No Interfering

HARPER

“Get off me, Spencer, or so help me God, I will…”

“What? You will what, sweet cheeks? You can’t interfere—you know this.”

Standing outside Levi’s door while he destroyed his room broke my heart.

He didn’t understand what was happening, he was still considered a human, even though he emitted Spencer’s scent.

He wasn’t warned about the bond. Yes, it had been mentioned in his presence but he never queried it.

“He’s my baby, he’s hurting and if we could just explain what’s going on, then maybe he’ll understand?” I was begging Spencer but he wouldn’t budge.

“We can’t. True mates have to find their own way to each other, it’s for them to sort out, not us.”

This made me furious. I stormed away like a raging bull. “Right, well if you’re not going to help me then I will find someone who will.”

Uncle Clade was over for a visit, he had a weekly tea party date scheduled with Lexie and Lennox. “Clade, I have to go out, I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Kid…” Clade was wearing a tiara Lex had put on him and half of his hand was painted bright pink from her trying to polish his nails. “You know you can’t get involved.”

“Not you too,” I snapped.

“Chad told me about how this all works, it seems pretty straightforward.”

“Thank you, the voice of reason.” Spencer came striding down the hall as I went to walk out the front door.

“I’m not listening to either of you,” I stated clearly as I jumped into my truck.

“C’mon, sweet cheeks, you have to stay neutral.”

“I don’t want to stay neutral anymore, do you know how hard it is watching him disintegrate?”

Spencer’s shoulders slumped and he exhaled deeply. “Fine, but I’m warning you—he’s hurt her too much, Kiya won’t change her mind.”

I wound down the window and looked up at the both of them with a sigh, “I have to at least try.”

Spencer leaned through the open window, planting his beautiful lips on mine. “Drive carefully, okay?”

I nodded, thankful he was relenting some. “I’ll take care of princess Clade and the kids.” We were both grinning like crazies.

“Shut up the both of you—I look beautiful,” Clade commented as he flicked his head like he had long luscious hair.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, sweet cheeks, but don’t be disappointed when Kiya says no.”

I started the engine and drove out of our driveway.

Yes, I had known where Kiya was this entire time and no, it wasn’t at her aunt’s, she had been in her house.

Cleo and I made a pact not to interfere, but this was beyond a joke. For almost every day since they were eight years old he had been with his mate, going from that to nothing would hurt anyone.

I promised myself a long time ago that I would not risk Leivon’s heart. This is me keeping that promise.

As I came to a screeching stop out the front of Cleo’s, the front door flew open and Blain was standing in the doorway with a dejected look on his face.

I stomped up the front porch steps and straightened my spine, tilted my chin up and glared at him.

He sighed. At first, I thought I was going to have to use brutal force and I was prepared to do so. Not that I had any—in reality, he could kick my ass but I was determined to see this through.

Then he surprised me and stepped aside with his hand extended offering me entrance.

“Thank you,” I snipped, and waltzed right in.

Their home was lovely, with peach curtains and cream colored walls, it always smelled of floral arrangements.

Cleo sat at the kitchen table with a cup of her favorite hazelnut coffee beside her.

“Harper, we’ve tried, she won’t budge.”

“I have to try, Cleo, he’s just destroyed his room.”

She nodded and I took off in the direction of her bedroom.

I could hear the soft music coming out from behind the closed door, the melody was sad—she was tormenting herself with music.

I knocked before entering.

Her room was decorated much the same as Levi’s, pictures of the both of them splayed on the walls and her vanity mirror, posters of the bands she loved and movies she enjoyed.

Her iPod dock sat on top of her wooden tallboy, a computer and desk in one corner, and her king single in the other.

A pile of tissues surrounded her bed, on the carpet as well as all over her quilt cover and there, in the middle of the bed, was Kiya.

“Kiya, can we talk?”

“Sorry, Mrs. Marcelo, you know where I stand on this.”

I adored this wee thing for more reasons than one but the fact that she is clearly emotionally destroyed and yet still so strong-willed makes me admire her more.

“I know…” I sat down on her bed, making myself comfortable. “I can see why you’ve cut contact. If Spencer and I were in your situation, I would cut off his balls.”

She chuckled before shifting and sitting up to face me.

Her eyes were swollen and had dark bags; her disheveled hair indicated she’d been there for some time—not just a normal sleep period—she had definitely not left her bed for days.

“I can’t survive this one, this is his third girlfriend.”

I nodded, sympathizing with her. “But you love him.”

“I wish I didn’t.” My heart clenched; I knew her pain personally. “Do you know what it’s like to have your mate right there and know he sees you as nothing but a friend?”

“I don’t know what that is like, but I know what it’s like to love someone that doesn’t love you.”

She wipes away the new tears that fell from her eyes, “there’s a hole in my chest and nothing I do seems to be good enough. He doesn’t notice me, I’m not enough, I don’t look like them, I don’t act like them—he’s attracted to everything I am not. I wish the mate bond didn’t exist. I wish I’d never met him, then I wouldn’t feel the way I do.”

