Chapter 78: Their Cursed

Cullen

We have finally entered our pack territory and were not far from the packhouse. Remi was sitting across my lap, silently playing with my hand. We had been silent for most of the drive, with Pip being upset in the front seat. Remi had spent the ride going back and forth between Calder and me once again. She seemed to relax more as we got further away from Serenity Moon at first. She had been linking us for a while but fell silent around halfway through the drive, receding into her thoughts. After that, she just sat in one of our laps, fiddling with something in her hands.

“Our mate is worried about the curse now that the Summit is over,” Maximus said in my head.

“I wonder if that is why she panicked last night….”

“She is also wary of shifting,” he added.

“That is right. It is almost a full moon, and the doctor said she should be ready,” I said. I was so distracted by the events of the weekend that I had forgotten about it.

“Her wolf is ready but worried that Remi’s hesitance will affect the shift,” he said. I looked down at the perfect creature in my lap. I couldn’t figure out exactly what she was feeling and wished I could just read her mind. I kissed the top of her head, and she squeezed my hand.

When we finally pulled into the gates of the packhouse, I shifted her onto the seat between Calder and me. Confusion swept through me as I saw my mother and father standing at the front door, waiting for us. My mother looked her usual, cheery self, and my father had a grim look on his face.

“Do you think he found out?” Calder linked me. I could tell he was nervous by our father’s look as well.

“I guess it makes sense that Zane would have called him,” I replied.

“I had hoped to present this to him ourselves so we could control the narrative,” Calder informed me.

That certainly would have been better. I am sure in Zane’s anger he accused us of some misconduct or misbehavior. “I am guessing we will find out sooner rather than later,” I predicted. I shifted my gaze to Remi sitting in between us, and she looked a little nervous. I wanted to take her upstairs right away and show her the renovations we made, but I am guessing that was going to have to wait.

Carson parked the car, and we all started to get out. Remi followed Calder as he reached in and grabbed her hand. I noticed Gentry coming out of the packhouse right behind my parents. His eyes widened at Pip walking to the door with us.

“Pip, why are you with them?” he asked, stepping in front of my parents.

“Uh… so funny story…” she said sheepishly.

“You are supposed to be at school. Do not tell me you went to the Summit,” he questioned her.

“I think you should take Pip home and talk with your parents,” Calder said to him pointedly. He gave Calder a confused look, furrowing his brow. “There are a few things she should tell you.” He gave Pip a severe look, and we all knew she wasn’t getting out of this.

Gentry nodded as Pip came over to him. “Let’s go find mom and dad,” she said to him, grabbing his hand. She pulled him away while he looked back at us, thoroughly confused. While Pip was pulling Gentry away, Carson ducked past us and into the packhouse. My parents didn’t bother stopping him.

“Boys,” my father said in a stern tone as we approached them.

“How was the Summit?” my mother asked sweetly.

“Fine,” I said.

“Anything you would like to share?” my father pressed.

“Right now? No…” I thought.

“We were hoping to relax today after such a long weekend,” Calder said smoothly. “We thought we would meet with you in the morning to discuss the Summit.” My father did not look impressed.

“I think we should speak now,” he said. He turned around and walked through the front doors. Calder, mother and I knew that was our cue to follow. Remi clutched Calder’s hand and moved with us. We followed my father all the way to his office. I closed the door behind us as we all stepped inside. My father stood behind his desk with his arms crossed.

“Want to explain what happened?” he asked angrily. Remi had a worried expression on her face. Calder spoke before I could.

“We didn’t break any laws, father. We simply saw an opportunity and took it,” he tried to simplify things.

“You acted on a grudge against Zeus,” he accused.

“That is…. not entirely true. There is much more to this than that,” Calder chided.

“Do not speak to me that way. Explain, now,” he demanded.

“Darling, let’s calm down. The situation is not really that bad, is it?” my mother piped in the conversation. Remi seemed to frozen to Calder’s side under my father’s irritation.

“Their first Summit by themselves, and they decide to bully other packs into merging with us so they can make Blue Moon the largest in the Realm? They were preying on the vulnerability of small packs!” my father shouted.

“That is not what happened!” I shot at him. “Those packs were failing and would have been completely destroyed in no more than two years. We offered them a solution. So what? We slighted Zeus in the process. He dug his own grave.”

“That is not how Zane painted this picture,” he growled.

“You’re going to take his word over ours?” I accused, raising an eyebrow,

“Father, Serenity Moon pulled out of three-quarters of their aid treaties, leaving these packs with no solution or assistance. Cullen is right; they would be dead within two years or less,” Calder said, trying to mollify him. “We can simply offer them aid, or we can use this opportunity to our advantage. Zeus made Serenity Moon look heartless by simply pulling away immediately. There is nothing wrong with change. We offered them a solution; they are the ones who chose to take it.” My father quietly stewed over his words.

“How many packs were left unaided?” he finally asked.

“Nine,” I said. “The six that agreed to merge with us were the worst off, and luckily their territories either touch ours or each other.” He nodded his head.

