Madeline’s POV
Dimitri lifted my hand and kissed it.
“Are you sure, princess?” he asked. “I can go in there by myself.”
I shook my head and took a deep breath.
“No,” I said. “I am a Luna and I need to do this.”
Dimitri groaned and I looked at him, furrowing my eyebrows. Did I say something wrong?
“How does everything you say turn me on so fucking much?” he mumbled.
I chuckled and shook my head. Dimitri rolled his eyes playfully and opened the door to Mike’s house.
“Mike?” he called him as we walked inside.
I heard footsteps approaching the living room and a second later Mike walked inside with a huge grin on his face.
“Mads!” he exclaimed as he approached me. “Congratulations, honey! It is so nice to finally have you in our pack!”
Mike looked so excited and I could tell that he wanted to hug me. He didn’t push it, though. He knew that I wasn’t comfortable with it.
“Thank you,” I said, giving him a small smile.
“Where is my mother?” Dimitri asked, making Mike look at him.
“She is in the kitchen,” Mike said, glancing back at me. “I tried talking to her, but…”
He stopped talking and shook his head a little. Dimitri tightened his hand around mine. I could feel his anger growing.
“That’s okay,” I said before Dimitri could do or say anything. “I came here to talk to both of you.”
Mike furrowed his eyebrows a little.
“Can we go into the kitchen?” I asked, giving him another smile.
“Of course, honey,” Mike said and let us walk past him.
Dimitri pulled me closer to him as we were entering the kitchen. Janet looked at me and I was immediately hit with her thoughts.
I want to kill the little bitch. I will find a way to get rid of her.
I gasped quietly and stopped walking. Her thought was like a punch to my gut. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. I couldn’t hear anyone’s thoughts all morning. Dimitri’s touch kept them all away. Why could I hear her thoughts then? Dimitri was next to me. He was holding my hand. I couldn’t hear Mike’s thoughts, but I could hear hers.
Why hers?
Are you okay, princess? Dimitri mind-linked me. We can go if you changed your mind.
I didn’t change my mind. I had to do it. I could handle a few of her thoughts. I kept my eyes on Janet’s and took a deep breath.
I am okay. I mind-linked him back. I want to do this.
“Do you want some coffee?” Mike asked as he walked past us and toward Janet.
“Yes, please,” Dimitri said and looked at me. “Maddie?”
I nodded, not looking away from Janet.
You will pay for everything, Madeline. She mind-linked me. Don’t get too comfortable with my son. He isn’t yours. He will never be yours. You will never be Luna or Queen. You should have left when you had a chance.
I tried so hard not to react to her words. I tried so hard not to flinch. I tried so hard not to show how painful her words were.
‘We need to tell Dimitri,’ Skye whined. ‘She can’t talk to you like this, Maddie.’
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
‘We can’t,’ I said. ‘She is his mom. I don’t want him to fight with her because of me. I don’t want him to lose her.’
Losing my mom was the most painful thing I ever had to go through. I didn’t want Dimitri to go through that.
Skye whined but remained silent.
“Sit down, guys, please,” Mike said and Dimitri pulled me to the table.
Mike placed two coffee mugs in front of us and sat down. He smiled at me.
I took a deep breath and tried to remember all the things I wanted to tell him. I wanted to speak with him before Janet. I assumed that talking to Janet would be much harder and I knew that I wouldn’t be in the right mindset to talk to Mike after my conversation with Janet ended.
“I am angry at you, Mike,” I said, being as direct as possible. “I have been angry at you for a long time. I didn’t want to come here and I wanted to leave the day I turned 18. I didn’t want to be around you and I didn’t want to see you ever again.”
Mike’s eyes widened and he gulped.
“You left me and my mom,” I continued, trying so hard to keep my voice from shaking. “I needed a dad and you took him away from me. You chose power over your family and that is something I have a hard time accepting.”
I saw tears in Mike’s eyes. I could feel my heart clenching painfully. Dimitri placed a kiss on my temple and placed his arm around my shoulders. I could feel Janet’s burning gaze on the side of my face.
I didn’t let her distract me. I had to remain focused on Mike.
“But I can’t leave this pack,” I continued after a few moments of silence. “My mate is here. I love him and I don’t want to leave him.”
I love you too. Dimitri mind-linked me.
I glanced at him and smiled.
“So I need to find a way to forgive you, Mike, and I wanted to start by telling you how I honestly feel,” I said, looking back at Mike. “I needed to get that off my chest. I need a fresh start. I want to be a good Luna and I can’t do that with this anger I’m carrying around.”
A tear fell on Mike’s cheek and he reached over the table to take my hand in his.
“I will try to forgive you, Mike,” I said before he could speak. “You did what you thought would be best at the time. You found your happiness here. You found a mate and a son and I don’t want to blame you for that.”
I took a deep breath and squeezed his hand.
“I will need some time, though,” I continued. “I will need time to work through this anger.”
Goddess, I am so fucking proud of you. Dimitri mind-linked me and pulled me to his chest. You are an amazing Luna.
“I am so sorry, honey,” Mike said. “I completely understand your anger. You are right to be angry and I will give you as much time as you need.”
Mike squeezed my hand and smiled through his tears.
“You are already an amazing Luna and I am so proud to be your dad,” he added.
I smiled back at him and took a deep breath.
What a pathetic little lying bitch. I can’t fucking wait to get rid of her.
Janet’s thoughts made me flinch.
I looked at her and took a deep breath. It was time for me to try to talk to her. Maybe there was a way to salvage this. Maybe there was a way for us to have a civilized relationship.
