bitch. It would be more than enough for her
father. Still, she had needed to come home and see her mother. Her parents were
True Mates and maybe her mother could help her get used to the idea of
submitting to a male, if Damien really was her Mate. She still wasn’t certain,
but not being near him hurt…as if a vital organ had been removed. Just fanciful
thoughts really, but against all common sense, she missed him.
Through the years, she’d watched her mother always do
whatever her father had decreed, and it bugged Serena. She didn’t want to spend
the rest of her life living by Damien’s commands. How could her mother stand
it? Serena needed to know the answer to that question if she had any hope of
surviving this relationship as an independent female. What terrified her the
most was that she wouldn’t have a choice. She’d just bow to his orders and lose
herself in him and never be Serena again. She shuddered. She’d rather be dead.
She followed the winding road onto clan lands with a sense
of homecoming. As she headed west, she passed various small homes that housed
the Goldwolf families who lived here. She waved when she saw those she knew.
She reached her parents’ place in the center of what passed for a town out
here. It was a large old Victorian. Her parents had hoped to fill it with pups,
but there’d been just her. She knew her father regretted not having a son,
despite designating her cousin Quinn as his heir.
She parked and went up to the house. She opened the door and
heard voices in the kitchen. She frowned as she recognized Quillen’s whine. She
strode through to the kitchen and entered to hear him blaming her for the whole
mess.
“Serena fired me for no reason! It isn’t fair! I’m a
good worker and I was doing a really good job this time, Quinn. Really! It’s
all her fault that wolf was complaining.”
“My fault? You lying little worm !” She growled,
crossing the room to stand over her cousin, who cowered in the face of her
wrath.
“What’s going on, Serena?”
Quinn looked tired as he brushed lank dark-gold hair off his
forehead with a sigh. Serena frowned because he looked like hell. There were
circles under his eyes and he seemed nervous. It was so unlike her cousin that
she stopped wanting to kill Quillen and hug Quinn instead, but she paused
because she knew he wouldn’t want her to draw attention to him.
“Your whiny little brother set one of our clients up
with…someone completely inappropriate. So, I fired him.”
“Serena, you gave him a chance before. Can’t you try again?”
her mother asked from the kitchen sink where she was calmly washing dishes.
Serena bit her lip to keep from screeching. She was still
too tense for this dramatic crap. “No, Mother. I can not give him
another try and I will not.” She turned to her young cousin. “You
brought this on yourself with your ill-timed and idiotic sense of humor.”
“Just because some bitch was inappropriate, doesn’t mean
that Quillen should be fired,” Quinn countered as he leaned against the wall
behind Serena’s father.
Serena took a deep breath. She hadn’t wanted to go there
because she knew how it upset Quinn, however, it would seem she had no choice.
“Inappropriate doesn’t begin to cover it. Does it Quillen?”
“He’s a prick. He deserved it. Just because he screwed you
blind today doesn’t mean anything!” Quillen smirked at her. She was going to
slap that smirk off his face if he kept it up.
“I don’t care if he is the most arrogant bastard on the
planet, and he is. That is no excuse for setting him up to go out with Joyce
Blackwolf.”
Quinn stiffened as if shot. The look he shot his younger
brother made Quillen cringe and look for cover. “He did what?”
Serena winced. Quinn hadn’t shouted—he’d gone quiet. That
was very bad. If Quinn shouted and blustered, he could be managed. When he went
quiet, there’d be hell to pay. Thank God it wasn’t she who would be paying
father. Still, she had needed to come home and see her mother. Her parents were
True Mates and maybe her mother could help her get used to the idea of
submitting to a male, if Damien really was her Mate. She still wasn’t certain,
but not being near him hurt…as if a vital organ had been removed. Just fanciful
thoughts really, but against all common sense, she missed him.
Through the years, she’d watched her mother always do
whatever her father had decreed, and it bugged Serena. She didn’t want to spend
the rest of her life living by Damien’s commands. How could her mother stand
it? Serena needed to know the answer to that question if she had any hope of
surviving this relationship as an independent female. What terrified her the
most was that she wouldn’t have a choice. She’d just bow to his orders and lose
herself in him and never be Serena again. She shuddered. She’d rather be dead.
She followed the winding road onto clan lands with a sense
of homecoming. As she headed west, she passed various small homes that housed
the Goldwolf families who lived here. She waved when she saw those she knew.
She reached her parents’ place in the center of what passed for a town out
here. It was a large old Victorian. Her parents had hoped to fill it with pups,
but there’d been just her. She knew her father regretted not having a son,
despite designating her cousin Quinn as his heir.
She parked and went up to the house. She opened the door and
heard voices in the kitchen. She frowned as she recognized Quillen’s whine. She
strode through to the kitchen and entered to hear him blaming her for the whole
mess.
“Serena fired me for no reason! It isn’t fair! I’m a
good worker and I was doing a really good job this time, Quinn. Really! It’s
all her fault that wolf was complaining.”
“My fault? You lying little worm !” She growled,
crossing the room to stand over her cousin, who cowered in the face of her
wrath.
“What’s going on, Serena?”
Quinn looked tired as he brushed lank dark-gold hair off his
forehead with a sigh. Serena frowned because he looked like hell. There were
circles under his eyes and he seemed nervous. It was so unlike her cousin that
she stopped wanting to kill Quillen and hug Quinn instead, but she paused
because she knew he wouldn’t want her to draw attention to him.
“Your whiny little brother set one of our clients up
with…someone completely inappropriate. So, I fired him.”
“Serena, you gave him a chance before. Can’t you try again?”
her mother asked from the kitchen sink where she was calmly washing dishes.
Serena bit her lip to keep from screeching. She was still
too tense for this dramatic crap. “No, Mother. I can not give him
another try and I will not.” She turned to her young cousin. “You
brought this on yourself with your ill-timed and idiotic sense of humor.”
“Just because some bitch was inappropriate, doesn’t mean
that Quillen should be fired,” Quinn countered as he leaned against the wall
behind Serena’s father.
Serena took a deep breath. She hadn’t wanted to go there
because she knew how it upset Quinn, however, it would seem she had no choice.
“Inappropriate doesn’t begin to cover it. Does it Quillen?”
“He’s a prick. He deserved it. Just because he screwed you
blind today doesn’t mean anything!” Quillen smirked at her. She was going to
slap that smirk off his face if he kept it up.
“I don’t care if he is the most arrogant bastard on the
planet, and he is. That is no excuse for setting him up to go out with Joyce
Blackwolf.”
Quinn stiffened as if shot. The look he shot his younger
brother made Quillen cringe and look for cover. “He did what?”
Serena winced. Quinn hadn’t shouted—he’d gone quiet. That
was very bad. If Quinn shouted and blustered, he could be managed. When he went
quiet, there’d be hell to pay. Thank God it wasn’t she who would be paying
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