?” Paris inquired.

“No warlock,” Anson confirmed.

“Personally, I have a theory,” Reed said. Only Anson knew about

this, as Reed had drawn his own conclusions from things Isaac had

told him in confidence. He took a sip of his orange juice, considering

his choices. He trusted Paris already, but decided to be just a touch

vague out of respect for Isaac, who was very keen on his privacy. “I

have reason to believe that the last confrontation incapacitated him

somehow.”

It was something Isaac had mentioned during their past

conversations. Apparently, there had been a battle of sorts in Isaac’s

mind, and while at the time, Isaac hadn’t thought anything of it, they

now suspected the warlock’s defeat might have hurt him. “It’s a

possible explanation as to why he went under.”

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“Or maybe he’s just reorganizing his forces.” Paris seemed to

muse over this. “I don’t know about this. I feel like a stranger facing

all this stuff that I’ve only heard of. And with Fa…I mean, Alpha

Marrow after us, I can’t even try to learn more of it.”

Reed didn’t miss the slight hesitation and knew what it meant. He

let it slide, understanding how hard it must be for Paris to get over his

past experiences.

“We’ll get there,” he said encouragingly. “If it makes you feel any

better, these guys are so protective that you probably wouldn’t get

actively involved in it anyway.”

“I just wish your mother had waited with the famous party.”

Anson sounded quite pissed. “Some of our friends will be there, but

others are still in Japan. I wanted to introduce you to everyone.”

The clear pride in Anson’s voice defused the tension in the room.

“Thanks,” Paris said, beaming. “I appreciate that. I’m honestly quite

nervous about it. In my former pack, I didn’t get out much, so there’s

a lot I don’t know.”

Reed meant to come up with another encouraging reply, but he

didn’t get the chance, as he felt a familiar presence closing in. He

finished his orange juice and gave his mate a dismayed look. “I’ll see

what she wants,” he told Anson.

Anson released a groan. “It must have been Aria’s meddling

causing this.”

Reed didn’t doubt that was the case. Even if Reed’s parents were

now reassured that Anson truly loved Reed, the doubts fueled by Aria

were a time bomb. In a sense, Reed was surprised nothing had

happened until now.

“Stay here,” Anson told Paris. “I don’t want you to get caught in

the crossfire.”

“Is everything okay?” Paris asked, sounding concerned. “What’s

going on?”

“We just have a somewhat-unpleasant visitor,” Reed replied.

“Hopefully, she’ll be gone before you know it.”

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79

Together with Anson, Reed left the kitchen, relying on the general

feel of the house to mask Paris’s presence. They reached the door and

opened it just in time. At the other side, they found Reed’s

grandmother, Norma.

“Hello, Grandmother,” Reed greeted her. “Fancy seeing you

here.”

“Hello, Reed. Won’t you invite me inside?”

Reed wordlessly gestured for her to come in, even if it was the last

thing he wanted. She slipped inside with the grace typical of swans.

Even after all these years, she looked as elegant as Reed remembered

her from his childhood years.

“This place smells.” She grimaced delicately. “How can you even

live here?”

“Anson was just making breakfast,” Reed offered with a tired

sigh. “Did you want something, or did you just come to insult us?”

His grandmother ignored the question. “Breakfast? And what

exactly did he cook?”

“Pancakes,” Anson replied from the doorway with almost-sadistic

glee. “Want some?”

Predictably, Anson’s grandmother looked horrified. “No, thank

you,” she said with a tremor in her voice.

Reed barely managed to suppress a snicker. Living around

carnivores, he’d gotten used to all sorts of diets, including the smell of

cooked eggs. Personally, he didn’t eat them or any meal which used

them as ingredients. As a swan-shifter, he wasn’t fond of the idea of

eating another bird’s prospective offspring. But he understood how

things worked, and he’d long ago stopped being bothered by the

scents. Obviously, it wasn’t the case with Norma, who lived in a

somewhat isolated swan community.

But annoying as she might be, she was still his grandmother, and

he owed her a modicum of respect. “Would you like to step into the

living room? The air is clear there.”

“Yes, Reed. That would be great.”