“What’s done is done. We'll discuss this more tomorrow. You have all had a long weekend,” father finally relented. He didn’t look any less irritated, but I imagine that he was beginning to realize that Zane’s recollection of events was not as faithful to fact.

Calder and I both turned and pulled Remi with us from the room. I sighed in relief as we left the room. “That could have been worse, I suppose,” I muttered. I looked down at Remi as I clasped her hand. We started moving towards our room. It was time to show Remi the renovations we had done.

Gentry

My sister sat at the kitchen table nervously fidgeting as we waited for my father to arrive. My mother was in the kitchen, getting some snacks and tea made up. I stood leaning against the wall, watching her, trying to figure out how in the world she ended up coming home with Calder, Cullen, and Remi.

The sound of the front door opening and closing came from the living room. “We're in the dining room, hun,” my mom called as she walked in. She set a cup of tea in front of Pip and some snacks down on the table. My father came in with a worried look on his face.

“What is going on? Why do we need a family meeting?” he asked before his eyes landed on Pip. “Mandy, why are you here?”

“Hi, Daddy,” she said softly, giving him a sad smile.

“What’s wrong?” he asked her immediately. My mother went to his side.

“Hun, she said she has something to tell all of us. Why don’t we sit and let her talk?” she said soothingly to him. He nodded, and they both took their seats. Pip looked up at me.

“We’re all here. Now spill, Pip,” I said, not moving. I was a bit frustrated with my sister. Whatever was going on, she could have called me. I was always there for her. I had been a little preoccupied the last couple of days, but I got the idea this started before the Summit.

“Okay, well…” she sighed. “So, school hasn’t been going well exactly.”

“What do you mean?” my mother asked.

“I got put on academic probation because I haven’t been able to keep my grades up. And well, last semester was horrible. So bad, in fact, that I sort of flunked out…” she trailed off. My eyes bulged.

“What?” I almost shouted.

“Gentry, calm down. Let her explain,” my mother scolded.

My temper was rising. I had been helping my parents pay for her college tuition because they didn’t want her to go in the first place.

“I was trying. I really was. Studying wasn’t hard. It was all the tests and stuff. I would freeze up. The classes that weren’t assignment-heavy were fine. I could do presentations and stuff just fine. But every time a test was in front of me, it was like I was reading another language all of a sudden…” she explained.

“Did you ask for help?” my mother ask.

“My academic advisor basically told me to get it together or drop out….”

“So instead of telling me, you just let yourself flunk out?” I shot at her.

“I wasn’t trying-”

“No one tries to fail!” I cut her off. I threw my hands up in the air. “That doesn’t explain how you ended up at the Summit.”

“You went to the Summit?” my dad asked, his eyes concerned. “With the twins and their mate?”

“Yea. So, I was hiding at the apartment in the Ordinary Realm when they all showed up. Calder and Cullen freaked out at me. Calder told me when he was back, he was going to make me come home and come clean about everything…” she paused. “They only stayed for a night, but Cullen took Remi out while Calder yelled at me. And when they got back, they all disappeared into their room, so I didn’t even get to see Remi at all. The next morning Calder told me to go pack a bag; he said I was going with them to help keep Remi company.”

“So, Calder took you along to be a friend for Remi?” mom clarified. Pip nodded.

“Carson went too. He was supposed to be watching her. I guess they were just nervous since she is so new to being a wolf and all, plus this was her first Summit, and Luna Nicole wasn’t going,” she told us. My parents nodded.

“Well, we are disappointed, but we aren’t angry,” my mother said. Pip swallowed and nodded. “We wish you would have just come home and told us. Or at least told your brother. You two are so close…” I kept my eyes on Pip as my mother talked. She still looked nervous.

“You aren’t done. There is something else that happened,” I accused. I knew my sister too well. She turned to me, her eyes growing a little teary. Her head nodded slowly, confirming my accusation.

“I… I found my mate…” her voice cracked. My mother’s eyebrows shot up in surprise while mine furrowed. Dad put his hand on Mom’s shoulder.

“Mandy, what happened?” he asked with concern.

She took a shaky breath. “My mate is the son of Serenity Moon’s Alpha. Zeus…” she said softly. I am sure Cullen was hot about that one.

“If your mate is from Serenity Moon, why are you here? If you wanted to come home and tell us, surely he would have come back with you….” Mom questioned.

“It was going well at first… until it wasn’t,” she sniffled. My temper was rising even further now. If that dick head hurt my sister, I was going to kill him. “It’s sort of a long story, but I decided to come home and think about things instead of staying in Serenity Moon longer.” She played with the handle of her mug while we all watched her. “If it’s okay, I am going to go lay down for a bit…” she said softly.

“Sure, sweetheart,” my mom told her warmly. Pip stood up and left the room, heading to her bedroom.

“I have things to take care of,” I told my parents as I left the room after her. I knew she wasn’t going to tell me, so I would have to get it out of the twins and Remi.