“I can’t give you a reason as to why he hasn’t realized that you’re his perfection or even that you’re right in front of him, but I do know that you are both in so much pain and neither one of you has properly communicated anything. You need to tell him; you both need to understand where each other is coming from.”

“And have him laugh in my face? Reject me more than he already has? No, thank you. One day, I’ll wake up and…this pain will have lessened. Eventually, I’ll move on…another town, maybe another pack will take me… I just have to get from here…to then, when it doesn’t h-hurt so much… as easily as p-possible…because right now, all I wanna do is not wake up at all.”

Her voice shook as sobs racked her body. God, she is in the same state he is. “But one day—one day I’ll be okay.”

“You’ve got it wrong, I know in my heart you’re wrong. Levi loves you…”

“Don’t. In Leivon’s eyes, I’m just his friend.”

She slid back down and drew the covers up and over her head.

My son had hurt her, he had denied what was precious and destined and wasted his time with these girls that could never complete him the way a mate could, the way Spencer did for me.

“Kiya, Levi has destroyed his room, he won’t eat, won’t sleep, he won’t even train—his dream and his future are in your hands. He’s human and humans don’t quite understand this world.

He’s suffering and although you can’t see it—he needs you, just as much as you need him. I don’t know how this will all pan out but I do know love when I see it and my son is in love with you, he just doesn’t realize.” I heard her whimpers but she didn’t move, so I left, closing the door behind me.

As I brokenly dragged myself past Cleo and Blain, out their front door and to my truck, I felt as though my heart were breaking all over again. Dammit, Spence was right—I shouldn’t have got involved.

Levi never came out for dinner and Spencer didn’t bother playing the “I told you so” card, which I was thankful for.

It was about four in the morning, sleep had evaded me completely and I had given up a long time ago.

I was sitting out on the back porch wondering how the hell I was going to help my son without telling him, when a visitor showed up—brown with an emerald sheen to her coat.

“This is the first time you’ve been out of the house?”

The wolf nodded.

“I know you used to sneak in through Levi’s window.”

The wolf lowered its head.

“The pain eases when you’re near him, doesn’t it?”

The wolf nodded again for confirmation.

I exhaled deeply. “Why don’t you just try to talk to him? At least then, if he does reject you, you can put it behind you, properly.”

The wolf lay down on her stomach with eyes so sad, even in this dark I could still see the hurt.

“Why did you come here, Kiya? Steal his shirt off the washing line? Pretend like you can live without him in your life? I know Spencer’s wolf is calm when I am near, is that why you’re here?”

The wolf snorts. I wished we could communicate, but I don’t even think she understood it herself; she had acted on instinct.

“You have to talk to him, explain that he is your mate. There’s no other way around it. You’re both torturing each other.”

A door banged and as I whipped my head around there stood Levi, shirtless and wide-eyed. ‘Holy shit,’ when the hell did my son get freaking muscles?

No wonder these girls are after him, dirty bitches.

My face soured, ‘nope, no one is allowed near my boy from now on—maybe Kiya only—oh God, don’t think about him and Kiya, don’t think about it. Abort that train of thought, Harper, abort right now.

Kiya took off. Levi, barefooted and bellowing like a crazy person, screamed for her to stop, for her to come back—but she wouldn’t, she was gone.

He came charging back, fury rolled off him in droves. “What was she doing here, what did you say to her?”

I was thrown by his hostile attitude. “Okay, first of all, calm down. I’m guessing her wolf instinctively came to see you—”

“Why did she run? This is your fault, Mom, she wouldn’t have run from me. You said something.”

~I’ve never wanted to throw your ass over my knee and smack you but I will if I have to~, I snapped in my head.

“Leivon Marcelo, I know you’re hurt right now but you need to watch that attitude of yours. This is not my fault, this is yours—”

“Harper!” Spencer growled. ‘That motherfucker.’

“No. Do not silence me…ever,” I warned him.

This whole situation had been causing so much friction between Spencer and me. We had always been harmonious but we simply had different views on the way this situation was being dealt with.

After spending a night without sleep, I knew how to get around this.

“Levi, that girl is hurt. You are responsible for this, she has been in love with you since you were both eight years old. Don’t blame me because you refused to see her as more than a friend. And while we’re on the subject, the only reason you’re so damn hurt, is because you’re in love with her too and are just too stupid to see it.”

And with that said, I strode past my husband and straight inside. Little fucking monster, how dare he blame me. If that doesn’t wake him up, I don’t know what will.

Best of all, nothing about the bond ever left my mouth.

~Shit, I called my son stupid.~

I turned on my heels quickly and popped my head through the back door.

“Sorry for calling you stupid, I don’t think you’re stupid, I love you… I think you’re acting stupid.”

I saw Spencer slap his face. I decided I’d said enough and went back to retreating like a damn boss.