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Reed led her into Anson’s living room, a lovely, cozy area with a

distinct lived-in look. He had instantly fallen in love with the place

ever since he’d first seen it. The muted, but manly colors simply

screamed Anson. There were books, the occasional adornments, and

even a couple of paintings. It felt like home.

Of course, it was nothing like the swans’ place in their valley, but

to her credit, his grandmother didn’t make any comment. As Reed

nodded toward a couch, she gingerly sat down, her back as stiff as a

board.

“How’s Grandfather?” Reed asked in the awkward silence.

“Grumpy,” Norma replied. “He refused to come with me.

According to him, you’re old enough to make your own choices now,

and you have your parents here to take care of you.”

Well, it looked like at least Reed’s grandfather had the right idea.

“That’s true,” Reed replied. “So you see, you can go be with him

because I can handle myself just fine.”

“I wish that were true, but from what I’ve seen so far, I’d think

that it isn’t at all the case.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “What is

this madness you’re doing? Mating with a man that’s more than twice

your age? Your father’s ex, no less. And he turns out to have another

mate, and a son. God, Reed, what are you thinking?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Reed said, irritated that he always had to come

back to the same issues. “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but Aria is

not Anson’s mate. And Paris is a great guy. We’re friends now. So

you can just go home and rest assured that everything’s fine here.”

His grandmother blinked in shock. “You’re throwing me out. Is

that it?”

“Grandmother…What do you expect me to say?” Reed suddenly

felt very tired. “Anson is my mate, and I love him. This is our house,

and eventually, if not now, we’ll want to raise our own kids in it. And

yet you and almost everyone else are stuck into the past, as if Anson

still lives twenty years back and not in the present. I’m so sick of it

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that you can’t imagine. You should be happy for me, not try to

sabotage me.”

“Reed, you have to understand. Anson is not just any man, and

when we received word of this new development…I just had to

come.”

To a certain extent, Reed did understand. Norma had never liked

Anson. It all originated from Shiloh’s jealousy, something which

Reed couldn’t blame his dad for, especially not now. He was used to

seeing Anson with Liam, so he thought nothing of it, but his blood

boiled whenever Aria got within fifteen feet of his mate. He supposed

it might just be swan nature that made them so possessive.

“Thank you for your concern,” he said. “But you have to trust me

over a stranger. Aria does not mean well. She’s just causing trouble

for me and trying to steal Anson. But I won’t let her.”

A knock sounded at the door, and Reed bid his mate to enter.

Anson peeked inside with an almost-sheepish smile on his face.

“A brief word with you, Mrs. Holden?” he asked.

Reed’s grandmother nodded, and Anson stepped into the living

room. He made his way to Reed’s side and gripped Reed’s hand. “I’m

not going to apologize for earlier, even if I probably should. In my

opinion, a woman with your experience should know better than to

trust every rumor. I just wanted to say one thing. I love Reed, and

nothing anyone says or does will change that. Aria can claim she’s my

mate all she wants, but that won’t make it true. Shiloh has already

understood that, and he’s the person who most had reason to resent

me. Why can’t you?”

For a few moments, Norma remained silent. “I suppose that, in

your own way, you are correct, Mr. Wright. But I am still not

convinced. There are simply too many coincidences, too many shades

of gray surrounding you.”

“My life’s an open book.” Anson laughed. “I’m just a man who

sought love in all the wrong places until he finally found it. To a

certain extent, I regret my previous liaisons, but because of them, I

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have a wonderful son now. So it all worked out, I think. I just need

people to understand that no one’s perfect. We all make mistakes.”

Reed was quite thankful that Anson didn’t mention Shiloh’s less-

than-stellar past. The older swan had shared most everything with

Reed in an attempt to prevent Reed from making the same mistakes,

so Reed knew all about what Shiloh had been through before meeting

Liam. From Reed’s point of view, it had been brave of his dad,

especially since people had many times judged Shiloh because of it.

But Reed realized now that he’d never once heard Anson utter a

single bad word about Shiloh beyond nearly casual comments about

Shiloh’s rejection of him.

Whether Norma realized that or not, she seemed a little more

reassured than when she’d first come in. Or rather, she was less

certain that Reed had become the victim of a sexual predator who