I gnash my teeth, even though it’s not Don Santiago’s fault whether she’s coherent or not. In fact, I used to depend on Don Santiago to be the one who would give it to me straight about my mother. But after Maria Jose’s suggestion I have someone else look at her, a seed of doubt has crept in. Does Don Santiago have her best interest at heart? What if they’re not giving her the best care possible? What if I should have sought to return her to her own family after my father died?
It’s not too late-I can look into it when I return. Yet another issue to address.
I hear Don Santiago’s voice and my mother’s in response, then she comes on the line. “Carlos?”
“Hello, Mamá. How’s it going?”
“Carlos? Where are you?”
“I’m in Barcelona, Mamá, with the girl I told you about.”
“In Barcelona?” She sounds confused. Nothing new there.
“Yes, with my female.”
My mom gives a loud gasp, and a spike of fear rushes through me before she proclaims, “How wonderful! Carlos has a mate.”
“Are you crying, Mamá?”
“I’m just so happy for you, Carlos. When are you going to bring her home?”
“I’m not sure.” A fact which kills me. “Soon, I hope.” Not a lie-I can always hope.
“Grandpups. I want grandpups, Carlos.”
A rush of longing goes through me so strongly I have to close my eyes. Sedona, pregnant with my pup. My entire life would be worth living if that were the case. And I would damn well make sure their life was perfect.
I clear my throat. “I want that, too, Mamá.”
Sedona is looking over at me with curiosity, taking her ear buds out of her ears.
“Listen, Mamá, I have to go. I’ll call you next week. Take care of yourself.”
“I love you, Carlitos, mijo. Bring the she-wolf back here. I want to meet her.”
“Yes, Mamá. I love you, too. Ciao.”
I end the call and turn to Sedona and shrug. “My mother.”
“Was she-” Sedona seems to struggle for the words. I appreciate her sensitivity.
“She was mostly coherent. I told her about you.” I fidget with the croissants, pulling one out of the paper sleeve to offer it to her.
“What did you say?”
“Well, I told her about you the morning you left, but she’d forgotten. I told her I was here with you now. She cried.”
Sedona’s watching me too intently for comfort. I break off a piece of croissant and pop it between her lips.
“I am capable of feeding myself, you know.”
“I like to feed you.”
She smiles as she chews. “I know you do. So, why did she cry?”
“She’s happy for me. I didn’t tell her any of the, uh, history. Only that I’m here with my female-a female,” I amend.
The sadness I saw on Sedona’s face all last week creeps back over and I want to shoot myself for making her remember. There’s so much ugliness in our past-because of the council. I don’t want to bring it up, but I know we have to face it at some point. I take a deep breath.
“Listen. We’ll figure it out. I know it’s a lot to overcome-what we’ve been through, our differences, where we live. But give us a chance, Sedona.”
“I don’t know, Carlos. We live in different worlds.”
“We’re two educated, intelligent wolves. We can make it work.”
Her brow wrinkles, gaze going far away.
I grab her hand to bring her back. “I’ve been thinking of the way things are in Monte Lobo. I always planned to change things as soon as I became alpha. I’ve only been back a few weeks, and it hasn’t been as easy as I expected, but I promise things will be different.
“Sedona, first of all, I want you to know I tried to avenge your kidnapping, but someone got there first.”
“Garrett. My brother.”
I nod.
“Second, I want to say, what the council did to you-to us-was wrong. When I get back, I’ll be turning things upside down. There are many good wolves in the pack, and they deserve better.” Something in me shifts as I speak. I make the vow in my heart as I tell Sedona, “I’m going to root out corruption and carry the pack out of the Dark Ages. I will be the alpha they need.”
Sedona studies my face. I stay very still, wondering what she sees in me.
“Okay.” Something relaxes in her. “I’m glad.”
“Thank you.” I’m glad she listened. I can’t tell if I won her trust, though.
“One thing’s for sure,” she says. “Your council…” She shakes her head. “You can’t trust them. Not after what they did.”
“I know. After my father died, they ran the show. I was too young to lead and there was no other clear alpha. They’ve taken way too much power. It will take a while to undo the damage they have done.”
“So you will return to Mexico?” she asks, and my heart seizes. This is the topic I’ve been avoiding.
I take a deep breath. “I want to say no. See there’s this beautiful female wolf who captivates me…”
Sedona smiles.
“But she wouldn’t respect me if I abandoned my duties.”
“No, she wouldn’t.”
“But I had to see her again. Even just for a few days. Monte Lobo is so oppressive, but the sight of her reminds me of what I’m fighting for. I’m hoping she will enjoy the next few days with me. We can pretend to be tourists who just met and travel together on a whim.”
She raises a brow.
“It’s a long shot, but I’m hoping she’ll understand. I need this. Even if only for a few days.”
“I understand,” she says softly, a shadow passing over her face.
“Hey,” I cup her cheek. “We don’t have to decide anything. Let’s just focus on enjoying Spain together.”
“Okay.”