** 3 POV **
Emily, Keira's mother, sat at the edge of the bed, feeling like her heart had been ripped out. The afternoon sun did little to warm her. The phone laid on the bed next to her, forgotten.
She could still remember the day that everyone in the family had been told about Nico's death. The news had come as a shock to everyone. It was supposed to be a simple mission, just like all the others; to exterminate the rogues who had attacked several human towns, killing and raping as they went.
Nico and Keira had each led their own separate teams. From what she had overheard, Keira and Nico had both been ambushed at separate locations. Keira was able to get her team out safely, but Nico refused to retreat. Keira had to go in and pull his team out, but Nico decided to stay behind and "take care of the problem once and for all".
Then the building had exploded. Keira was found injured, and there had been no sign of Nico. The explosion had been investigated. The Task Force had searched for Nico's body or signs of Nico for several weeks until Nico's wife finally told everyone to stop searching.
No one in the Task Force blamed Keira, her own father, Keira's grandfather didn't blame her either. The only ones who did were Keira's own father, Caleb, and her brother, Troy. Caleb had basically accused Keira of letting Nico die. Nico had been Troy's best friend, and he, too, blamed her.
Nico's death had caused a huge rift in the family. Emily blamed her husband for it. His attitude, his anger, and his disappointment had all been directed at Keira. He had her believe that he never wanted to see her again. Nico's death was not Keira's fault.
Emily had hoped that the King's phone call would help ease the tension between the family and Keira. But that didn't go as planned. The Task Force was disbanded, and the Moon Goddess had paired Keira with a man who didn't want her.
Where did things go wrong?
'It's my fault,' Emily thought sadly. 'I should have stopped Caleb from saying things out of anger. I should have done more than stand by and watch it all happen.'
Emily wiped the hot tears that spilled from her eyes. She quickly took deep breaths to calm herself.
'Em,' Bela said softly. 'Are you ok?'
'No, Bela,' Emily replied. 'I'm not ok. I can't stand my family being at odds with one another. Keira has done everything anyone has ever asked of her. She doesn't deserve to be treated that way.
'Everyone in the family knows Keira has given up so much.'
'Mayb we should go and pay her a visit?' Bela suggested. 'We haven't formally met our new son-in-law.'
Emily smiled. 'That's an excellent idea!'
Feeling a bit better, Emily stood and put the phone on the nightstand. She walked out of the master bedroom and headed to the kitchen to prep some lunch.
"Hey, Mom," Troy greeted as he rummaged through the fridge.
She gave him a small smile. "What are you doing here?"
"Madison had to take the children to the doctor," Troy replied. "I was hoping to speak to father, but he's not here."
Emily nodded and grabbed an apron.
"Mom, is everything ok?" Troy asked, seeing her red eyes.
"Yes," Emily replied. "Have you seen your father? Has he come home yet?"
Troy shook his head. "He's still in the meeting with Alpha Ryan. The disbandment of the Task Force has caused a lot of trouble for us. The pack now has a lot more responsibilities since we don't have the extra resources to deal with the rogue problem."
"Yes, its unfortuante," Emily replied softly.
Emily went over to the sink and washed her hands. She quickly grabbed a few ingredients from the fridge and began prepping a small lunch of pasta and sandwiches. Now that Caleb wasn't going to be coming home any time soon, Emily didn't need to make a big lunch. Normally, meetings with the Alpha took a long time, and lunch was served at the pack house for attending members.
Troy cleared his throat, "Do you need any help?"
"No," Emily replied, shaking her head. "This won't take long."
"When Keira was around, you always let her help," Troy muttered.
"Well, Keira isn't here, is she?"Emily snapped, tired of Troy acting like a child. "If you're just going to stand around, get out of the kitchen. I don't need you to be in the way. Go eat lunch at your house."
Troy didn't reply and quickly left.
'Em,' Bela said, gently. 'That was a bit much, wasn't it?'
'I'm still mad at him,' Emily replied, putting a pot of water on the stove. 'He's my son, I love him, and he's grieving, but I can't get over how he treated his own sister. And what he said to her at the hospital?! I wished it were you who died!! I can't believe he would say something like that to Keira.'
Bela nodded in understanding. Both Caleb and Troy had said things that shouldn't have been said. Keira had cut her visitation short and headed back to Headquarters.
After a few more minutes of cooking, Emily finished making a plain lunch of a small pasta dish, turkey sandwiches, fruit, and vegetables. For once, in a long time, she ate in silence. Up until a few years ago, Mathew was the last one living at home before he found his mate.
Emily had four children: Troy, Jessica, Keira, and Mathew. Keira had been the only one whom her father had trained to take over the Task Force—the only one who had given up her childhood and any hope of finding a mate.
'Has the family forgotten what Keira has given up for this family?' Emily wondered munching on her sandwich.
'Troy wasn't around for that,' Bela reminded her. 'He was so caught up in his mate and child.'
Emily signed heavily. The Task Force's disbandment had been a blessing in disguise. Now Keira had finally found her mate. A mate who had chosen another. The King's phone call did nothing to ease the anxiety she felt.
King Richard has assured them that Keira wouldn't be rejected. That Keira would be taken care of.
'The King wouldn't lie,' Bela stated. 'Keira would have told us if she had been rejected by her mate. She might have told her father, but she would have informed us.'
'I know,' Emily agreed, setting down the half-eaten food. 'I'm just worried that she's too upset to tell us anything about what has been going on. She hasn't called or texted since she told us about the disbandment.
'It's been at least five days since then, and there hasn't been a word from her. I think she's still mad.'
'Instead of just dropping by,' Bela suggested. 'Why don't we reach out to Donovan and inform him of our visit?'
Emily nodded. 'Yes, we probably should. But first, we need to speak to Caleb. We have much to discuss.'